SoulGold Pokédex completion: the Pokémon you can only get by breeding

The 16 you have to hatch

You can’t catch these anywhere. No wild spawn, no gift, no trade. You hatch them or you don’t finish the dex, and every one counts toward the 608 you need for Arceus.

Dex	Baby	Breed from	Where to catch the parent	Incense
203	Elekid	Electabuzz or Electivire	Electabuzz: Route 44 (5%). Electivire: Mt. Silver 1F Item Room or Waterfall Room (15%)	None
204	Magby	Magmar or Magmortar	Magmar: Route 44 (5%), Burned Tower B1F (8%), Mt Mortar Depths 1 (15%). Magmortar: Mt. Silver 1F (15%)	None
239	Azurill	Marill or Azumarill	Marill: Ruins of Alph Outside (30%), Union Cave B1F (10%), Ilex Forest water	Sea Incense
246	Meditite	Medicham	Kitakami Mountain 1F to 3F (15%)	None
278	Wynaut	Wobbuffet	Dark Cave North Side, night only (15%)	Lax Incense
330	Bonsly	Sudowoodo	Route 36 static (respawns after a Title Defense)	Rock Incense
331	Mime Jr.	Mr. Mime or Mr. Rime	Mr. Mime: Lake of Rage (15%), Safari Zone Top Left (30%). Mr. Rime: Ice Path B1F (10%)	Odd Incense
332	Happiny	Chansey or Blissey	Chansey: Route 47 (40%) and the Route 47 grotto. Blissey: Route 47 (2%)	Luck Incense
346	Mantyke	Mantine	Route 33 water (9%), Route 41 water (5%)	Wave Incense
645	Capsakid	Scovillain	Route 27 (5%)	None
647	Flittle	Espathra	Kitakami Border (15%) and the Route 38 grotto	None
150	Cleffa	Clefairy	Route 34 (5%)	None
151	Igglybuff	Jigglypuff	Route 35 (15%)	None
309	Starly	Staravia	Route 37 (15%)	None
436	Axew	Fraxure	Victory Road 1F, B1F, B2F (5%)	None
481	Flabébé	Floette	Tohjo Pass (100%)	None

Every parent here is a straight catch. You never have to breed one parent to get another. The two 5 percent Route 44 parents tested my patience the most.

Six of them need an incense

If you skip the incense, you’ll just hatch the parent again. Give it to the parent (not the Ditto) before you drop them off:

• Sea Incense for Azurill
• Lax Incense for Wynaut
• Rock Incense for Bonsly
• Odd Incense for Mime Jr.
• Luck Incense for Happiny
• Wave Incense for Mantyke

Elekid and Magby don’t need one. They just aren’t in the wild.

I hatched three Marill in a row before I remembered the Sea Incense.

Buy the incenses at the Safari Zone Gate mart or on Route 32. You also get an Odd Incense from one of the Ruins of Alph chambers.

Catch two Clefairy and grab Fraxure early

Two of these parents will cost you a backtrack if you’re not paying attention.

Fraxure only shows up in Victory Road, at 5 percent. Catch one on your way to the League so you don’t have to walk back. Axew’s egg moves were fixed in 1.2.1, so a fresh hatch gets the full set.

Clefairy is 5 percent on Route 34. Catch two. The Goldenrod Department Store trade for Honedge wants one, and you need another to breed Cleffa. I caught one, traded it, and walked back to Route 34 grumbling.

The Day Care

It’s on Route 34, south of Goldenrod, same as HeartGold. Your rival gives you the Odd Egg here too. It’s a 1-in-7 roll between Bagon, Gible, Feebas, Riolu, Jangmo-o, Hisuian Zorua and Goomy, and Goomy has no other source, so check the commonly missed list if you didn’t get it.

A few things make egg grinding easier here:

• The Day Care Man warns you before you take a shiny egg. Shiny eggs also show blue dots.
• Shiny parents raise the shiny odds of their eggs.
• The Day Care gives you a Destiny Knot, so you can IV breed right away.
• The Oval Charm comes from your rival’s postgame legendary story. Finish that before you do a big egg grind. I did it the other way around and regretted it.
• New Life is the trophy for your first egg. Day Care Regular is for 30.

Meltan is in the Mineral egg group, so you can breed a second one after the Rinto Village trade.

Evolution-only Pokémon and the Linking Cord

Another 173 dex entries only come from evolving something you caught. Most are easy (Pidgey into Pidgeotto). These are the ones that catch people out.

Trade evolutions use a Linking Cord. Use it on Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler, Haunter, Phantump and the rest from your Bag. There’s one on Route 38, and the Indigo Plateau mart, the Game Corner and the Safari Zone Gate mart sell more. Held-item trade evolutions still need their item:

• Metal Coat, King’s Rock and Dragon Scale: Mahogany shop, after the Rocket Hideout
• Upgrade: Safari Zone Gate mart
• Dubious Disc: Mahogany
• Porygon itself: Game Corner prize only

Three places evolve Pokémon on level-up. Level Magneton, Nosepass and Charjabug inside Railway Cave for Magnezone, Probopass and Vikavolt. Level Eevee in Ilex Forest for Leafeon or on Ice Path B4F for Glaceon. Have the stone instead? A Thunder Stone, Leaf Stone or Ice Stone works too, and you can skip the trip.

Newer-gen evolutions, some of them easier:

• Gholdengo: just level 55. No coins.
• Runerigus: level 34, or the usual damage method.
• Kingambit: Leader’s Crest. There’s one in an Azalea item ball, or steal one from a Bisharp in Nameless Cave.
• Sirfetch’d: land two critical hits in one battle.
• Wyrdeer: use Psyshield Bash fourteen times.
• Annihilape: use Rage Fist twenty times.
• Hydrapple: learn Dragon Cheer.
• Maushold: level up at 25 during a battle.
• Hisuian Typhlosion: Dusk Stone on Quilava.
• Alolan Raichu: Strange Souvenir on Pikachu. It’s sold in Olivine.
• Alolan Sandslash: Ice Stone on the Safari Zone’s Alolan Sandshrew.

Archaludon is the annoying one. Metal Alloy is only a rare held item on wild Duraludon (5 percent in Kitakami Mountain and Victory Road). Bring a Thief or Covet user and keep going until one drops. That drop took me longer than any other evolution item.

Phione evolves into Manaphy at 58, Poipole into Naganadel at 50, and Meltan into Melmetal at 60. They’re not part of the 608, but you’ll want them anyway.

Do all sixteen in one trip

1. Catch Clefairy and Ditto on Route 34.
2. Catch Jigglypuff on Route 35 and Staravia on Route 37.
3. Catch Sudowoodo on Route 36 and Marill at the Ruins of Alph.
4. Surf Route 33 or 41 for Mantine.
5. Catch Mr. Mime at the Lake of Rage and Chansey on Route 47.
6. Catch Electabuzz and Magmar on Route 44.
7. Go to Dark Cave North after 20:00 for Wobbuffet.
8. Catch Fraxure in Victory Road, Floette in Tohjo Pass and Scovillain on Route 27.
9. Catch Medicham and Espathra once you reach Kitakami.
10. Buy the six incenses at the Safari Zone Gate.
11. Run them all through the Day Care with your Ditto.

I ran this whole loop over one long evening with a podcast on.

The babies evolve back into Pokémon you already have, so nothing goes to waste. If a parent won’t show up, the commonly missed guide has every low-rate spawn, and the grotto guide covers the Route 47 and Route 38 grottos for backup Chansey and Espathra.