How do Pokemon learn moves from TMs and HMs?

Question

They're disks. Do trainers get a player for these and it emits a certain signal based on the disk? Do you stick it into their mouths and the absorb the knowledge? I feel like it'd make more sense for them to be, like, technique books or something? These are the thoughts that leave me awake at night.

Comments

The Pokemon learns the TM move by eating the TM.

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then how can they be reused?

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I guess that was only true before TMs became reusable.

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Also, this question has already been asked. https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/109725/

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A link to said question would be helpful, wunSum.

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Sorry. I fixed the link.

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This question is over a month old. I'm not bothered about leaving it up if I'm honest, there's no reason to close it a month after it was asked and answered. There are going to be some duplicates, its unavoidable. Just leave it.

Answer 1

The implication is that each of the disks functions sort of like a "how to" DVD. You watch the video, as it demonstrates the technique for doing the move, and you follow along. It's the same idea as some of those exercise tapes or YouTube tutorials.

But this is all inference. This is never stated in any of the games, and to my knowledge TMs and HMs do not exist in the anime. It also doesn't explain how, in older generations, the TM would be consumed on being used to teach it's move to a Pokemon, something that is simply nonsensical with the DVD theory (though this concern is moot now, because TMs are no longer consumed and HMs are no longer HMs).

In the end, it's probably one of those things that nobody really knows, not even the people at GameFreak who made the game.

TMs do make an appearance in Pokemon Origins, but they are never actually shown being used/taught

Comments

I can imagine this:
My diglett is watching TV:
"Hello kids, and welcome back to the CUT show!"
Jokes aside, I thought everyone knew they were CDs. (Not DVDs, they didn't exist when RBY came out)