Pokemon Sun and Moon: How to Get the Surf HM

Surf HM – Pokemon Sun and Moon

As you explore the Alola region in Pokemon Sun and Moon, you’ll come across areas where you’ll need the help of a Pokemon to get across a large body of water. While this used to simply be a case of using the Surf HM in previous games – a move you’d teach to a Pokemon in your team – Sun and Moon does away with this classic mechanic and instead goes with Poke Ride creatures.

The Poke Ride mechanics basically works as having another team of Pokemon you’ll acquire on your adventure that will be willing to help you tackle a range of different obstacles. When it comes to finding a Pokemon that can Surf, you’ll be looking at either Lapras or Sharpedo to help you out. It’s important to note that while Lapras will do the job of getting you from A to B, Sharpedo is much faster and also has the ability to jump in water and crash through rocks.

It’s worth noting that these Poke Ride creatures cannot be used in battle, and are instead in the game just to help you get around Alola.

For more tips, tricks, and guides, be sure to check out our ever-expanding wiki guide.

A Bit More on Surf

HMs are a thing of the past now, and thus you don’t need to deal with having a water type Pokemon to learn the Surf move. Not only that, but they then wouldn’t have one move slot permanently taken up. A pretty great deal, right? Nowadays, a Lapras friend will pop up whenever you want in order to make sure your character can traverse bodies of water safely. Additionally, it will help you out with catching some more water types, which is otherwise very difficult because of how much time you spend on the land. All in all, it’s been a huge part of the series, with even the iconic Rare Candy duplication cheat needing you to use Surf.