Egg Move: Difference between revisions

An '''Egg move''' is any move passed down from a [[Pokémon breeding]] pair to their offspring, which it would not normally possess at the level it hatches. The term is also frequently used specifically for moves that a Pokémon can acquire only from breeding (i.e. moves that the offspring cannot learn via level-up, TM or HM, or [[Move Tutor]]), though a Pokémon can inherit moves from its parents in other ways.

Before breeding a Pokémon, one must consider whether to use any Egg moves in that Pokémon's moveset, and breed accordingly.  Sometimes, to get a certain combination of moves onto a Pokémon (such as a {{p|Spinda}} with both {{m|Wish}} and {{m|Baton Pass}}) several steps must be taken; this is called [[chain breeding]].

Prior to [[Generation VI]], all methods of learning Egg moves required the father to know the move prior to breeding, which made certain combinations of moves impossible to possess; for example, {{p|Tentacruel}} can learn both {{m|Rapid Spin}} and {{m|Mirror Coat}} as Egg moves, but no Pokémon in the Water 3 [[Egg Group]] can possess both moves at the same time prior to Generation VI (since Tentacool and Tentacruel now can). (Such a combination is possible in Generation VI, if one parent knows Rapid Spin and the other knows Mirror Coat.)

==Egg move breeding mechanics==

In [[Generation VI]], the offspring no longer inherits TM or HM moves for this reason alone; however, some TM or HM moves can be inherited as Egg moves or due to being a level-up move. For example, {{p|Archen}} cannot inherit {{m|Roost}} (despite being compatible with [[TM19]]), but {{p|Fletchling}} can (because Fletchling learns it via level-up), and {{p|Vullaby}} can (because it is a specific Egg move for Vullaby).

===Egg moves===

If either parent (male Pokémon only prior to Generation VI) knows an Egg move of the baby's species, that child will be born knowing the move (similar to the inheritance of TM moves described above). In Generation VI this includes some, but not all, moves which are available in TM form.

[[Incense]]-bred Pokémon often have a different or expanded Egg move list than their evolved forms, due to being classified in the Pokédex as a different species.

While not an Egg move, {{p|Pichu}} will know {{m|Volt Tackle}} if either of its parents holds a [[Light Ball]].

Genderless Pokémon cannot inherit any Egg moves, as they can only be bred with {{p|Ditto}}, and always start with a fixed number of moves. Some of these, such as {{p|Beldum}}, are also incapable of learning moves via TM and HM.