TM: Difference between revisions

If you were looking for either of the Pokémon Trading Card Game expansions sometimes abbreviated as TM, see EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua (TCG) or Triumphant (TCG).

Using a TM in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

A Technical Machine, or TM for short (Japanese: わざマシン Move Machine), is a machine used by Pokémon Trainers to teach a Pokémon a new move that it might not learn otherwise. Prior to Generation V, TMs were single-use items, unlike Hidden Machines, which can be used over and over again on many different Pokémon. TMs can be found on the ground or bought at department stores. Some are also given away by Gym Leaders as prizes for defeating them in addition to a Badge. Silph Co. has distributed a pamphlet containing information on TMs and HMs, indicating they are, at least partially, developed or produced by the company.

Mutually-compatible TMs will also be passed down through breeding (such as Flamethrower from a father Typhlosion to a baby Torchic), though prior to Generation V there were several Pokémon that could only learn certain moves contained in TMs via breeding, such as Vulpix with Energy Ball.

The depiction of TMs has changed over time. In the TCG, they are shown as small boxes that the Poké Ball would be inserted into, but from FireRed and LeafGreen onwards, they have been depicted as compact discs that are inserted into the TM Case and the case itself teaches the Pokémon the move.

For the in-game locations of TMs, see List of TM and HM locations.

TM through generations

Generation I

Generation I featured 50 TMs, with an additional five HMs. Move Tutors in FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald teach several of the moves that were removed from the TM list between Generation I and Generation III.

Generation II

Generation II introduced several new TMs, a majority of which were new moves introduced in this generation. There remained 50 TMs, as some Generation I TMs were removed. Several moves that were contained in TMs in Generation II but were no longer contained within TMs during Generation III can be taught by a Move Tutor in Pokémon Emerald.

Generation III

In Generation III, more moves were introduced, and the TM list was again adjusted. The 50-TM limit remained, and several older moves became TMs—including some that lost their TM status between Generations I and II.

Generation IV

Due to the connectivity with the Generation III games, the 50-TM list was not redone in Generation IV. To include new moves and incorporate older moves as TMs, the TM list was expanded from 50 to 92, leaving the first 50 TMs intact. With the eight HMs, the number of machine-learnable moves in Generation IV was at an even 100.

Generation V

In Generation V, TMs have changed from being single-use items to having infinite uses, making them akin to HMs. In addition, when a Pokémon learns a move from a TM or HM by overwriting an old one, the new move takes on the current PP of the forgotten move. This prevents repeated usage of machines for the purpose of PP restoration. The prices of the purchasable TMs are also much higher, and they can no longer be held or sold. On the other hand, in Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, they can be sold. The number of TMs was expanded once again from 92 to 95. However, many of the 92 TMs found in Generation IV contain different moves. As there are only six HMs, there are 101 machine-learnable moves normally available in Generation V.

List of TMs

Move Tutor moves

Main article: Move Tutor

Though technically not TMs, some moves can only be obtained via a Move Tutor: a non-player character who teaches the desired move to a single Pokémon. Often, these moves are moves which were formerly contained in TMs. They first appeared in Crystal, where outside of the Goldenrod City Game Corner a man would teach a compatible Pokémon Flamethrower, Ice Beam, or Thunderbolt for 4000 coins on certain days of the week.

This was continued in FireRed and LeafGreen, where Trainers could encounter NPCs who would offer to teach a Pokémon a move that was not otherwise available to it. All but three of these moves (the elemental Hyper Beam variations) were available as TMs in Red, Blue, and Yellow; FireRed and LeafGreen use the updated TM list of Generation III.

In Emerald, the same moves were able to be learned via Move Tutors, with the addition of some outdated Generation II TMs as well.

Incompatible Pokémon

Although most Pokémon are able to learn a wide range of TM moves, there are 18 Pokémon who cannot learn any. Typically, these Pokémon are low in their evolutionary line or rely on a set moveset.

#	Pokémon		Type
010		Caterpie	Bug		Poison
011		Metapod	Bug		Poison
013		Weedle	Bug	Poison
014		Kakuna	Bug	Poison
129		Magikarp	Water		Poison
132		Ditto	Normal		Poison
201		Unown	Psychic		Poison
202		Wobbuffet	Psychic		Poison
235		Smeargle	Normal		Poison
265		Wurmple	Bug		Poison
266		Silcoon	Bug		Poison
268		Cascoon	Bug		Poison
360		Wynaut	Psychic		Poison
374		Beldum	Steel	Psychic
401		Kricketot	Bug		Poison
412		Burmy	Bug		Poison
415		Combee	Bug	Flying
602		Tynamo	Electric		Poison