Is Chinchou Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Route 124 Underwater encounters in RS. AbilityVolt Absorb heals from Electric moves, giving Lanturn a free switch-in against Electric attacks. Water/Electric is still unique coverage. Available mid-to-late game in Hoenn.
Chinchou resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Chinchou has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Wattson's typing presses Chinchou's defenses.
Chinchou resists most of Flannery's coverage and hits back hard.
Norman's typing presses Chinchou's defenses.
Chinchou has the type edge here and should clean up Winona's team.
Chinchou has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Lanturn has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Lanturn trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Lanturn trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Lanturn has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Lanturn has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Lanturn has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Catchable
Catch Chinchou on Route 124 (Surf, Lv 20-30, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- LV 25ElectricSparkPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Norman
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10Lilycove Department Store
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- After Winona
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mossdeep City
- LV 41WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
Evolve Chinchou to Lanturn
Chinchou evolves into Lanturn at Level 27. Your Chinchou should hit Level 27 before you reach Wallace, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 27)
- LV 27ElectricSparkPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 27ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Brawly
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10Lilycove Department Store
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- LV 50WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
How to Get Chinchou in Ruby & Sapphire
Chinchou is a common surf catch on the eastern sea, off Routes 124 and 126, sitting in the 20s. Those two stretches of water are the only place the anglerfish lights up in Hoenn.
Wild Chinchou may be holding when caught:
Yellow Shard (5% chance) A shard from an ancient item. Can be sold cheaply.2 locations to catch Chinchou
Encountered via Surfing
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Chinchou in RS
Chinchou is where the line starts, caught through surfing encounters at Lv. 20-30. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
- Step 2Evolve into LanturnBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Chinchou egg.
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Ruby & Sapphire for Chinchou.
How to Get Shiny Chinchou in Ruby & Sapphire
Chinchou surfaces while you Surf Route 124 and Route 126, so cruise that water and work through encounters looking for a shiny. Compare Shiny Chinchou odds across every game
Ruby & Sapphire Shiny Chinchou Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
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.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your Ruby & Sapphire shiny odds for Chinchou.
Chinchou Weakness
Type-wise, Chinchou takes extra damage from Grass and Ground. The Water/Electric typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. Volt Absorb grants an additional Electric immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Grass, Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Flying |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Steel |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Chinchou Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Chinchou
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Chinchou View Sceptile builds →Solar Beam 2x150-177%KO Dig 2x57-67% | ||
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Chinchou View Shiftry builds →Solar Beam 2x134-157%KO Dig 2x64-75% | ||
 Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
 Tropius Grass | C | |
 Swampert WaterGround | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Mudkip (Route 101 Gift) | ||
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
 Lombre WaterGrass | C | |
 Claydol GroundPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Chinchou View Claydol builds →Solar Beam 2x72-85% Dig 2x73-86% | ||
 Geodude RockGround | C | |
 Sandslash Ground | A | |
Chinchou Evolutions
Chinchou is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Lanturn. Check the evolution method below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 130 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Chinchou easily with 17 breeding partners from the Water 2 egg group. Pass egg moves like Amnesia, Flail, Screech to offspring.
RS Chinchou Best Moveset
Water/Electric typing with only two weaknesses and safe Electric switch-ins through AbilityVolt Absorb healing from Electric attacks. Sp. Atk too low for competitive damage. Lanturn improves the stats where the typing functions.
Best Build
Chinchou best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Hydro Pump
- Rain Dance
- Blizzard
- Thunder
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Amnesia and Flail aren't available any other way for Chinchou, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Hydro Pump and Thunder for solid options.
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
CHINCHOU lets loose positive and negative electrical charges from its two antennas to make its prey faint. This POKéMON flashes its electric lights to exchange signals with others.
CHINCHOU’s two antennas are filled with cells that generate strong electricity. This POKéMON’s cells create so much electrical power, it even makes itself tingle slightly.
Chinchou Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Yes. Wild Chinchou in Ruby & Sapphire can hold Yellow Shard (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Yellow Shard.
Game Availability
Debuting in Gold & Silver, Chinchou appears in 17 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in most mainline games, typically found through catching or hatching as a base form.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
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 Chinchou.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List