Where to get Cut in Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow

Cut is not just the first hidden machine you gain access to in Pokemon Red and Blue, but one of the handiest. It allows your Pokemon to chop down the small trees and bushes that block useful shortcuts, tempting items and sneaky routes around otherwise required trainer battles.

Cut is also vital for story progress, you can’t complete the game without it, since you need it to access the 3rd gym and chop down the tree to the right of Cerulean City to get to Rock Tunnel.

However, whether you’re a returning Pokemon master replaying this classic adventure or just want to see where it all started, it’s easy to miss where you actually get the Cut HM – especially when you start to encounter cuttable trees almost immediately on your journey.

Here’s where to get the Cut HM in the original Pokemon Red and Blue versions.

Pokemon Red/Blue Cut location

To get Cut in Pokemon Red and Blue, first defeat the trainers on Nugget Bridge in Cerulean City to make your way up to Bill’s House.

Rescue Bill from his predicament and he will gift you the SS Anne Ticket. Now, go back down to Cerulean and on the right, go through the house that was guarded by a policeman. Then go all the way to the bottom of the screen and into the building you find. This is a tunnel that leads to Vermillion City.

On the other side of the tunnel, continue downwards until you reach Vermillion, then enter the SS Anne via the port at the bottom of the city, past the Fan Club where you get the bike voucher.

Inside the ship, go left down the stairs, then down and around to the right. Here you will meet your rival, who can be quite tough depending on how prepared you are. Once they’re defeated, continue up the stairs they were blocking and speak to the ship’s captain, who just so happens to be a master of the Cut technique.

After you’ve helped them overcome their sickness, they’ll hand over the Cut HM. You can now exit the SS Anne and go over to the left. You can then use your new Cut technique to chop down the pesky tree blocking the entrance to the 3rd gym and press on with your adventure. Remember though, you need to have defeated Misty to use Cut outside of battle, so if you skipped her return to Cerulean first.

How to use Cut in Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow

In later Pokemon games, you can just press A to interact with a tree and cut it down. However, in the Generation 1 games, to use Cut you must open your menu, navigate to “Pokemon”, then the select the Pokemon that knows Cut and use the move while standing in front of the tree.

What Pokemon can learn Cut in Generation 1?

While many Pokemon have sharp teeth and strong claws, not all of them can learn the Cut technique. Both the Bulbasaur and Charmander line cah learn Cut, but it’s probably not worth wasting the permanent move slot on what is a relatively weak attacking move.

Other good choices like Scyther and Krabby are also not available until much later in the games. This means that when you first gain access to Cut, you best bets are Diglett – caught from the Diglett Cave in Vermillion City – or Farfetch’d, which you can trade a Spearow for at the house near the Pokemon Center in Vermillion City.