Egg Move: Difference between revisions

An '''Egg move''' is any move passed down from a [[Pokémon breeding]] pair to their offspring, which it would not normally possess at the level it hatches. The term is also frequently used specifically for moves that a Pokémon can acquire only from breeding (i.e. moves that the offspring cannot learn via level-up, TM or HM, or [[Move Tutor]]), though a Pokémon can inherit moves from its parents in other ways. All of these methods require the male Pokémon (the father) to know the move prior to breeding.

Before breeding a Pokémon, one must consider whether to use any Egg moves in that Pokémon's moveset, and breed accordingly. To learn more than one Egg move, since they are only passed on by the father, only a father Pokémon in the appropriate [[Egg Group]] that can legitimately have all of the moves in one moveset can be used. This makes certain combinations of Egg moves impossible for certain Pokémon: e.g. {{p|Tentacruel}} has both {{m|Rapid Spin}} and {{m|Mirror Coat}} as available Egg moves, but no Pokémon in the Water 3 [[Egg Group]] can learn both moves so Tentacruel can't use both in the same moveset.

Sometimes to get a certain moveset onto a Pokémon, such as a {{p|Spinda}} with {{m|Wish}} and {{m|Baton Pass}}, several steps must be taken; this is called [[chain breeding]].

If both parents know one or more moves that their offspring could learn by [[level]]ing up, the offspring will inherit that move. For example, {{p|Gengar}} and {{p|Mismagius}} both know {{m|Mean Look}}, so their child, {{p|Misdreavus}}, who learns the move at level 19 will know it when it hatches.

Prior to Generation VI, if the male Pokémon knows a [[TM]] or [[HM]] move that the offspring can learn, the offspring will have that move. This applies whether or not the female Pokémon knows the move (or if {{p|Ditto}} was used in lieu of a female), regardless of whether a TM or HM was used to teach the move to the parent. In this example, the father, {{p|Gliscor}}, learns {{m|X-Scissor}} by level up, and his child, {{p|Joltik}}, can learn the same move through [[TM81]], so it will know this move upon hatching.