This article is about the characters who teach Pokémon moves outside of their normal learnsets. For the characters who teach moves Pokémon can learn at previous levels, see Move Reminder.
In the game known as Pokémon Stadium in Japanese that was only released in Japan, if the player clears the Master Ball division of the L1-30 Division with a Pikachu in his or her party, the Pikachu can learn Surf.
In the international release of the game known as Pokémon Stadium in English, if the player clears the Master Ball division of the Round 2 Prime Cup with only Pokémon selected directly from a Game Pak with a Pikachu in his or her party and does not save during the tournament, the Pikachu can learn Surf. Pikachu only has to be selected for the final battle and does not have to take part in the battle.
In Pokémon Crystal, Bill's father can be visited outside the Goldenrod Game Corner every Wednesday and Saturday after the player has entered the Hall of Fame. He teaches three different moves for 4000 coins, two of which were TMs in Generation I and returned to that status in Generation III, and one of which later became a TM with the other two. These moves are breedable in the same fashion as TMs and HMs. After teaching a move, he goes back inside the Game Corner to gamble while nursing a drink, and will not be able to teach another move until the next available day.
The move tutor's son, Bill, complains that he doesn't work and is a drain on the family. His wife describes him as a former Poké Maniac who spends all his free time gambling.
These tutors will teach a Pokémon a move otherwise unobtainable with the Generation IIITM list. Many of the NPCs which gave a TM containing a move in Generation I that is no longer available in TM form in the current generation will directly teach the move they would have given instead. These can only be taught once.
In Pokémon Emerald, various Move Tutors can be found across the Hoenn region. Some moves may be purchased at the Battle Frontier. Those that cannot be purchased may only be learned once from the tutor.
A Move Tutor at Mt. Battle can teach Mew moves for the cost of 5,000 Poké Coupons. This can only be done after beating the game, but it can be done multiple times. Unlike other Move Tutors, this one does not give the player a direct choice in what Mew learns. Instead, he asks a few questions and then offers a full set of moves for Mew.
This Move Tutor can teach Mew any move it can otherwise learn by TM, HM, or from any other Generation III Move Tutor, plus one of the moves below:
There are two Move Tutors in Sinnoh—one on Route 228 and one on Route 210. The Move Tutor on Route 210 teaches Draco Meteor to a Dragon-type Pokémon which has had its friendship maximized. Similar to the Cape Brink Move Tutor in FireRed and LeafGreen, the Route 228 Move Tutor will teach one of the elemental versions of Hyper Beam to a fully-evolved starter with maximum friendship. Unlike the Cape Brink tutor, it can be any of the fully-evolved starter Pokémon, but the move's type will always correspond with the Pokémon's primary type. Also unlike the Cape Brink tutor, it can be taught as many times as the player likes.
In Pokémon Platinum, in addition to the Move Tutors in Diamond and Pearl, three new Move Tutors are added, in Snowpoint City, on Route 212, and in the Survival Area. These Move Tutors accept shards in return for their services, charging eight shards of various colors per move.
The following tutor moves are available in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Similar to Emerald, most of the moves that a Move Tutor can teach to a Pokémon require a set amount of Battle Points, these tutors being located in the Frontier Access. Fourteen of these moves are exclusive to HeartGold and SoulSilver, while the rest are also obtainable in Platinum.
Move Tutors are available at the Battle Resort, immediately left of the Pokémon Center. Four Tutors have set up stands next to each other, and will teach Pokémon moves in exchange for Battle Points. The Tutors are not identified in any manner, so the moves taught at each are as follows, in order from left to right:
Move Tutors are available in certain tents at the various beaches on Melemele, Akala, and Ula'ula Islands, and at the Battle Tree on Poni Island. They will teach Pokémon moves for Battle Points (also referred to as Beach Points at the beaches). The moves taught at each are as follows, in order from left to right:
The moves the Move Tutors teach in Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! are all game-exclusive and all pertain to the player's Partner Pokémon. Once a Tutor from a later location has been visited, a Tutor from a previous location will teach new moves that the later Tutor offers.
In PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure, Electabuzz and Primeape will teach the player Thunderbolt and Iron Tail, respectively. This will drastically enhance Pikachu's performance in battle. Though Electabuzz does not actually teach Pikachu how to use Thunderbolt, he does help strengthen its power.
In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, once the story arc of the game's Epilogue has been completed, Hawlucha's Slam School will gain the option to teach any connected Pokémon various moves in return for a large amount of Poké. The moves available include all moves taught by the Move Tutors in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Volt Tackle, and all moves known by one of the game's starter Pokémon (these moves can only be taught to Pokémon in the same evolutionary family as the starter that had them).
In the anime, several characters comparable to Move Tutors have appeared. However, instead of directly teaching the move to a Pokémon, the "Move Tutors" in the anime usually tend to just show an example of the move they are teaching, and the Pokémon has to work hard in order to properly master it.
In Delcatty Got Your Tongue, May was impressed by the moves used by Johnny, a Delcatty belonging to Dr. Abby. May wanted her Skitty to learn Blizzard, but she was unsure in her own abilities and thought she would not be able to teach her Pokémon to use the move the way Abby, a Top Coordinator, had taught Johnny. Abby told Skitty to mimic Johnny and, after a bit of practice, Skitty successfully used Blizzard. The move was mastered in Disguise Da Limit, during the VerdanturfContest.
In Journey to the Unown!, after seeing Kenny's Breloom's Energy Ball, Ash asked Kenny to help his Turtwig learn the same move. Kenny eventually agreed to teach Energy Ball to Turtwig, and, after many failures, the move was finally perfected in Riding the Winds of Change!. According to Kenny, learning the move would have been easier if Turtwig had known Bullet Seed, since the two attacks require the same kind of focusing of power.
In No Stone Unturned!, the Toucannon and Trumbeak that used to care for Ash's Rowlet before it joined its Trainer tried teaching it Bullet Seed, despite Rowlet being incapable of using the move. With the help of family new and old, Rowlet was able to apply these lessons to learn Seed Bomb instead.
In the manga
Ultima's bracelets and Zinnia's scroll in Pokémon Adventures
An old woman named Ultima offered to teach Red's Saur and Blue's Charizard the "ultimate moves" of their respective types. For the training, the two Trainers received special bracelets, which would only remove themselves from their wrists once they had mastered their moves. After crossing three sets of tests on Two Island, Red and Blue mastered their respective ultimate moves: Frenzy Plant and Blast Burn. Ultima also later taught Hydro Cannon to Green's Blasty, by the girl's own request.
In Omega Alpha Adventure 9, Ruby stole a special Draconid scroll from Zinnia, which Ultima later revealed to contain the essence of a move called Dragon Ascent. She explained that the scroll works in a similar way to her bracelets, making them both sort of primitive TMs. Ruby later used the scroll to teach Dragon Ascent to Rayquaza.
Trivia
In Pokémon Platinum, there are exactly two tutorable moves for every type except for the Normal type.
