The Mole Pokemon. Drilbur has Sand Rush doubling Speed in sandstorm and Mold Breaker ignoring abilities. One of the strongest pre-evolutions leading to the dominant Excadrill.
Ability 1Sand RushAbility 1Doubles Speed during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.Ability 2Sand ForceAbility 2Strengthens rock, ground, and steel moves to 1.3× their power during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
328HP60Attack85Defense40Speed68Sp.Def45Sp.Atk30
Drilbur
Excadrill
Weak to
Immune to
Physical
Balanced
ETier
68Speed · Below Avg

Drilbur Best Moveset

Ground at 85 Attack and 68 Speed with AbilitySand Rush doubling Speed under sandstorm. The moveset has real Attack for a pre-evolution but needs sand to compete. Evolve to Excadrill for Ground/Steel TermStab at 135 Attack and the Sand Rush engine that dominates A-Tier.

Evolution family tier history
SABCDEFEE+EEEBlack & White / B2W2VBW/B2W2PEAKX & Y / ORASVIXY/ORASSun & Moon / USUMVIISM/USUMSword & Shield / BDSPVIIISS/BDSPScarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AIXSV/LZACURRENT
★Gen V — Black & White / B2W2E

Drilbur saw minimal competitive use in Gen V (Black & White / B2W2). This was Drilbur's competitive peak. Its most popular set ran Mold Breaker with Eviolite, favoring a Serious nature.

Hidden Abilities became available

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 5
Rapid Spin
Normal50POPULARCoverage
Lv 33
Earthquake
Ground100POPULARSTAB
TM6
Toxic
Poison—COMMONUtility
Tutor
Stealth Rock
Rock—COMMONUtility
Lv 29
Rock Slide
Rock75RARECoverage
Drilbur Black & White MovesDrilbur Black 2 & White 2 Moves

Best Build

Experimental
Wall
Ability
Mold Breaker
Item
EvioliteBULK
Best Nature for Drilbur
SeriousNEUTRAL

Drilbur best EVs are Sp. Def and Defense

EVs

Wall Moveset

  • Rapid Spin
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • ToxicUtility
  • Stealth Rock

Recommended Teammates

Dodrio
DodrioDecent
Slaking
SlakingDecent
Shedinja
ShedinjaDecent
→Gen VI — X & Y / ORASE+

Drilbur saw minimal competitive use in Gen VI (X & Y / ORAS). Drilbur maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Mold Breaker with Focus Sash, favoring a Adamant nature.

Fairy type added to the gameMega Evolution became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Tutor
Stealth Rock
Rock—POPULARUtility
Lv 33
Earthquake
Ground100POPULARSTAB
Lv 5
Rapid Spin
Normal50POPULARCoverage
TM39
Rock Tomb
Rock60COMMONCoverage
Lv 29
Rock Slide
Rock75RARECoverage
Drilbur X & Y MovesDrilbur ORAS Moves
Experimental
Physical Sweeper
Ability
Mold Breaker
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Best Nature for Drilbur
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • Stealth Rock
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rapid Spin
  • Rock Tomb

Recommended Teammates

Clamperl
ClamperlGood
Snivy
SnivyGood
Magby
MagbyGood
→Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUME

Drilbur saw minimal competitive use in Gen VII (Sun & Moon / USUM). Drilbur maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Mold Breaker with Focus Sash, favoring a Jolly nature.

Z-Moves became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Tutor
Stealth Rock
Rock—COMMONUtility
Lv 5
Rapid Spin
Normal50COMMONCoverage
Lv 33
Earthquake
Ground100COMMONSTAB
TM6
Toxic
Poison—COMMONUtility
Lv 29
Rock Slide
Rock75COMMONCoverage
TM78
Bulldoze
Ground60RARESTAB
Drilbur Sun & Moon MovesDrilbur Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Moves
Experimental
Support
Ability
Mold Breaker
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Best Nature for Drilbur
Jolly+SPE
EVs

Support Moveset

  • Stealth Rock
  • Rapid Spin
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • ToxicUtility

Recommended Teammates

Ursaring
UrsaringGood
Manectric
ManectricGood
Froslass
FroslassDecent
→Gen VIII — Sword & Shield / BDSPE

Drilbur saw minimal competitive use in Gen VIII (Sword & Shield / BDSP). Drilbur maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Sandrush with Focus Sash, favoring a Adamant nature.

Gigantamax became availableDynamax became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 36
Swords Dance
Normal—POPULARUtility
Lv 28
Rock Slide
Rock75POPULARCoverage
Lv 44
Earthquake
Ground100POPULARSTAB
Lv 1
Rapid Spin
Normal50POPULARCoverage
Drilbur Sword & Shield Moves
Experimental
Physical Setup Sweeper
Ability
Sand Rush
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Best Nature for Drilbur
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset

  • Swords Dance
  • Rock Slide
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rapid Spin

Recommended Teammates

Cinccino
CinccinoExcellent
Gigalith
GigalithExcellent
Doublade
DoubladeExcellent
→Gen IX — Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AE

Drilbur saw minimal competitive use in Gen IX (Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-A). Drilbur maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Mold Breaker with Eviolite, favoring a Jolly nature.

Terastallization became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 44
Earthquake
Ground100POPULARSTAB
Lv 1
Rapid Spin
Normal50COMMONCoverage
Lv 36
Swords Dance
Normal—COMMONUtility
Lv 28
Rock Slide
Rock75COMMONCoverage
Drilbur Scarlet & Violet MovesDrilbur Legends Z-A Moves
Experimental
Physical Setup Sweeper
Ability
Mold Breaker
Item
EvioliteBULK
Best Nature for Drilbur
Jolly+SPE
EVs

Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rapid Spin
  • Swords Dance
  • Rock Slide

Recommended Teammates

Scovillain
ScovillainGood
Veluza
VeluzaGood
Ninetales-Alola
Ninetales-AlolaGood

Drilbur Weakness

Water, Grass, and Ice moves hit Drilbur for super-effective damage. The upside? Electric-type moves can't touch it at all. Standard number of weaknesses for the Ground typing.

Drilbur Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Water, Grass, Ice
0.5x (Resist)Poison, Rock
0x (Immune)Electric

What is Drilbur Weak Against

Avg
3Weak
2Resist
1Immune
Score-1
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
WaterGrassIce
½xResist
PoisonRock
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Electric

What is Drilbur Strong Against

5Strong
2Resisted
1Immune
Score+2
2xStrong
FireElectricPoisonRockSteel
½xResisted
GrassBug
0xImmune
Flying

Best Pokemon Against Drilbur

Urshifu can KO Drilbur with Close Combat (153-180%). Breloom's Bullet Seed hits Drilbur for 44-52%. Weavile deals 65-77% with Ice Shard.

Urshifu
Urshifu
FightingDark
B
Breloom
Breloom
GrassFighting
B
Weavile
Weavile
DarkIce
B
Glimmet
Glimmet
C
Mienfoo
Mienfoo
C

Evolution

One evolution ahead. Drilbur grows into Excadrill through a straightforward two-stage chain. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. The evolved forms gain up to 180 total stats over Drilbur. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Drilbur
#529Drilbur
31
Level 31
Excadrill
#530Excadrill
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Drilbur
Ground
Excadrill
GroundSteel
HP
60
110+50
ATK
85
135+50
DEF
40
60+20
SP.ATK
30
50+20
SP.DEF
45
65+20
SPE
68
88+20
BST
328E-Tier
508A-Tier+180
ROLE
Balanced
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Drilbur easily with 278 breeding partners from the Field egg group.

Egg Groups
Field
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 278·

Shiny Drilbur

Drilbur gets slightly lighter brown fur, and the mole with drill claws remains visually indistinguishable from its normal form in any practical context. Somewhere in the Gen 5 design meetings, a spreadsheet cell for "Drilbur shiny palette" was left blank and nobody noticed. That's the only explanation.

Normal vs Shiny
Normal DrilburNormal
Shiny Drilbur Shiny
Color ShiftGraytoBrown
Shiny TierD Tier Shiny

Shiny Drilbur Evolution

2 Forms
Shiny Drilbur evolution
Stage 1Drilbur
Lv. 31
Shiny Excadrill evolution
Stage 2Excadrill
Showing shiny artworkView Full Evolution Chart

Shiny Drilbur Odds & Hunting Methods

9 of 9 Verified
GameBest MethodOddsDifficulty
GameSword & Shield
MethodBrilliant Aura battle-count boostDusty Bowl (Main) · 35%
Odds1/456
Difficulty
GameX & Y
MethodMasuda Method
Odds1/512
Difficulty
GameOmega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
MethodMasuda Method
Odds1/512
Difficulty
GameScarlet & Violet
MethodBreeding (Masuda Method)
Odds1/512
Difficulty
GameLegends: Z-A
MethodWild EncounterWild Zone 8 +4 moreBest odds require Mega Dimension DLC
Odds1/586
Difficulty
GameBlack 2 & White 2
MethodMasuda Method
Odds1/1024
Difficulty
GameBlack & White
MethodMasuda Method
Odds1/1365
Difficulty
Shiny via transfer only
Not obtainable here — bring a shiny in from a game where it can be caught or bred.
GameSun & Moon
Method—
Odds—
Difficulty—
GameUltra Sun & Ultra Moon
Method—
Odds—
Difficulty—
More dots = harder hunt1/200 Green = best verified rate
How do we research these odds?

We check every game where a shiny is possible, then rank each one by the best method available in that game, so the row at the top is the fastest route overall.

Odds marked verified are cross-checked against multiple independent sources before we publish them. Where a rate is not yet confirmed we mark the row pending rather than guess a number.

Read our full methodology

How to Get Drilbur

All 9 games

4 encounter spots for Drilbur starting from endgame routes. The list below shows each one, so start with the spot nearest your current route.

Where To Catch Drilbur in SV

Drilbur is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 50-80. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Drilbur
    Step 1Drilbur ✓
    Canyon Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    Polar Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    Savanna Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    Canyon Biome
    Lv.64Overworld
  2. Excadrill
    Step 2Catch or Evolve into Excadrill
    Canyon Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    Polar Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    or evolve from Drilbur (Step 1)

Bring the right balls: check Drilbur catch odds in the Scarlet & Violet Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.

Base Stats

Attack and Speed carry most of Drilbur's stat budget. Sp. Atk's the obvious dump stat. Common in the wild and yields 1 Attack EV. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
Avg
HP60
C
Attack85
C
Defense40
D
Sp. Atk30
F
Sp. Def45
D
Speed68
C
Total328
Details
Catch Rate
Moderate120 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height0.3 m
1'00"Tiny
Weight8.5 kg
18.7 lbsFeather
Base XP66
Low Yield
Abilities
Sand Rush
Doubles Speed during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
Sand Force
Strengthens rock, ground, and steel moves to 1.3× their power during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
Mold BreakerHidden Ability
Bypasses targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent a move.
EV Yield
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Attack training source
Pokedex Entry

It brings its claws together and whirls around at high speed before rushing toward its prey.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Drilbur Guide

  • You can run Drilbur through the first few routes without issues. 328 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Excadrill as fast as you can.

Game Availability

Drilbur joined the series in Black & White and has been available in 9 titles so far. With 5 generations of appearances, it's established itself despite the later start.

Click a game to view version-specific details

Explore

Where to go next after Drilbur.

Next stepPokedexBrowse the full Pokedex for every gameSee Pokedex
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