How To Breed Hidden Abilities in Pokémon ORAS

Greninja's hidden ability in battle (Pokémon ORAS)

When breeding Pokémon, passing down any abilities will always solely depend on the mother’s ability. In most cases, you can only pass down Hidden Abilities if the mother has its Hidden Ability. And each breeding attempt has a 60% chance to pass down Hidden Abilities to the offspring.

If you’re breeding with a Ditto, the non-Ditto parent can pass down their Hidden Ability. This method works regardless of the non-Ditto parent’s gender (male, female, or genderless).

Ability Inheritance Guide

A freshly-hatched Froakie with its Hidden Ability / Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
A freshly-hatched Froakie with its Hidden Ability

Before attempting to breed Hidden Ability Pokémon, it goes without saying that you will need a Pokémon with its Hidden Ability. Parents without their Hidden Ability with never pass down a Hidden Ability to their offspring.

If you breed two Pokémon of the same species, only the female will have a chance to pass down the Hidden Ability.

If you’re having trouble finding a female Hidden Ability Pokémon of a particular species, this is where Ditto will come in handy.

Being able to breed with most Pokémon, Ditto circumvents this restriction, giving male and genderless Pokémon a chance to pass down Hidden Abilities.

In either case, there’s a 60% chance for a Hidden Ability to be passed down to its offspring.

Tip: How To Hatch Eggs Fast

If you have access to the Battle Resort’s Day Care, breeding can be streamlined significantly. On your bike, hold the up button on the exact corner marked below (located east of the Day Care).

Doing this will make the camera auto-rotate whenever your reach one corner of the island. This essentially makes the path circular, making the process of hatching eggs faster & easier.

“Circular” egg-hatching route / Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
“Circular” egg-hatching route

What Are Hidden Abilities?

Hidden Abilities are a special type of ability that can only be obtained in specific ways.

In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the primary method of obtaining Hidden Abilities is using the DexNav.

In competitive battles, many Pokémon are only viable when they possess their Hidden Abilities. Since there’s no way to change regular abilities into Hidden Abilities, you should plan what ability you want your Pokémon to have ahead of time.

StormSwampert

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Though he spends most of his time playing a wide variety of games, Pokémon has always been his favorite. When he’s not playing games or writing guides, you can find him watching anime and collecting trading cards.

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