Is Articuno Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Not native to Hoenn. Trade from FireRed or LeafGreen. AbilityPressure drains PP faster. Articuno's Ice-type attacks handle Drake's Dragon team and the Flying sub-typing gives it utility. Trade-only but strong against the E4's Dragon specialist.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Articuno resists most of Brawly's coverage and hits back hard.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Articuno has the type edge here and should clean up Winona's team.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Articuno has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Articuno resists most of Drake's coverage and hits back hard.
Articuno trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Trade
Articuno cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Roxanne
- TM47SteelSteel WingPower 70Accuracy 90%PP 25Granite Cave
- After Wattson
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 111
- After Norman
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 105Accuracy 95%PP 15Route 119
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Winona
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Winona
- LV 49IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 73IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
How to Get Articuno in Ruby & Sapphire
Articuno does not roam Hoenn. The ice bird has no nest in this region, so it only arrives through a trade, and with a catch rate of 3 it was a brutal catch wherever you first got it.
Articuno cannot be caught in the wild in Ruby & Sapphire, but you can still get it via these paths:
Obtain and trade from these games:
Then trade to Ruby & Sapphire.
Also Obtainable In:
Pokemon transfers only go forward through generations, never backward. Direct cross-gen trades aren't supported.
How to Get Shiny Articuno in Ruby & Sapphire
The frozen bird waits on Seafoam Islands B4F in FireRed or LeafGreen, well outside Hoenn, so soft reset until Articuno shines and bring it back. See every game where Shiny Articuno can be hunted
Shiny Articuno Evolution
Does Not EvolveArticuno Weakness
Articuno is weak to Rock, Fire, Electric, and Steel. Watch out for Rock attacks, those deal 4x damage. On the flip side, it's immune to Ground-type moves entirely. Articuno's special bulk (base 125 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Rock |
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Electric, Steel |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Articuno Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Articuno
 Blaziken FireFighting | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Blaziken builds →Overheat 2x86-102%KO Rock Tomb 4x55-65% | ||
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Camerupt builds →Eruption 2x89-104%KO Rock Slide 4x70-83% | ||
 Armaldo RockBug | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Armaldo builds →Ancient Power 4x101-119%KO Iron Tail 2x55-65% | ||
 Metagross SteelPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Beldum (Mossdeep City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Metagross builds →Meteor Mash 2x80-94% Rock Tomb 4x60-70% | ||
 Registeel Steel | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 120 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Registeel builds →Ancient Power 4x45-53% Thunderbolt 2x29-34% Metal Claw 2x28-33% | ||
 Regirock Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 111 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Regirock builds →Ancient Power 4x85-100%KO Thunderbolt 2x22-26% | ||
 Magneton ElectricSteel | A | |
 Torkoal Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Torkoal builds →Overheat 2x70-82% Iron Tail 2x40-48% | ||
 Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Aggron builds →Rock Tomb 4x76-90% Iron Tail 2x75-89% Fire Blast 2x30-36% Thunderbolt 2x25-29% | ||
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Ninetales builds →Overheat 2x67-79% Iron Tail 2x37-44% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Rhydon builds →Rock Tomb 4x87-103%KO Iron Tail 2x57-68% Fire Blast 2x25-29% Thunderbolt 2x20-24% | ||
 Magcargo FireRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Magcargo builds →Overheat 2x73-86% Rock Slide 4x63-74% | ||
 Manectric Electric | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Manectric builds →Thunderbolt 2x57-67% Iron Tail 2x37-43% | ||
 Raichu Electric | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Articuno View Raichu builds →Thunderbolt 2x50-59% Iron Tail 2x42-49% | ||
Articuno Evolutions
Articuno is strong overall with 580 total stats as a Ice/Flying legendary. Can't breed it, so you're locked to whatever you catch or receive. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
RS Articuno Best Moveset
125 Sp. Atk fires MoveIce Beam with power, and AbilityPressure doubles opponent PP usage to wear down moves faster. MoveRest plus MoveSleep Talk sustains the defensive frame, MoveRoar forces out into MoveSpikes. Held ItemLeftovers adds passive recovery. PP-draining defensive Ice attacker.
Best Build
Articuno best EVs are HP and Sp. Def
Wall Moveset
- Ice Beam
- Heal Bell
- Rest
- Roar
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs define Articuno's movepool. The natural moves cover basics with Blizzard and Ice Beam, but the real versatility comes from technical machines giving it Normal and Fighting coverage and more. That's where the options open up.
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 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
ARTICUNO is a legendary bird POKéMON that can control ice. The flapping of its wings chills the air. As a result, it is said that when this POKéMON flies, snow will fall.
Articuno Ruby & Sapphire Guide
No. Articuno isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Find it in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it over.
Game Availability
Articuno has appeared in 20 games since Red & Blue, spanning 9 generations. As a Legendary, it's typically a one-per-save encounter tied to the story or post-game content.
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 8SwShGalarian
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 Articuno.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List