Egg Move
An Egg Move[1] (Japanese: タマゴわざ Egg Move), capitalized as Egg move in Pokémon Stadium 2, is a special move that a Pokémon is able to inherit through breeding from only one parent. Egg Moves often (but not always) cannot be learned through other means.
Aside from Egg Moves, there are several other ways of inheriting moves from parents. Prior to Generation VI, a bred Pokémon will inherit any TM/HM moves which its father knows, if it is compatible with that TM/HM. In Pokémon Crystal, a bred Pokémon will inherit any compatible Move Tutor moves which its father knows. Additionally, if both parents know a move that the bred Pokémon can learn via level-up, it will inherit that move. From Pokémon Emerald onward, a bred Pichu will know Volt Tackle if either of its parents are holding a Light Ball. However, inheriting moves in these ways is distinct from inheriting moves as Egg Moves.
Mechanics
Breeding
If either parent (only the male parent prior to Generation VI) knows a move that is an Egg Move for the child's species, that child will be born knowing the move.
For example, if a male Snorlax that knows Belly Drum is bred with a female Charizard that knows Dragon Rush, the resulting Charmander will know Belly Drum and Dragon Rush (or only Belly Drum, prior to Generation VI).
| Parents |  Snorlax ♂ |
 Charizard ♀ |
|---|---|---|
| Moves | Belly Drum | Dragon Rush |
| Rest | Shadow Claw | |
| Zen Headbutt | Flamethrower | |
| Body Slam | Fly | |
| Offspring |  Charmander | |
| Moves | Scratch | |
| Growl | ||
| Belly Drum | ||
| Dragon Rush* | ||
Obtaining Pokémon with Egg Moves
There are some situations where it is possible to encounter a Pokémon that knows an Egg Move in the wild.
- In Pokémon Emerald, Seedot and Nuzleaf encountered through a mass outbreak will know Leech Seed, a move otherwise only available to them as an Egg Move.
- In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, it is possible to encounter Hidden Pokémon that already know a random Egg Move as their first move. A few special Hidden Pokémon even appear on Route 102 in fixed areas, and these particular Pokémon always have a specific Egg Move as their first move.
- In Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, Pokémon obtained via Island Scan will know a specific Egg Move (unless they have none).
- In Pokémon Sword and Shield, Brilliant Pokémon will know a random Egg Move.
- In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokémon found in Pokémon Hideaways may know a random Egg Move, excluding the moves that the Pokémon also learn via level-up.
- In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, some Pokémon encountered in Tera Raid Battles and wild Terastallized Pokémon will know Egg Moves.
Egg Move transference
In Pokémon Sword and Shield, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it is possible to transfer Egg Moves between Pokémon.
Pokémon Nursery
In Pokémon Sword and Shield and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, if two Pokémon of the same species are placed together in the Pokémon Nursery, if one of the Pokémon has an empty move slot and the other knows an Egg Move, the Pokémon with the empty slot will learn the Egg Move. This will occur even if the Pokémon are the same gender.
Egg Moves are transferred in the same order they appear on the move list; if the Pokémon learning moves has fewer move slots than the number of Egg Moves known by the other Pokémon, only the moves highest up on the teaching Pokémon's move list are learned, up to the number of empty slots.
Only Egg Moves for the Pokémon's current species can be transferred. If the Pokémon has a Baby Pokémon as a pre-evolved form that has different Egg Moves, those moves cannot be transferred by evolved Pokémon this way. For example, Munchlax has Belch as an Egg Move, but Snorlax does not; even if two Snorlax are placed in the Pokémon Nursery, one knowing Belch and one with an empty move slot, Belch will never be transferred because it is not an Egg Move for Snorlax.
Prior to The Isle of Armor expansion, this was the only way for Pokémon with the Gigantamax Factor to learn Egg Moves.
Picnic
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, if the player goes on a picnic while one of their party Pokémon holds a Mirror Herb and has at least one empty move slot, they may learn an Egg Move from another party member. This is the only way for male-only and gender unknown Pokémon, as well as Battle Bond Greninja and Bloodmoon Ursaluna to inherit Egg Moves.
Relearning Egg Moves
From Generation VI onward, any move that a Pokémon knew when it hatched can be taught to it again by the Move Reminder if it ever forgets it (unless the Pokémon is given a battle-ready symbol), regardless of whether that move is an Egg Move. Forgotten hatched moves will be listed at the top of the list of moves that can be relearned, above the Pokémon's forgotten level-up moves.
Egg Moves transferred through the Pokémon Nursery or present on the original moveset of a Brilliant Pokémon in Generation VIII cannot be relearned from the Move Reminder if forgotten.
Egg Moves transferred using a Mirror Herb in Generation IX cannot be relearned using the Move Reminder feature if forgotten, but can instead be retaught using the Mirror Herb again.
Limitations
Mutually-exclusive Egg Moves
Prior to Generation VI, Egg Moves can only be inherited from the father Pokémon during breeding, making certain combinations of moves impossible to possess. Starting in Generation VI, this is no longer an issue, due to both parents being able to pass down Egg Moves at the same time.
For example, Tentacool can learn both Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat as Egg Moves, but no Pokémon in the Water 3 Egg Group can possess both moves at the same time in any game prior to Generation VI, so it is impossible for Tentacool to inherit both moves together. However, starting in Generation VI, both parents are able to pass down Egg Moves at the same time, making it possible for a Tentacool to inherit these moves if each of its parents knows one of the moves.
Incense breeding
For families that have baby Pokémon which can only be produced when using Incense, often the baby Pokémon and its evolved form have different Egg Moves. Prior to Generation VIII, if each has an Egg Move that the other does not, and both moves are only available to that family as Egg Moves, the two moves become mutually exclusive.
For example, starting in Generation VI, Budew has Extrasensory as an Egg Move while Roselia has Bullet Seed as an Egg Move, but neither has the other move as their own Egg Move. Because in Generation VI the Roselia line only has access to both moves as Egg Moves, a Roselia cannot know both moves simultaneously.
Unobtainable Egg Moves
In some games, sometimes a move is programmed as an Egg Move for a certain Pokémon, but there was no way of legitimately obtaining it (without using glitches). This happens when a Pokémon has an Egg Move that no Pokémon in their Egg Group can learn except as an Egg Move and there are no valid chain breeding pathways, or when the only Pokémon in their Egg Group that can learn the move cannot pass it to the Pokémon. This cannot occur for Pokémon in the Field Egg Group, due to male Smeargle being able to pass down any Egg Move.
In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, because Pokémon transferred into the game from other games have their movesets temporarily reset, several Egg Moves that had been possible to learn in previous games were unobtainable in these games until the 3.0.0 Pokémon HOME update, which allowed Pokémon transferred from other games that have the move marked as relearnable (e.g. by having it known upon hatching) to be retaught when moving the Pokémon into those games.
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, because Egg Moves can be passed using a Mirror Herb regardless of Egg Groups, any move that can be learned by at least one Pokémon can be inherited as an Egg Move. However, on release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, because there were some moves that no Pokémon could learn, there were still several Egg Moves that are unobtainable. These became available when Pokémon HOME updated to 3.0.0.
The following is a full list of all historically unobtainable Egg Moves.
| Games | # | Pokémon | Egg Move | Parent Egg Groups | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS | 0001 |  |
Bulbasaur | Charm | Monster | Grass | Nidoran♀ can learn Charm by breeding and is in the Monster Egg Group, but cannot pass the move down due to being female-only. This move was intended to be learnable by Cubone and Marowak.[2]
Regained as an Egg Move in Generation III, where it can be inherited from Shroomish by chain breeding. From Generation V onward, it can inherit the move directly from Cottonee. |
| GS | 0043 |  |
Oddish | Charm | Grass | Oddish would inherit this move as an Egg Move from Bulbasaur by chain breeding, but Bulbasaur cannot learn this move.
Regained as an Egg Move in Generation III, where it can be inherited from Shroomish by chain breeding. From Generation V onward, it can inherit the move directly from Cottonee. | |
| GS | 0120 |  |
Staryu | Aurora Beam | Water 3 | Staryu is gender unknown, so can only breed with Ditto and thus cannot inherit any Egg Moves. Staryu having Egg Moves and the ability to learn Attract in Generation II only may suggest Staryu and Starmie were intended to be gendered, but were made gender unknown shortly before release. | |
| Barrier | |||||||
| Supersonic | |||||||
| GS | 0143 |  |
Snorlax | Charm | Monster | Nidoran♀ can learn Charm by breeding and is in the Monster Egg Group, but cannot pass the move down due to being female-only. This move was intended to be learnable by Cubone and Marowak.[2]
Regained as an Egg Move in Generation III, where it can be inherited from Bulbasaur by chain breeding. From Generation VI onward, it can inherit the move directly from the Tyrunt evolutionary line. | |
| GS | 0238 |  |
Smoochum | Lovely Kiss | Human-Like | Its evolved form, Jynx, can learn the move, but cannot pass the move down due to being female-only. While female Pokémon can pass down Egg Moves from Generation VI onward, making this Egg Move possible, Smoochum no longer has Lovely Kiss as an Egg Move. | |
| HGSS | 0299 |  |
Nosepass | Head Smash | Mineral | Regained as an Egg Move in Generation IX, where it can be inherited from Sudowoodo. While Sudowoodo existed in Generation IV games, it could not learn Head Smash until Generation VII.
Aegislash could learn Head Smash since its introduction in Generation VI, but Nosepass didn't have Head Smash as an Egg Move at this point. | |
| XY | 0236 |  |
Tyrogue | Ally Switch | Human-Like | Several Pokémon in the Human-Like Egg Group can learn Ally Switch, but because the Tyrogue evolutionary line is male-only and none of its Evolutions can learn Ally Switch, it cannot inherit the Egg Move from any of them. | |
| USUM | 0198 |  |
Murkrow | Punishment | Flying | Vullaby and Mandibuzz can learn Punishment and are in the Flying Egg Group, but because they are female-only and are from a different evolutionary line, they cannot pass the move down. | |
Unobtainable in FireRed and LeafGreen for Nintendo Switch
Due to Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen not having a way to obtain every Pokémon in the National Pokédex, as well as no way to trade or transfer them, some Egg Moves cannot be obtained in the Nintendo Switch version of those games.
Obtainable from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
In Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, almost every Shadow Pokémon gets a move that it cannot learn otherwise once it is Purified. Some of these moves are Egg moves that can only be obtained this way in Generation III.
| # | Pokémon | Egg Move | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0090 |  |
Shellder | Take Down | Only method for Shellder to inherit the move until Kabuto could learn the move in Generation VI by breeding. |
| 0107 |  |
Hitmonchan | Helping Hand | Can't inherit outside Tyrogue's evolved forms due to being Male only. Starting in Generation IV, Tyrogue could learn the move through level up. |
| 0123 |  |
Scyther | Razor Wind | Starting in Generation IV, Scyther could learn the move through level up. |
| 0143 | |
Snorlax | Fissure | Starting in Generation IV, Snorlax could learn the move through chain breeding. |
| 0219 |  |
Magcargo | Heat Wave | Only method for Slugma to inherit the move until a Move Tutor could be found in Platinum. |
Advanced techniques
Chain breeding
- Main article: Chain breeding
In some cases, a Pokémon species has an Egg Move, but other Pokémon in its Egg Group can also only learn that move as an Egg Move. In such cases, the move must be bred through a series of intermediate Pokémon that are in multiple Egg Groups. This process is referred to by fans as chain breeding.
For example, Spinda can learn Wish as an Egg Move and is in the Field and Human-Like Egg Groups, but the other Pokémon in those Egg Groups can only learn Wish as an Egg Move. To solve this, a Pokémon like Skitty could learn the move as an Egg Move from Togetic, then breed it onto a Spinda.
Smeargle
Because Smeargle can learn almost any move by using Sketch, a male Smeargle can pass down any Egg Move to its offspring. This makes passing down Egg Moves to Pokémon in the Field Egg Group (Smeargle's Egg Group) simpler.
Some Egg Moves require a Smeargle to be initially passed down, due to no other male parents existing in that Egg Group. For example, in Generation VII, Lillipup can learn Psychic Fangs as an Egg Move, but no Pokémon other than Smeargle in the Field Egg Group can learn Psychic Fangs other than as an Egg Move, and no chain breeding pathway exists, so Smeargle is required to initially pass down Psychic Fangs to Lillipup.
Since Smeargle can have any combination of possible Egg Moves to pass down to its offspring, there are no mutually-exclusive Egg Moves for any Pokémon in the Field Egg Group in any generation.
Previous generation Egg Moves
Some Pokémon have Egg Moves that no other Pokémon in their Egg Group can learn in that generation, but that an appropriate parent Pokémon in an earlier generation was able to learn.
For example, from Generation V onward Bagon can learn Defense Curl as an Egg Move, but no other families in the Dragon Egg Group can learn Defense Curl in these generations. However, Defense Curl is a Move Tutor move in Pokémon Emerald, where it can be taught to some Pokémon in the Dragon Egg Group (including Shelgon and Salamence). Alternately, in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Bagon encountered as Hidden Pokémon can know any Egg Move, including Defense Curl. One of these Pokémon is required to initially pass down Defense Curl to Bagon.
Event-exclusive Egg Moves
Some Pokémon have Egg Moves that no Pokémon in their Egg Group can learn except as an Egg Move, but a Pokémon in their Egg Group that knows the move was once available.
For example, from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver onward, Dratini can learn Extreme Speed as an Egg Move, but no Pokémon in the Water 1 or Dragon Egg Groups can learn Extreme Speed other than as an Egg Move. However, in Pokémon Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver, a gift Dratini received in the Dragon's Den can know Extreme Speed; additionally, in Generation V and VI there have been event distributions of a Dragonite that knows Extreme Speed. One of these gift or event distribution Pokémon is required to initially pass down Extreme Speed to Dratini.
In other games
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series
Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, Pokémon hatched from Eggs in the Chansey Day Care will know Egg Moves. They will learn a sufficient number of moves to fill their initial moveset, meaning that a species with one move at level 1 will be given three random Egg Moves, which is determined when the hatched Pokémon joins the team. The Pokémon's species and gender are determined when completing the requisite dungeon mission, based on the Pokémon available on the destination floor's spawn table. Additionally, in Explorers of Sky, some hero and partner species, including the newly added candidates, will initially know a set Egg Move. Egg Moves cannot be relearned if the player chooses to forget them. Unlike core series games prior to Generation VI, it is possible for hatched Pokémon to learn any Egg Move combinations (otherwise only available to Pokémon in the Field egg group).
A select few Pokémon have programmed Egg Moves, but cannot be hatched from an Egg under normal circumstances, making them unobtainable. This is because neither the affected Pokémon nor their Evolutions appear on any floor that can normally be used as a job destination:
In Explorers of Sky, Dunsparce, Volbeat and Cherubi can instead be hatched from an Egg obtained as a random reward for drinks served at Spinda's Café.
Other games
Although Eggs are not present from Gates to Infinity onwards, Egg Moves are still present on most hero and partner species. In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, they can be relearned from Hawlucha's Slam School in the postgame for a fee, but can be taught to other Pokémon of that species. Super Mystery Dungeon and Rescue Team DX also feature TM and tutor-exclusive moves on hero and partner candidates. All unique starter moves in Rescue Team DX can be freely relearned.
In animation
Pokémon the Series
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
In The Lotad Lowdown, when Ash and his friends encountered a group of Lotad that knew Water Gun, Max mentioned that Lotad can't usually learn Water Gun, alluding to its Egg Move status for Lotad at the time.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
In Caring for a Mystery!, a scenario similar to Egg Moves was presented by Professor Cerise. While Ash and Goh were looking after a Pokémon Egg, the Professor told them a story of a Jigglypuff who sang to an Azurill Egg everyday. When it hatched, the Azurill sang the same song Jigglypuff sang to it.
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | Cantonese | 蛋招式 Daahn Jīusīk |
| Mandarin | 蛋招式 Dàn Zhāoshì | |
| French | Capacité Œuf | |
| German | Ei-Attacke | |
| Italian | Mossa Uovo | |
| Korean | 알 기술 Al Gisul | |
| Russian | Яйцевой Приём Yaytsevoy Priyom | |
| Spanish | Movimiento de Huevo Movimiento HuevoStad2 | |
See also
References
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This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |