How To Get TM89 U-Turn in Pokémon Platinum

There are two ways to get TM89 U-Turn in Platinum:

There is one copy of TM89 in the southwestern corner of Canalave City, visible as an overworld item. It requires Surf to reach it. (Once-only)
Unlimited copies of TM89 can be purchased in Veilstone City’s Game Corner Prize Exchange kiosk for 6000 Coins. (Repeatable)

U-Turn is a damage-dealing Bug-type physical move. If U-Turn is successful, the user will switch out of battle after dealing damage.

How To Get TM89 U-Turn

Below we’ll show you both ways to get TM89 U-Turn, with Veilstone City’s method being repeatable for multiple copies of the TM.

Location 1: Canalave City

TM89’s first location on the Town Map.

Make sure you have a Pokémon that knows Surf in your party.

Then from the Pokémon Center in Canalave City, head over the drawbridge to the west.

Crossing the drawbridge in Canalave City.

Move west as far as you can go, then turn southward.

Turning to the south at Canalave Gym.

Turn to the east at Sailor Eldritch’s house, and step onto the pier by the line of ships.

At the water’s edge immediately on the pier, use Surf going south. Start moving south across the water.

Surfing southward at Canalave City’s port.

Head southward as far as you can go, past all the ships, until you reach land.

Dismount here and follow the path curving to the west.

Hitting land, south of Canalave’s port.

At the end of the path you will find TM89 U-Turn, visible as a Pokéball item.

Acquiring TM89 U-Turn.

Location 2: Veilstone City Game Corner Prize

TM89’s second location on the Town Map.

The second method of obtaining TM89 U-Turn is repeatable, but expensive.

You’ll want to head to Veilstone City’s Prize Exchange kiosk, next to the Game Corner.

From Veilstone’s Pokémon Center, take the main road east, then turn south.

Heading southeast from Veilstone City’s Pokémon Center.

The Prize Exchange is up the next set of stairs you see, directly south of the Pokémon Center.

Veilstone City Prize Exchange.

You can buy TM89 U-Turn from the attendant inside for 6000 Coins.

TM89 U-Turn for sale at the Prize Exchange.

The problem with this method is its cost, either in time or money.

Unless you are unnaturally good at playing the slot machines at the Game Corner next door to the Prize Exchange, you can plan on potentially spending hours trying to earn enough to meet the 6000-Coin price tag.

You can spend Pokédollars and buy Coins, but the exchange rate is 500 Coins for 10,000 Pokédollars.

Even though TM89 is one of the cheapest TMs at the Prize Exchange, to buy it outright would cost you 120,000 Pokédollars.

U-Turn is a fine move, but it’s worth assessing whether or not you need more than one Pokémon on your team that knows it.

If you haven’t wasted the TM89 from Canalave City, it’s probably worth saving your Coins for one of the rarer TMs offered by the Prize Exchange.

U-Turn Details + Uses

In-game description of TM89 U-Turn.

U-Turn is a damage-dealing, Bug-type physical attack move. It has the added effect of switching the user out for a Pokémon of your choice from your party.

U-Turn Move Details
Type	Bug
Category	Physical
Power	70
Accuracy	100%
PP	20 (max. 32)

U-Turn can be an exceptionally useful move, especially when used by a Pokémon with a high Speed stat.

It can be used to do relatively high damage to an opposing Pokémon—its base power is 70—while tricking them into using a move that the switched-in Pokémon will be strong or immune to.

It can also be used to switch out a Pokémon with low HP without wasting a turn doing so.

Although U-Turn is a Bug-type move, a wide range of Pokémon of all different types can learn it. This introduces a potential element of surprise to a battle.

A good use of U-Turn in this manner would be if a Fighting-type Pokémon used it on a Psychic-type, then turned around and switched out for a Dark type to finish it off.

The opponent would likely be coaxed into using a super-effective Psychic attack against the Fighting-type Pokémon, only to be hit with a super-effective Bug-type attack, and then have its Psychic-type attack fall flat against the Dark-type Pokémon’s Psychic immunity, effectively wasting a turn.

Another benefit of U-Turn is the ability to escape status moves that typically prevent opponents from switching out or fleeing, such as:

Arena Trap
Magnet Pull
Shadow Tag
Mean Look
Spider Web
Block

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Chris Haygood

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Chris is an American freelance writer and lifelong gamer. RPGs have been his genre of choice ever since he got Pokémon Blue in 1867, but if he finds a good rhythm game, he will prioritize playing it over both eating and breathing.

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