Egg Move

An **Egg Move** is a special move that a Pokémon is able to inherit through breeding from a parent. Egg Moves often (but not always) cannot be learned through other means.

Aside from Egg Moves, there are several other ways of inheriting moves from parents. If both parents know a move that the bred Pokémon can learn via level-up, it will inherit that move. A bred Pichu will know Volt Tackle if either of its parents are holding a Light Ball. However, inheriting moves in these ways is distinct from inheriting moves as Egg Moves.

## Mechanics

### Breeding

If either parent knows a move that is an Egg Move for the child's species, that child will be born knowing the move.

For example, if a male Snorlax that knows Belly Drum is bred with a female Charizard that knows Dragon Rush, the resulting Charmander will know Belly Drum and Dragon Rush.

### Relearning Egg Moves

Any move that a Pokémon knew when it hatched can be taught to it again by the Move Reminder if it ever forgets it, regardless of whether that move is an Egg Move. Forgotten hatched moves will be listed at the top of the list of moves that can be relearned, above the Pokémon's forgotten level-up moves.

## Limitations

### Mutually-exclusive Egg Moves

#### Incense breeding

For families that have baby Pokémon which can only be produced when using Incense, often the baby Pokémon and its evolved form have different Egg Moves. If each has an Egg Move that the other does not, and both moves are only available to that family as Egg Moves, the two moves become mutually exclusive.

### Unobtainable Egg Moves

Sometimes a move is programed as an Egg Move for a certain Pokémon, but there is no way of legitimately obtaining it (without using glitches). This happens when a Pokémon has an Egg Move that no Pokémon in their Egg Group can learn except as an Egg Move and there are no valid chain breeding pathways, or when the only Pokémon in their Egg Group that can learn the move cannot pass it to the Pokémon. This cannot occur for Pokémon in the Field Egg Group, due to male Smeargle being able to pass down any Egg Move.

The following is a list of all unobtainable Egg Moves.

## Advanced techniques

### Chain breeding

*Main article: Chain breeding*

In some cases, a Pokémon species has an Egg Move, but other Pokémon in its Egg Group can also only learn that move as an Egg Move. In such cases, the move must be bred through a series of intermediate Pokémon that are in multiple Egg Groups. This process is referred to by fans as chain breeding.

### Smeargle

Because Smeargle can learn almost any move by using Sketch, a male Smeargle can pass down any Egg Move to its offspring. This makes passing down Egg Moves to Pokémon in the Field Egg Group (Smeargle's Egg Group) simpler.

Some Egg Moves require a Smeargle to be initially passed down, due to no other male parents existing in that Egg Group.

Since Smeargle can have any combination of possible Egg Moves to pass down to its offspring, there are no mutually-exclusive Egg Moves for any Pokémon in the Field Egg Group.

### Event-exclusive Egg Moves

Some Pokémon have Egg Moves that no Pokémon in their Egg Group can learn except as an Egg Move, but a Pokémon in their Egg Group that knows the move was once available.