These 8 TMs Are The Best in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen For All Playthroughs

Though Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s release on Switch and Switch 2 was a great surprise for fans of the series, the ports are almost identical to the original Game Boy Advance versions, for better or for worse. Some issues were not fixed, such as the fact that the roaming Legendary Beasts (Raikou, Suicune, and Entei) always come with very low IVs, but a select few problems were. For example, again with the Legendary Beasts, they no longer cause a save-breaking glitch where you couldn’t catch them anymore if they used Roar. Having these ports as almost identical games means you can trace the progress you made in the originals step by step, or maybe tackle Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen with a competitive-adjacent mindset.

This could be a very fun challenge to undertake, as the Gen 3 Kanto remakes are not as easy as they might seem on the surface. For example, beating Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s Elite Four can be anything but a walk in the park if you go in with no prior knowledge, especially if you don’t expect the sudden level gap between them and the rest of the trainers in Kanto. Yet, coming up with the best teams and strategies is easier than it was in 2004, as fans can access tons of detailed data online. This means that it’s even more apparent now how TMs were not made equal, and some are just straight-up the best overall.

These 3 Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen Are Must-Haves For All The Best Teams

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen have three critters that allow you to easily beat most Gyms and Elite Four, and you can get both very early.

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s Best TMs And How to Get Them

One of the biggest things to note with TMs in the Gen 3 Kanto remakes is that you can technically only use each of them once. There are methods to get more, like Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s mail duplication glitch, but if you want to play the game “as intended,” these items are consumed upon use. This means you have to be careful which Pokemon you teach TMs to, and the same goes for Move Tutors. For all intents and purposes, though, these are the single best TMs you can get in a playthrough:

TM04 – Calm Mind: Status move that increases the user’s Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage each. Obtained by defeating Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s Sabrina.
TM06 – Toxic: Status move that badly poisons the opponent, dealing increased damage with poison each turn, but has 85 accuracy. Obtained by defeating Koga in Fuchsia City’s Gym.
TM08 – Bulk Up: Status move that increases the user’s Attack and Defense by one stage each. It’s found on the seventh floor of Silph Co. in Saffron City.
TM13 – Ice Beam: Ice-type attack with 95 base power and 100 accuracy, dealing special damage and potentially freezing the opponent. You can get it at the Game Corner in Celadon City for 4,000 coins.
TM24 – Thunderbolt: Electric-type attack with 95 base power and 100 accuracy, dealing special damage and potentially paralyzing the opponent. You can get it at the Game Corner in Celadon City for 4,000 coins.
TM26 – Earthquake: Powerful 100-base-power Ground-type move that has 100 accuracy. It’s obtained after defeating Giovanni in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s Viridian City Gym.
TM29 – Psychic: Psychic-type move that deals damage with 90 base power and 100 accuracy. You get it from Mr. Psychic in Saffron City, which can be reached before beating Erika in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen.
TM30 – Shadow Ball: Ghost-type attack with 80 base power and 100 accuracy. You can get it at the Game Corner in Celadon City for 4,500 coins.

Why These 8 TMs Are The Best in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen

As the only moves to raise both an offensive stat and a defensive one, Calm Mind and Bulk Up are amazing to set up sweepers. These are exponentially better the faster the Pokemon who learns them is, so Calm Mind is excellent for critters like Alakazam in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, whereas the best candidate for Bulk Up is Hitmonlee.

It’s worth noting that Hitmonchan is secretly one of the worst Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen because it learns the three elemental punches, but they all deal special damage, and Hitmonchan only has a Sp. Atk stat of 45.

Toxic may not deal significant damage within a couple of turns, but paired with Pokemon like Chansey or Muk, it can do some real damage while they tank incoming hits or dodge them with Minimize. Even Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s Venusaur can use Toxic to great effect when combined with Leech Seed, dealing a lot of damage at the end of the turn while healing itself.

Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are possibly the best attack moves in the game, with Earthquake, Psychic, and Shadow Ball coming extremely close. These moves are powerful because they deal massive damage even with no STAB, and they can also inflict statuses on opposing Pokemon. Plus, they can single-handedly deal with most Pokemon used by the Champion in FireRed and LeafGreen, as well as the Elite Four, to the point that Starmie is often considered the best Pokemon overall because it can solo the E4 with Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Surf, and Psychic.

Psychic and Earthquake are up there in terms of raw damage, and many Pokemon can learn them, which makes them amazing and versatile TMs all the time. Finally, Shadow Ball is interesting because Ghost-type moves deal physical damage in Gen 3, so you could teach Snorlax Shadow Ball and watch it wreck Agatha of the E4 with ease.