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Complete guide to all move tutors in Polished Crystal. Find every tutor location, the moves they teach, and what items you need to unlock their services.
Move Tutors are special NPCs scattered throughout Johto and Kanto who can teach your Pokémon powerful moves they might not learn naturally. Unlike TMs, most move tutors require Silver Leaves or Gold Leaves as payment. These tutors offer exclusive moves, competitive strategies, and valuable coverage options for your team.
This comprehensive guide covers every move tutor in Polished Crystal, organized by location and item requirement. Each entry includes the exact location, the move taught, and any special requirements.
Note that as of the current version at time of writing (3.2.3), some tutors that accept Silver Leaves haven't been fully implemented yet. If you can't find them, they may not be in the game yet.
Location: Speak to the NPC standing in front of the Goldenrod Game Corner
Moves Taught:
How to obtain: After defeating Whitney, this tutor appears. Simply speak to them and select which punch move you'd like to teach. This tutor takes 200 coins per move, and is excellent for early-game coverage.
Location: Speak to the NPC in the main area of Ilex Forest, near the shrine
Move Taught: Headbutt (MT13)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Headbutt lets you shake trees and encounter Pokémon hiding in them. Essential for completing your Pokédex and finding rare species like Heracross.
Location: Talk to the Fisher NPC standing near the water in the northwest area of the harbor
Move Taught: Hyper Voice (MT14)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Powerful 90 Base Power Normal-type special move. Excellent for Special Attack-focused Pokémon.
Location: Speak to the NPC on the second floor of the Goldenrod Museum
Move Taught: Baton Pass (MT03)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Lets you switch out while passing stat boosts to your next Pokémon. Advanced competitive strategy move.
Location: Speak to the NPC along Route 31
Move Taught: Sleep Talk (MT24)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Lets a sleeping Pokémon use one of its moves randomly. Pairs well with Rest for defensive strategies.
Location: Speak to the NPC inside the gate building between Route 35 and National Park
Move Taught: Charm (MT05)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Sharply lowers the opponent's Attack stat. Useful for defensive Pokémon and stall strategies.
Location: Speak to the NPC inside Mahogany Mart (available after Team Rocket has been cleared out)
Move Taught: Agility (MT01)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Sharply raises your Pokémon's Speed. Great setup move for offensive sweepers.
Location: Speak to the NPC along Route 40
Move Taught: Knock Off (MT18)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Dark-type move that removes the opponent's held item. Gets a 1.5x damage boost if the target has a held item. Extremely valuable competitively for item removal and damage.
Location: Speak to the NPC on Route 46
Move Taught: Rollout (MT20)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Rock-type move that builds power over consecutive turns. Pairs well with Defense Curl.
Location: Inside the Move Maniac's house in Cianwood City
Move Taught: Any move in your Pokémon's level up moveset, below your Pokémon's current level. Note this doesn't include pre-evolution moves or egg moves.
How to obtain: This is the Move Reminder/Move Relearner service. Speak to the Move Maniac and select the Pokémon whose move you want to restore. You'll see a list of all moves that Pokémon can relearn. This tutor accepts a Gold Leaf.
Location: Speak to the NPC on the first basement floor of Mount Mortar
Move Taught: Defense Curl (MT07)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Raises Defense and doubles the power of Rollout. Useful for defensive setups.
Location: Speak to the Skier NPC inside Snowtop Mountain
Move Taught: Icy Wind (MT16)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Ice-type move that lowers the opponent's Speed. Good for Speed control and coverage.
Location: Speak to the NPC at Cherrygrove Bay
Move Taught: Earth Power (MT10)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Powerful 90 Base Power Ground-type special move with a chance to lower Special Defense. Excellent for special attackers needing Ground coverage.
Location: Speak to the NPC on the first floor of Scary Cave
Move Taught: Sucker Punch (MT25)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Priority Dark-type move. Only works if the opponent is using an attacking move. Great for revenge killing.
Location: Speak to the NPC on the first floor of the Battle Tower
Move Taught: Trick (MT28)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Swaps your held item with the opponent's. Advanced competitive strategy for item manipulation.
Location: Speak to the NPC in Viridian City
Move Taught: Dream Eater (MT09)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Psychic-type move that damages sleeping opponents and restores your HP. Pairs well with sleep-inducing moves.
Location: Speak to the NPC on the second floor of the Pewter Museum
Move Taught: Seismic Toss (MT22)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Fighting-type move that deals damage equal to your Pokémon's level. Consistent damage output regardless of stats.
Location: Speak to the NPCs along Route 4 (between Cerulean City and Mt. Moon)
Moves Taught:
How to obtain: These tutors accept a Silver Leaf.
Use:
Location: Speak to the NPC in Celadon City
Move Taught: Swagger (MT26)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Sharply raises the opponent's Attack but confuses them. Risky strategy move for competitive play.
Location: Speak to the NPC on the third floor of Celadon Department Store
Move Taught: Counter (MT06)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Returns double the damage from a physical attack. Excellent for bulky Fighting-types and defensive strategies.
Location: Speak to the NPC on the second floor of the gate building south of Route 16
Move Taught: Trick Room (MT29)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Reverses Speed order for 5 turns. Core move for Trick Room team strategies.
Location: Inside Mr. Psychic's house in Saffron City
Move Taught: Zen Headbutt (MT31)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: 80 Base Power Psychic-type physical move with a flinch chance. Great for physical Psychic-types.
Location: Inside the Rest House on Route 27
Move Taught: Skill Swap (MT23)
Use: Swaps abilities with the opponent. Advanced competitive move for ability manipulation strategies.
Location: Speak to the manager inside the Power Plant after returning the Machine Part
Move Taught: Zap Cannon (MT30)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: 120 Base Power Electric-type move that always paralyzes but has 50% accuracy. High risk, high reward.
Location: Speak to the NPC in Yellow Forest
Move Taught: Seed Bomb (MT21)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: 80 Base Power Grass-type physical move. Excellent physical Grass coverage.
Location: Speak to the NPCs inside the Warm Beach Shack
Moves Taught:
How to obtain: These tutors accept a Silver Leaf.
Use:
Location: Speak to the NPC inside the Goldenrod Game Corner
Move Taught: Pay Day (MT19)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: Damages the opponent and earns money after battle. Fun utility move for money grinding.
Location: Speak to the NPC in the north section of the Safari Zone
Move Taught: Double-Edge (MT08)
How to obtain: This tutor accepts a Silver Leaf.
Use: 120 Base Power Normal-type move with recoil damage. High-power option for physical attackers.
Yes! All move tutors are reusable. You can teach the same move to as many compatible Pokémon as you want, but you'll need a Silver Leaf (or Gold Leaf for the Move Relearner) for each teaching. These leaves can be found in Ilex and Yellow forests, or on wild Oddish/Gloom (Silver Leaves) and Bellsprout/Weepinbell (Gold Leaves).
Each move has specific compatibility requirements. Check the individual move pages to see which Pokémon can learn each tutor move.
Yes! You can re-teach a move tutor move at the same tutor. Note that some Pokémon only learn a tutor move before they evolve, such as Eevee which can be taught Earth Power while its evolutions cannot.
It depends on the move and your strategy. Some tutor moves (like Earth Power, Knock Off, and Trick Room) are extremely valuable and not available as TMs. Others provide coverage options that complement TM moves.
No. You can visit move tutors in any order, as long as you have the required Silver or Gold Leaves.
Here's a quick reference table of all move tutors:
| Move | Location | MT # | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Agility | Mahogany Mart | MT01 | Silver Leaf |
Aqua Tail | Route 4 | MT02 |
All move tutor data extracted from:
/rom/data/moves/tmhm_moves.asm - Move tutor move definitions (MT01-MT31)/rom/maps/*.asm - Individual map files containing NPC tutor scripts and requirementsBaton Pass | Goldenrod Museum 2F | MT03 | Silver Leaf |
Body Slam | Warm Beach Shack | MT04 | Silver Leaf |
Charm | Route 35 - National Park Gate | MT05 | Silver Leaf |
Counter | Celadon Dept Store 3F | MT06 | Silver Leaf |
Defense Curl | Mount Mortar B1F | MT07 | Silver Leaf |
Double-Edge | Safari Zone North | MT08 | Silver Leaf |
Dream Eater | Viridian City | MT09 | Silver Leaf |
Earth Power | Cherrygrove Bay | MT10 | Silver Leaf |
Endure | Warm Beach Shack | MT11 | Silver Leaf |
Fire Punch | Goldenrod City | MT12 | FREE |
Headbutt | Ilex Forest | MT13 | Silver Leaf |
Hyper Voice | Goldenrod Harbor | MT14 | Silver Leaf |
Ice Punch | Goldenrod City | MT15 | FREE |
Icy Wind | Snowtop Mountain Inside | MT16 | Silver Leaf |
Iron Head | Route 4 | MT17 | Silver Leaf |
Knock Off | Route 40 | MT18 | Silver Leaf |
Pay Day | Goldenrod Game Corner | MT19 | Silver Leaf |
Rollout | Route 46 | MT20 | Silver Leaf |
Seed Bomb | Yellow Forest | MT21 | Silver Leaf |
Seismic Toss | Pewter Museum 2F | MT22 | Silver Leaf |
Skill Swap | Route 27 Rest House | MT23 | Silver Leaf |
Sleep Talk | Route 31 | MT24 | Silver Leaf |
Sucker Punch | Scary Cave 1F | MT25 | Silver Leaf |
Swagger | Celadon City | MT26 | Silver Leaf |
Thunder Punch | Goldenrod City | MT27 | FREE |
Trick | Battle Tower 1F | MT28 | Silver Leaf |
Trick Room | Route 16 South Gate | MT29 | Silver Leaf |
Zap Cannon | Power Plant | MT30 | Silver Leaf |
Zen Headbutt | Saffron City | MT31 | Silver Leaf |