Physical
Balanced
CTier
80Speed · Above Avg

Stats & Training

Arbok's spread isn't flashy. Attack leads, HP trails, 2 stats clear the bar. Moderately hard to find and worth 2 Attack EVs, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
Above
HP60
C
Attack95
B
Defense69
C
Sp. Atk65
C
Sp. Def79
C
Speed80
C
Total448
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging90 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height3.5 m
11'06"Tall
Weight65.0 kg
143.3 lbsStandard
Base XP157
Average
Abilities
IntimidateTop Pick
Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
Shed SkinRare
Has a 33% chance of curing any major status ailment after each turn.
UnnerveHA
Prevents opposing Pokémon from eating held Berries.
EV Yield
HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe
Attack training target
Pokedex Entries

The pattern on its belly is for intimidation. It constricts foes while they are frozen in fear.

Arbok Weakness

Arbok is weak to Ground and Psychic. It resists 5 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Arbok leans offensive (base 95 Atk) rather than trying to tank its weaknesses.

Arbok Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Ground, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug, Fairy
Type ChartGood
2Weak
5Resist
0Immune
Score+1
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
GroundPsychic
½xResist
GrassFightingPoisonBugFairy
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
None
STAB (2)
GrassFairy
How to Beat Arbok in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Best Counters)

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Slowking's Scald hits Arbok for 40-47%. Garchomp threatens a KO with Earthquake (170-200%). Alakazam's Psyshock also KOs at 138-163%.

Slowking
Slowking
WaterPsychic
A
Recommended Build
AbilityRegenerator
ItemColbur Berry
NatureRelaxed
Moves
  • ScaldSTAB
  • TeleportUtility
  • Slack Off
  • Future Sight
Damage vs Arbok
Scald
40-47%
View Slowking builds →

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Evolution

Arbok is the evolved form of Ekans. Breeding produces Ekans eggs, and they're average hatch time. Evolving from Ekans gave Arbok the biggest boost in Attack (+35), bringing the total to 448 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Ekans
#023Ekans
22
Level 22
Arbok
#024Arbok
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Ekans
Poison
Arbok
Poison
HP
35
60+25
ATK
60
95+35
DEF
44
69+25
SP.ATK
40
65+25
SP.DEF
54
79+25
SPE
55
80+25
BST
288C-Tier
448C-Tier+160
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Arbok to get Ekans eggs easily using 30 partners from the Dragon and Ground egg groups. Notable egg moves include Beat Up, Disable, Poison Fang and 6 more.

Egg Groups
DragonGround
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
9moves
Breed With (best first)
gyaradosraichupikachucharizardkingdrasceptileflygonmiloticnidokinggolduckampharosaltaria
12 of 30·

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Arbok Best Moveset

Focus Sash guarantees Arbok survives one hit from full HP. That's enough to deal early damage and fire off Poisonjab before going down. Intimidate and max Attack and Speed EVs maximize first-turn impact.

Best Build

Experimental
Physical Sweeper
Ability
Intimidate
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Best Nature for Arbok
Adamant+ATK

Arbok best EVs are Attack and Speed

EVs

Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • Poison JabSTAB
  • GlareUtility
  • CrunchCoverage
  • Aqua Tail

Recommended Teammates

Weezing
WeezingGood
Cloyster
CloysterGood

Moves

Breeding opens up real options for Arbok. Beat Up and Disable come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Belch and Gunk Shot and coverage across 9 types.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Bite
D6010025Dark
Lv 1
Crunch
S8010015Dark
Lv 1
Fire Fang
D659515Fire
Lv 1
Ice Fang
D659515Ice
Lv 1
Leer
D—10030Normal
Lv 1
Poison Sting
—1510035Poison
Lv 1
Thunder Fang
D659515Electric
Lv 1
Wrap
—159020Normal
Lv 4
Poison Sting
—1510035Poison
Lv 9
Bite
D6010025Dark
Lv 12
Glare
S—10030Normal
Lv 17
Screech
D—8540Normal
Lv 20
Acid
—4010030Poison
Lv 27
Spit Up
D—10010Normal
Lv 27
Stockpile
D——20Normal
Lv 27
Swallow
D——10Normal
Lv 32
Acid Spray
D4010020Poison
Lv 39
Sludge Bomb
C9010010Poison
Lv 44
Gastro Acid
D—10010Poison
Lv 48
Belch
C1209010Poison
Lv 51
Haze
C——30Ice
Lv 56
Coil
D——20Poison
Lv 63
Gunk Shot
B120805Poison

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
C—10015Normal
TM83
Bulldoze
D6010020Ground
TM79
Dark Pulse
D8010015Dark
TM28
Dig
C8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
B10010010Ground
TM58
Endure+4
C——10Normal
TM42
Facade
C7010020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
D7510010Grass
TM68
Giga Impact
B150905Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
C150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
C1007515Steel
TM66
Payback
D5010010Dark
TM84
Poison Jab
S8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
C——5Water
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM80
Rock Slide
C759010Rock
TM39
Rock Tomb
D609515Rock
TM82
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
C9010010Poison
TM96
Strength
—8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
D—8515Normal
TM46
Thief
D6010025Dark
TM41
Torment
D—10015Dark

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Beat Up
D—10010Dark
Egg
Disable
C—10020Normal
Egg
Poison Fang
C5010015Poison
Egg
Poison Tail
—5010025Poison
Egg
Scary Face
——10010Normal
Egg
Slam
—807520Normal
Egg
Spite
D—10010Ghost
Egg
Sucker Punch+1
C701005Dark
Egg
Switcheroo
C—10010Dark

Tutor Moves

Arbok can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Arbok in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

You're catching Ekans first, not Arbok. Ekans appears at moderate rates in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 2-stage line with evolution methods between each stage.

How to Obtain Arbok in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Ekans is your first catch on the way to Arbok. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 58-63 across 6 total spots in the chain.

  1. Ekans
    Step 1Catch Ekans
    Bogsunk Cavern
    Grass Lv.58-63 Swamp
    Post
    Post-game
    Grassland Cave
    Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Riverbank Cave
    Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Still-Water Cavern
    Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Sunlit Cavern
    Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Swampy Cave
    Grass Lv.58-63 Swamp
    Post
    Post-game
  2. Arbok
    Step 2Arbok ✓

Arbok Guide

  • In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Arbok's biggest threats include Golem (Ground) and Starmie (Psychic), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Ekans evolves into Arbok at level 22. Arbok is the fully evolved form. It sits at 448 BST in its evolved form.

  • In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Arbok can work for a story run. 448 BST is average, but Poison typing fills a niche depending on your team composition.

  • In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Don't let Arbok's 448 base stat total fool you. Intimidate is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it C-Tier. Poisonjab with Focus Sash is the standard set.

  • In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Run Intimidate on Arbok. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Arbok also gets Shed Skin and Unnerve, but they don't compare.

Game Availability

Arbok has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 20 titles across all 10 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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