How do egg moves work in the Pokemon games? Answered

gamepur.com:

Under normal circumstances, a Pokemon’s potential move-set is exclusively limited to moves they can learn through leveling up, as well as whatever TM moves they are able to learn. The Pokemon series employs this mechanic to prevent a Pokemon from gaining overly powerful moves that an opposing trainer wouldn’t expect, such as having a high-powered grass move like Giga Drain on a Charizard to counter its water weakness. By exploiting a hidden mechanic known as Egg Moves, however, you can customize your Pokemon’s moves to better suit your battling needs.

Egg Moves are a type of move given to a newborn Pokemon after hatching from an egg. An Egg Move is unique in that, rather than selecting a move available to that species of Pokemon, a move unique to the egg’s parents is given to the child instead. This allows a certain Pokemon to be bred between species, allowing for an expanded potential move-set that — in theory — includes every move that each of the parents can learn.

Originally, only the father could pass an Egg Move to the child, though since Pokemon X and Y, this has been changed to provide a move from both parents. In modern games — excluding the most recent installment, Pokemon Legends Arceus — this means that a child Pokemon has a chance to roll two of their parents’ eight moves to start with from level one, with a 1/16 chance to be born with any combination of two moves. The potential for unique Egg Moves also includes any move that either parent can learn through a TM or HM, provided that they actively know the move.

Related: How to breed all Pokemon in Sword and Shield

For almost all combinations of potential parents, the broader range of possible Egg Moves available to a child is