The Generator Pokemon. Helioptile has Dry Skin for Water immunity and Solar Power boosting Sp. Atk in sun. Electric/Normal on the path to Heliolisk.
Ability 1Dry SkinAbility 1Causes 1/8 max HP in damage each turn during strong sunlight, but heals for 1/8 max HP during rain. Increases damage from fire moves to 1.25×, but absorbs water moves, healing for 1/4 max HP.Ability 2Sand VeilAbility 2Increases evasion to 1.25× during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
289HP44Attack38Defense33Speed70Sp.Def43Sp.Atk61
Weak to
Immune to

How to evolve

  1. This pageHelioptile
  2. Heliolisk
    Use Sun Stone
Special
Balanced
UTier
70Speed · Below Avg

Helioptile Best Moveset

Electric and Normal TermStab at 61 Sp. Atk on 70 Speed cooldowns. Low damage at moderate pace. The moveset is one evolution from Heliolisk's 109/109 special offense that brings both power and cooldown rate to competitive levels.

Evolution family tier history
SABCDEFEEEX & Y / ORASVIXY/ORASPEAKSun & Moon / USUMVIISM/USUMSword & Shield / BDSPVIIISS/BDSPCURRENT
Consistently E-Tier across all generations
★Gen VI — X & Y / ORASE

Helioptile saw minimal competitive use in Gen VI (X & Y / ORAS). This was Helioptile's competitive peak. Its most popular set ran Dryskin with Damprock, favoring a Hardy nature.

Fairy type added to the gameMega Evolution became available

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TM25
Thunder
Electric110POPULARSTAB
TM18
Rain Dance
Water—POPULARUtility
Lv 49
Thunderbolt
Electric90POPULARSTAB
TM97
Dark Pulse
Dark80POPULARCoverage
Helioptile X & Y MovesHelioptile ORAS Moves

Best Build

Experimental
Utility
Ability
Dry Skin
Item
Damp Rock
Best Nature for Helioptile
HardyNEUTRAL

Utility Moveset

  • ThunderSTAB
  • Rain Dance
  • ThunderboltSTAB
  • Dark Pulse

Recommended Teammates

Pyroar
PyroarExcellent
Vivillon
VivillonExcellent
Meowstic
MeowsticExcellent
→Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUME

Helioptile saw minimal competitive use in Gen VII (Sun & Moon / USUM). Helioptile maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Dryskin with Rocky Helmet, favoring a Timid nature.

Z-Moves became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 40
Volt Switch
Electric70POPULARSTAB
TM25
Thunder
Electric110COMMONSTAB
TM44
Rest
Psychic—COMMONRecovery
Tutor
Snore
Normal50COMMONSTAB
Helioptile Sun & Moon MovesHelioptile Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Moves
Experimental
Special Sweeper
Ability
Dry Skin
Item
Rocky HelmetPUNISH
Best Nature for Helioptile
Timid+SPE
EVs

Special Sweeper Moveset

  • Volt SwitchSTAB
  • ThunderSTAB
  • RestRecovery
  • SnoreSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Buizel
BuizelGood
Dwebble
DwebbleGood
Emolga
EmolgaGood
→Gen VIII — Sword & Shield / BDSPE

Helioptile saw minimal competitive use in Gen VIII (Sword & Shield / BDSP). Helioptile maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Solarpower with Assault Vest, favoring a Hasty nature.

Gigantamax became availableDynamax became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 44
Thunder
Electric110POPULARSTAB
Lv 24
Volt Switch
Electric70POPULARSTAB
Egg
Dragon Tail
Dragon60COMMONCoverage
TM39
Facade
Normal70COMMONSTAB
TR58
Dark Pulse
Dark80RARECoverage
Lv 28
Parabolic Charge
Electric65RARESTAB
Helioptile Sword & Shield Moves
Experimental
Utility
Ability
Solar Power
Item
Assault VestBULK
Best Nature for Helioptile
Hasty+SPE
EVs

Utility Moveset

  • ThunderSTAB
  • Volt SwitchSTAB
  • Dragon Tail
  • FacadeSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Bagon
BagonGood
Bronzor
BronzorGood
Ponyta-Galar
Ponyta-GalarGood

Helioptile Weakness

Type-wise, Helioptile takes extra damage from Fighting and Ground. Ghost moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. Dry Skin grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.

Helioptile Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Fighting, Ground
0.5x (Resist)Electric, Flying, Steel
0x (Immune)Ghost

What is Helioptile Weak Against

Good
2Weak
3Resist
2Immune
Score+2
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
FightingGround
½xResist
ElectricFlyingSteel
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
GhostWater

What is Helioptile Strong Against

2Strong
0Resisted
0Immune
Score+2
2xStrong
WaterFlying
½xResisted
None
0xImmune
None

Best Pokemon Against Helioptile

Conkeldurr can KO Helioptile with Drain Punch (287-338%). Excadrill threatens a KO with Earthquake (373-439%).

Conkeldurr
Conkeldurr
Fighting
B
Excadrill
Excadrill
GroundSteel
B

Evolution

Helioptile doesn't evolve by leveling. You'll need an evolution item to push it forward to Heliolisk. Evolving adds up to 192 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Helioptile
#694Helioptile
Sun Stone
Sun Stone
Heliolisk
#695Heliolisk
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Helioptile
ElectricNormal
Heliolisk
ElectricNormal
HP
44
62+18
ATK
38
55+17
DEF
33
52+19
SP.ATK
61
109+48
SP.DEF
43
94+51
SPE
70
109+39
BST
289D-Tier
481B-Tier+192
ROLE
Balanced
Sweeper
TYPE
Special
Special

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Helioptile easily with 72 breeding partners from the Dragon and Monster egg groups.

Egg Groups
DragonMonster
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
gyaradoscharizardkingdrasceptileflygonmiloticnoivernvenusaurblastoisenidokingmeganiumferaligatr
12 of 72·

Shiny Helioptile

The yellow goes warm red-brown, turning Helioptile from a solar lizard into something more desert-dwelling. It's a clear and pleasant shift that works well with the Electric/Normal typing.

Normal vs Shiny
Normal HelioptileNormal
Shiny Helioptile Shiny
Color ShiftYellowtoGray
Shiny TierB Tier Shiny

Shiny Helioptile Evolution

2 Forms
Shiny Helioptile evolution
Stage 1Helioptile
Sun Stone
Shiny Heliolisk evolution
Stage 2Heliolisk
Showing shiny artworkView Full Evolution Chart

Shiny Helioptile Odds & Hunting Methods

6 of 6 Verified
GameBest MethodOddsDifficulty
GameSword & Shield
MethodBrilliant Aura battle-count boostGiant's Mirror (Main) · 40%
Odds1/456
Difficulty
GameUltra Sun & Ultra Moon
MethodMasuda Method
Odds1/512
Difficulty
GameLegends: Z-A
MethodWild EncounterWild Zone 14 +3 moreBest odds require Mega Dimension DLC
Odds1/586
Difficulty
GameX & Y
MethodPoke Radar ChainingRoute 9 · 20%
Odds1/100
Difficulty
Shiny via transfer only
Not obtainable here — bring a shiny in from a game where it can be caught or bred.
GameOmega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Method—
Odds—
Difficulty—
GameSun & 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 Helioptile

All 6 games

Helioptile scurries across Lumiose City's Wild Zones in the open air, popping up anywhere between level 19 and level 48.

Where To Catch Helioptile in LZA

Helioptile is the chain's first catch. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 19-65 across 8 total spots in the chain.

  1. Helioptile
    Step 1Helioptile ✓
    Hyperspace Lumiose - Electric 2-Star
    Lv.19-21Grass
    Legends: Z-A
    Hyperspace Lumiose - Normal 4-Star
    Lv.36-38Grass
    Legends: Z-A
    Hyperspace Lumiose - Electric 4-Star
    Lv.36-38Grass
    Legends: Z-A
    Wild Zone 14
    Lv.37-38Overworld
    Legends: Z-A
  2. Heliolisk
    Step 2Catch or Evolve into Heliolisk
    Hyperspace Lumiose - Normal 4-Star
    Lv.39-41Grass
    Legends: Z-A
    Hyperspace Lumiose - Electric 4-Star
    Lv.39-41Grass
    Legends: Z-A
    Wild Zone 20
    Lv.64-65Overworld
    Legends: Z-A
    or evolve from Helioptile (Step 1)

Base Stats

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

Base Stats
Below
HP44
D
Attack38
F
Defense33
F
Sp. Atk61
C
Sp. Def43
D
Speed70
C
Total289
Details
Catch Rate
Easy190 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height0.5 m
1'08"Tiny
Weight6.0 kg
13.2 lbsFeather
Base XP58
Low Yield
Abilities
Dry Skin
Causes 1/8 max HP in damage each turn during strong sunlight, but heals for 1/8 max HP during rain. Increases damage from fire moves to 1.25×, but absorbs water moves, healing for 1/4 max HP.
Sand Veil
Increases evasion to 1.25× during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
Solar PowerHidden Ability
Increases Special Attack to 1.5× but costs 1/8 max HP after each turn during strong sunlight.
Dry Skin grants Water immunity
EV Yield
HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+1
Speed training source
Pokedex Entry

When spread, the frills on its head act like solar panels, generating the power behind this Pokémon’s electric moves.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Helioptile Guide

  • You can run Helioptile through the first few routes without issues. 289 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Heliolisk as fast as you can.

Game Availability

Helioptile 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.

Click a game to view version-specific details

Explore

Where to go next after Helioptile.

Next stepPokedexBrowse the full Pokedex for every gameSee Pokedex
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