Getting the Earthquake TM is an absolute must for any Pokemon Scarlet & Violet player, but tracking it down isn’t particularly easy. Trainers need to fulfill a tricky prerequisite in order to obtain it, but it’s well worth the effort.
Earthquake has been a reliable attack throughout the entire history of Pokemon. Its 100 damage beats out go-to attacks such as Flamethrower and Thunderbolt while still maintaining their 100% accuracy. It can also be learned by a very long list of Pokemon, making it a common sight in both single and double battles, whether that’s in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet or almost any other mainline game in the series.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: How to Find 5 Trainers in the Asado Desert
The only issue is that many Pokemon require a TM to learn Earthquake. Because of that, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet trainers will need to go out of their way in order to track down the Earthquake TM and will then need to craft duplicates in order to take their team to the next level.
Where is the Earthquake TM in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?
The Earthquake TM can be obtained from the Pokemon League representative in the northern Pokemon Center of Cascarrafa, home of water-type gym leader Kofu. This representative tasks the player with defeating five of the eight trainers that can be found in the Asado Desert.
The good news is that the Asado Desert’s trainers are relatively easy to reach. Seven of the eight can be accessed with the basic version of Koraidon or Miraidon, with just one requiring the climbing ability. Because only five need to be defeated, players can fulfill the requirements without having great pain in navigating the world. Players can also do this without worrying about the Quaking Earth Titan.
The easiest path to take is to head across the bridge near the Cascarrafa Pokemon Center, then go west to find the first trainer. Head south from there and travel to each of the mountains. Each of the three mountains in the southern central portion of the Asado Desert has a trainer standing along their base. From there, head north towards the path that leads to Porto Marinada to find one last trainer.
After finding the last one, meet the Pokemon League rep in Cascarrafa to get the Earthquake TM. After obtaining it, duplicates can be made at any Pokemon Center’s TM Machine. Crafting a new Earthquake TM calls for 12,000 LP, 5 Phanpy Nails, 3 Diglett Dirts, and 3 Barboach Slimes.
Best Pokemon to Teach Earthquake
Earthquake is a great move for any physical attacker that can learn it, but the best users in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are arguably Gyarados and Garchomp. Both of these Pokemon are very strong and can utilize the move in different ways.
Gyarados is the best user because of the introduction of Terastalization. Earthquake is already a good move for Gyarados, but ground is the likely the best Tera Type for Gyarados as it turns its double weakness to electric moves into immunity. That’s an enormous power spike defensively, but it also gives Earthquake a STAB power-up after Terastalizing.
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Garchomp is already a ground-type physical attacker, so it runs Earthquake normally. Ground is a serviceable Tera Type on Garchomp as it lessens its weakness to ice attacks, and because it further amplifies the power of Earthquake.
Earthquake hits both enemies and allies in double battles. That requires creative use of flying types, Levitate users, and the move Protect. Those who do single battles, Tera Raids, or the story can simply use the move with impunity.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.
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