This article is about the characters who teach Pokémon moves outside of their normal learnsets. For the characters who teach moves Pokémon can learn at previous levels and are also known as Move Tutors, seeMove Reminder.
In the game known asPokémon Stadium in Japanese that was only released in Japan, if the player clears the Master Ball division of the L1-30 Division with aPikachu in their party, the Pikachu can learnSurf.
In the international release of the game known asPokémon Stadium in English, if the player clears the Master Ball division of the Round 2Prime Cup with only Pokémon selected directly from a Game Pak with aPikachu in their party and does not save during the tournament, the Pikachu can learnSurf. Pikachu only has to be selected for the final battle and does not have to take part in the battle.
InPokémon Crystal,Bill's father can be visited outside theGoldenrod Game Corner every Wednesday and Saturday if the player has theCoin Case and has entered theHall of Fame. He teaches three different moves for 4000 coins, two of which wereTMs inGeneration I and returned to that status inGeneration III, and one of which later became a TM with the other two. These moves are breedable in the same fashion as TMs and HMs. After teaching a move, he goes back inside the Game Corner to gamble while nursing a drink, and will not be able to teach another move until the next available day.
The Move Tutor's son, Bill, complains that he doesn't work and is a drain on the family. His wife describes him as a formerPoké Maniac who spends all his free time gambling.
These tutors will teach a Pokémon a move otherwise unobtainable with theGeneration IIITM list. Many of the NPCs which gave a TM containing a move inGeneration I that is no longer available in TM form in the current generation will directly teach the move they would have given instead. These can only be taught once.
InPokémon Emerald, various Move Tutors can be found across theHoenn region. Some moves may be purchased at theBattle Frontier. Those that cannot be purchased may only be learned once from the tutor.
InPokémon XD, there is a Move Tutor inAgate Village known as the Teacher Lady. Like all Move Tutors in FireRed and LeafGreen and the free Move Tutors in Emerald, these moves can only be taught once. Not every move is available at the start, and they are unlocked after key moments in the story.
A Move Tutor atMt. Battle can teachMew moves for the cost of 5,000Poké Coupons. This can only be done after beating the game, but it can be done multiple times. Unlike other Move Tutors, this one does not give the player a direct choice in what Mew learns. Instead, he asks a few questions and then offers a full set of moves for Mew.
This Move Tutor can teach Mew any move it can otherwise learn byTM,HM, or from any other Generation III Move Tutor, plus one of the moves below:
There are two Move Tutors in Sinnoh—one onRoute 228 and one onRoute 210. The Move Tutor on Route 210 teachesDraco Meteor to a Dragon-type Pokémon which has had itsfriendship maximized. Similar to the Cape Brink Move Tutor in FireRed and LeafGreen, the Route 228 Move Tutor will teach one of the elementalvariations ofHyper Beam to a fully evolvedfirst partner Pokémon with maximum friendship. Unlike the Cape Brink tutor, it can be any of the fully evolved first partner Pokémon, but the move's type will always correspond with the Pokémon's primary type. Also unlike the Cape Brink tutor, it can be taught as many times as the player likes.
InPokémon Platinum, in addition to the Move Tutors in Diamond and Pearl, three new Move Tutors are added, inSnowpoint City, onRoute 212, and in theSurvival Area. These Move Tutors acceptshards in return for their services, charging eight shards of various colors per move.
Shard Move Tutors
Red Shards emphasize power. Blue Shards are for special effects. Yellow Shards are for status problems. Green Shards are what I like!
The following tutor moves are available inPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Similar to Emerald, most of the moves that a Move Tutor can teach to a Pokémon require a set amount of Battle Points, these tutors being located in theFrontier Access. Fourteen of these moves are exclusive to HeartGold and SoulSilver, while the rest are also obtainable in Platinum.
Move Tutors are available at theBattle Resort, immediately left of the Pokémon Center. Four Tutors have set up stands next to each other, and will teach Pokémon moves in exchange forBattle Points. The Tutors are not identified in any manner, so the moves taught at each are as follows, in order from left to right:
There are multiple Move Tutors in Alola. One Move Tutor, a femaleAce Trainer, in theSeafolk Village Pokémon Center teachesDraco Meteor to a Dragon-type Pokémon which has had itsfriendship maximized. The other Move Tutor in the same Pokémon Center will teachRayquaza its signature move,Dragon Ascent without a friendship requirement. TheHau'oli City Move Tutor can teach an elemental Pledge-move or one of the elemental versions ofHyper Beam to eligible Pokémon with maximum friendship.
Move Tutors are available in certain tents at the various beaches onMelemele,Akala, andUla'ula Islands, and at theBattle Tree onPoni Island. They will teach Pokémon moves forBattle Points (also referred to as Beach Points at the beaches). The moves taught at each are as follows, in order from left to right:
The moves the Move Tutors teach inLet's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! are all version-exclusive and all pertain to theplayer'sPartner Pokémon. Once a Tutor from a later location has been visited, a Tutor from a previous location will teach new moves that the later Tutor offers.
InThe Isle of Armor, 18 new moves (one for each type) were introduced that can only be learned via Move Tutor, made available at theMaster Dojo after the player clearsMustard's first trial. Players may exchange fiveArmorite Ore to teach their Pokémon one of these moves.
InPokémon Legends: Arceus,Zisu will teach moves to theplayer's Pokémon in exchange formoney. This is the only way for Pokémon to learn moves outside ofleveling up, asTMs andEgg Moves do not exist in this game. As with moves learned by leveling up, moves taught by Zisu are permanently retained, and they can be added or removed from the Pokémon's move set at any time. Because of this, Zisu cannot teach a Pokémon a move that it has already learned by leveling up. If a move is outside the level-up learnset, aSeed of Mastery is required tomaster it, allowing it to be used in the strong style or the agile style.
InPokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure,Electabuzz andPrimeape will teach the playerThunderbolt andIron Tail, respectively. This will drastically enhance Pikachu's performance in battle. Though Electabuzz does not actually teach Pikachu how to use Thunderbolt, he does help strengthen its power.
InPokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, once the story arc of the game's Epilogue has been completed,Hawlucha's Slam School will gain the option to teach anyconnected Pokémon various moves in return for a large amount ofPoké. The moves available include all moves taught by the Move Tutors inOmega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire,Volt Tackle, and all moves known by one of the game's first partner Pokémon at the beginning (these moves can only be taught to Pokémon in the same evolutionary line as the first partner Pokémon that had them).
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
InPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, once the credits roll, Gulpin will gain the option to teach anyrecruited Pokémon various moves in return for a large amount ofPoké. The moves available include all moves taught by the Move Tutors inUltra Sun and Ultra Moon except forSecret Sword andRelic Song, due to the absence ofKeldeo andMeloetta, respectively. Unlike Super Mystery Dungeon, all moves known by one of the game's first partner Pokémon at the beginning are learned through the"Remember" option and are only available to theplayer andpartner.
InPokémon the Series, several characters comparable to Move Tutors have appeared. However, instead of directly teaching the move to a Pokémon, these "Move Tutors" usually tend to just show an example of the move they are teaching, and the Pokémon has to work hard in order to properly master it.
InDelcatty Got Your Tongue,May was impressed by the moves used by Johnny, aDelcatty belonging toDr. Abby. May wanted herSkitty to learnBlizzard, but she was unsure in her own abilities and thought she would not be able to teach her Pokémon to use the move the way Abby, aTop Coordinator, had taught Johnny. Abby told Skitty to mimic Johnny and, after a bit of practice, Skitty successfully used Blizzard. The move was mastered inDisguise Da Limit, during theVerdanturfContest.
InJourney to the Unown!, after seeingKenny'sBreloom'sEnergy Ball, Ash asked Kenny to help hisTurtwig learn the same move. Kenny eventually agreed to teach Energy Ball to Turtwig, and, after many failures, the move was finally perfected inRiding the Winds of Change!. According to Kenny, learning the move would have been easier if Turtwig had knownBullet Seed, since the two attacks require the same kind of focusing of power.
InNo Stone Unturned!, theToucannon andTrumbeak that used to care forAsh's Rowlet before it joined its Trainer tried teaching it Bullet Seed, despiteRowlet being incapable of using the moveat the time. With the help of family new and old, Rowlet was able to apply these lessons to learnSeed Bomb instead.
InSwampert Smashes, Ruby stole a specialDraconid scroll fromZinnia, which Ultima later revealed to contain the essence of a move calledDragon Ascent. She explained that the scroll works in a similar way to her bracelets, making them both sort of primitiveTMs. Rubylater used the scroll to teach Dragon Ascent toRayquaza.
Trivia
In Pokémon Platinum, there are exactly twoshard-dependant tutorable moves for every type exceptNormal, which has six.
