Stats & Training
Everything pushes toward physical damage here. Archen's Attack does the work, Defense pays the price. But you're still getting 1 Attack EV per KO. Tough to catch, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.
This Pokémon was successfully restored from a fossil. As research suggested, Archen is unable to fly. But it’s very good at jumping.
Archen is said to be the ancestor of bird Pokémon. It lived in treetops, eating berries and bug Pokémon.
Archen Weakness
Type-wise, Archen takes extra damage from Water, Electric, Ice, Rock, and Steel. Ground moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. The Rock/Flying typing picks up 5 resistances to work with.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Electric, Ice, Rock, Steel |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Fire, Poison, Flying, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
 Corviknight Steel | A | |
 Stunfisk GroundElectric | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Stunfisk builds →Thunder Shock 2x57-67% Water Gun 2x38-45% | ||
 Shuckle BugRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Shuckle builds →Rock Throw 2x29-36% Rollout 2x21-26% Rock Blast 2x17-21% | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Onix builds →Rock Slide 2x74-88% Rock Throw 2x52-62% Smack Down 2x52-62% Rock Blast 2x29-36% | ||
 Ferroseed GrassSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Ferroseed builds →Flash Cannon 2x57-67% Metal Claw 2x52-62% | ||
Corviknight Steel | A | |
Stunfisk GroundElectric | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Stunfisk builds →Electroweb 2x76-90% Thunder Shock 2x57-67% Water Gun 2x37-45% | ||
Shuckle BugRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Shuckle builds →Rock Throw 2x25-31% Rollout 2x18-22% Rock Blast 2x15-18% | ||
Onix RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Onix builds →Rock Slide 2x67-81% Rock Throw 2x49-58% Smack Down 2x49-58% Rock Blast 2x25-31% | ||
Ferroseed GrassSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Ferroseed builds →Flash Cannon 2x49-58% Metal Claw 2x49-58% | ||
Corviknight Steel | A | |
Stunfisk GroundElectric | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Stunfisk builds →Electroweb 2x75-88% Thunder Shock 2x53-64% Water Gun 2x36-43% | ||
Onix RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Onix builds →Rock Slide 2x68-80% Rock Throw 2x47-56% Smack Down 2x47-56% Rock Blast 2x27-32% | ||
 Pawniard DarkSteel | C | |
Ferroseed GrassSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Ferroseed builds →Flash Cannon 2x51-60% Iron Head 2x75-88% Metal Claw 2x47-56% | ||
Corviknight Steel | A | |
Stunfisk GroundElectric | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Stunfisk builds →Electroweb 2x76-91% Thunder Shock 2x55-66% Water Gun 2x36-44% | ||
 Durant BugSteel | C | |
Onix RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Onix builds →Rock Slide 2x69-81% Rock Throw 2x47-56% Smack Down 2x47-56% Rock Blast 2x26-31% | ||
 Mawile SteelFairy | C | |
Corviknight Steel | A | |
Stunfisk GroundElectric | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Stunfisk builds →Electroweb 2x78-92% Thunder Shock 2x57-68% Water Gun 2x39-46% | ||
Durant BugSteel | C | |
Onix RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Onix builds →Rock Slide 2x67-80% Rock Throw 2x48-56% Smack Down 2x48-56% Rock Blast 2x25-30% | ||
Mawile SteelFairy | C | |
Corviknight Steel | A | |
Durant BugSteel | C | |
 Perrserker Steel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Perrserker builds →Iron Head 2x135-159%KO Metal Claw 2x86-103%KO | ||
 Togedemaru ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Togedemaru builds →Zing Zap 2x123-146%KO Volt Switch 2x57-68% Spark 2x101-119%KO Electroweb 2x46-54% | ||
Onix RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Onix builds →Rock Slide 2x66-78% Rock Throw 2x46-54% Smack Down 2x46-54% Rock Blast 2x25-30% | ||
Corviknight Steel | A | |
Durant BugSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Durant builds →Iron Head 2x134-158%KO Rock Slide 2x84-100%KO Rock Tomb 2x67-79% Metal Claw 2x85-101%KO | ||
Perrserker Steel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Perrserker builds →Iron Head 2x136-160%KO Metal Claw 2x85-101%KO | ||
Togedemaru ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Togedemaru builds →Zing Zap 2x122-145%KO Volt Switch 2x57-67% Spark 2x101-119%KO Electroweb 2x46-54% | ||
Onix RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Onix builds →Rock Slide 2x66-78% Rock Tomb 2x53-62% Rock Throw 2x46-54% Smack Down 2x46-54% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Rhydon builds →Rock Slide 2x150-178%KO Smart Strike 2x94-110%KO Avalanche 2x80-94% Rock Tomb 2x120-142%KO | ||
Corviknight Steel | A | |
 Ferrothorn GrassSteel | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Ferrothorn builds →Flash Cannon 2x79-94% Iron Head 2x122-144%KO Metal Claw 2x77-91% | ||
 Copperajah Steel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Copperajah builds →Iron Head 2x158-187%KO Rock Slide 2x100-118%KO Rock Tomb 2x80-94% Rollout 2x41-48% | ||
Durant BugSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Archen View Durant builds →Iron Head 2x138-163%KO Rock Slide 2x86-102%KO Rock Tomb 2x69-82% Metal Claw 2x87-103%KO | ||
In Sword & Shield, Weavile threatens a KO with Ice Shard (93-110%). Zeraora deals 55-65% with Drain Punch.
 Heatran FireSteel | S | |
Recommended Build AbilityFlashfire ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves View Heatran builds →
| ||
 Weavile DarkIce | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Archen View Weavile builds →Knock Off75-88% Ice Shard 2x93-110%KO | ||
 Zeraora Electric | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityVoltabsorb ItemAir Balloon NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Archen View Zeraora builds →Drain Punch55-65% | ||
 Slowking WaterPsychic | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityRegenerator ItemColbur Berry NatureRelaxed Moves
Damage vs Archen View Slowking builds →Scald 2x129-152%KO | ||
 Nihilego RockPoison | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityBeastboost ItemBlack Sludge NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Archen View Nihilego builds →Power Gem 2x183-215%KO | ||
Sword & Shield Evolution
Archen is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Archeops. Check the evolution method below. A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are slow to hatch. Evolving adds up to 166 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Archen with 42 breeding partners from the Flying and Water3 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Bite, Defog, Double Team and 3 more to offspring.
Sword & Shield Archen Best Moveset
Best Build
No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
Moves
Breeding's the move. Bite and Defog give Archen options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 9 types already covers a decent range on top of Head Smash and Meteor Beam. The egg moves push it further.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Sword & Shield Archen Locations
Archen appears at high spawn rates across 18 spots in endgame routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.
Best Locations to Catch Archen in Sword & Shield
18 walking encounters at Lv. 60-65 for Archen across Shield and Sword. A few locations are version-exclusive, so your copy of the game affects what's available.
Archen Guide
At 401 BST, Archen is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Archeops before bringing it to any serious fight.
Defeatist is the go-to ability for Archen. It halves Attack and Special Attack at 50% max HP or less. It's Archen's only ability.
Archen is a physical attacker with base 112 Attack. Fragile, can't afford to take many hits, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 70 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. Fits the attacker role.
In Sword & Shield, For a casual playthrough, Archen works as a placeholder. Rock/Flying coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Archeops. That's where the stats start mattering.
Game Availability
Since Black & White, Archen has been obtainable in 7 games. A Generation 5 debut means a shorter history, but Archen has appeared steadily across every generation since.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 5BWDebut
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves