Pokémon Sword and Shield: How to get Egg Moves

Have you ever tried to get a move on your Pokémon that you know they can learn, but you can’t seem to find out how? If Milotic doesn’t learn Hypnosis by leveling up, by move tutor, or by TM or TR in Pokémon Sword and Shield, then how did my opponent’s Milotic know it? The answer is Egg Moves.

What are Egg Moves, and how can your Pokémon learn them?

Egg Moves are moves that a Pokémon can learn through breeding with a different species of Pokémon. For example, Milotic can learn Hypnosis by breeding with an Inkay or Malamar who has the move. Inkay and Malamar are in the same Egg Group as Feebas and Milotic and can learn the move by leveling up, so they can pass it on. Here are the different ways to get Egg Moves.

Breeding

To get an Egg Move through breeding, you need to have a female version of the species you want to breed and a male Pokémon from the same Egg Group that knows the move you want the offspring to learn. For the above example, get a female Feebas or Milotic and a male Inkay or Malamar with Hypnosis. Leave them together at the Nursery and run around for a bit, and they will create an egg. Run around some more to hatch the egg, and you can get the desired Pokémon with the desired move.

In the past, breeding was the only way to teach Pokémon Egg Moves. In Sword and Shield, however, there are a few new ways to get them.

The Nursery

Pokémon can learn Egg Moves if they are left together in the Nursery. Let’s say you already have a Milotic with perfect stats and want to teach it Hypnosis. First, take it to the guy on the left side of the Pokémon Center and select “Forget a Move”. Milotic should only have three moves if this is done correctly.

Now, get a Milotic that has Hypnosis (Feebas or other Pokémon won’t work). Put the Milotic with three moves in the Nursery with the Milotic that knows Hypnosis (gender doesn’t matter for this). Run around for a bit and then take the Milotic back, and it should know Hypnosis. This works with every Pokémon.

Brilliant Pokémon

Brilliant Pokémon spawn occasionally in the wild and have a yellow aura around them. They will always have at least two perfect Individual Values (IVs), and they may also have an Egg Move. Certain Egg Moves can only be learned this way. If there are no compatible partners that learn the move in Galar, then this is the only way to find the Egg Move. An example of this is getting Aurora Veil on Vanillite.

Of course, once they have the Egg Move, that Pokémon can breed and pass the move down to its offspring.

Be sure to check every move a Pokémon can learn to see if it has any valuable Egg Moves. Happy Hunting!