Thunder is one of the most powerful moves in the entire Pokemon franchise, and Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players have the ability to teach it to many of their favorites. If they can find the Thunder TM, that is.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players have access to the TM Machine, which allows them to craft TMs in exchange for the LP currency and items dropped by wild Pokemon. While this isn’t as simple as the infinitely reusable TMs that were introduced in Pokemon Black & White, it’s also much better than the once-per-save TMs that players had to deal with in Pokemon Red & Blue.
Ultimately, this still allows players of all sorts to teach as many Pokemon as they want powerful moves. Here’s how to track down the Thunder TM in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet to start teaching it to Pokemon.
Where to Get the Thunder TM in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
The Thunder TM is found north of Alfornada, atop the “Leaking Tower of Paldea” that is sinking into a lake. The exact location on the map can be seen here:
North of the city run by psychic-type gym leader Tulip, players can spot an enormous waterfall that drains into a lake. Sitting in the middle of this lake is a watch tower that is tilted and seemingly sinking into the water. While this might look dangerous, players can use different Koraidon or Miraidon abilities to jump onto the tower. The ideal method for reaching the TM is climbing to the top of the waterfall and then flying down onto the top of the tower, but players can get creative and make it to the location with just the flying or climbing abilities.
Once players pick up the TM, it is added to their menu for crafting TMs. The recipe for the Thunder TM is 12,000 LP, three Pichu Fur, three Tadbulb Mucus, and five Pachirisu Fur.
Is Thunder a Good Move?
Thunder is a powerful move that deals huge damage, but is unreliable due to its lack of accuracy. Thunder offers 110 damage to a single target, but has just 70% accuracy. That relatively low rate of accuracy makes it the less-preferred option to Thunderbolt in most situations, due to its 90 damage and 100% accuracy.
The 70% accuracy and low PP count is manageable in the story mode thanks to its damage output and the ability to fast travel to cities and Pokemon Centers. However, Thunder is troublesome in five and six-star Tera Raid battles, as a missed attack can stall out a Pokemon’s opportunity to Terrastalize.
The one area where Thunder may be preferred over Thunderbolt is in double battles on rain teams. Electric moves have 100% accuracy in the rain, which makes Thunder a very powerful move if players have a Pokemon like Pelipper to set up rain.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.