Is Arbok Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Ekans evolves at level 22. AbilityIntimidate is the real value here. Arbok's stats are middling, but Attack reduction on every switch-in helps the whole team across 16 gyms. Contributes against Erika in Kanto.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Ekans has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up 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 trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Arbok resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Janine's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina'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 has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catch Ekans
Catch Ekans on Route 32 (walking, Lv 4, common).
Recommended Moves
- LV 12NormalGlarePower —Accuracy 75%PP 30
- After Bugsy
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 43
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- LV 41PoisonGunk ShotPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
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
- STARTING (Lv 22)
- LV 22DarkCrunchPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 43
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- LV 56PoisonGunk ShotPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
How to Get Arbok in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Arbok has wild encounters of its own across a handful of routes, common to rare. The reliable path in HeartGold is to evolve the Ekans you caught or bought at the Game Corner, which becomes Arbok at level 22.
5 locations to catch Arbok6 locations to catch Ekans
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Catch Ekans at any of the 6 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 HGSS
Ekans gets you Arbok sooner: catch it (before Badge 2) and evolve it at Lv 22. Wild Arbok first appears at Safari Zone (after Badge 4).
Not landing the catch? Calculate Arbok catch rates for HeartGold & SoulSilver by ball, status, and HP.
How to Get Shiny Arbok in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Arbok coils through the Safari Zone and Route 26 and Route 27, but a shiny comes fastest from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Arbok odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Arbok Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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 HeartGold & SoulSilver 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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Arbok Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Arbok
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 30 partners from the Dragon and Field egg groups. Notable egg moves include Beat Up, Disable, Poison Fang and 6 more.
HGSS Arbok Best Moveset
Physical Poison attacker that softens opponents on the switch through AbilityIntimidate, then hits with MovePoison Jab and MoveEarthquake off 95 Attack at 80 Speed. The moveset combines support and offense, but 60 HP limits how many turns the combination lasts.
Best Build
Arbok best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Revenge Killer Moveset
- Earthquake
- Switcheroo
- Gunk Shot
- Aqua Tail
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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 Gunk Shot and Sludge Bomb and coverage across 10 types.
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. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
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
All 24 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Transfixing prey with the face-like pattern on its belly, it binds and poisons the frightened victim.
With a very vengeful nature, it won’t give up the chase, no matter how far, once it targets its prey.
Arbok HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- How do I catch Arbok in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Arbok in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Arbok from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Arbok easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Arbok can work for a story run. It rates C-Tier, a middle-of-the-pack pick, so the Poison typing decides whether it earns a team slot.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Arbok plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Jolly is the go-to nature for Arbok. That's +Speed / -Sp. Atk. Pair it with 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the balanced role.
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
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