Daycare Center Secrets in Pokemon Pearl

Leveling Up

• Leaving a Pokemon in the daycare center will allow you to level-up the Pokemon without battling. For every step you take, your Pokemon will gain one experience point. This is especially useful if you're trying to level-up lower level Pokemon. You can ride around on your bicycle and raise your Pokemon's level fairly quickly. However, you will be charged $100 by the daycare center for every level the Pokemon gains.

Breeding

• If you leave two Pokemon in the daycare center, there is a good possibility they will breed and produce a Pokemon egg. Under normal circumstances, the egg will always hatch Pokemon of the female's species, albeit at an unevolved form. Only Pokemon from the same "egg group" can breed to produce offspring. After a certain number of steps, depending on the Pokemon, an egg will be produced.

Ditto

• With the exception of Legendary Pokemon and Pokemon that have no gender, any Pokemon, male or female, can breed with a Ditto. In "Pokemon Pearl," Ditto can be found and captured on Route 218 and taken to the daycare center. Breeding Pokemon with Ditto takes longer than breeding Pokemon from the same egg group. The Pokemon this union produces will have all of the parent's Pokemon moves. This is especially useful for Pokemon with several different evolutions that can only be obtained once through the game, like Eevee.

"Baby" Pokemon

• There are several Pokemon that, when bred holding a special item, can produce a "baby" form of that Pokemon. Most of these baby or pre-evolution Pokemon can only be obtained through breeding. You will need Pokemon parents of opposite genders and the special item. If one of parent Pokemon is not holding the special item, you will only produce an egg containing the same Pokemon species as that of the parents. Seventeen baby Pokemon can only be obtained through breeding.

Shiny Pokemon

• Shiny Pokemon, which have an alternate color scheme, are very rare Pokemon that can be caught in the wild or hatched through the daycare center. In the wild, the odds of finding one are 1 in 8,192. In the daycare center, the odds are 1 in 1,356. The odds are better if you breed Pokemon from different countries.