You get HM04 Strength as a gift from a sailor NPC at the Olivine Café. The Café is just a couple of steps west of the Pokémon Center in Olivine City.
The HM is available immediately after arriving in Olivine City, and you can get here by leaving Ecruteak City’s west exit and traveling down.
To use Strength outside of battle, you must defeat Gym Leader Whitney in Goldenrod City and acquire the Plain Badge. You’ll do this much earlier than Olivine City, though.
Getting HM04 Strength (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Find Olivine Café to the left of the Pokémon Center at Olivine City.
Step 2: Talk to the sailor sitting at a table in the middle of the room.
He’ll give you HM04 Strength free of charge.
Usually, this would be the time to go and defeat a Gym Leader so you can use the HM move outside of battle.
In this case, it would be Whitney, who you defeated in Goldenrod City before visiting Ecruteak, and then Olivine.
That means you can use Strength in the overworld right away.
HM04 Strength Details + Uses
| Strength Move Details | |
|---|---|
| Type | Normal |
| Category | Physical |
| Power | 80 |
| Accuracy | 100% |
| PP | 15 (max.24) |
Teaching Strength to a Pokémon allows you to move large boulders around in caves, gyms, and other places around Johto and Kanto.
You’ll need Strength to:
- Move boulders inside the Ice Path to reach Blackthorn City.
- Move boulders to progress through Victory Road and reach the Pokémon League.
- Find valuable items in the Dark Cave, Mt. Mortar, and more.
With a power of 80 and 100% accuracy, it’s also a solid Normal-type move that won’t just be a waste of space in your Pokémon’s moveset.
Tip: Teach it to a Normal-type Pokémon to take full advantage of the same-type attack bonus (STAB).
Some strong candidates to learn Strength that you can catch around Olivine City include:
| Pokémon | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Krabby | Water | Fish with Good Rod in Olivine City. |
| Miltank | Normal | Routes 38 and 39 (Morning, Day) |
| Tauros | Normal | Routes 38 and 39 (Morning, Day) |
All Starter Pokémon can also learn Strength after they’ve evolved once (Croconaw, Quilava, Bayleef), but remember that HM moves can’t be overwritten by a new move via level up.
So you’ll need to visit the Move Deleter at Blackthorn City to remove HM moves from a Pokémon’s arsenal and free up the space for better moves.
Guide Navigation
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Pokémon Crystal
- Where To Get HM04 Strength in Pokémon Crystal
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