How to craft TM 007 Protect in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

TM crafting plays a large part of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, offering trainers a unique mechanic to strategize their Pokémon moves, even early in the game. Rather than players needing to wait for Pokémon levels for new moves to appear, or relying solely on finding various TMs sprawled about the wayside, players can now craft them once they have the materials. Here’s how to craft TM 007, Protect, in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

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Materials for crafting TM 007

In order to craft TM 007, Protect, players are going to need three Lechonk Hair and three Scatterbug Powder. These are gained by defeating wild Lechonks and Scatterbugs in the beginning of the game, along Poco Path. Once three of both have been obtained, players should then head to the closest Pokémon Center and visit the TM Machine, referred to in-game by NPCs as a Technical Machine Machine. Crafting TM Protect will also cost 400 LP, or League Points, which can be gained through a myriad of means.

TM Protect is a strong move in its own right, if used intelligently by trainers in battle. Protect allows a Pokémon to protect itself from all attacks during the turn it is used, although will not protect a Pokémon from a status effect gained prior to that round, nor from weather effects. Each successful use of Protect halves its chance of being used successfully, so spamming the move and hoping the enemy runs out of moves for a high-damage attack isn’t a valid strategy.

Protect is a Normal-type move, so most if not all Pokémon can learn the maneuver. What’s difficult to discern, however, is precisely when to use the defensive move. An ideal time is when fighting against a Pokémon that regularly charges an attack for an additional move, as this gives the trainer a full round to prepare to mitigate the damage.