Iron Tail (move)
| Iron Tail アイアンテール Iron Tail | ||||||||||||
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Target
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Availability
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Iron Tail (Japanese: アイアンテール Iron Tail) is a damage-dealing Steel-type move introduced in Generation II. It was TM23 from Generation II to Generation IV.
Effect
Iron Tail inflicts damage and has a 10% chance of lowering the target's Defense stat by one stage.
Description
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Learnset
By leveling up
| # | Pokémon | Type | Level | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| II | III | IV | V | VI | ||||||||||
| 095 | 
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Onix | Rock | Ground | 45 | 38 | 41 | 49 | 40 | ''' | ||||
| 208 | 
|
Steelix | Steel | Ground | 45 | 38 | 41 | 49 | 40 | '''' | ||||
| 304 | 
|
Aron | Steel | Rock | 29 | 39 | 39 | 36 | '''' | |||||
| 305 | 
|
Lairon | Steel | Rock | 29 | 45 | 45 | 40 | '''' | |||||
| 306 | 
|
Aggron | Steel | Rock | 29 | 48 | 48 | 40 | '''' | |||||
| 483 | 
|
Dialga | Steel | Dragon | 42 | '''' | ||||||||
| Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move. Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move. A dash (−) indicates a Pokémon cannot learn the move by the designated method. An empty cell indicates a Pokémon that is unavailable in that game/generation. | ||||||||||||||
By breeding
| # | Pokémon | Type | Father | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| II | III | IV | V | VI | ||||||||||
| 023 | 
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Ekans | Poison |      
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| 029 | 
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Nidoran♀ | Poison |
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| 032 |
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Nidoran♂ | Poison |
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| 052 | 
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Meowth | Normal |
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| 058 | 
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Growlithe | Fire |
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| 086 | 
|
Seel | Water |
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| 111 |
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Rhyhorn | Ground | Rock |
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| 147 | 
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Dratini | Dragon |
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| 161 | 
|
Sentret | Normal |
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| 179 |
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Mareep | Electric |
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| 240 | 
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Magby | Fire |             
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| 246 | 
|
Larvitar | Rock | Ground |
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| 335 | 
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Zangoose | Normal |
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| 336 | 
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Seviper | Poison |
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| 349 | 
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Feebas | Water |
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| 408 | 
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Cranidos | Rock |
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| 417 | 
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Pachirisu | Electric |
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| 434 | 
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Stunky | Poison | Dark |
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| 443 |
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Gible | Dragon | Ground |
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| 451 | 
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Skorupi | Poison | Bug |     
|
    
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| 495 | 
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Snivy | Grass |
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| 504 | 
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Patrat | Normal |
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| 572 | 
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Minccino | Normal |
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| 587 | 
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Emolga | Electric | Flying |
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| 610 |
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Axew | Dragon |
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| 621 |
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Druddigon | Dragon |
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| Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move. Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move. A dash (−) indicates a Pokémon cannot learn the move by the designated method. An empty cell indicates a Pokémon that is unavailable in that game/generation. | ||||||||||||||
By TM
By Move Tutor
By event
Generation V
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In side games
PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure
Iron Tail is a move learnable by Pikachu in PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. Pikachu does not know the move at the beginning of the game, it must be taught to him by Primeape for a cost of 350 Berries. Unlike Dash and Thunderbolt, this move cannot be used outside of battle. It can be used by shaking the Wii Remote during battle. The move's power is upgradeable by returning to Primeape and paying more Berries.
In the anime
 Skuntank  Pikachu  Charizard  Electivire | |||
| The Pokémon's tail glows white or dark gray and strikes the opponent; sometimes, the hit produces light. According to Chaz, only a Pokémon with a fully developed tail can learn this technique. | |||
| Pokémon | Method | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User | First Used In | Notes | |
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The ball at the end of Marill's tail glows white. It then twirls its tail rapidly and strikes the opponent with it. | ||
| Pietra's Marill | Right on, Rhydon! | Debut | |
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The end of Steelix's body glows white and it slams it into the opponent, or the end of Steelix's body glows white and it stabs the opponent with the tip of it. | ||
| Jasmine's Steelix | Nerves of Steelix! | None | |
| Hun's Steelix | The Legend of Thunder! | None | |
| Harrison's Steelix | Playing with Fire! | None | |
| A wild Steelix | All Torkoal, No Play | None | |
| Morrison's Steelix | Choose It or Lose It! | None | |
| Brock's Steelix | Grating Spaces! | None | |
| Byron's Steelix | Dealing With Defensive Types! | None | |
| A wild Steelix | Steeling Peace of Mind! | None | |
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The flame on the end of Charizard's tail glows white and it slams its tail into the opponent. | ||
| A Charizard Jessie borrowed from the Battle Park | One Trick Phony! | None | |
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The two orbs on the end of Dragonair's tail glow white and it hits the opponent with them. | ||
| Clair's Dragonair | Better Eight Than Never | None | |
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Half of Electabuzz's tail glows white and Electabuzz hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Macy's Electabuzz | Love, Pokémon Style | None | |
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The ball at the end of Azumarill's tail glows white and Azumarill hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Jackson's Azumarill | Tie One On! | None | |
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Sentret's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Chaz's Sentret | All Things Bright and Beautifly! | None | |
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Pikachu's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it, or Pikachu's tail becomes surrounded in white sparkles and it becomes surrounded in a white outline. Its tail then turns into iron and it hits the opponent with it. Sometimes it leaves behind a white trail of energy where it swings. | ||
| Ash's Pikachu | All in a Day's Wurmple | Mastered in The Winner By a Nosepass | |
| Volkner's Pikachu | Flint Sparks the Fire! | None | |
| Narissa's Ditto One in the form of Pikachu | Dealing With a Fierce Double Ditto Drama! | Used via Transform | |
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Mightyena's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Butch's Mightyena | Oaknapped | None | |
| Tabitha's Mightyena | The Spheal of Approval | None | |
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Swampert's tailfin glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Tommy's Swampert | Abandon Ship! | None | |
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Marshtomp's two tailfins glows white and it hits the foe with them. | ||
| Tommy's Marshtomp | Abandon Ship! | None | |
| Nicholai's Marshtomp | Zigzag Zangoose! | None | |
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The fan part of Milotic's tailfin glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Robert's Milotic | Win, Lose or Drew! | None | |
| Juan's Milotic | The Great Eight Fate! | None | |
| Lucy's Milotic | Queen of the Serpentine! | None | |
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The purple tip or all of Delcatty's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Georgio's Delcatty | A Date with Delcatty | None | |
| Lila's Delcatty | Battling the Generation Gap! | None | |
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Half of Ampharos's tail glows white then it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Watt's Ampharos | Manectric Charge | None | |
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The pink part of Skitty's tail glows white, and Skitty hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Dr. Abby's Johnny | Delcatty Got Your Tongue | None | |
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The blue pearl on the tip of Flaaffy's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Sullivan's Hannah | Whiscash and Ash | None | |
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The end or all of Girafarig's tail glows white, then it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Sonny's Girafarig | Cruisin' for a Losin' | None | |
| Morrison's Girafarig | A Judgment Brawl | None | |
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Breloom's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| A wild Breloom | A Shroomish Skirmish | None | |
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Aggron's whole tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| A wild Aggron | Pikachu's Summer Festival | None | |
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Grumpig uncoils its tail and it glows white. It then hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Kelly's Grumpig | Lessons in Lilycove | None | |
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Meowth's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Tyson's Meowth | Like a Meowth to Flame | None | |
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Gligar's entire tail or the stinger part of its tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Morrison's Gligar | From Brags to Riches | None | |
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Houndoom's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Red Army's Houndoom | Lucario and the Mystery of Mew | None | |
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Onix's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| King Onix | Hooked on Onix | None | |
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Mewtwo's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| A mirage Mewtwo | The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon | None | |
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Espeon's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Anabel's Espeon | Second Time's the Charm! | None | |
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Absol's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Drew's Absol | Thinning the Hoard! | None | |
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Electivire's two tails glow white and it hits the opponent with them. | ||
| Gary's Electivire | Home is Where the Start Is! | None | |
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Glameow's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. It can uncoil it for extra damage as well. | ||
| Zoey's Glameow | Arrival of a Rival | None | |
| Johanna's Glameow | Battling the Generation Gap! | None | |
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Luxray's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Marble's Luxray | Luxray Vision! | None | |
| Volkner's Luxray | The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World! | None | |
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Raichu's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Sho's Raichu | Pika and Goliath! | None | |
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Glaceon's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| May's Glaceon | A Full Course Tag Battle! | None | |
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Luxio's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| A wild Luxio | Leading a Stray! | None | |
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Pichu's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| A wild Pichu | Arceus and the Jewel of Life | None | |
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The white fluff at the end of Purugly's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Mars's Purugly | The Battle Finale of Legend! | None | |
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Skuntank's entire tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Jupiter's Skuntank | The Battle Finale of Legend! | None | |
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Half of Gabite's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Ursula's Gabite | Yes In Dee Dee, It's Dawn! | None | |
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Eevee's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Ursula's two Eevee | Last Call - First Round! | None | |
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Umbreon's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Johanna's Umbreon | SS024 | None | |
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
 Milotic  Pikachu  Steelix  Sceptile | |||
| The foe is slammed with a steel-hard tail. It may also lower the target's Defense stat. | |||
| Pokémon | Method | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User | First Chapter Used In | Notes | |
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Aron turns around and hits the opponent with the back of its body. | ||
| Sapphire's Rono | VS. Nosepass II | Debut | |
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Delcatty raises its back into the air and its tail becomes stiff as iron. Its tail then extends to a long size and stabs the opponent. | ||
| Ruby's Coco | VS. Slaking I | None | |
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Skitty jumps into the air and front flips, hitting the opponent with its tail. | ||
| Ruby's Coco | The Final Showdown V | None | |
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Golduck's tail glows white and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Blue's Golduck | The Battle Path | None | |
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The end of Pikachu's tail turns into steel and it flips around, hitting the opponent with it. | ||
| Red's Pika | Activate: The Ultimate Move | None | |
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Steelix stabs the opponent with the tip of its tail. | ||
| Carr's Steelix | Attacking the Entire Island | None | |
| A wild Steelix | Lucky Lucario I | None | |
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Sceptile's entire tail turns solid and becomes shiny like metal. It then swings it around and hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Emerald's Sceptile | VS. Glalie | None | |
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Shieldon's entire tail turns into iron and it hits the opponent with it. | ||
| Dia's Don | Lucky Lucario I | None | |
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Milotic whips its tail around and slams its down on top of the opponent. | ||
| Cynthia's Milotic | VS. Spiritomb | None | |
In the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga
 Absol
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| The user attacks with a glowing tail. | |||
| Pokémon | Method | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User | First Chapter Used In | Notes | |
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Absol attacks with a glowing tail. | ||
| Koya's Absol | A New Battle Begins | Debut | |
In other generations
Trivia
- Despite the narrative implying the need for a tail to perform this attack, Pokémon that lose their tails when they evolve (such as Primeape) or do not have a tail but gain one upon evolution (such as Nidoran) can still learn and use this attack.
- Iron Tail is one of the most commonly known moves in the anime, known by at least 54 different Pokémon.
- Onix is the only non-Steel-type Pokémon able to learn Iron Tail by leveling up. Also, Dialga is the only legendary Pokémon to learn Iron Tail by leveling up, although it can't learn Iron Tail in Generation IV (Dialga can only learn it in Generation V).
In other languages
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| Generation II TMs | |
|---|---|
| 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 | |
| Generation II HMs | |
| 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 | |
| Generation III TMs | |
|---|---|
| 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 | |
| Generation III HMs | |
| 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08RSE | |
| Generation IV TMs | |
|---|---|
| 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 | |
| Generation IV HMs | |
| 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 (DPPt • HGSS) • 06 • 07 • 08 | |
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This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games. |