Animated series move errors

In the Pokémon anime, there will often come up a Pokémon that knows a move it cannot learn legally in any of the games. It is unknown whether these are actual mistakes, a writing policy of not having to stick to the games too closely, or merely the Pokémon using an attribute that shares the name of a move in the games.

It should also be noted that occasionally Nintendo will make available Pokémon that can be transferred onto the games with a move that is not normally included in that Pokémon's moveset (a prime example being Pokémon Box Ruby & Sapphire, which gave away four separate Pokémon with moves that were not normally available to that specific Pokémon).

List of anime Pokémon with moves they can't learn in the games

#	MS	Name	Move	Episode
017		Ash's Pidgeotto	Peck	1003EP003
127		Samurai's Pinsir	Tackle	1004EP004
109		James's Koffing	Counter	1006EP006
120		Misty's Staryu	Counter	1007EP007
020		Ash's Raticate	Hi Jump Kick	1015EP015
116		Misty's Horsea	Sludge	1019EP019
001		Ash's Bulbasaur	Whirlwind	1032EP032
005		Ash's Charmeleon	Tail Whip	1044EP044
025		Ash's Pikachu	Bite	1068EP068
037		Brock's Vulpix	Agility	1072EP072
004		Zippo	Tackle	1079EP079
055		Golduck	Barrier	1091EP091
055		Golduck	Psywave	1091EP091
024		Jessie's Arbok	Tackle	1095EP095
006		Ash's Charizard	Tackle	1108EP108
071		James's Victreebel	Tackle	1122EP122
182		Bailey's Bellossom	Twister	1122EP122
025		Ash's Pikachu	Leer	1150EP150
155		Ash's Cyndaquil	Agility	1152EP152
164		Ash's Noctowl	Gust	1164EP164
202		Jessie's Wobbuffet	Bide	1167EP167
197		Gary's Umbreon	Agility	1171EP171
025		Ash's Pikachu	Tackle	1183EP183
158		Ash's Totodile	Skull Bash	1216EP216
001		Ash's Bulbasaur	Dig	1225EP225
047		Parasect	Sleep Powder	1227EP227
157		Jimmy's Typhlosion	Fire Spin	1230.5The Legend of Thunder!
219		Egan's Magcargo	Withdraw	1240EP240
246		Ash's Larvitar	Harden	1258EP258
208		Harrison's Steelix	Wrap	1271EP271
299		Roxanne's Nosepass	Hyper Beam	2016AG016
296		Brawly's Makuhita	Slam	2020AG020
385		Jirachi	Teleport	2034.5Jirachi: Wish Maker
371		Michelle's Bagon	Skull Bash	2043AG043
438		Brock's Bonsly	Take Down	2156AG156
397		Ash's Starly	Gust	3002DP002
269		Jessie's Dustox	Stun Spore	3008DP008
414		Cheryl's Mothim	Supersonic	3032DP032
436		Saturn's Bronzor	Teleport	3060DP060
446		Kylie's Munchlax	Giga Impact	3076DP076
376		Metagross	Lock-On	3117DP117
477		Dusknoir	Rapid Spin	3122.5Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness
486		Regigigas	Hammer Arm	3129DP129
069		Bellsprout	Absorb	3134DP134
343		Damos's Baltoy	Shock Wave	3135.5Arceus and the Jewel of Life
344		Damos's Claydol	Shock Wave	3135.5Arceus and the Jewel of Life
480		Uxie	Teleport	3151DP151
481		Mesprit	Teleport	3151DP151
482		Azelf	Teleport	3151DP151
401		Nando's Kricketot	Sing	3174DP174

Less blatant examples

• During Caterpie's battle with Pidgeotto in Ash Catches a Pokémon!, Ash tells Caterpie to use Counter; however, Caterpie cannot learn Counter, yet this doesn't stop it from attempting (and failing) to use it anyway.
• In The Ghost of Maiden's Peak, James ordered his Koffing to use Poison Gas. At the time of the episode airing, Koffing was unable to learn Poison Gas by any means. However, in Generation II and onwards, Koffing became able to use the move.
• In Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, Duplica tells her Ditto to use Constrict on Ash's Bulbasaur after Transforming into said Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur cannot learn Constrict by any means. However, Ditto obeyed, implying that Ash's Bulbasaur may know Constrict.
  • Similarly, in Imitation Confrontation, when Mini-Dit transforms into Totodile, Duplica tells it to use Tackle on Totodile. But Totodile cannot learn Tackle at all. However, it attacked, showing that Ash's Totodile probably knows Tackle.
• In Who Gets to Keep Togepi?, Misty gets stuck with Psyduck in her battle with Ash. Ash doesn't battle seriously and has Bulbasaur simply lick Psyduck's head and tickle it with its vines. This is not to be confused with the actual moves Lick and Tickle, the latter of which was later introduced in Generation III. Bulbasaur still cannot learn Lick or Tickle. It is worth noting, however, that Ash's specific words were "Use Tickle!".
• In Bound for Trouble, Pikachu and TRMeowth ([[{{{2}}} (move)|{{{2}}}]]) fight against the giant Rhydon. When Meowth jumps on Rhydon's back, he states that he should try a Tickle attack, and then acts like he would. However, Meowth cannot learn Tickle in any generation yet, and as mentioned with Bulbasaur, Tickle was not introduced until Generation III.
• In Playing with Fire!, a Steelix uses Wrap. Steelix cannot learn Wrap, but it can learn Bind (a slightly less accurate version of Wrap with the same effect).
• In Winner By a Nosepass!, Roxanne commands her Nosepass to use Hyper Beam which it cannot in the game. These errors were picked up on in the dub, and the references to Hyper Beam were replaced with Thunder Wave and Zap Cannon (which can be learned by Nosepass).
  • However, there is evidence that the original version script made a mistake and called it Hyper Beam when it was supposed to be an electric attack. This is seen in Pikachu being able to absorb Hyper Beam as if it were an electric attack. It also had physical similarities to an electric attack and did not look like a typical Hyper Beam.
• In Turning Over a Nuzleaf, a wild Nuzleaf blew on a leaf to make Ash and his friends' Pokémon drowsy. This attack is strikingly similar to GrassWhistle; a move that Nuzleaf can't learn in the games. However, some of Nuzleaf's Pokédex entries do state that it uses the leaf on its head as a flute.
• Brock's Ludicolo knows Water Gun and Razor Leaf, and while it can learn both of those through breeding, it cannot know both of them at once.
• In Second Time's the Charm, Anabel's Espeon uses Zap Cannon, which, though impossible to have in Generation III or IV, was available to teach to Espeon by TM07 in Generation II.
• In Drifloon on the Wind!, some Drifloon were used to fly around the area. However, they did not use the actual move Fly (which is just as well, as they are unable to learn the said move). The Pokédex specifically states that a Drifloon can't carry the weight of children - however, three are used at any given time. Similarly, it is also possible for Drifloon to carry players across short distances in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia.
• In Journey to the Unown!, the fact that Bronzor cannot learn Teleport was also picked up by the producers of the dub, and the appearance of it using Teleport was cut from the episode.
• Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 1) and Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 2) feature a Riolu that can use Aura Sphere. This is due to its unique ability to manipulate aura prior to evolution. This episode is directly based on a mission from Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia featuring a similar Riolu. This is the only way a Riolu that knows Aura Sphere is available in the games. This error is quite clearly a unique property of the Riolu because it is mentioned in the aforementioned episode itself.

This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.