Is Donphan Good in FireRed & LeafGreen Playthrough?
Hits hard physically and absorbs hits to match. AbilitySturdy blocks OHKO moves. Ground coverage handles postgame trainers well. Donphan arrives after the five gym leaders it would have been most useful against. Strong in the postgame, wasted by the timing.
Brock's typing presses Phanpy's defenses.
Misty's team hits Phanpy's weaknesses hard.
Phanpy trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Erika's Pokemon outpace and outclass Phanpy here.
Koga's typing presses Phanpy's defenses.
Sabrina's typing presses Phanpy's defenses.
Phanpy trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Phanpy trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Donphan trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Donphan has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Donphan trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Donphan trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Donphan trades roughly evenly with Terry's team.
Catch Phanpy on Canyon Entrance (walking, Lv 10-15, uncommon).
- After Misty
- TM10NormalHidden Power60100%15
- LV 25NormalTake Down9085%20
- After Erika
- TM23SteelIron Tail10075%15
- HM04NormalStrength80100%15
- TM43NormalSecret Power70100%20
- LV 49NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- After Giovanni
- TM26GroundEarthquake150100%10
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
Your Phanpy should hit Level 25 before you reach Lorelei, at typical leveling pace.
- After Misty
- TUTORRockRock Slide7590%10
- After Erika
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- TM23SteelIron Tail10075%15
- HM04NormalStrength80100%15
- TM43NormalSecret Power70100%20
- LV 49GroundEarthquake150100%10
- After Giovanni
- TUTORNormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
How to Get Donphan in FireRed & LeafGreen
Level a Phanpy to 25 for Donphan. The base form's four wild encounters on the Sevii Islands make the chain fully in-game, with no trade required.
Catch Phanpy at any of these 2 spots to eventually evolve into Donphan.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
- 1Catch Phanpy
- 2Evolve Donphanat Lv.25
Badge 8How to Obtain Donphan in FRLG
The path to Donphan starts with Phanpy at Lv. 10-15 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 2Donphan ✓BREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Four Island Pokemon Day Care to receive a Donphan egg. Requires the Rainbow Pass to access Four Island.
Donphan Weakness
Donphan is weak to Water, Grass, and Ice. On the flip side, it's immune to Electric-type moves entirely. Donphan's physical bulk (base 120 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Grass, Ice |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Poison, Rock |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Donphan Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Donphan
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Gyarados builds →Waterfall 2x56-66% Ice Beam 2x44-52% | ||
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Vaporeon builds →Waterfall 2x89-105%KO Ice Beam 2x69-82% | ||
 Wartortle Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Wartortle builds →Waterfall 2x61-72% Ice Beam 2x47-56% | ||
 Ivysaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Gyarados builds →Surf 2x68-80% Ice Beam 2x46-54% | ||
Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Vaporeon builds →Surf 2x106-126%KO Ice Beam 2x71-84% | ||
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | B | |
 Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
Wartortle Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Wartortle builds →Surf 2x72-86% Ice Beam 2x48-57% | ||
Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Gyarados builds →Surf 2x68-80% Ice Beam 2x46-54% | ||
Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Vaporeon builds →Surf 2x106-126%KO Ice Beam 2x71-84% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Lapras builds →Surf 2x88-104%KO Ice Beam 2x88-104%KO | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | B | |
Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | B | |
Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Gyarados builds →Hydro Pump 2x81-96% Ice Beam 2x44-51% | ||
Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
Vaporeon Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Vaporeon builds →Surf 2x103-121%KO Ice Beam 2x69-81% | ||
 Blastoise Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Blastoise builds →Surf 2x85-100%KO Ice Beam 2x56-67% | ||
 Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Articuno builds →Ice Beam 2x96-113%KO Water Pulse 2x40-47% | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | B | |
Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Gyarados builds →Hydro Pump 2x83-98% Ice Beam 2x44-52% | ||
Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Tangela Grass | C | |
Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Articuno builds →Ice Beam 2x94-111%KO Water Pulse 2x40-48% | ||
Exeggutor GrassPsychic | B | |
Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Gyarados builds →Hydro Pump 2x83-98% Ice Beam 2x44-52% | ||
 Suicune Water | A | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Suicune builds →Surf 2x90-106%KO Ice Beam 2x60-70% | ||
Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
S | ||
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Tyranitar builds →Rock Slide8-9% Earthquake21-25% | ||
A | ||
Recommended Build AbilityArenatrap ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Dugtrio builds →Earthquake24-28% Rock Slide9-10% | ||
A | ||
Recommended Build AbilityMagnetpull ItemMagnet NatureModest Moves View Magneton builds →
| ||
B | ||
Recommended Build AbilityClearbody ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Regirock builds →Explosion43-51% Rock Slide7-8% Superpower21-25% | ||
B | ||
Recommended Build AbilitySturdy ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Forretress builds →Rapid Spin6-7% Explosion28-34% Earthquake12-14% | ||
Donphan Evolutions
Evolved from Phanpy. Donphan is the final form in this two-stage line. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Attack grew the most through evolution (+60 over Phanpy), and Donphan peaks at 500 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Donphan to get Phanpy eggs easily using 102 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Ancient Power, Body Slam, Counter and 3 more.
FRLG Donphan Best Moveset
120 Attack with 120 Defense on a Ground type that hits and tanks physical moves equally. AbilitySturdy survives any single OHKO. MoveEarthquake for Ground TermStab and MoveRapid Spin for hazard removal give the moveset offensive and utility roles. 50 Speed means Donphan always takes a hit first, but the bulk handles it.
Best Build
Donphan best EVs are HP and Defense
Bulky Support Moveset
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Hidden Power Rock
- Rock Slide
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding opens up real options for Donphan. Ancient Power and Body Slam come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Earthquake and Fissure and Normal and Rock coverage and more.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Base Stats
The longer and bigger its tusks, the higher its rank in its herd. The tusks take a long time to grow.
It has sharp, hard tusks and a rugged hide. Its TACKLE is strong enough to knock down a house.
Donphan FireRed & LeafGreen Guide
Donphan is obtained in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen by evolving Phanpy by leveling up.
Game Availability
Available in 16 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Donphan spans 9 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in most mainline games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves