PokéBase - Pokémon Q&A
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Can a pokémon necessarily learn all TMs of moves it would normally learn by level up?

Venusaur can learn Solar Beam both by level up and TM.

So basically, does the following scenario happen with any pokémon?
- Move X is a TM.
- Pokémon Y can learn Move X by leveling up.
- Pokémon Y cannot learn Move X via TM

Let's use X/Y as the frame here. (edit)

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The only way we can find out the answer is by looking at each pokemon's moveset one by one which would take way too long. It might be possible for pokemon to  know a move by level up but not be able to learn it by TM. Also what game are you talking about in this situation because this scenario could be true in Sword/Shield but not in Emerald.

2 Answers

2 votes

In XY, they started flagging Pokemon as being compatible with TMs that matched their level-up set even for the ones that are historically incompatible with any TMs at all, such as Unown being given the Hidden Power TM flag (even though it can never legally be in a position to learn that move by TM, since you have to be able to learn some additional move before the first one can be deleted) or Spewpa being given Protect. They did so specifically so this aspect would remain consistent.

Starting in Sw/Sh, they go further and mark TMs/TRs compatible with Pokemon that previously only got those moves by special event distributions, like Surf for Pikachu or Hydro Pump for Magikarp.

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Nice. So the scenario does happen with say Unown in previous games.
0 votes

If a Pokemon can learn a move by level up, it wouldn't make sense for it to not learn it via TM as well. It can learn the move, so the TM should work. So I would say that if a Pokemon learns a move by level up, the corresponding TM will also work. I would be extremely surprised if there were any exceptions.

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edited by
This makes intuitive sense, but it doesn't answer the question. Do you actually know for sure that this is absolutely true for every Pokemon?
I'm not going to look at every pokemon to check, but surely its true that if a pokemon learns a move by level up, it can also learn it by TM? If there was an exception, I think most of the community would know, and we would all be questioning why this certain pokemon can't learn a move by TM when it learns it by level up.
I'm pretty sure "most of the community" pays no attention to these kinds of small details.