As the name suggests, Legendary Pokemon (collectively referred to as “Legendaries”) are the most famous and powerful creatures within the Pokemon universe. Naturally, that makes them highly sought after in the long-running series of Nintendo games, with the latest installments, Pokemon Sword and Shield, being no exception. Most players seek to make their party of Pokemon the most dominant around, in addition to giving themselves some ammunition for trades conducted online or locally. This makes for a popular recurring question: Can you breed Legendary Pokemon in Sword and Shield? Here’s what you need to know.
You might’ve noticed a Pokemon Nursery or two during your adventures in the Galar region. These facilities will care for a pair of your captured Pokemon, which, provided the two are compatible, can result in a Pokemon Egg being discovered. Pokemon need to be of opposing sexes and coupled with either a member of their species or a Ditto, which can take the form of any Pokemon.
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Even knowing this information and setting everything up just right, unfortunately, Legendary Pokemon cannot be bred in either Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield. Upon returning to the Nursery after leaving a Legendary breeding couple there for an appropriate length of time (around 20 minutes), no Egg will be present and players will be told that “they don’t seem to like playing with each other.”
This message is intended to illustrate incompatible breeding pairs, confirming that it isn’t possible to breed Legendaries in Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield. This is common practice in the franchise, as exceedingly rare Legendary Pokemon wouldn’t stay that way for long if players could just keep producing more. That might come as unwelcome news, but try to be glad that your Legendary Pokemon will remain exactly that, rather than becoming quite commonplace instead.
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