The Day Care in Pokémon X is on Route 7, the riverside road just west of Camphrier Town. It’s the small house with a fenced yard next to the bridge where a Snorlax sleeps. You can’t get there until you’ve woken Snorlax with the Poké Flute from Parfum Palace, which comes after your first Gym badge. Leave two compatible Pokémon with the Day-Care Lady inside, then walk. When the Day-Care Man by the fence turns to face the road, he has an Egg for you. Pokémon Y has the same Day Care in the same place, and it works the same way.
The Route 7 Day Care at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Location | Route 7 (Rivière Walk), the first building west of the Snorlax bridge out of Camphrier Town |
| When you can use it | After the Santalune Gym and the Poké Flute, before the Cyllage City Gym |
| How many Pokémon | Two at a time, left with the Day-Care Lady inside |
| Cost | Free to leave. Picking one up costs $100 plus $100 for every level it gained |
| Who gives you the Egg | The Day-Care Man standing outside, left of the door |
| Egg-ready sign | He stops facing the fence and turns toward the road |
| How often it checks | About once every 256 steps |
| Best early helpers | Fletchinder with Flame Body, the Bicycle, and the Destiny Knot from Hotel Cyllage |
| Pokémon Y | Same place, same rules |
Where is the Day Care in Pokémon X?
Route 7 runs west from Camphrier Town toward the Connecting Cave. Leave Camphrier on its west side and you come to a wooden bridge over a canal. The Pokémon Day Care is the house on the far side of that bridge, north of the road, with a fenced yard and a sign that reads “Pokémon Day Care. We Take Care of Your Precious Pokémon.” Further west along the same road is the Battle Chateau. The Route 7 page covers the rest of the route, and the Kalos map shows where it sits in the region.
There is only one Day Care in Kalos. You won’t find a second one later, so every Egg you breed in X or Y comes from this house.
Getting past the sleeping Snorlax
The first time you try Route 7, a Snorlax is asleep on the bridge and nothing gets it to move. Head north up Route 6 to Parfum Palace instead. Help the palace owner corner his runaway Furfrou in the garden, watch his fireworks, and he agrees to lend you the Poké Flute. His butler hands it to you. Take it back to the bridge and give it to the man from Shabboneau Castle standing there. He plays it, and the flute stays with him, so you don’t keep it. Snorlax wakes up and attacks at Lv. 15. You can catch it or knock it out. Either way, the bridge is clear and the Day Care is right in front of you. Full details are on the Route 7 Snorlax section.
In story order, this happens after Viola’s badge in Santalune City and before Grant’s Gym in Cyllage City. That makes the Day Care available very early, long before you can catch a Ditto.
How to leave Pokémon at the Day Care
- Go inside and talk to the Day-Care Lady at the counter. She says, “We can raise two of your Pokémon.” On your first visit, Tierno and Trevor are in there too and explain that you can leave up to two Pokémon at once.
- Choose one or two Pokémon. She won’t take the last Pokémon in your party: “You can’t leave your only Pokémon with me! How would you battle?” She also won’t take an Egg.
- Walk. The Pokémon gain experience from your steps, and if the pair is compatible, Eggs start appearing.
- Come back to pick them up. She tells you how many levels each one grew and asks for the fee before handing it back.
Day Care fees
Leaving Pokémon costs nothing. When you take one back, the fee is $100, plus $100 for each level it gained while it was boarded. A Pokémon that didn’t level at all still costs $100. If you’re short, she says “You don’t have enough money…” and keeps it until you come back with enough.
| Levels gained | Fee to pick it up |
|---|---|
| 0 | $100 |
| 1 | $200 |
| 5 | $600 |
| 10 | $1,100 |
| 30 | $3,100 |
What happens to boarded Pokémon
- They gain 1 Exp. Point per step you take. That’s slow, and you pay for it at pick-up anyway. For real training, the Exp. Share and a Lucky Egg are far faster.
- They never evolve there. A Pokémon that passes its evolution level while boarded evolves only after you take it out and it levels up once more.
- They learn level-up moves on their own. If a Pokémon already knows four moves, the oldest move is pushed out, and that includes HM moves. The Move Relearner can give back a lost level-up move for a Heart Scale, and a hatched Pokémon can also relearn the moves it knew when it hatched. She won’t teach TM, HM or tutor moves, though. Use the TM or HM again, and to protect a move you can’t replace, take the Pokémon out before it reaches a new level-up move.
- Only steps count. Leaving the 3DS on, or sitting in a menu, does nothing.
What the Day-Care Man’s lines mean
Talk to the Day-Care Man outside, left of the door, and he tells you how your pair gets along. Each line matches a fixed chance of finding an Egg at every check. The Oval Charm raises the first three.
| What he says | What it means | Egg chance (with Oval Charm) |
|---|---|---|
| “The two seem to get along very well!” | Same species, different Original Trainers | 70% (88%) |
| “The two seem to get along.” | Same species and same Trainer, or different species and different Trainers | 50% (80%) |
| “The two don’t really seem to like each other very much.” | Different species, same Original Trainer | 20% (40%) |
| “The two prefer to play with other Pokémon more than with each other.” | They can’t breed together | 0% (0%) |
Ditto counts as a different species from its partner. A Ditto you caught yourself paired with your own Pokémon gives the 20% line, and a traded Ditto gives the 50% line. If you only ever see the last line, nothing will happen however far you walk. Go to which Pokémon can breed to find out why.
How to tell an Egg is ready
The game checks for an Egg about once every 256 steps. That count has nothing to do with hatching, which is covered below. If the roll succeeds, the Day-Care Man changes pose. Normally he stands with his back to the road, looking over the fence at the yard. When he has an Egg, he turns around and faces the road. You can see this from a distance, so you don’t have to stop and talk to him every lap.
Talk to him and he says the Pokémon was holding an Egg and asks if you want it. Say yes. If you say no, he asks a second time and warns, “I will take it and never give it back.” Say no again and that Egg is gone for good. The pair keeps producing new Eggs, though.
If your party is full, he says you have no room and to come back once you’ve made room. He holds onto the Egg until then, but while he holds it, no new Egg is made. Keep one party slot free while you breed. Five Pokémon is the easiest setup, so every Egg goes into slot six.
A good place to walk
Ride the Bicycle back and forth along the straight road in front of the Day Care. You pass the Day-Care Man on every lap, so you see his pose change right away. You rack up steps much faster on the Bicycle than on foot. Stay on the dirt road and out of the grass and flower beds, and wild Pokémon won’t interrupt you.
Which Pokémon can breed together
Two Pokémon can make an Egg if either of these is true:
- A male and a female that share at least one Egg Group. They don’t need to be the same species. A male Pikachu and a female Eevee both belong to the Field group, so they can breed, and the Egg is the mother’s species, as its first stage.
- Any breedable Pokémon with Ditto. Ditto breeds with males, females and genderless Pokémon such as Magnemite. The Egg is the other parent’s species, as its first stage. One exception: Manaphy with Ditto makes a Phione Egg.
These pairs never make an Egg:
- Two males, or two females, even of the same species.
- Two Ditto.
- A genderless Pokémon with anything but Ditto.
- Anything from the Undiscovered Egg Group. That includes Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, Mewtwo and the other legendaries, and baby Pokémon such as Azurill, Pichu and Munchlax. Breed their evolved forms instead. A Marill or Azumarill makes an Azurill Egg only when one parent holds a Sea Incense. Without it, you get a Marill Egg.
The Egg hatches at Lv. 1, usually as the first stage of the mother’s line, or of the non-Ditto parent. A few families work differently. An Egg from Nidoran♀ can hatch as either Nidoran, and an Egg from Illumise can hatch as Volbeat or Illumise, 50/50. Manaphy’s Eggs hatch into Phione. Some babies, like Azurill and Munchlax, only appear when a parent holds the right incense. Nidorina and Nidoqueen can’t breed at all.
Where to catch Ditto in Pokémon X and Y
You can’t get Ditto early. It lives in Pokémon Village, off Route 20 south of Snowbelle City, which the story reaches before your eighth badge. Until then, breed male and female pairs.
| Where | How | Chance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Village | Yellow flowers | 20% | 48–49 |
| Pokémon Village | Purple flowers | 10% | 50 |
| Friend Safari (after the Elite Four) | Normal type, when a friend’s Safari has Ditto in slot 3 | Varies | 30 |
Friend Safari Ditto have at least two perfect IVs, which makes them the better breeding partners. The Normal Friend Safari list explains how to find one now that the online services are gone. Ditto’s rates and levels are the same in X and Y.
How to hatch Eggs faster
Every species has a set number of Egg cycles, and in X and Y one cycle is 257 steps. An Egg hatches when its cycles run out, so it needs at most its cycles times 257 steps. If you pick the Egg up partway through a cycle, it hatches up to 256 steps sooner. Flame Body takes two cycles off at a time instead of one, so an odd number of cycles rounds up. A 5-cycle Egg needs 3 cycles, not 2½.
- Keep a Pokémon with Flame Body or Magma Armor in your party. It roughly halves the steps. It works from any party slot, even if that Pokémon has fainted. The easy option is Fletchling from Route 2, Route 3 or Santalune Forest. A Fletchling with its regular ability, Big Pecks, evolves into Fletchinder at Lv. 17 and gets Flame Body on evolution. Slugma and Magcargo also work. Two Flame Body Pokémon don’t stack.
- Hatching Power, an O-Power, shortens hatching even more and stacks with Flame Body. Mr. Bonding gives it to you in Café Introversion in Lumiose City. It’s the last O-Power he hands out. You need all the others first, and your style in Lumiose City has to be close to the maximum, so it usually comes late in the game.
- Ride the Bicycle on a long straight path. On Route 7, the road in front of the Day Care works fine.
| Example Pokémon | Egg cycles | Steps, at most | With Flame Body, at most |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magikarp | 5 | 1,285 | 771 (3 cycles) |
| Marill, or Azurill with Sea Incense | 10 | 2,570 | 1,285 (5 cycles) |
| Fletchling | 15 | 3,855 | 2,056 (8 cycles) |
| Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie | 20 | 5,140 | 2,570 (10 cycles) |
| Eevee | 35 | 8,995 | 4,626 (18 cycles) |
| Snorlax, or Munchlax with Full Incense | 40 | 10,280 | 5,140 (20 cycles) |
Snorlax only makes a Munchlax Egg if one parent holds a Full Incense. Without it, the Egg hatches into Snorlax. If you’re breeding the Kalos starters for spares, those 20-cycle Eggs are a good use of a Fletchinder.
Breeding items and where to get them in Kalos
| Item | Effect when a parent holds it | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Destiny Knot | The baby gets 5 of its 6 IVs from the parents instead of 3 | Cyllage City: the maid at the top of the stairs on Hotel Cyllage 2F gives it to you |
| Everstone | The baby always gets the holder’s Nature | Geosenge Town: the scientist in the house northwest of the Pokémon Center |
| Power items (Weight, Bracer, Belt, Lens, Band, Anklet) | The baby gets the holder’s IV for one stat | Battle Maison in Kiloude City, 16 BP each |
| Oval Charm (key item) | Raises the Egg chance in the table above | Professor Sycamore, after you’ve seen the whole Kalos Pokédex (details) |
| Incense | Needed for some baby Pokémon, such as Sea Incense for Azurill and Full Incense for Munchlax | The incense seller in Coumarine City |
The Destiny Knot is the one to get early, because Hotel Cyllage is in Cyllage City, the next Gym town after Route 7. Give it to either parent. The Everstone’s Geosenge Town is next on the road after Cyllage City.
What a baby inherits
| Trait | How it’s passed down in X and Y |
|---|---|
| Species | Usually the mother’s first stage, or the non-Ditto parent’s. Incense babies, Nidoran, Volbeat and Illumise, and Phione are the exceptions |
| IVs | 3 from the parents, picked at random. 5 if either parent holds a Destiny Knot |
| Nature | Random, unless a parent holds an Everstone. That parent’s Nature is then passed every time. If both hold one, it’s one of the two |
| Ability | Usually matches the mother’s ability slot, or the non-Ditto parent’s |
| Hidden Ability | 60% if the mother has it. A male or genderless Pokémon with its Hidden Ability can pass it only when bred with Ditto |
| Poké Ball | The mother’s ball, even when she’s bred with Ditto. Males and genderless Pokémon bred with Ditto give a regular Poké Ball. A Master Ball or Cherish Ball never passes down |
| Egg Moves | From either parent in X and Y |
| Level-up moves | Moves both parents know that the baby learns by level-up |
| TM and HM moves | Not passed down in X and Y |
A Power item and a Destiny Knot work together. The Power item’s stat is locked in, and the Knot fills four more, so you still get five inherited IVs, not six. Hidden Ability Pokémon come mainly from the Friend Safari and from hordes. Once you have one female with the ability, breeding spreads it.
How to get the Oval Charm
Professor Sycamore gives you the Oval Charm in Lumiose City once you’ve seen every Pokémon in all three parts of the Kalos Pokédex: Central, Coastal and Mountain. He explains that with it, “Eggs are discovered at the Pokémon Day Care more easily than normal.” Seen counts, so you don’t need to catch them all.
The game skips a few Pokémon for this check: Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Mewtwo, plus the Mythical Diancie, Hoopa and Volcanion. You don’t need to see any of them, so there’s no need to visit the Unknown Dungeon first. Check your progress on the Kalos Pokédex page.
The Shiny Charm is a separate, much bigger reward. Sycamore gives it once you’ve caught every Pokémon in the National Pokédex, not counting Mythical Pokémon. Don’t mix the two up.
Shiny Eggs and the Masuda method
Breeding a Pokémon from your own game with one from a different-language game boosts shiny odds for every Egg to 1 in 683, or 1 in 512 with the Shiny Charm. A Japanese Ditto is the classic partner. With the GTS gone, that foreign parent has to come from a local trade or Pokémon Bank. The full setup is in the Masuda method section of our shiny guide, and the Poké Radar is the other good shiny option in Kalos.
Is the Day Care different in Pokémon Y?
No. Pokémon Y’s Day Care is in the same house on Route 7 with the same couple, the same fees and the same Egg rules. The only Route 7 difference between versions is out in the grass: X has Swirlix and Y has Spritzee in the same slot. You can only breed what you own, so a version exclusive has to be caught or traded in before you can make Eggs of it.
Breeding is also the easiest way to get extra Eevee. The Eevee location page covers the hotel trade and the Route 10 encounters. Once you have a few, the Espeon and Umbreon guides show what to do with them.
Why you aren’t getting an Egg
- He says they’d rather play with other Pokémon. The pair can’t breed. Check genders, Egg Groups, and whether one of them is Undiscovered or genderless.
- He still faces the fence after a long walk. On the 20% line it can take a while. Use a traded partner or the same species to move up a line, and get the Oval Charm later.
- You’re not walking. Standing still, spinning in place against a wall or leaving the game on doesn’t count. Walk or ride the Bicycle.
- Your party is full. He keeps the waiting Egg and won’t make another until you take it. Free a slot.
- You turned an Egg down twice. That Egg is gone. Keep walking for the next one.
- The wrong species hatched. The baby follows the mother or the non-Ditto parent. For Azurill, Munchlax and other incense babies, the right incense has to be held.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Day Care in Pokémon X?
On Route 7, just west of Camphrier Town. It’s the first building past the bridge where Snorlax sleeps, on the north side of the road.
Is there a Day Care in Pokémon Y?
Yes, the same one. Pokémon Y’s Day Care is on Route 7 in the same spot, and it works exactly like X’s.
How do I know if the Day Care has an Egg?
Look at the Day-Care Man outside. When he’s turned toward the road instead of the fence, an Egg is waiting. Talk to him and say yes.
How many steps does it take to get an Egg?
The game checks about every 256 steps. With a 70% pair you usually have one after a check or two. With a 20% pair it can take several checks. Hatching is a separate count that depends on the species.
Does the Day Care level up Pokémon in X and Y?
Yes, by 1 Exp. Point per step. They learn new level-up moves but never evolve while they’re boarded, and you pay $100 plus $100 per level gained to take them back.
When can I get a Ditto in Pokémon X?
Not until Pokémon Village near Snowbelle City, late in the story. It appears in the yellow and purple flowers there. After the Elite Four, a Normal Friend Safari can have one too.
Can I breed Xerneas, Yveltal or Mewtwo?
No. They belong to the Undiscovered Egg Group, which can’t breed with anything, Ditto included.
Do I need to see Mewtwo for the Oval Charm?
No. Mewtwo is skipped, along with Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Diancie, Hoopa and Volcanion. You only need to have seen the rest of the Central, Coastal and Mountain Pokédexes.