Are HMs in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet? – Answered

I miss the days where you had to hunt HMs down.

The Paldea region introduced a whole horde of new Pokemon, mechanics, TMs, and more, all encased in its huge open world you can spend hundreds of hours getting lost in. But does it include new Hidden Moves? Are HMs even in Gen 9? Here’s everything you need to know about HMs in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

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Are HMs in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

The simple answer: no. Well, kind of. Actually, it’s not that simple. So HMs are technically not in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, not in their old “find one and teach it to a Pokemon” way, anyway. You still have to work to unlock new abilities but the process is much more modern and streamlined.

Related: All Koraidon and Miraidon Upgrades and How to Unlock Them in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

In Paldea, you ride around on either Koraidon or Miraidon depending on whether you’re playing Scarlet or Violet. And by progressing through the Path of Legends and defeating Titan Pokemon, your Legendary vehicle can learn new moves in order to get around the open world much easier.

This is essentially what Gen 9’s HMs are. There’s no teaching whatever Pokemon you want how to use Rock Smash or Surf – everything is done through either Koraidon or Miraidon. So on the surface, no, there are no HMs in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, but you could class these upgrades as “modern” Hidden Moves if you wanted to. As I said, it’s complicated. But in the traditional sense, they’re dead and buried. RIP.

For more Pokemon Scarlet and Violet guides, click through to our game tag to browse our archives. You may also be interested in the following:

About the Author

Meg Bethany Koepp

Meg was Managing Editor at Prima Games until April 2024.