How to hatch eggs in 'Pokémon Go' and the chances of hatching a particular rare Pokémon

What do you do with a Pokémon Go inventory full of Pokémon eggs? Hatch them, of course.

Pokémon eggs in Pokémon Go are generated by spinning PokéStops. Even a moderate amount of play will quickly fill all nine slots in your egg inventory, and the eggs don't go away until they're hatched. Hatching them quickly and efficiently is an important way to find super-rare Pokémon like Lapras and Snorlax, especially if you never see them in the wild.

How to hatch eggs in Pokémon Go: Start walking

The first thing you need in order to hatch Pokémon eggs in Pokémon Go is an incubator — here's our guide on how to get them. To place an egg into an incubator is only the first step, however. Next, you need to start walking. Pokémon Go eggs are divided into three categories, based on how far you need to walk before they'll hatch: 2km, 5km and 10km eggs. 

As with many things regarding Pokémon Go, thanks to a lack of information from Niantic, no one is 100% sure how Pokémon Go measures the distance you've traveled when calculating how far along you are in hatching an egg. Early attempts to fool the system via walking on treadmills and tying smart devices to ceiling fans were not effective. But occasionally it can seem as though going out and walking or running doesn't work, either.

Pokémon Go eggs: Three different types and what they hatch

As you might expect, the longer you have to walk to hatch a Pokemon egg in Pokémon Go, the more likely you are to see a better or more rare Pokémon hatch from that egg. But that's not to say that even 10km eggs cannot disappoint you.

The Silph Research Group updates and publishes lists of which Pokémon you can expect from each flavor of Pokémon egg. Unfortunately, because we know so well which Pokémon are the best gym battlers, many of the potential hatching results may be disappointing. You can hatch a Lapras or a Snorlax from 10km eggs, for instance, but you can also hatch a Scyther, a Pinsir or some other Pokémon that will likely get its ass kicked at most of the gyms you encounter.

If you want a chance at finding that Lapras or Snorlax via hatching an egg, you have to constantly refresh your egg inventory by hatching them. Hatching the eggs you've acquired is the only way to make room for new eggs once your nine egg inventory slots are full — in other words: there is no way to discard an egg without hatching it. To empty your egg inventory out quickly, you are going to need to purchase incubators from the Pokémon Go shop. 

Egg hatching in Pokémon Go can get expensive, but depending on what sort of Pokémon spawn locations you have access to, it could be the only way you'll be able to catch some of the best Pokémon in the game.

More Pokémon Go guides, tips, tricks and updates

Check out Mic's Pokémon Go tips and tricks. Here are guides on how to get stardust, how to determine how long it will take you to reach level 40, the kind of Pokémon you get from 10km eggs, how to create new PokéStops, how to maximize your chances of catching Pokémon and how PokéStops distribute Pokémon eggs. Also check out how to catch Gen 2 baby Pokémon, our analysis of post-balance update Chansey and Rhydon and everything you need to know about finding the long-awaited Pokémon Ditto.