Is Carvanha Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Breed-only. Water/Dark with AbilityRough Skin damaging attackers on contact. Sharpedo at level 30 is fast and aggressive but fragile. Breed-only sourcing limits access.
Carvanha trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Carvanha trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Carvanha trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Sharpedo resists most of Morty's coverage and hits back hard.
Chuck's team hits Sharpedo's weaknesses hard.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Sharpedo trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Sharpedo resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Sharpedo resists most of Sabrina's coverage and hits back hard.
Sharpedo resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Sharpedo resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Sharpedo trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Sharpedo has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Hatch
Hatch Carvanha from an Egg you breed on Route 34.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 1)
- LV 1DarkBitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- LV 28DarkCrunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Pryce
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- LV 38NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
Evolve Carvanha to Sharpedo
Carvanha evolves into Sharpedo at Level 30. Your Carvanha should hit Level 30 before you reach Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 30)
- LV 30DarkCrunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- After Pryce
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 50NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 56DarkNight SlashPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Carvanha in HeartGold & SoulSilver
No fishing rod will ever hook a Carvanha in these games. Its only source is a Sharpedo egg, so you raise the predator to breed the pup that becomes it.
How to Obtain Carvanha in HGSS
- Step 1Carvanha ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom Diamond & PearlAvailableCatch in Diamond & Pearl via Super rod · Great Marsh, then trade to the current game via link cable.CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom PlatinumAvailableCatch in Platinum via Super rod · Great Marsh, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Ruby & SapphireNot TradeableAppears in Ruby & Sapphire via Super rod · Route 119. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom EmeraldNot TradeableAppears in Emerald via Super rod · Route 119. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Black & WhiteNot TradeableAppears in Black & White via Super rod · Village Bridge · Shaking spot. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Black 2 & White 2Not TradeableAppears in Black 2 & White 2 via Super rod · Village Bridge. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom X & YNot TradeableAppears in X & Y via Good rod · Route 22. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire via Super rod · Route 118. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Sharpedo
How to Get Shiny Carvanha in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Carvanha wants a foreign parent, so breed it Masuda-style for a shiny of its own. Compare Shiny Carvanha odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Carvanha Calculator
1 MethodThe only route here 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.
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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Carvanha in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Carvanha Weakness
Type-wise, Carvanha takes extra damage from Electric, Grass, Fighting, and Bug. Psychic moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. 6 resistances give it solid defensive coverage on top of that.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass, Fighting, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Ghost, Dark, Steel |
| 0x (Immune) | Psychic |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Carvanha Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Carvanha
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x541-637%KO Seed Bomb 2x289-340%KO | ||
 Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Toxicroak builds →Focus Punch 2x455-536%KO X-Scissor 2x162-191%KO | ||
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
 Tangrowth Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Tangrowth builds →Solar Beam 2x376-443%KO Focus Blast 2x251-295%KO Shock Wave 2x126-149%KO | ||
 Gallade PsychicFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Gallade builds →Focus Punch 2x524-616%KO Leaf Blade 2x210-248%KO X-Scissor 2x187-220%KO Thunderbolt 2x129-152%KO | ||
 Hitmonlee Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrogue (Mt Mortar Gift) | ||
 Blaziken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Blaziken builds →Focus Punch 2x505-595%KO Solar Beam 2x251-295%KO | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Shiftry builds →Leaf Storm 2x370-435%KO X-Scissor 2x154-182%KO Focus Blast 2x211-249%KO | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Cacturne builds →Solar Beam 2x390-459%KO Focus Punch 2x324-382%KO Pin Missile 2x32-38% | ||
 Primeape Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Primeape builds →Focus Punch 2x451-530%KO U-turn 2x141-166%KO Thunderbolt 2x122-144%KO | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Pinsir Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Pinsir builds →Focus Punch 2x349-411%KO X-Scissor 2x280-329%KO | ||
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Carvanha View Sceptile builds →Leaf Storm 2x421-496%KO Focus Punch 2x252-296%KO X-Scissor 2x135-159%KO | ||
Carvanha Evolutions
Carvanha evolves into Sharpedo. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 155 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Carvanha easily with 19 breeding partners from the Water 2 egg group. Pass egg moves like Ancient Power, Double-Edge, Hydro Pump and 1 more to offspring.
HGSS Carvanha Best Moveset
Water/Dark at 90 Attack and 65 Speed with AbilityRough Skin dealing damage back to physical attackers on contact. The moveset hits hard physically but 20 Defense means one returned hit ends it. Evolve to Sharpedo.
Best Build
Carvanha best EVs are Speed and Attack
Utility Moveset
- Crunch
- Aqua Jet
- Zen Headbutt
- Substitute
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Ancient Power and Double-Edge give Carvanha options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 7 types already covers a decent range on top of Hydro Pump and Surf. The egg moves push it further.
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 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
They form packs to attack boats and rip out their hulls to sink them. They live in rivers in the jungle.
Carvanha HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Carvanha does the job early-game if you need a Water/Dark type on your team. Evolve it into Sharpedo before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Carvanha first appeared in Ruby & Sapphire and has been available in 15 games across 7 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
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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