Trying to find HM Cut in Pokémon X and Y? Good news: it is not hidden behind a brutal puzzle, a secret password, or a suspicious man asking whether you enjoy shorts. HM01 Cut is sitting inside the garden maze at Parfum Palace, waiting in a yellow Poké Ball like a tiny lawn-care miracle. The trick is knowing when you can reach Parfum Palace, where the maze is, and which Pokémon should learn the move without making you regret it three badges later.
In Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, Cut is a classic Hidden Machine move that lets you chop down small thorny trees blocking optional paths. It is not the flashiest move in Kalos, and nobody is building an Elite Four strategy around it unless they are doing a comedy challenge run. Still, HM01 Cut is useful for exploring extra areas, grabbing items, and making the Kalos region feel a little less like it was designed by a hedge enthusiast with too much free time.
This guide explains exactly how to get HM Cut in Pokémon X and Y in 8 easy steps. You will learn how to reach Parfum Palace, where to find the yellow Poké Ball in the maze, how to teach Cut, how to use it outside battle, and what mistakes to avoid before sacrificing a precious moveslot.
Quick Answer: Where Is HM Cut in Pokémon X and Y?
HM01 Cut is found in the southwest hedge maze in the Parfum Palace courtyard. After entering Parfum Palace through Route 6, go through the palace to the garden area, cross the bridge, and search the southwest maze. The HM is inside a yellow Poké Ball in the center-right clearing of that maze.
You can reach this area after progressing through the early Kalos story, defeating Viola at the Santalune City Gym, traveling through Lumiose City, reaching Camphrier Town, and heading north through Route 6 toward Parfum Palace. You will also need to pay the palace entry fee of 1,000 Pokédollars. Yes, even in Pokémon, luxury tourism has hidden costs.
What Is HM01 Cut?
HM01 Cut teaches the move Cut, a Normal-type physical attack. In battle, Cut has 50 base power, 95 accuracy, and 30 PP. Outside battle, its real value is practical: it removes small cuttable trees that block paths. In Pokémon X and Y, this usually means opening optional routes to items, shortcuts, and small exploration rewards.
Because Cut is an HM move in Generation VI, it cannot be forgotten normally once taught. To remove it, you need the Move Deleter later in the game. That makes your choice of Cut user important. Do not teach Cut to your favorite carefully planned sweeper unless you are emotionally prepared to watch it carry a glorified gardening tool for half the adventure.
How to Get HM Cut in Pokémon X and Y: 8 Steps
Step 1: Beat Viola at the Santalune City Gym
Your first major requirement is defeating Viola, the Bug-type Gym Leader in Santalune City. Beating Viola earns you the Bug Badge, which allows Cut to be used outside battle in Pokémon X and Y. This is important because simply owning HM01 is not enough; you also need the proper badge permission before your Pokémon can start trimming Kalos like a professional landscaping crew.
Viola uses Bug-type Pokémon, so Fire-, Flying-, and Rock-type moves work well. Fletchling, which you can find early, is especially helpful because it can use Flying-type attacks against her team. After winning, continue the story north toward Route 4 and Lumiose City.
Step 2: Travel Through Route 4 and Reach Lumiose City
After Santalune City, head north through Route 4, also known as Parterre Way. This route is full of fountains, gardens, and trainers who appear to have been placed specifically to test whether you healed after the Gym. Keep moving north until you reach Lumiose City, the giant Kalos metropolis inspired by Paris.
You will not fully explore Lumiose City yet because parts of it are blocked early in the story. That is normal. Follow the main path and story guidance until you are directed toward Route 5. The game gently pushes you in the right direction, which is convenient because Lumiose City can feel like a beautiful roundabout designed by someone who hates maps.
Step 3: Follow Route 5 to Camphrier Town
From Lumiose City, continue west onto Route 5. This route takes you toward Camphrier Town, a small town connected to the next part of the story. Along the way, you will encounter trainers, wild Pokémon, and some early-game opportunities to round out your team.
Camphrier Town is important because it leads to Route 7 and Route 6. When you first try to continue west on Route 7, a sleeping Snorlax blocks the path. This oversized nap enthusiast is your sign that the story wants you to visit Parfum Palace. To solve the Snorlax problem, you need the Poké Flute, and the Poké Flute is tied to the Parfum Palace event.
Step 4: Go to Route 6, Also Called Palais Lane
From the Route 7 area near Camphrier Town, head north onto Route 6, also known as Palais Lane. This route leads directly to Parfum Palace. It is a straight, tree-lined path that looks fancy enough to make your player character stand up straighter.
Route 6 has trainers and wild encounters in the tall grass along the sides, but if your only goal is HM01 Cut, you can follow the central path north. You may still want to battle trainers for experience, because Kalos has a habit of rewarding players who do not sprint past every NPC like they are late for a dentist appointment.
Step 5: Enter Parfum Palace and Pay the Fee
At the end of Route 6, you will arrive at Parfum Palace. Shauna joins you near the entrance, and the gatekeeper charges an entry fee of 1,000 Pokédollars. Pay the fee to enter. If you are low on money, battle nearby trainers first or sell unnecessary items. The palace is not optional if you want to continue the Snorlax storyline, and it is also where HM Cut is waiting.
Inside the palace, you will see the owner panicking because his Furfrou has run off. This begins the palace event. Before solving the Furfrou puzzle, take time to explore the building and courtyard. There are useful items here, including the Amulet Coin inside the palace, which can help you earn more money from future battles.
Step 6: Go Through the Palace to the Courtyard Garden
From the main entrance hall of Parfum Palace, go through the large doors leading outside to the courtyard garden. Cross the bridge into the hedge maze area. The garden has multiple shaped mazes, hidden items, and enough shrubbery to make you wonder whether the palace owner spends more on landscaping than on emotional support for his Furfrou.
The key area for HM Cut is the southwest hedge maze. Depending on how you think about directions, it may feel like the lower-left maze from your viewpoint after entering the garden. This is the maze shaped like a Chandelure. Do not worry if you do not immediately recognize the design. Hedge art is not exactly the Pokédex’s strongest category.
Step 7: Pick Up the Yellow Poké Ball in the Southwest Maze
Enter the southwest hedge maze and make your way toward the center-right clearing. There, you will find a yellow Poké Ball on the ground. Pick it up to receive HM01 Cut. That is the big moment. No boss battle, no secret code, no dramatic speech. Just you, a maze, and the sudden power to bully small trees.
While you are in the garden, it is worth exploring the other corners too. Parfum Palace contains several extra items, including a Super Potion, Antidote, Revive, Guard Spec., hidden Rare Candy, and more. Some are obvious; others are hidden. If you like squeezing every last item out of a route, this courtyard is a mini treasure hunt wearing a tuxedo.
Step 8: Teach Cut to a Compatible Pokémon and Use It on Small Trees
After obtaining HM01, open your Bag, go to the TMs & HMs pocket, select HM01 Cut, and choose a compatible Pokémon. Many Grass-, Normal-, Bug-, and some other physical Pokémon can learn Cut, but the best choice is usually a utility Pokémon rather than a core battler. Since HM moves are hard to remove until later, teach Cut to a Pokémon you do not mind using for field support.
To use Cut outside battle, stand in front of a small cuttable tree and press A. The game will ask whether you want to use Cut. Confirm, and your Pokémon will remove the obstacle. In Pokémon X and Y, you can also access Cut from the party menu if needed, but interacting directly with the tree is faster.
Best Pokémon to Teach Cut in Pokémon X and Y
The best Cut user is not necessarily your strongest Pokémon. It is usually a team member that can spare a moveslot or a dedicated utility Pokémon that helps you explore without weakening your main battle plan. Early-game options may include Pokémon such as Bunnelby, Zigzagoon, Pancham, Farfetch’d, or other compatible Pokémon depending on what you have caught.
If you are playing casually, teaching Cut to a Pokémon you already use is fine. Cut can still deal damage in early-game battles, and 30 PP makes it convenient for clearing weaker opponents. However, as the game progresses, Cut becomes noticeably weaker than better Normal-type attacks and coverage moves. By mid-game, it is more of a field tool than a serious battle option.
Common Mistakes When Getting HM Cut
Mistake 1: Looking Inside the Palace Instead of the Garden
HM01 Cut is not inside a bedroom, library, hallway, or fancy gold-plated corner of Parfum Palace. It is outside in the courtyard maze. If you are running around the palace interior wondering why every room has expensive décor but no HM, go outside through the central doors and cross the bridge.
Mistake 2: Searching the Wrong Maze
The courtyard contains more than one hedge maze. HM Cut is in the southwest maze, not the maze where Furfrou is hiding. If you are chasing Furfrou and getting annoyed, pause the dog drama and check the lower-left garden maze first.
Mistake 3: Teaching Cut to a Key Battler Too Early
Cut is useful, but it is not a premium battle move. Avoid teaching it to a Pokémon with a carefully planned moveset unless you are comfortable keeping it for a while. Later, the Move Deleter can remove HM moves, but early on, that commitment can feel like buying a couch and discovering it blocks the refrigerator.
Mistake 4: Thinking Cut Is Required for the Main Story
Cut is helpful for optional exploration, but Pokémon X and Y do not force you to use it constantly to finish the main adventure. You should still collect it because it opens extra areas and items, but do not panic if your main team is not built around it.
What to Do After Getting HM Cut
After grabbing HM01 Cut, continue the Parfum Palace event by helping Shauna corner the lost Furfrou. Once you return the Furfrou to its owner, you will eventually watch a fireworks scene and receive the Poké Flute. That flute lets you wake the Snorlax blocking Route 7, allowing the story to continue west toward the Battle Chateau, Connecting Cave, Ambrette Town, and beyond.
This is also a good time to revisit earlier areas with small trees. Pokémon games love hiding items behind harmless-looking shrubs, and Kalos is no exception. Once Cut is available, keep an eye out for narrow side paths and suspicious trees. If a tree looks like it was placed purely to annoy completionists, it probably guards something worth checking.
Why HM Cut Still Matters in Pokémon X and Y
HM Cut may not be glamorous, but it represents one of the classic Pokémon exploration mechanics. Before newer games moved away from traditional HMs, moves like Cut, Surf, Strength, and Fly gave the world a layered structure. You would notice blocked paths early, earn new abilities, and return later to see what was behind them. That sense of “I can finally get there” is part of what made older Pokémon adventures satisfying.
In Pokémon X and Y, Cut is less central than Surf or Strength, but it still rewards curiosity. It encourages players to backtrack, inspect routes, and interact with the environment. Even when the reward is just an item tucked behind a tree, the process makes the region feel more connected. Plus, there is something oddly satisfying about reducing an obstacle to confetti with one button press.
Extra Tips for Exploring Parfum Palace
Parfum Palace is more than a stop for HM Cut. Before leaving, search the second floor for the Amulet Coin, which doubles prize money if the holder participates in battle. This is one of the most useful early-game items for players who like buying clothes, Poké Balls, healing items, or anything else that makes the wallet cry.
In the courtyard, check behind the fountain for a hidden Rare Candy. Explore each hedge maze carefully, because several items are placed in different corners. After collecting HM01 Cut, solving the Furfrou puzzle is straightforward: use Shauna to block escape paths and guide Furfrou into the dead end. It is less “master strategist” and more “politely outsmart a fancy dog,” but it gets the job done.
Personal Experience: Getting HM Cut in Pokémon X and Y
The first time many players reach Parfum Palace, they are not thinking about HM01 Cut at all. The game frames the visit around the missing Furfrou, the Poké Flute, and the Snorlax blocking Route 7. You walk into this absurdly wealthy palace, pay the entrance fee, watch the owner panic about his runaway dog, and suddenly you are drafted into luxury pet retrieval. Somewhere in the middle of that, one of the most useful early field moves is just sitting in a hedge maze like an afterthought.
That is part of what makes finding HM Cut in Pokémon X and Y memorable. It does not arrive through a Gym Leader speech or a dramatic professor handoff. It is tucked away in a garden that feels both fancy and silly. You are surrounded by shaped hedges, hidden items, and a Furfrou that refuses to cooperate. The whole scene has the energy of a royal estate where the staff forgot to label the important gardening equipment.
A smart approach is to explore before rushing the story objective. Many players chase Furfrou first, watch the fireworks, collect the Poké Flute, and leave without realizing HM01 Cut was nearby. Then later, they see a small tree blocking an item and wonder where Cut is. That backtracking is not the end of the world, but it is avoidable. When you enter the courtyard, check the southwest maze first. Grab the yellow Poké Ball, secure HM01, and then continue the Furfrou puzzle like the responsible trainer you are pretending to be.
Another useful habit is deciding early who your HM helper will be. In Pokémon X and Y, your team can become crowded quickly because Kalos offers a generous variety of Pokémon. You may want a stylish starter, a regional bird, a Fairy-type, a Mega Evolution candidate, and three other favorites because self-control is hard when every route throws something cute at you. Teaching Cut to the wrong Pokémon can make your moveset feel cramped. Giving it to a utility Pokémon keeps your main battlers flexible.
Cut also changes the way you look at routes. Before you have it, small trees are just scenery with attitude. After you have it, every one of them becomes a question: “What are you hiding?” Sometimes the answer is an item. Sometimes it is a shortcut. Sometimes it is disappointment wearing leaves. But the simple act of checking makes exploration more engaging.
The Parfum Palace section also works well because it combines multiple rewards in one place. You can get HM01 Cut, the Amulet Coin, the Poké Flute, TM17 Protect, and several courtyard items within a short sequence. That makes it one of the best early-game stops for players who like efficiency. The story may be about waking Snorlax, but the palace quietly gives you tools that help for many hours afterward.
In the end, getting HM Cut in Pokémon X and Y is simple once you know the location: reach Parfum Palace, enter the courtyard, search the southwest hedge maze, and pick up the yellow Poké Ball. The hardest part is not the maze. It is resisting the urge to teach Cut to your favorite Pokémon just because it is standing there looking loyal.
Conclusion
Getting HM Cut in Pokémon X and Y is easy when you follow the right path. Beat Viola for the Bug Badge, travel through Lumiose City and Camphrier Town, head up Route 6 to Parfum Palace, pay the entrance fee, and search the southwest hedge maze in the courtyard. The yellow Poké Ball there contains HM01 Cut.
Once you have it, teach Cut to a compatible Pokémon that can spare a moveslot. Use it to remove small trees, unlock optional paths, and collect extra items throughout Kalos. It may not be the strongest move in battle, but as an exploration tool, Cut is worth picking up as soon as you reach Parfum Palace. In a region full of beauty, fashion, Mega Evolution, and dramatic hair, sometimes the real hero is the Pokémon willing to do yard work.
