Egg Move
An Egg Move[1] (Japanese: タマゴわざ Egg Move) 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 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 programed 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.
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 | 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.
Bulbasaur no longer has Charm as an Egg Move in Pokémon Sword and Shield due to it being taught by TM29. |
| GS | 0043 |  |
Oddish | Charm | Grass | 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.
Oddish no longer has Charm as an Egg Move in Pokémon Sword and Shield due to it being taught by TM29. | |
| GS | 0120 |  |
Staryu | Aurora Beam | Water 3 | Staryu is gender unknown, so can only breed with Ditto and thus cannot inherit any Egg Moves. | |
| 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.
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. Snorlax no longer has Charm as an Egg Move in Pokémon Sword and Shield due to it being taught by TM29. | |
| 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. | |
| 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 cannot pass the move down due to being female-only. | |
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
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 know enough 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 hatched Pokémon's species and gender are determined when completing the mission in the dungeon. Additionally, in Explorers of Sky, the newly added choices for player and partner species will initially know a set Egg Move. Egg Moves cannot be relearned if the player chooses to forget them. It should be noted that unlike core series games prior to Generation VI, it is possible for non-Field Pokémon to learn any Egg Move combinations.
Although Eggs are not present from Gates to Infinity onwards, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon and Rescue Team DX return to giving an Egg Move to some player and partner species available at the game's start. Unlike Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, they can be relearned if forgotten and, in Super Mystery Dungeon, even taught to other Pokémon of that species.
In the anime
In The Lotad Lowdown, when Ash and his friends encountered a group of Lotad that knew Water Gun, Max mentioned that usually Lotad can't learn Water Gun, alluding to its Egg Move status for Lotad at the time.
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
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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. |
