Saturday, January 30, 2010

A Guide to TM Breeding

Here is a list of various popular TMs and Pokemon who learn the move on their own so they can breed it to others without using up the TM.

TM01 - Focus Punch

The only Pokemon that can learn this move by level-up is Vigoroth. Thankfully, Vigoroth is part of the large Ground group, which means not only does it have a large number of beneficiaries, but also those Pokemon can, in turn, possibly pass the move to beneficiaries in other Egg Groups. Unfortunately, this is made harder by the fact that many of the Pokemon who could otherwise learn the move can't learn it from their pre-evolved forms. In the end, finding these TMs by Pickup is probably the best way to get more of them...

TM05 - Roar

A handful of Pokemon can learn this move. Many are from the Ground group; Aerodactyl is a notable member of the Flying group to learn it, Snubbull can send it through the Fairy group, and Whismur can pass it through the Monster group. Beware that there are many Pokemon who can't learn the move in their hatched forms.

This is a hard move to distribute. A good Mineral-group user could get some decent distribution out of it, but as for others, so many Pokemon only learn the move in their adult forms that it's hard to choose a user. Considering that the move is only marginally useful in-game, it's best to save it for when it's time to construct an actual Wi-Fi team.

TM19 - Giga Drain

Pretty much any Grass-type can be bred with it, so no worries there. Using group connections, the move can also be bred onto Pokemon from the Monster, Bug, Fairy, Water 1, and Humanshape groups. In the end, with all the new Grass-type options available, there aren't really that many Pokemon chomping at the bit to get the move.

TM23 - Iron Tail

One Mineral, one Monster. And maybe one Ground-group Pokemon that might even consider using this move on a regular basis. Overall, not much concern here.

TM34 - Shock Wave

Again, there is probably one Pokemon that could use Shock Wave. And that Pokemon is... Pelipper?! Well, there you have it. Give a male Pelipper the move and you're all set!

TM39 - Rock Tomb

Forget it. At least Iron Tail and Shock Wave have its users.

TM43 - Secret Power

Whatever happened to this move that it's not replenishable anymore? Well, technically, it is, if you have a 3rd-gen game and don't mind Pal Parking the TMs over en masse. And you'll need to, since no Pokemon can learn it on its own, though you can get creative with breeding to chain it to any Pokemon that can breed normally.

TM46 - Thief

The good news is, really, you only need one Thief. Most other Pokemon can make do with Trick or Covet or something. As such, there aren't really notable Thief users.

TM47 - Steel Wing

Don't even bother with any Flying-group, as Skarmory will cover that. And honestly, that pretty much covers it.

TM48 - Skill Swap

Way too situational, except in Double Battles. Save the consideration for then.

TM49 - Snatch

Another situational move, and probably not worth covering.

TM50 - Overheat

One of the big moves that really wishes it was replenishable, as so many Pokemon want it, yet no Pokemon can learn it levelling up. Smart use of whom to give the TM to will get it distributed to non-Legendaries not in the Ground group.

TM51 - Roost

First of all, plenty of Flying-group Pokemon learn it leveling up, so no worries there, save for a couple exceptions like Togekiss. All things considered, for best secondary distribution of the move, give it to a Bug-group Pokemon, namely Gliscor or Scizor. As for the other one, there are still plenty of Pokemon clamoring for it, so figure something out...


TM64 - Explosion

A ton of Pokemon learn this move, and almost all of them have use for it. Thankfully, there are a fair number of Pokemon across various Egg Groups that can provide distribution of the move. In particular:

Golem learns it for the Mineral group, and covers Steelix, Sudowoodo, and Probopass.

Weezing and Drifblim learn it in the Indeterminate group, and cover Muk, Gengar, and Swalot.

Seedot (albeit not its evolutions) learns it for the Ground (generally a non-issue due to Smeargle) and Grass groups. In particular, this covers Exeggutor.

All things considered, this leaves the following Pokemon: Cloyster, Mew, Qwilfish, Magcargo, Corsola, Camerupt*, Metagross*, Bronzong*, Magnezone*, Lickilicky*, and Heatran. The asterisked ones cannot breed it onto their earlier forms due to their earliest form not being able to learn the move. Of that group, Mew, Metagross, Lickilicky, and Heatran are of the most concern, so choose one of them to play with the bomb.

TM66 - Payback

A somewhat situational move that can be handy on a handful of Pokemon. Of the Pokemon that regularly use the move, Cacturne covers Machamp, Pelipper can manage to cover Dodrio and Cloyster, a fair number of Indeterminates can help Muk out, and Ambipom and Skuntank are in the Ground group. This leaves Hariyama and Umbreon, as well as various members who learn it leveling up. All in all, Umbreon seems to be the one who most wants it, so give it to him.

TM69 - Rock Polish

A +2 Speed Boost really needs to come more easily than this. There are a good number of good Rock Polishers out there, so smart use is important, especially since the only natural learners are Mineral-group. The ones of most concern are Gliscor, Torterra, and Groudon. While the latter two can't send it off to others of their type, they only run one set with the move. Give one to a male Gliscor so it can pass it down to Gligar if so desired, give another to Torterra, and give a third one to Groudon.

TM80 - Rock Slide

With Stone Edge being the new go-to move for Rock, Rock Slide has slid into the background, albeit not without its users. Also, the move *is* a "replenishable" Move Tutor in Emerald, so there's that option. Other than that, a ridiculously-complex chain-breeding method increases distribution: Tyranitar breeds it onto Feraligatr, who breeds it onto Crawdaunt, who can then breed it onto folks like Cradily and Kingler. All in all, there isn't a huge need for the TM itself.

TM82 - Sleep Talk

Ah, Sleep Talk. Any Pokemon can learn it. Only four Pokemon in the Ground group learn it by level-up. Be creative with the distribution, and save one for Crocune.

TM84 - Poison Jab

Technically, this TM isn't non-replenishable: it's available from PBR, which we'll probably never get ourselves. However, this means that there are likely people on Wi-Fi perfectly willing to part with one. Find one of those people. Besides, most Pokemon that would want this move have an easy way of acquiring it anyways.

TM85 - Dream Eater

Dream Eater has niche uses on doubles team where the normally-cumbersome process of setting it up can be averted with a quick one-two punch. As a one-use, its user should be chosen relatively carefully. Several Pokemon do learn it by level-up, which is something to consider.

TM92 - Trick Room

Trick Room is a unique strategy, to be sure. Like Poison Jab, it's available on PBR, so if you really want more, poke around for someone willing to get one for you over Wi-Fi. Porygon-Z is the only level-up learner, and is genderless, but can pass it to future Porygon (and more importantly, Porygon2). Also, Winner's Path Bronzor will know the move; again, genderless, but can pass it to other Bronzor. Dusknoir is another famous Trick Roomer, with several other Indeterminates capable of pulling it off, so a male one of those should be your main choice. Past that, there are various choices; again, ask for one over Wi-Fi if you really want one.

No comments:

Post a Comment