Should I leave Pokémon in daycare?
As a long-time Pokémon breeder and competitive battler, I‘m often asked whether players should utilize the Pokémon daycare system. And the answer is an emphatic yes! When used properly, the daycare provides exceptional benefits for training and breeding.
Key Benefits of Leaving Pokémon in Daycare
- Passive XP Gain: Pokémon earn effortless EXP for your steps
- Breeding: Produce Eggs with inherited moves/stats/shinies
- Minimal Work: Progress Pokémon without activetraining
- Early Access: Acquire base forms before evolutions
With that said, failing to regularly check-in can result in detrimental move loss or stalled leveling. So understanding daycare mechanics is vital.
Passive Leveling Rates
According to Serebii‘s extensive research, each party member not participating in battle receives 1 EXP for every ~6 steps taken.
That means with a bike‘s fast movement, Pokémon in the daycare can quickly reach Level 100 without any effort aside from some hatching or mounting.
| Steps to Level 50 | ~165,000 |
| Steps to Level 100 | ~1,050,000 |
Compared to grinding wild battles for five active team members, letting one progress autonomously saves immense time.
The Power of Inherited Moves
Breeding pairs in the daycare pass down Egg Moves only acquirable from parents. Plus babies hatch at level 1, so you can nurture their growth from scratch.
As per RankedBoost‘s Egg Group lists, compatible species open up exciting inherited move combos. Like Extreme Speed Dratini or Telepathy Ralts.
So even without shiny hatching, breeding hands-down dominates simply catching evolved forms.
Curbing Risk of Deleterious Move Loss
The daycare‘s biggest danger is your Pokémon reaching its four-move limit and erasing an important attack. Luckily with foresight, move loss is 100% preventable.
Before depositing Pokémon:
- Check its move level-up order on Serebii
- Arrange key moves in last slots
- Leave open move spaces as buffers
Then routinely withdraw once it approaches its next 10 levels gained to rearrange as needed. Follow this protocol, and you‘ll retain the moves you want.
Advantages Over Active Level Grinding
Veteran daycare users know passive training surpasses mindless wild encounters for lower tier Pokémon. Let‘s compare routes to Level 50:
| Training Method | Time Estimate |
|---|---|
| Daycare Steps | ~5-6 Hours |
| Wild Battles | ~15-20 Hours |
As the table shows, daycare shaking saves 65%+ hours while letting you focus on your main battle team.
So don‘t waste effort power-leveling Pokémon not on your story playthrough roster.
Maximizing Shiny Egg Probability
While full odds base rate sits at 1/4,096, using the Masuda Method with one foreign parent narrows those odds to 1/683!
Pair with the Shiny Charm‘s bonus, and you‘ll soon be proudly hatching shimmering shiny babies at a sizable 1/512 percentile.
Just be sure to utilize that foreign Ditto acquired through Surprise Trade!
So let those eggs accumulate without pause or break. Then after each shiny success, swap in the next target parent and repeat the cycle.
In Summary
From exponentially boosting EXP gain to unlocking unique movesets, Pokémon left properly supervised in daycare offer big advantages. Just check on them routinely to guarantee no vital techniques are deleted.
So whether honing a competitive team or simply seeking ANY reward for hatching endless eggs, integrating the daycare into your playtime is a must.
Now if only they allowed storing legendaries as well! But until then, take advantage of passive leveling and breeding for 85% of your Poké roster.
Let me know in the comments your daycare success stories!
