Is Arbok Good in Crystal Playthrough?
Crystal makes Arbok available to everyone, but wider access doesn't change what it can do. No useful gym matchups in Johto, and even Morty's Ghost-types resist Poison moves. Crystal's expanded roster gives you better options for every slot Arbok might fill.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Arbok resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Janine's team hits Arbok's weaknesses hard.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catch Ekans
Catch Ekans on Route 32 (walking, Lv 4, common).
Recommended Moves
- LV 15DarkBitePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- TM28GroundDigPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Gift from an officer in the Route 43 gate
- LV 37PoisonAcidPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 30
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- After Lt. Surge
- TM19GrassGiga DrainPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 5Prize for defeating Erika
Evolve Ekans to Arbok
Ekans evolves into Arbok at Level 22. Your Ekans should hit Level 22 before you reach Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- LV 25NormalGlarePower —Accuracy 75%PP 30
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Gift from an officer in the Route 43 gate
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 43PoisonAcidPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 30
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner prize (7500 coins)
- TM19GrassGiga DrainPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 5Prize for defeating Erika
How to Get Arbok in Crystal
Wild Arbok sits at seven locations, but the early-game ones are rare and it only turns common around the high-level Route 28 and Mt. Silver. For most players an Ekans evolved at 22 settles it.
7 locations to catch Arbok8 locations to catch Ekans
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Catch Ekans at any of the 8 locations below, then level it up to 22 — it evolves into Arbok.
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3 Badge 4 Badge 5 Badge 6 Badge 7 Badge 8Where To Catch Arbok in C
Ekans gets you Arbok sooner: catch it (before Badge 2) and evolve it at Lv 22. Wild Arbok first appears at Route 42 (after Badge 4).
- Step 2Arbok ✓Route 3Lv.10GrassRate 5%Morning/dayRoute 4Lv.10GrassRate 5%Morning/dayRoute 42Lv.15GrassRate 5%Morning/dayRoute 27Lv.28GrassRate 30%Morning/dayor evolve from Ekans (Step 1)
Not landing the catch? Calculate Arbok catch rates for Crystal by ball, status, and HP.
How to Get Shiny Arbok in Crystal
Arbok is a common morning and day catch on Kanto's Route 27 at level 28, with level 42 giants around Mt. Silver; the Kanto route is the comfortable grind. Compare Shiny Arbok odds across every game
Crystal Shiny Arbok Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in Crystal with Arbok preloaded.
Arbok Weakness
Arbok is weak to Ground and Psychic. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Only 2 weaknesses makes it relatively easy to build around defensively.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
What is Arbok Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Arbok
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arbok View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x145-172%KO Dig 2x23-27% | ||
 Celebi PsychicGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arbok View Celebi builds →Future Sight 2x125-147%KO Mud-Slap 2x16-20% | ||
 Marowak Ground | B | |
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
 Quagsire WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 32 Surfing | ||
 Geodude RockGround | C | |
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
 Smoochum IcePsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 34 Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arbok View Smoochum builds →Psychic 2x83-98% Mud-Slap 2x9-11% | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Nidoking PoisonGround | B | |
 Donphan Ground | B | |
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Arbok View Slowbro builds →Confusion 2x53-63% Dig 2x38-45% | ||
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
Arbok Evolutions
Arbok is the evolved form of Ekans. Breeding produces Ekans eggs, and they take an average time to hatch. Evolving from Ekans gave Arbok the biggest boost in HP (+25), bringing the total to 438 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
Breeding
Breed with Arbok to get Ekans eggs easily using 13 partners from the Dragon and Field egg groups. Notable egg moves include Beat Up, Crunch, Pursuit and 2 more.
C Arbok Best Moveset
MoveEarthquake for Ground coverage and MoveGlare for guaranteed paralysis are the two competitive tools. Everything else about the stat line and Poison TermStab falls below competitive thresholds. Paralysis support is the one angle.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Earthquake
- Sludge Bomb
- Glare
- Thief
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding opens up real options for Arbok. Beat Up and Crunch come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Sludge Bomb and Acid and Dark and Normal 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.
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
16 of 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
To intimidate foes, it spreads its chest wide and makes eerie sounds by expelling air from its mouth.
Arbok Crystal Guide
Honestly, in Crystal Arbok is a tough sell. It rates just E-Tier, and stronger Poison options exist. Fun pick, not a practical one.
In Crystal, Arbok plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully.
Game Availability
Arbok has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 20 titles across all 9 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
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
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 7Let's Go
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
Explore
Where to go next after Arbok.
Keep playing · CrystalCrystal Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Crystal Tier List