Pokémon BDSP: Where To Find TM46 Thief (& Which Pokémon Can Learn It)

Finding TM46 Thief in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl should be at the top of every trainer's priorities because it can be found and used early. Thief allows Pokémon to steal the held item of its opponent, whether they're a trainer's Pokémon or a wild Pokémon. Furthermore, the user gets to keep that held item after the battle is over if it wasn't used during combat. There are a couple of items that wild Pokémon have a chance of holding, like the Electirizer, Magmarizer, and Metal Coat, that are needed to evolve certain Pokémon.

The Metal Coat, in particular, is a great item to pick up with Thief in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The Pokémon BDSP Metal Coat can be found on a Magnemite in the Grand Underground or on Bronzor in the wild, but, unfortunately, it only has a 5% chance of being held by either wild Pokémon. Using Thief on either Pokémon at the beginning of the battle will let trainers know whether the Pokémon was holding it, and, after stealing the item, the battle can be fled. Otherwise, players will have to capture Pokémon in order to find out if the wild Pokémon was holding an item in the first place. Using Thief saves time, and whatever Poké Dollars would be spent on extra Pokéballs.

Before finding Thief in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, players will first have to defeat the Eterna City Gym Leader, Gardenia. After defeating Gardenia, players will be able to use the Cut HM outside of battle. Players should head north from the gym in Eterna City toward the Team Galactic building. On the right side of the building is a small tree that needs to be cut down. Players can then follow the pathway to the right of the building to find Thief.

Teach A Pokémon Thief and Use it Competitively in Pokémon BDSP

Shinx Can Learn Thief In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Thief is only available in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl from the location in Eterna City, so, once it is used it can't be reacquired. However, Pokémon can still learn Thief by breeding and hatching eggs in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Egg moves are passed down from parent to offspring in Pokémon so long as one of the parents knows the move. In the original Pokémon Diamond and Pearl games, only the male Pokémon could pass down moves learned through TM, like Thief. This feature may have been included in the plethora of quality of life upgrades included in the remakes, but the father knowing an egg move is a guaranteed method for passing it on to the offspring Pokémon. For this reason, players should seek to teach Thief to a male Pokémon if they intend to pass it down to offspring.

Additionally, Thief can only be passed down if the two Pokémon breeding are in the same Egg Group. Pokémon who do not share a common Egg Group cannot breed unless one of the Pokémon breeding is a Ditto in Pokémon BDSP. The Pokémon breeding with a Ditto would still need to be a male Pokémon in order to pass down Thief through an egg move, or, at least, this was the case in the original Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Unfortunately, if Thief is used on a Pokémon that a player wishes they taught to another Pokémon, the only Pokémon who can learn Thief naturally and pass it down to offspring in their Egg groups are Mightyena and Kecleon.

Both Mightyena and Kecleon can only be obtained after players receive the National Dex, and both can only learn Thief from the Move Tutor in Pastoria City after trading a Heart Scale. More Heart Scales can be found in the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Grand Underground. The Move Tutor teaches Pokémon moves they learn through leveling up, but, in the case of Mightyena and Kecleon, Thief is a move that would be included in their "hatched" moves if they were able to learn five moves instead of four.

Furthermore, Thief has competitive viability because most players will give all their Pokémon an item to hold when battling another player. There are many strategies that are enhanced by Pokémon using items in a competitive setting, and sometimes using Thief is the perfect decision to hinder an opponent's plan of attack.

In addition to stealing a Pokémon's item, Thief is also one of the best physical Dark-type moves available in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. It deals 60 base damage. When used by a Dark-type Pokémon in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Thief will do an additional 10 points of damage thanks to the "stab" effect that every move has when used by a Pokémon of the same type.

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Every Pokémon That Can Learn TM46 Thief

Pokémon BDSP: Where to Find Dusk Stone (& What It’s For)

These are all of the Pokémon in BDSP, including version exclusives, that can learn TM46 Thief.

Generation I

Butterfree
Beedrill
Pidgey
Pidgeotto
Pidgeot
Rattata
Raticate
Spearow
Fearow
Ekans
Arbok
Pikachu
Raichu
Sandshrew
Sandslash
Nidoran (female)
Nidorina
Nidoqueen
Nidoran (male)
Nidorino
Nidoking
Zubat
Golbat
Paras
Parasect
Venonat
Venomoth
Diglett
Dugtrio
Meowth
Persian
Mankey
Primeape
Growlithe
Arcanine
Poliwag
Poliwhirl
Poliwrath
Abra
Kadabra
Alakazam
Machop
Machoke
Machamp
Bellsprout
Weepinbell
Victreebel
Tentacool
Tentacruel
Farfetch'd
Doduo
Dodrio
Seel
Dewgong
Grimer
Muk
Gastly
Haunter
Gengar
Drowzee
Hypno
Krabby
Kingler
Voltorb
Electrode
Exeggcute
Exeggutor
Cubone
Marowak
Hitmonlee
Hitmonchan
Lickitung
Koffing
Weezing
Rhyhorn
Rhydon
Tangela
Kangaskhan
Mr. Mime
Scyther
Jynx
Electabuzz
Magmar
Pinsir
Porygon
Omanyte
Omastar
Kabuto
Kabutops
Aerodactyl
Mew - Players can only get Mew in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl by having a save file of either Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu or Let's Go Eevee on their Switch.