Rock Smash is TM94 in Pokémon X and Y, and you get it in Ambrette Town. Walk down the stairs from Route 8 into town. A girl stands outside the Ambrette Aquarium, next to the Pokémon Center. Talk to her and she gives you TM94 Rock Smash for free. You don’t need a Gym Badge to get it or to use it on cracked rocks, and the TM stays in your Bag after you teach it. Pokémon X and Pokémon Y work the same way.
This covers Pokémon X and Pokémon Y on Nintendo 3DS and 2DS, up to version 1.5. No update changed where Rock Smash is or how it works.
Get Rock Smash in three steps
- Reach Ambrette Town. From Camphrier Town, head through Route 7, Connecting Cave and Route 8. The cliff road of Route 8 ends at a set of stairs that lead down into Ambrette Town. You get there before the second Gym in Cyllage City.
- Talk to the girl outside the Aquarium. The Aquarium is right next to the Pokémon Center, and she stands outside it. She gives you TM94 Rock Smash.
- Teach it and smash. Open the Bag, pick TM94 and teach it to a Pokémon that can learn it. Then walk up to any cracked rock and press A.
Rock Smash in X and Y at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
 Is it a TM or an HM? | A TM: TM94. X and Y only have five HMs, HM01 to HM05 |
| Where is it? | Ambrette Town, from the girl in front of the Ambrette Aquarium |
| Does it cost anything? | No. It’s a gift, and no shop in Kalos sells it |
| Do I need a badge? | No. Not to get it and not to break rocks with it |
| Can I use it more than once? | Yes. TMs don’t get used up in X and Y |
| Move stats | Fighting, physical, 40 power, 100% accuracy, 15 PP. 50% chance to lower the target’s Defense by one stage |
| Can I miss it? | It’s hard to. She stands outside the Aquarium, next to the Pokémon Center |
Walking into Ambrette Town
Route 8 runs along the top of the sea cliffs and drops into Ambrette Town by a set of stairs. From the bottom, head for the Pokémon Center. The Aquarium is right next to it, and the girl is standing outside the Aquarium, so she’s hard to walk past.
The Fossil Lab is a separate building in town. It revives fossils, but nobody there gives you a TM. If you went to the lab looking for Rock Smash, walk back up to the Aquarium.
When you talk to her, she says “Here, Trainer! Use this TM! It’s Rock Smash!” and then explains that the move can lower the foe’s Defense to make up for its low power. It isn’t the only TM in Ambrette Town: a Beauty in the Hotel Ambrette lobby gives you TM96 Nature Power.
TM94, not an HM: what that means
In Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond and Pearl, Rock Smash was an HM that needed a badge. In Pokémon X and Y it’s TM94. That changes three things:
- No badge. You can break cracked rocks as soon as one of your Pokémon knows the move. The HM badge table doesn’t list Rock Smash at all.
- You can forget it. TMs aren’t locked like HMs, so you can overwrite Rock Smash with any other move whenever you like.
- You can teach it again. The TM stays in your Bag, so you can put Rock Smash back on any Pokémon later.
Which Pokémon can learn Rock Smash
TM94 works on 397 species in X and Y, so most teams have someone who can use it. Good early choices are your starter, Pancham, Bunnelby, Dwebble, Binacle, Machop or Hawlucha.
| Pokémon | Can it learn TM94? |
|---|---|
 Chespin line | Yes |
 Froakie line | Yes |
 Fennekin line | No. Use another Pokémon |
| Kanto starters from Professor Sycamore | Yes |
| Fletchling, Zubat, Helioptile, Inkay, Eevee, Ralts, Dedenne | No |
Sawk is the only Pokémon that learns Rock Smash by leveling up, at level 1. That makes it the only one the Move Reminder can give it back to. Every other Pokémon just gets TM94 again from your Bag, which costs nothing.
Which obstacles Rock Smash breaks
There are two things Rock Smash can break. Cracked rocks are small brown rocks covered in cracks, on beaches, routes and in caves. Cracked walls are flat slabs that block a path, on Route 15, in the Lost Hotel and on Victory Road. The large smooth grey boulders are a different obstacle: they need HM04 Strength, which needs the Cliff Badge from Cyllage City. Rock Smash does nothing to them.
Why the rock won’t break
- Nobody in your party knows the move. Teach TM94 first. The prompt only appears when a party Pokémon has Rock Smash.
- It’s a Strength boulder. If it’s big, grey and round, you need Strength, not Rock Smash.
- You already broke it. Broken rocks stay gone until you leave the area and come back.
Where the cracked rocks are
Ambrette Town has the first ones, on the beach below the Aquarium. You reach that beach through the Aquarium’s lower floor. After that, most cracked rocks are along the coast and in caves.
| Area | Cracked rocks | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ambrette Town | 4 | On the beach below the Aquarium |
| Route 8 | 3 | On the sand along the cliffs |
| Cyllage City | 6 | On the beach |
| Glittering Cave | 8 | All in the deep room. The fossil rocks |
| Route 12 | 2 | On the coast |
| Azure Bay | 5 | Reached by Surf from Route 12 |
| Route 13 | 4 | In the Lumiose Badlands |
| Route 18 | 3 | The route that leads to Terminus Cave |
| Terminus Cave | 22 | The most in Kalos, spread over three areas |
| Victory Road | 4 | Plus 2 cracked walls |
Cracked walls are on Route 15 (3), in the Lost Hotel (7) and on Victory Road (2). Two of them hide something worth having: TM95 Snarl is behind a wall on the Route 15 side of the Lost Hotel, and Garchompite on Victory Road is behind a cracked wall too. Reflection Cave has none.
Broken rocks come back when you leave the area and return, so you can farm the same rocks as often as you like.
What jumps out of a cracked rock
Sometimes a wild Pokémon jumps out when you break a rock. Pokémon X and Pokémon Y differ in the early areas, so check the table for your version.
| Area | Pokémon X | Pokémon Y |
|---|---|---|
| Ambrette Town, Route 8 | Dwebble 66%, Binacle 34%, Lv. 18–20 | Dwebble 66%, Binacle 34%, Lv. 13–15 |
| Cyllage City | Dwebble 65%, Onix 35%, Lv. 15–17 | Dwebble 66%, Binacle 34%, Lv. 13–15 |
| Glittering Cave | Dwebble 65%, Onix 35%, Lv. 15–17 | Dwebble 65%, Onix 35%, Lv. 15–17 |
| Route 12, Azure Bay | Dwebble 66%, Binacle 34%, Lv. 23–25 | Dwebble, Binacle, Lv. 23–25 |
| Route 13 | Graveler 66%, Slugma 34%, Lv. 26–28 | Same as X |
| Route 18, Terminus Cave | Graveler 95%, Shuckle 5%, Lv. 44–46 | Same as X |
| Victory Road | Graveler 95%, Shuckle 5%, Lv. 57–59 | Same as X |
The Ambrette and Route 8 rocks in Pokémon X hold level 18–20 Pokémon, which is higher than anything else nearby. That makes them a quick way to pick up experience before the Cyllage Gym. Onix only comes out of rocks in Cyllage City in Pokémon X. In Glittering Cave it shows up in both versions.
What the rocks can drop
When no Pokémon jumps out, a rock can leave an item behind. On the coast that’s things like Heart Scales, Pearls, Big Pearls, Star Pieces, Soft Sand, Hard Stones, Revives and Ethers. The deep room of Glittering Cave can drop Old Amber, which turns into Aerodactyl. After the Hall of Fame those Glittering Cave rocks can also give fossils: Root or Claw in Pokémon X, Helix or Dome in Pokémon Y, and Skull, Armor, Cover or Plume in both. The fossil page has the full list.
Rock Smash in other Pokémon games
This page is only about X and Y. In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Rock Smash is HM06. In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl you don’t teach it at all: the Pokétch’s Hidden Moves app calls a wild Bidoof to break the rock.
Frequently asked questions
Where do you get Rock Smash in Pokémon X and Y?
In Ambrette Town. The girl standing in front of the Ambrette Aquarium, next to the Pokémon Center, gives you TM94 Rock Smash.
Is Rock Smash an HM in Pokémon X and Y?
No. It’s TM94. X and Y only have HM01 to HM05.
Do I need a badge to use Rock Smash?
No. You can break cracked rocks as soon as a Pokémon in your party knows the move.
Is Rock Smash in the Fossil Lab?
No. The Fossil Lab only revives fossils. The TM comes from the girl outside the Aquarium, next to the Pokémon Center.
Can you buy TM94?
No. No shop in Kalos sells it. You don’t need to, because the one you get is never used up.
Is it in the same place in Pokémon Y?
Yes. The girl, the TM and the rocks are the same in both versions. Only some of the Pokémon that jump out of rocks differ.
I deleted Rock Smash. How do I get it back?
Teach TM94 again from your Bag. It’s still there.