"[Random thoughts] Breeding needs to happen with Gen 4"

#PokemonGO: I don’t see many posts regarding Pokémon breeding on TSR, where it is generally considered less of a priority than PvP or trading (and I can totally understand that).However, I have been thinking about what new cool mechanics breeding would bring to the current game and concluded that it should really launch with the release of Gen 4.I) Breeding mechanicI will not dive into the details of breeding in the main series and how it could be implemented in Pogo, u/stayKeener did it very well in this postThere are still a few things worth mentioning:IV passing:Just like in the main series, Niantic could implement an IV passing mechanic through breeding. A very easy way would be for each parent to pass a random IV value (either Atk, Def or HP), and the third one being randomly attributed to the egg. It would mean that to guarantee two full IV values for the egg, both parents would have to be at 100% IV.This very straightforward mechanic would allow breeding to be a viable option for some “in depth” gameplay, without it being too broken and guaranteeing 90% to 100% IV eggs.Legacy moves:The main series have the egg moves (unusual moves a species can learn under certain circumstances but not through levelling, and that can be passed to the egg).There is no such thing in Pogo, but the equivalent could be legacy moves.If we breed a Pokémon with a legacy move (say Dragonite with Dragon Claw), the hatched Pokémon (or its final evolution in that case) could also have this attack. It would be a really fun way to reintroduce these moves rather than having them lost forever.IV an moves passing was (and still is) one of the most challenging (and actually fun) mechanics in the main series. Choosing the best couple of parents in terms of IV and moves requires some time and consideration.II) How would breeding work in Pogo?Then again, it could be really simple. The idea would be to create a new “day care” page in the main menu, or “day care” tab in the Pokémon menu. Both would work.You chose two Pokémon, put them in the day care, and after a few km of walking you get an egg (IIRC in the main series the probability of finding an egg depends on the two species breeding and their affinity, with an added random factor that can make it either very easy or quite hard to get one).The main series have a list of groups, with each Pokémon belonging to one or two groups. The species belonging to the same group can breed. This is where the Skitty and Wailord meme comes from: if you put one of each (from opposite genders) in a daycare, you can actually get an egg! The species of the egg is the same as the mother’s.Breeding would also make Ditto finally relevant, since it can breed with every single Pokémon, no matter which gender (except the Legendary and – almost all the – Mythical ones, more on that later).In case breeding is ever implemented, keep all you 15 IV Dittos!Once you get an egg in the daycare, the egg could either join the other eggs in the current dedicated page, or stay on the day care page. Another way to limit mass breeding could be that you can only have one egg at a time in the day care, and you have to hatch it before getting another one (this wouldn’t necessarily require an incubator. The current incubators would stay exclusive to the random egg system already in place).III) What would breeding bring to the current gameplay?Some Pokémon are a pain to get. I am still missing Hitmontop, and evolving Togepi is a real nightmare when you are not lucky enough to hatch it.It is so infuriating to be missing a few candies for an evolution, having to walk the Pokémon as your buddy for weeks, and then finally hatching one with higher IV the second you’re done with your 200km walk, your mediocre one is evolved, and you have no candy left.Breeding would guarantee the species of the Pokémon you’re getting and, if done right, would allow you to hatch a very high IV baby.I love collecting and maxing out 100% Pokémon, and being able to breed them would make me go crazy! (Also relevant for strategy…)IV)Why does it have to happen with Gen 4?Even though breeding was introduced in Gen 2 in the main series, Gen 4 makes a lot of use of this mechanic. [Mild spoilers]Baby Pokémon:Pichu, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Togepi, Tyrogue, Smoochum, Elekid, Magby, Azurill and Wynaut were all introduced in Gens 2 and 3.Gen 4 introduces 8 new baby Pokémon, with one of them, Riolu, being similar to Togepi (the baby Pokémon of an evolved species introduced in the same Gen), bringing them to a total of 18.If Niantic keeps baby Pokémon out of the wild, hatching one of them will become increasingly hard. Breeding would allow players who invest a bit of time to get the necessary candy and IV for a (relatively) fast evolution.Take the example of Togepi: it will be getting a third evolution in Gen 4, and would likely require between 100 and 150 candies to evolve from first to final stage. The only way of getting Togepi candy right now is either to hatch a Togepi (random) or catch a wild Togetic (lol). A bit of RNG in a game is fine. At some point, it stops being fun and only gets frustrating.Breeding would solve this issue: evolving Togepi would still be a lot of work, but the player has control over the process. It requires more thinking and less dumb luck.Special baby case: Mime Jr.I keep seeing people debating whether Mime Jr. should be a second European regional, or if Mr. Mime should stop being a regional altogether.Mime Jr being a baby Pokémon, it will not be in the wild. It being a regional also makes it impossible to hatch. At one point, Niantic will have to tweak the game one way or another, unless… Breeding.Keep Mr. Mime as a regional, and whoever catches one can simply breed a Mime Jr. (everybody has a Ditto by now, we won’t even need to have a Mr. Mime of the opposite gender).The most obvious reason: PhioneFor me, this Pokémon is what makes the launch of breeding with Gen 4 obvious. The only way of getting Phione in the main series is to breed Mythical Pokémon Manaphy with a Ditto.Phione might obviously be released as a special research encounter, but that will very likely be the case of Manaphy already. Getting Phione through breeding would stay true to the main series while diversifying a bit the methods of acquisition of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.The most compelling argument, ever:I missed Party hat Pichu! It was the very first I missed, please Niantic let me breed one!Tl;dr Breeding is cool and fun, boosts the strategy, satisfies the 100% IV maniacs, helps evolving rare Pokémon, and makes sense considering the amount of baby Pokémon we are getting in Gen 4. And I want Party hat Pichu.PS: not a native English speaker and my first post on reddit, tell me if something’s wrong! via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/2qNU8NU