In response to popular demand, here’s an FAQ on the basics of breeding on particular Hidden Powers.

What is Hidden Power?

Hidden Power is an attack whose type and base power changes depending on the “stat genes”, or DVs, of the Pokémon using it. It’s minimum power is 30, maximum 70, and can be any type except for Normal. It’s very useful on Pokémon who have high offensive stats but not enough type coverage.

How can I get my Pokémon to learn a Hidden Power of a particular type?

You don’t. Hidden Power formulas are based off DVs, which are set whenever a Pokémon is first encountered – whether they are found in the wild, hatched from an egg, or obtained through a special event – and cannot be changed by any means besides hacking the game and editing the bits yourself. So in order to get the right Hidden Power, you must selectively breed and crossbreed lots of hatchlings until you get lucky enough to hatch the right one. Which is what this FAQ is all about.

Okay. Where do I start?

First, you need to find out what DVs are required in order to get the Hidden Power you’re looking for (preferably one with a base power in the 67-70 range). Using the attached stat chart (under the section “Hidden Power”), look for the combinations of DVs that will result in a Hidden Power of that type. For example:

One combination for a Fighting-type Hidden Power (or HP Fighting) is odd\odd\even\even\even\even, meaning that the HP and Attack DVs are odd-numbered while the Defense, Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense DVs are even-numbered.

Furthermore, in order to attain a Hidden Power with a base power of 70, all the DVs must be one of the following numbers: 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30, and 31.

I also want DVs of 26 or over in every defensive category (including HP), and the 30-31 range in Attack and Speed. Also, I’m not going to put this on a Special Attack-based Pokémon, so Special Attack doesn't need to be high. So when I’m looking for potential parents for these Pokémon with special Hidden Powers, I’m going to look for:

- HP DVs: 26, 27, 30, 31
- Attack DVs: 30, 31
- Defense DVs: 26, 30
- Speed DV: 30
- Special Attack DVs: 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30
- Special Defense DVs: 26, 30

Because I can still obtain HP Fighting even when HP and Attack are even, I included even-numbered HP and Attack DVs as possibilities for a 70-base HP Fighting.

Okay, I’ve figured out what sort of DVs I need to get the Hidden Power I want. How do I find out what these DVs are?

You use the attached stat chart. It displays the stats of a Pokémon across a wide range of DVs, so you can compare the stats of your Pokémon against the chart and narrow down the possibilities for its DVs. (The DV numbers are listed on the left side of the chart.)

1) Simply enter your Pokémon, its level, its personality, and effort points (if it has any from battling) on the chart.

2) Then, highlight the stats in the chart that match those of your Pokémon a different color.

3) Use a Rare Candy to level up your Pokémon one level. Adjust the level on the chart accordingly.

4) If any of the stats in the boxes that were highlighted no longer match that of your Pokémon’s stats, dehighlight them. Do not rehighlight any areas.

5) Repeat step 4 until you have fully narrowed down your DV possibilities.

How should I select parents?

A good starting point is a parent who has three or more of the DVs you want. Once you’ve selected your parents, breed them a couple times and select hatchlings who have more of the DVs you want. Repeat this a few times with different generations (make sure you breed parents who have more of the right DVs each generation), or until you get lucky enough to get the Hidden Power-gifted baby you want.

That’s a lot of eggs.

It is.

How the hell do you find time to hatch all those eggs?

I hatch eggs during Physics. My teacher doesn’t seem to notice.

What do I do if I don’t have a Physics teacher that’s oblivious to the fact that I’m thumbing the D-pad on my GBA SP while he’s trying to lecture me?

Go play RSbot?

(NOTE: Attached stat chart is two posts below.)