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Anyone here NOT like using "HM Slaves"?

Do you use "HM Slaves"?

  • YES, I teach all HM's to 2 Pokemon.

    Votes: 13 16.5%
  • NO, I split HM's up amongst my team.

    Votes: 38 48.1%
  • I keep Pokemon with HM's in the PC until needed.

    Votes: 28 35.4%

  • Total voters
    79

Magykx

It's too cold for you here.
193
Posts
11
Years
I normally use HMs such as Surf and Waterfall on my main water type, but useless HMs like Cut, etc. I just use a slave for.
 

BourbonWhiskey

Pokemon Trainer Since 1998
43
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 31
  • Seen Apr 2, 2017
Me. A waste of slot, IMO. I want to play my game with the Pokemon I like the most. I could just go back to the center and get the HM Pokemon I need whenever I need them.
 

Guy

just a guy
7,128
Posts
15
Years
I don't like using HM Slaves only because they take up space, but at the same time I'd rather not give weaker moves to my main party Pokémon. It takes away the fun from having a more diverse move pool when you have to cater to adding HM moves too. So normally I'd keep an HM Slave with me until I'm ready for my final team member. By then I'd just store it in a PC Box and take it out whenever the time calls for it. I prefer catching a Pokémon who can learn at least three, if not four, of the HMs so that way I don't have to have more than one. The only exceptional HM moves I teach to my main party would be Fly, Surf, and Waterfall because they're used frequently and also because they don't suck.
 

Black Dynamite

Resident Noob
65
Posts
10
Years
if only hm's were separate from the 4 move pool.
i always loved surf though i felt it was the water equivalent of thunderbolt, flamethrower and ice beam.

the closest thing i had to a hm slave was my rhydon, which new strength, rock smash and cut but also knew earthquake. and it was the same level as my other pokemon.
also one of my gyarados' knew waterfall dive and surf. but they're all somewhat strong so i dnt mind too much.
 

Mia Mew

✧・゚: *✧・゚:* \(◕ω◕✿)/ *:・゚✧*:・゚
31
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 27
  • USA
  • Seen Sep 28, 2013
I'm glad someone finally understands what I mean! I split them up, always. I feel like it's unfair to pile it all on one Pokemon. I know the HMs aren't really good for competitive battling (except for surf?) but I was never much into that stuff anyways.
 

pokemasta92

3rd Gen. Enthusiast
322
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 31
  • USA
  • Seen Dec 28, 2021
Also off-topic: You gave your starter HM?! Such bad trainers make me sick :)

I was going to address this comment earlier, but I guess I will now.
Yes I gave my starter an HM move. You know why? Because I can. There isn't a rule that says I have to play a certain way. I play the way I find enjoyable the same as everyone else. Not to mention that I had no trouble beating the game with my starter having an HM. Why are people so obsessed with move slots? Some people act like after they attack with 1 move they have to use the next. There are 3 other good moves he knows, all of which are STAB. I have had zero problems using him in battle. I know it will still sound foolish to you because of your opinion, but if you didn't notice Rock Smash is the only Fighting HM, and Blaziken is the only Pokémon in my party that is a Fighting type. So out of all the Pokémon I have Blaziken does the most damage with Rock Smash. That's smart in my book.
 

Elaitenstile

I am legend
1,908
Posts
11
Years
  • Age 24
  • Seen Feb 27, 2015
Me. Don't like HM Slaves since... ever. I make it a point to never use em except for challenges and all that... because it's not worth it. There was another discussion related to this and I'll say the same: it enhances the gameplay when you take along the difficulties with you, it gives a feel of actually "playing" a game if you add your own realism to it. One of the reasons why I enjoy Pokémon, I suppose. My view isn't going to change anytime soon either.
 

Mithel_Celestia

Alluring Illusion
406
Posts
11
Years
HM Slaves tend to waste precious space for more stronger Pokemon. I tend to use strong enough or useful enough HMs on my team if it deems fit to them. Other less useful HMs (ex. Cut) is used on a temporary HM slave which I will box until a path needs it.
 

pokemasta92

3rd Gen. Enthusiast
322
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 31
  • USA
  • Seen Dec 28, 2021
Using HM Slaves just takes away from the realism and fun of the game.
Do you guys think a real life Pokémon trainer would come across a big boulder blocking the way, to then walk all the way back to the previous town (Or Fly, but you still have to walk back in game. You could still fly back in real life.), go to the Pokémon Center, use the PC, deposit one of your good Pokémon because you already have a full team, take out a weak HM Slave that knows the move you need, walk all the way back, just to move the boulder? I don't think so. Yeah you've cleared the way now, but the problem is now you only have 5 Pokémon of your main team. If you want the 6th back I guess you could go back to the previous town and get it, but oh wait now the boulder reset. Even in real life where a boulder wouldn't reset, a real person wouldn't walk to and back and to and back a town. That would even be too much flying. So your only choice now is to continue on, but now you won't be able to use your 6th Pokémon on the trainers or Pokémon that are ahead. Once you get to the next town you can take it out the PC, but it will not have any more experience that it should have gotten along the way. It might sound like no big deal to some people, but this is a problem I have which is why I strongly dislike using HM Slaves. Obviously I would never use a team with HM moves competitively, but I'm talking purely single player here, the main game.
 

OmegaTL

Time Lord
59
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 28
  • Seen Oct 4, 2013
I generally just spread them around my team a bit, teaching no more than 1 HM to permanent team members. I sometimes catch an HM slave if none of the Pokémon on my team can learn that move though. It usually stops me from using my usual in-game team in competitive battles, but I don't mind.
 

Jimmyray

Bish Bash Bosh
563
Posts
16
Years
There's only a handful of crappy HM's in each game, enough for just one slave, or to be distributed among your in-game team without restricting you too much. As much as it is annoying to get to a late game 'Cut' tree and not have anything that knows Cut, it is equally as annoying when, say, your Krookodile wants to learn Outrage but it already knows Earthquake, Stone Edge, Crunch & Cut and you know what you want to delete but you can't. Depends which problem you'd rather be faced with. The good thing about gen 5 games is you could delete any TM move for a move like Outrage, then go to the move deleter, get rid of the HM and then re-teach the TM move without losing the TM itself. I would normally try and incorporate the HM's into my team. E.g. in White I kept Strength on Stoutland throughout and it was actually a really good STAB move, and Fly is never a bad shout in-game, but moves like Rock Climb, Defog, Rock Smash, Cut & Flash can be a pain when they are HM's and not TM's.
 

Colress Machine

The Colress Machine broke...
298
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 28
  • USA
  • Seen Aug 16, 2019
I don't use them at all because they take up space on my team. If I need to use HMs I just go to the Pokemon Center and grab one with the move. Sometimes I teach HMs to my team members like Surf and Fly.
 
21
Posts
10
Years
  • Seen Jan 25, 2014
I wish HMs were never put into Pokemon. The moves can stay but what they shouldv'e done instead is have a seperate stat screen that shows up to 8 different abilities. If it had that ability and the according badge then they should be able to do that action. Why should I teach a Staraptor to Fly? Why should the ability to push a boulder take up a move slot for something more useful. I generally start with a HM slave, then when I reach the Move Deleter, I get rid of HMs I don't need after a while like Cut and Dive.
 

Eevee3

╰( ´・ω・)つ━☆゚.* ・。゚
678
Posts
10
Years
I do a mixture of the last two options in the poll. In the beginning of the game, I used to make many of the Pokemon in my team have the HMs and then let them forget the move later on to make room for better moves. I've never had actual Pokemon with all their moves (or most) being HMs.

Then once I beat the game, I'll end up switching my teams around but always have at least one Pokemon in my PC to have an HM move (or more). The only HM I constantly have in my party is Fly because, well, Fly is REALLY useful. :P
 

Kieran

the Blueberry Champion
1,486
Posts
14
Years
Hmm, the only HMs I keep on my actual team are Fly, Surf and Waterfall.

The rest are on HM Slaves/ Other suitable Pokemon that I am not using.
 

«Chuckles»

Sharky
1,549
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 24
  • Seen Apr 29, 2023
I will teach surf to more than 1 pokemon if they allow me to because it has equal attack power to hydro pump but with more PP... when it comes to cut I will keep it until a move like slash comes along then with strength im normally okay with that waterfall and dive go onto a water pokemon since I will probably use them against rock or fire at some point...

then

theres

flash I will never use flash I will look up a map of the cave on google its useless and finding pokemon for it are hard.
 

Captain Oshawott

The Otter Pirate
236
Posts
10
Years
I don't technically have 'HM Slaves'. I always have a Flying, Water, and Fighting type on my team, so that already covers Strength, Rocksmash, Fly, and of course Surf/Waterfall/etc.

Cut is usually on my team until I can get the move deleter to remove it, so I've never really designated a member of my team STRICTLY for HM slaving.
 

atomtanned

Delinquent
151
Posts
11
Years
  • Seen Oct 17, 2022
I used to spread my HMs around my party, but I decided to try something new in my current Platinum playthrough. I have my most needed HMs (Surf, Rock Smash, Strength, Cut) on my Bibarel, Beavis... and I do actually use her to battle (I don't usually carry another water type with me, so she fills that need with Surf). I absolutely cannot be without Fly, but I teach that to most of my bird Pokemon and just rotate them out.

It isn't a horrible strategy. I like not having to go back to Pokemon Centers for a Pokemon with the right HM, and it doesn't seem like it'd be that bad for Beavis anyways. She's always in the party (I switch everyone else out pretty frequently) and I do use her in battle.
 
67
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 35
  • Seen Oct 18, 2016
Tentacruel with Surf, Waterfall, Cut and Dive. Usually levels it up with the rest of my team. Should be able to act as a "last resort" when every other Pokemon has fainted (in a cave, for instance).
 
37,467
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 34
  • Seen Jan 2, 2024
Depends on if I want to make a team near endgame where I have customized and perfected all the moves, or if I just want to play through the game and story and maybe not care about having the most perfect team ever in the end. In the old games, Yellow version for instance, I usually spread the HMs between my teammates. Cut, Fly, Strength and Surf at least; Flash is a bit more redundant.
 
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