>>54596089Breeding still has some benefits which casuals like myself like:
I can match trainer IDs to my current save.
Matching trainer IDs means any breeding Pokémon can be used an alternative starter as soon as trading or the breeding mechanic is unlocked.
Plenty of breeding Pokémon are not catchable in the wild (namely, a lot of the starters). To get specific Poké Balls, you need to breed from one of the events (like the raids) where that was possible.
Specialty Poké Balls are too rare to risk on wild Pokémon (unless you like reseting a lot), so breeding from a raid or similar setup is better.
If a Pokémon isn’t catchable in the wild and has multiple evolutions, you need access to multiple saves to get a living dex (the generation one problem).
Many people enjoy building custom Pokémon, even for casual play. I don’t think a world where we legitimately “hack” all the Pokémon in game maintains the same feeling as building up a Pokémon from an egg.
Breeding can sometimes be the only way to play with a Pokémon at a lower level.