Spelunky is © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC, and is used under the [Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt). spelunky.ai is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Mossmouth. The game and its assets may not be sold.

Music by George Buzinkai and Jonathan Perry; sound effects made in SFXR. From Spelunky Classic 1.1, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC.

# Catching every Rock

From the spelunky.ai wiki: <https://spelunky.ai/wiki/catching-every-rock>. Verified against the spelunky.ai port [v0.1.10](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/releases/tag/v0.1.10) on 28 October 2026.

Catching every Rock is a quirk of Spelunky Classic in which a Pitcher's Mitt catch puts every Rock near the player in his hands, not just the one caught.

| Quirk     |                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Status    | GML + Oracle                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| Where     | `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1538-1565`                                                                                                                                                                          |
| Pinned by | `fidelity/replays/item-mitt-catch-every-rock.txt`                                                                                                                                                              |
| Row       | [docs/quirks.md §1, Bugs and leftovers in the 1.1 source](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/blob/main/docs/quirks.md#1-bugs-and-leftovers-in-the-11-source): “The Pitcher's Mitt's catch holds every Rock.” |

A [Rock](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/rock) moving fast across the player costs him 2 hearts and stuns him, unless he wears the
[Pitcher's Mitt](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/pitchers-mitt) with empty hands, when he catches it. The catch is written for the object
rather than the Rock, so it catches all of them.

## What happens

Wearing a Pitcher's Mitt, the player throws a Rock at a wall and catches it on the rebound. The two Rocks
lying on the floor jump into his hands with it, and when he throws, all three fly together[^1].

**Clip: The Pitcher's Mitt catches every rock at once.** Wearing a pitcher's mitt, the player throws a rock at a wall and catches it on the rebound. The two rocks lying on the floor jump into his hands with it, and when he throws, all three fly together. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/39b784c6a7dfc9d3/clips/quirks/mitt-catch-every-rock/clip.mp4))

## Why

The player's step finds the Rock nearest him among those touching him, and if it's moving faster than 4
pixels a step and isn't one he's just thrown, either hurts him or, with the Mitt, catches it[^2]:

```gml objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1543-1548
        if (global.hasMitt and !holdItem)
        {
            holdItem = oRock;
            holdItem.held = true;
            pickupItemType = holdItem.type;
        }
```

`objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1543-1548`, from `spelunky.gmk`, Spelunky Classic 1.1's source, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC ([Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt)).

The Rock it found is `obj`, but the catch puts `oRock` in his hands: the object, not the instance. In
GameMaker, setting a variable on an object sets it on every instance of it[^3], so
`holdItem.held = true` makes every Rock that's awake held, and the shared item code puts each held item in the player's hands[^4]. The throw then sets the speed of `holdItem`, every Rock again, so
they all leave together[^5][^6].

## Reproducing it

Wear the Mitt, with empty hands, and let a fast Rock hit the player once its few safe steps after a throw are
over: his own Rock coming back off a wall, or one an explosion throws. Any other Rock near the screen comes to
his hands with it. The replay of the clip's staged scene pins it: a Rock thrown at a pillar comes back at 7
pixels a step and is caught, and all three Rocks in the room are held until he throws them, all at the same
speed[^7].

## In the port

The spelunky.ai port reproduces it exactly: it's in docs/quirks.md's list of the 1.1 source's bugs[^6], and the oracle's fingerprint of the replay pins every Rock's flight. No option turns it
off.

## FAQ

### What does the Pitcher's Mitt catch do in Spelunky Classic?

A fast Rock that would hurt the player is caught instead, if he wears the [Pitcher's Mitt](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/pitchers-mitt) and his hands are empty. The catch puts every Rock near the screen in his hands, not only that one.

### Why does the player throw several rocks at once?

The Mitt's catch marks the Rock object as held rather than the Rock it caught, which marks every Rock, and a throw then sends them all at the same speed, one on top of another.

### Is catching every Rock a bug?

It's in the 1.1 source: the catch writes the object's name where it means the instance it found. The spelunky.ai port keeps it.

## See also

- **Related:** [Pitcher's Mitt](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/pitchers-mitt), [Rock](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/rock), [Throwing](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/throwing)

## References

[^1]: Clip quirks/mitt-catch-every-rock

[^2]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1538-1565`

[^3]: Quirk 2 (docs/quirks.md)

[^4]: `objects/oItem/step.gml:37-67`

[^5]: `scripts/scrUseItem.gml:595-676`

[^6]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md)

[^7]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-mitt-catch-every-rock.txt`

### Source code

- `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml`
- `objects/oItem/step.gml`
- `scripts/scrUseItem.gml`