What is the Masuda Method?
The Masuda Method is the act of breeding your Pokemon with higher odds of the egg hatching into a Shiny Pokemon. This method was introduced in Generation 6 and is one of the best methods in obtaining a Shiny Pokemon.
How do I breed Pokemon?
In order to breed your pokemon you will need to drop off two Pokemon of the same Egg Group to the Pokemon Nursery. There is no way to see the Egg Group in-game, it’s something you have to look up online essentially. We got you covered with our full Pokedex, where we list the Egg Group of every single Pokemon. An easy trick is to catch two of the same type of Pokemon (one male, one female) because identical Pokemon are always the same egg group.
The Pokemon Nursery is located on Route 5 between Turffield and Hulbury.
Once at the Nursery head to the girl standing in front of the building, select the Pokemon you want to breed, and drop them off. One must be Male and the other must be Female. Talk to the same girl again and select dialogue “Is everything OK?”. If the woman says “They are doing fine, though they don’t seem fond of each other” the two Pokemon will take longer to produce an egg. If the woman says “Your Pokemon are doing just fine. They seem to get along all right.” that means your Pokemon will be more likely to produce an egg more quickly.
Walk around or fight some Pokemon to let some time pass until the egg is ready. Check back with the woman outside the Nursery and if her arms are crossed and she is holding her chin it means she has an egg for you. That’s an easy tell that an egg is ready (see her pose in the screenshot below).
Speak to the Nursery worker and she will offer the egg to you which you can accept or decline. If you accept the egg you will be given the choice if you want to have it added to your party or sent to your Box.
Once the egg is in your party simply continue your journey. After you have walked enough steps or traveled enough the egg will hatch resulting in a Stage 1 version of the Pokemon in the Nursery.
Note that Undiscovered Egg Group Pokemon can not produce an egg.
Breeding with Ditto
While breeding for Shiny Pokemon or specific Pokemon it is best to use a Ditto. Ditto will match the species and opposite gender of the Pokemon you are using to try to breed. Ditto takes the guess work out of a majority of breeding.
How do I do the Masuda Method?
The Masuda Method will require you to obtain a Pokemon being used to breed from a different language version of the game from another region. If you have the English version of the game you are going to want to find another compatible Egg Group Pokemon from a Region such as French, Spanish, German, Japanese etc. After receiving a Pokemon via trade, check their profile to see if they are from another language region. Here is an example of a Pokemon from another region:
Having a Ditto from another region will make it so you don’t need to obtain multiple Egg Group Pokemon for each of the Egg Groups you want to try to hatch a Shiny Pokemon from.
If I have a Japanese Ditto and breed it with a Japanese Charmander will Masuda Method still work?
No. The two Pokemon left in the Nursery need to be from different regions so if you have FRE Charmander and a JPN Ditto it will allow the Masuda Method to work, if you have a JPN Charmander and a JPN Ditto on an English game it still will not work as the Pokemon are the from the same region. The Masuda Method essentially promotes cross region breeding.
How much does the Masuda Method bump Shiny odds?
The odds of hatching a Shiny Pokemon from the Masuda Method are increased from 1 in 4096 (0.024%) to 1 in 682 (0.15%).
Can you stack the Shiny Charm with the Masuda Method?
Yes, the Shiny Charm can be used in conjunction with the Masuda Method to further increase the odds of receiving a Shiny Pokemon from 1 in 682 (0.15%) to approximately 1 in 339 (0.30%).
Also read: How to Get Shiny Charm.
Does either Pokemon dropped off at the Nursery need to be shiny?
No. The parents being shiny or not have no impact on the Pokemon being shiny when it hatches from the egg.
Can you Soft Reset for hatching eggs?
Yes but this isn’t the most optimal way of hatching shinies as it actually takes a longer time to go through the process.
Soft Resetting for eggs is when you save prior to receiving the egg from the Nursery worker. Once the egg is picked up everything about that Pokemon is predetermined. To Soft Reset an egg hatching you would have to save before picking up the egg and hatch the egg without saving between these two things happening. If the egg does not hatch into what you want you can reload your save file and receive the egg again for another chance however in most cases by the time you have received the egg and hatched it you will have already been able to receive at least one more egg from the Nursery giving you another chance anyway, which is why this method isn’t really useful.
That’s all there is to know about the Masuda Egg Hatching Method in Pokemon Sword and Shield. For more ways to improve your Shiny Hunting odds, please refer to our full Pokemon Sword & Shield Shiny Hunting Guide.
Chris says
What if you have a foreign pokemon but have a English ditto with that still work
King says
Yes, as long as one of the two pokemon is from a foreign region
imbroken963 says
Yes as long as they are from two regions that will also work
KindVxbes says
Yes, it would still work. Remember: You just need two different languages, it doesn’t matter which Pokémon has the foreign language.
Justuse says
it will
Hugo says
Imagine that a started the game in English and I don´t know anyone in Japan that can’t trade a ditto with me, can I change the language of my nintendo for japonese for example and then catch a ditto, than change it back and it’ll stay japonese so that way I can do the masuda method?
Dylan says
No it’s based on the region it was caught in not the language of your console. Try r/pokemontrades
imbroken963 says
I’m not 100% sure if that method would work but I can try it out
Delta says
No although if you started another save and made the language on it different, the trades ditto will count as that language as it’s based on language settings and not region like most think
Jayden says
You can create a second account in another region and then get a ditto there and pass it through Pokémon home that will 100% work because I have done it myself
Jack says
Use link code 4448 and bring a ditto – people are using that code online specifically to make ditto – ditto trades
Ditto master says
Tade code 4448 4448. Try late night if your in USA. Thank me later
Dripss says
Can you go into battles and change routes while doing the M method bc I been doing this and I’m trying to get dreepy rn .
imbroken963 says
Yes the Masuda Method isn’t affected by any of the other chaining types. You can either stop trying and pick up exactly where you left off if you get tired of hatching eggs.
Souly says
This guide is explained perfectly.
I have been using masuda method for years now. Yes the odds are way better. But it is still luck based. Even with this method it can be the first 5 eggs that you get a shiny or it can even go 1000.
If you have 2 switches or a friend/family member who also have a switch start a new game with a other user name.
select a other language.
Do the intro and the first part so that you unlock the wild area. Go to the nursery in de wild area it takes about a hour.
Trade your ditto and pokemon you want to breed. Then hatch one egg. That pokemon you just hatched will be in the language that you are playing in right now. Trade the 3 pokemon back to your game and you can now do the masuda method.
Goodluck to everyone.
Stock says
Does having a foreign ditto increase chances of shiny?
Phoenixhunter says
Yes
Guaco says
What is the average amount of eggs without the shiny charm if there is an average
DarthRaichu says
Without the shiny charm is double the amount with the shiny charm so let’s say the odds of a shiny was 10 without shiny charm. If you were to get the charm the chances would go down to 5
Phoenixhunter says
While doing the Masuda method can I close out of my game or do I have to keep my game alway loaded up?
Sam says
You can close it if you want, it won’t make a difference.
Candicelle says
I hatched a shiny Purrloin in about 12 to 14 eggs or so maybe less, with the Masuda Method, full odds yet! Such a cute kitty! Now can I get another shiny in the same amount of time, and if so, how to do that? I thought if you get a shiny it resets. Or something like that. Let me know how getting a second one works as I don’t want to take them out of the nursery if I can get another one. I would like to keep one as a Purrloin and the evolved form.
Trevor Robertson says
no such thing as a shiny reset, its all luck based. you got extremely lucky, theres no way to get another shiny that fast unless you just get lucky again. for example while my shiny whimsicott only took 128 eggs, my torkoal took 2,543. and that was with masuda method + shiny charm. It all depends on luck. So yes you can leave them in the nursery and get another shiny, but it isnt guaranteed to be fast
James says
I have a Japanese ditto and a chinese grookey. Does the masuda method work on that? Or can I hatch one egg, and even use that grookey cuz itll be English, and then use the masuda method then?
bede says
yes it’s fine, they just have to be 2 different languages
johnny says
do I have to beat the game before doing the Masuda method
DD says
No but the egg charm you get after beating the game improves your odds.
Lugia's Song says
Does that mean I can get a shiny starter? And a shiny Legendary? (probably not for the shiny legendarys)
Baby yoda says
Yes to starters but no to legendary a they can not be breed and the regular encounter is shiny locked
Isaac says
Does encountering a pokemon affect this
Superknuten says
no
Superknuten says
Are the odds with masuda method and shiny charm really 1 in 339 or is that unsure information?
Baby yoda says
Yes
Shadow says
Ive been trying for dreepy for a while now no luck others games done fine with hatching shinys but in all other games i had a different language/region ditto with a pokemon i caught on shield im doing it the opposite using a ditto caught in english/N America and a dreepy in Japanese. But as stated been doing it for a while i have 11 1/2 boxes filled now i did switch in switch out a few times started with a spainish dreepy changed to Japanese dreepy with 5 ivs then changed again to add breeding items then changed again to change nursery from route 5 to the wild area so i didnt have to keep flying. I was reading somewhere that the pokemon paired with ditto had to be female for the M method to take effect is that true? Cant remember if used females for shiny pokes before or not but doing it this time and how long its taking is having me reconsider
Finn says
No. Gender doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you have ditto and and your dreepy from different regions as each other.
xI_nk says
I have a question. I have the German Pokémon and got traded an english Ditto. So does the method work when I have an english Ditto and a German Vulpix?
Ceeleevee says
yes
Kikon tenibris says
Can’t I just change the region on my settings and catch the ditto and breed it with a Charmander that I previously had from the US?
Radak says
If I accidentally get into a wild encounter while hatching eggs does that break the chain?
Radak says
Also what are all the different ways the chain is broken?
Melvin says
There is no chain, Masuda simply gives u better odds for each individual egg. U can do whatever u like in between hatching eggs
Finn says
The pokemon being predetermined is incorrect for gen 8 (SwSh). There is no longer a seed for each egg. The Pokemon is rolled once you hatch it. If you get a full box of eggs and none of them are shiny, soft reset and hatch all of them again.
Jonathan says
Can someone verify if this is true ?? I believe soon as the girl crosses her arms the stats and shiny chance is determined then,, not sure if it changes if you save reset and hatch the same egg again.
Poke Breeder J says
Incorrect and confirmed. You cannot soft reset eggs so please dont, each egg is predetermined the second it hits your inventory or box. Seriously. Please save yourself time and just grab more eggs after instead of looping the same exact eggs over and over again. However if you dont believe me hatch an egg look at the ivs and abililty then turn off your game and hatch the same one. It is the same thing.
Anthony says
Can my sister use two English eevees to make a shiny one? She really wants to and I thought u could.
DS Archer says
Yes, you can as long as one is male and the other female, but the odds go down a lot if they are both english, if you get a foreign one your odds go up significantly, and up even more if you have shiny charm
roll end tuck front box says
Nice Article Thanks For Sharing
BlackSaiyan says
I’m 300 eggs in on my noibat, and I saved and closed my game to play Breath of the wild (great game). When I come back will my chances reset or will it still start from 300
Newbiebreeder says
From what i’ve heard you pick up where you left off don’t quote me on that though.
Trevor Robertson says
chaining doesnt apply to the masuda method, your odds do not increase depending on how many in a row you hatch. each egg that hatches has the same 1/339 rate. so feel free to take a break anytime
beast27 says
Does this method work with a foreign ditto from a previous generation?
RoyalBrewerKnight says
What about the encounter numbers? After 500 battles with the same species of Pokemon, the chances also rise by 3% for that particular Pokemon. Does this also stack with the Masuda Method?
Loverain says
What causes it to reset? If my switch goes to sleep will that reset my odds? A raid battle?
Veronica Arnoff says
Does the nursery location matter. Is Silph better then the wild area?
Jimmer says
No
shiny man says
when you do a link trade type in 4448 4448 then you will get a ditto from a different country but you ned a ditto first and they will always be 6iv and most the time shiny
Bryan says
Do I need to keep all hatched Pokémon in my boxes?
I know there is no chain but does the amount of Pokémon in the box affect the chances?
Antonio Tovar says
If I have a English Ralts and a JPN Ditto would that work for the Masuda Method?
And do I really need to keep all hatched pokemon on my box or i can release them?