How to get Egg Moves in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Egg Moves are a critical part of the Pokémon series, and they return in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. You will have the chance for your Pokémon to learn unique Egg Moves from specific Pokémon through breeding, which can take a bit of time to perfect and layer into your party. However, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet give you two ways for your Pokémon to learn Egg Moves. Here’s what you need to know about how to get Egg Moves in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

How to teach Egg Moves to Pokémon in Pokémon Scalet and Violet

There are two ways for a Pokémon to learn an Egg Move. The first, and more common method, is through breeding. Two Pokémon can only breed if they are in the same egg group. For example, two Pokémon from the Bug Egg group can breed with each other, such as a male Butterfree and a Female Ariados, but a male Butterfree and a Raticate cannot breed with each other, as the Butterfree is from the Bug Egg group and the Raticate is from the Field Egg group.

Related: Where to get a Mirror Herb in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Once you have egg grouping sorted out and know which Pokémon you want to breed, the Egg Move you want to teach a Pokémon needs to come from the male of the two parents. If an Egg Move comes from a female Pokémon, you need to catch a male version of that Pokémon. In addition, the type of Pokémon that hatches from these eggs is determined by the mother, the female of the two. For example, if you want to teach the move Quick Guard to a Flamigo, you need to make sure the father is a Talonflame and the mother is a Flamigo, so when they lay the Egg, the Pokémon inside it will be Flamigo, and it will learn Quick Guard.

The second way to teach a Pokémon an Egg Move is slightly faster. You need to pick up the Mirror Herb from the Cascarrafa Delibird Present store. You then need to have the Pokémon you want to learn an Egg move, hold this item and be in a party with a Pokémon that can teach it that egg move. This Pokémon also needs to make sure they have an empty move slot.

For example, we had an Eevee with us and had it hold Mirror Herb, and then we had a Mudbray with us. We held a Picnic, waited a minute or so, and ended the Picnic. When the Picnic was over, the Eevee had learned the Fighting-type from Mudbray. This process is much faster, especially if you already have a Pokémon with your desired stats. However, you can only do this once per Pokémon, so you must choose wisely.