Experienced Pokémon players will know just how important a good moveset is, as well as how crucial good TMs can to making them. Often, a Pokémon’s natural learnset just isn’t up to snuff. Fan favorite Mewtwo, for instance, is a special attacking powerhouse, but without TMs it’ll mostly have terrible moves like Swift to choose from.
Whether you’re breeding competitive Pokémon or just playing through the story, TMs offer quick and convenient access to some of the very best moves in the game (more convenient than ever now that they can be used unlimited times, unlike the TRs of Pokémon Sword & Shield). Some are available in stores and should be snapped up, while others can be an utter waste of money. Here are some Sword & Shield TMs you should steer clear of buying, alongside others you’ll want to make a beeline for.
10 NOT WORTH THE MONEY: TM71, Wonder Room (50,000 P)
With its premium price tag (50,000 Pokémon Dollars at the Battle Tower) and impressive-sounding name, you might think this Psychic-type status move would be a powerhouse worth acquiring. Sadly, though, in 99% of situations it just won’t be.
What does it do? Switches the Defense and Special Defense stats of all Pokémon for a brief time. Now, there are a lot of advanced strategies to employ in Pokémon battles, but this move is probably one of the most difficult to pull off successfully. It’s about as niche as it gets.
9 WORTH THE MONEY: TM70, Trick Room (50,000 P)
Trick Room has a lot in common with Wonder Room, being a status move that alters the state of the battlefield for five turns. In this case, however, it’s an incredibly powerful effect, perhaps the strongest that those terrifying Psychic-types have in their arsenal.
Trick Room reverses the turn order while it’s in effect, making the slowest Pokémon move first and the fastest move last. It’s a devastatingly powerful and popular strategy, and only four Pokémon learn the move naturally: Porygon-Z, Oranguru, Diancie and Hoopa (both forms). This TM is a Battle Tower must-buy.
8 NOT WORTH THE MONEY: TM01, Mega Kick (40,000 P)
Now, we’re not about to snark on Normal-types here. They can be fantastic assets to teams, with their single weakness and super handy Ghost-type immunity. It’s just that Normal STAB isn’t super effective on anything so isn’t as valuable, while Normal-type coverage moves basically aren’t a thing at all.
Mega Kick, while very powerful at base 120, is mostly redundant. Once the signature move of Hitmonlee (which didn’t get STAB on it), it’s a stronger, 75% accurate counterpart to Mega Punch, which is four times more expensive at 40,000 P from the rightmost Hammerlocke Pokémon Center. Feel free to skip this one.
7 WORTH THE MONEY: TM25, Protect (10,000 P)
If you’re primarily a singles battler, you might not see very much use for Protect at all. It’s much more niche in that format. Experienced doubles battlers, meanwhile, have surely used this invaluable TM over and over.
Protect simply shields the user from (almost) all damage for a turn, making it an essential part of many doubles Pokémon’s movesets (watch out for Dynamax/Gigantamax moves, though). Predicting which of your critters the opponent will target and keeping them safe in this way is the key to play in this format. One of the greatest Normal moves ever, Protect is an absolute bargain at 10,000 P and should be immediately nabbed from Motostoke’s leftmost Pokémon Center.
6 NOT WORTH THE MONEY: TM35, Hail (10,000 P)
Also weighing it at 10,000 P, from a Hammerlocke Pokémon Center this time, we have TM35, Hail. This Ice-type status move is… well, not one of the best that Ice-types have to offer.
Weather effects are astonishingly powerful strategies to build teams around. Rain, sun and sand are all very powerful in their own ways, offering passive boosts to certain typings and activating a range of useful Abilities (such as Swift Swim and Chlorophyll, which double the Pokémon’s Speed in rain and sun respectively). While hail has had a recent buff in the shape of the Slush Rush Ability (the equivalent of the aforementioned ones) and Aurora Veil, it remains the weakest of the weathers. When it is seen, it’s almost never set manually, making Hail the weakest of the weather-based TMs.
5 WORTH THE MONEY: TM04, Ice Punch (50,000 P)
Next, we’re crossing over to Wyndon, where the Pokémon Center on the right side of the city offers the elemental punches as TMs. Fire Punch (TM03), Ice Punch (TM04) and Thunder Punch (TM05) are available here for 50,000 P each. All these moves provide excellent coverage options for physical attackers (though they do lack a little in raw power), but we’ve plumped for Ice Punch here.
Because Ice-types are weak to… well, basically everything ever, the typing offers great offensive coverage in return. Dragon, Flying, Ground and Grass are all hit super effectively, with some key x4 weaknesses to boot. Tailor your choice to fit your team, but all three of these TM options can be great.
4 NOT WORTH THE MONEY: TM12, Solar Blade (50,000 P)
While you’re in that Wyndon Pokémon Center, you’ll also notice Solar Blade available. This TM can be tempting, as its 125 base power will claim the soul of any Pokémon that doesn’t appreciate Grass-type attacks. The trouble is, though, it’s a two-turn move, which tends to instantly make an attack unviable.
In the sun, it doesn’t require that charge turn, and it can also be mitigated with the use of a Power Herb. However, this makes it very restricting and unreliable outside of favorable weather or Dynamax. It’s not the most efficient way to use your held item slot either. It can be very powerful, yes, but it’s so awkward to use.
3 WORTH THE MONEY: TM17, Light Screen/TM18, Reflect (10,000 P)
Off we go back to Motostoke now, to claim a pair of TMs that we just couldn’t choose between. Light Screen and Reflect have always been two sides of the same excellent coin, the cornerstone of many offensive and defensive strategies alike.
Light Screen halves the damage your team takes from special attacks for five turns, while Reflect has the same effect on physical damage (both can be extended to eight turns if the user’s holding Light Clay). Aurora Veil and Lapras’s G-Max Resonance sets both effects at once, though the former is only available in hail and the latter has obvious limitations. So-called dual screen Pokémon pack both of these moves and use the appropriate one for the situation, so you’ll want to grab both if this strategy appeals. Just watch out for Galarian Mr. Mime and Mr. Rime, as their exclusive Ability Screen Cleaner cancels out the effect of these moves entirely while it’s in battle (even for its own team)! Presumably the one above doesn't have that Ability.
2 NOT WORTH THE MONEY: TM08, Hyper Beam (50,000 P)
As we’ve mentioned, Normal-type STAB isn’t exactly the most sought-after. It can certainly leave a heck of dent, though, as when it comes to incredibly strong moves like the infamous Hyper Beam.
This special attack boasts great power, there’s no denying. Aside from that and its super neat animation, though, we really can’t recommend this one outside of very niche cases (such as Pixilate Sylveon, which sometimes rocks this for when it really needs to take something out). It’s hugely appealing to newer players for its high base power, but this is another Wyndon TM you’ll probably want to leave in the store.
1 WORTH THE MONEY: TM44, Imprison (100,000 P)
To close out our list, we have our most expensive TM of all: Imprison, which costs 100,000 P at the Battle Tower. What are you getting for your money? One of the most situational yet potentiallly devastating moves in the game, that’s what.
This Psychic-type status move prevents opponents in play from using any move that the user also has. As such, it can be fantastic in doubles matches, denying the use of format mainstays like Trick Room and Protect. It won’t come into play every match, but it can be deadly. Trick Room stategies are more popular than ever just now, and you might be surprised how much use you get from this move in competitive play.