Overview
A Charged TM is a training item that replaces one of a Pokémon’s Charged Attacks with a randomly chosen alternative from its standard move pool. If the Pokémon knows two Charged Attacks, you can choose which slot to replace. Because the new move is picked at random, a Pokémon with a large move pool may take several attempts to learn the attack you want.
Unlike an Elite Charged TM, a regular Charged TM does not let you pick a specific attack or teach event-exclusive and legacy moves outside of special event windows. In the current leveling system, Charged TMs unlock in the general reward pool at Trainer Level 23 (though the fixed Level 23 level-up bundle does not include one), while fixed research tasks or guaranteed raid tiers can still award them to lower-level Trainers.
How to get it
Win raids or Max Battles, or claim eligible GO Battle League, research, GO Pass, and other activity rewards.
Three-star and Mega Raids guarantee at least one Charged TM, whereas other raid tiers, Max Battles, and GO Battle League reward tracks award it as a random drop.
Top PokéStop Showcase placements can also award Charged TMs. Check the actual prize bundle; neither a Showcase placement nor every raid promises this particular item.
How to use it
Use the item on a Pokémon with an eligible alternative attack and confirm the replacement.
If the Pokémon knows two Charged Attacks, choose which slot to replace.
Worth knowing
It cannot choose an event-exclusive attack outside the ordinary TM pool. Repeated uses can cycle through moves you have already seen.
Frustration can only be removed during eligible Rocket events, even with an Elite TM. Return can be removed, but cannot be restored with an Elite TM.
Why several TMs may be needed
Because a Charged TM picks randomly from all eligible replacements on every use, you can cycle back and forth between attacks you have already seen. If a Pokémon has k eligible alternative Charged Attacks and each has an equal selection chance of 1/k per attempt, the probability of missing your target attack on a single Charged TM is (k − 1)/k, and the probability of missing it across n attempts is ((k − 1)/k)^n.
For example, with k = 4 eligible alternatives, your target move has a 1/4 (25%) chance on each attempt and a 3/4 (75%) chance of being missed. While the average number of uses needed is 4, that is not a guarantee: after n = 4 attempts, the chance of still missing the move is (3/4)^4 = 81/256, or about 31.6%. This baseline assumes the same 4 alternatives remain in the standard pool and the Pokémon’s unlocked move slots stay the same across all attempts.
Two slots change the pool of possible results
A Pokémon cannot end up with two copies of the same Charged Attack. Its current move and the attack in the other unlocked slot are excluded when selecting a replacement.
To see how a second slot narrows the draw, consider a Pokémon whose standard Charged Attack pool has 4 total moves: A, B, C, and D. As the baseline with only one Charged Attack slot unlocked, a Pokémon knowing move A has 3 eligible replacements (B, C, or D), giving a 1/3 (about 33.3%) chance of rolling a specific target move per Charged TM.
If that same Pokémon also knows move B in its second slot and you use a Charged TM to replace move A, both A and B are excluded, leaving only 2 possible replacements (C or D) and raising the chance of getting your target move to 1/2 (50%) per attempt.
While this reduces randomness, unlocking a second Charged Attack costs between 10,000 Stardust and 25 Candy and 100,000 Stardust and 100 Candy depending on the species, so buying a second slot solely to save Charged TMs is rarely economical unless the Pokémon needs two moves for battle anyway.
Frustration and Return
A Shadow Pokémon’s Frustration can normally be removed only during an announced Team GO Rocket event that enables it. Purifying teaches Return, which a Charged TM can remove at any time. Removing Return is permanent for that individual: neither an ordinary nor an Elite TM can teach it back.
When a Rocket event enables Frustration removal, you can remove it from Pokémon you intend to evolve later. Unlocking a second Charged Attack does not remove Frustration from the first slot. For an evolution event that awards a Charged Attack, clear Frustration beforehand; a second slot alone does not make that event attack replace it.
Once a Shadow Pokémon forgets Frustration, later evolution does not restore it. An ordinary Charged TM is sufficient during the eligible window, so an Elite Charged TM is unnecessary unless you also want a particular exclusive attack.
Before confirming a replacement
A Charged TM changes the selected move, not the Pokémon’s IVs or level. If that slot holds an exclusive attack, an ordinary TM may be unable to restore it later. Finish any planned evolution first, check the final form’s move pool, and preserve a useful second attack when choosing which slot to reroll.
