Mid-stage Pokemon like Honedge rarely see competitive play outside of special formats. It's a waypoint on the road to Aegislash, which is where the real potential kicks in. Known as the Sword Pokemon. The stat spread favors raw physical power.
Defense and Attack carry most of Honedge's stat budget. Speed's the obvious dump stat. Common in the wild and yields 1 Defense EV. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.
Honedge’s soul once belonged to a person who was killed a long time ago by the sword that makes up Honedge’s body.
The blue eye on the sword’s handguard is the true body of Honedge. With its old cloth, it drains people’s lives away.
Honedge Weakness
FortressHonedge's Steel/Ghost typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire, Ground, Ghost, and Dark moves. It shrugs off Normal, Fighting, and Poison-type attacks completely. With 9 resistances, the defensive profile is strong. Honedge's physical bulk (base 100 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
Three stages ahead. Honedge grows into Doublade, then pushes on to Aegislash. Check the evolution methods below. For breeding, average hatch time with plenty of partners via one egg group. The evolved forms gain up to 175 total stats over Honedge.
How to Evolve
Breed Honedge easily with 84 breeding partners from the Mineral egg group.
Honedge hasn't fully evolved, but Eviolite's 50% bulk boost makes it viable anyway. Relaxed nature with max HP and Defense EVs shapes the defensive spread, and Noguard adds utility.
Best Build
Best Honedge Moveset
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Gyro Ball
- Sacred Sword
Recommended Teammates
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Honedge. TMs unlock coverage across 7 types and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Steel Beam and Iron Head into something with actual range.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
The natural movepool does the job, but Block and Destiny Bond from the egg pool give Honedge something extra. Pair those with Iron Head and Flash Cannon for STAB and coverage across 8 types for reach, and the kit fills out nicely.
The natural movepool does the job, but Destiny Bond and Metal Sound from the egg pool give Honedge something extra.
The natural movepool does the job, but Destiny Bond and Metal Sound from the egg pool give Honedge something extra.
No wild encounters for Honedge in Legends: Z-A. It's available in X, Sun, or Sword and can be transferred over. The details below show where to find it.
A handful of locations for Honedge with high spawn rates across mid-game routes. The sort toggle below swaps between best odds and earliest access, so you can approach it based on where you are in the game.
Best Locations
4 walking encounters at Lv. 28-31 for Honedge across Shield and Sword. A few locations are version-exclusive, so your copy of the game affects what's available.
2 encounter spots for Honedge at moderate rates starting from mid-game routes. Best and Earliest sort options below help narrow down your approach based on odds vs. Accessibility.
Best Locations
Honedge starts showing up in mid-game routes at moderate rates across 2 encounter spots. The list below is sorted so you can pick what fits your current progress without scrolling through everything.
Best Locations
Honedge is meant to evolve into Doublade. At 325 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.
Watch for Volcarona (Fire), Swampert (Ground), and Misdreavus (Ghost) when using Honedge. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Dark-type attackers are also a problem. At base 28 Speed, Honedge won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.
Honedge evolves into Doublade at level 35. Honedge is the base form in a 3-stage evolutionary line.
No Guard ensures all moves used by and against the Pokémon hit — that's the one you want on Honedge. It's the only ability Honedge has.
Base 28 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Honedge is a physical attacker with base 80 Attack. Best used as a trick room.
Honedge appears in 6 games, including X & Y, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, and Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon.
Honedge joined the series in X & Y and has been available in 6 titles so far. With 4 generations of appearances, it's established itself despite the later start.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRB
Red & Blue - Gen IIGS
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBW
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXYDebut
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A