Utility
Balanced
320Low
35Very Slow
DTier

Cubone sits at the start of its evolution line — not yet at full power, but that changes fast. Most trainers push through to Marowak as fast as possible. Known as the Lonely Pokemon. Flexible enough to run physical or special sets.

Nothing fancy in Cubone's spread. It leans mixed with Defense out front. And you'll get 1 Defense EV per KO for it. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
320Avg
HP50
D
Attack50
D
Defense95
B
Sp. Atk40
D
Sp. Def50
D
Speed35
F
Total320
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Cubone yields +1 Def
HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe
Details
Catch190EasyMedium Fast1M XP0.4m / 1'04"6.5kg / 14.3 lbs64Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Wears the skull of its deceased mother. Its cries echo inside the skull and come out as a sad melody.

Yellow

Cubone Weakness

Avg

Cubone is weak to Water, Grass, and Ice-type moves. On the flip side, it's immune to Electric-type moves entirely. Cubone's physical bulk (base 95 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Gen I Type Chart
  • Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
  • Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
  • Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
4xCriticali
None
½xResisti
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
3Weak
2Resist
1Immune
Scorei-1
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Rock HeadProtects against recoil damage.
Lightning RodRedirects single-target electric moves to this Pokémon where possible. Absorbs Electric moves, raising Special Attack one stage.
Battle ArmorHAProtects against critical hits.
Lightning Rod grants Electric immunity

Cubone evolves into Marowak, but can't breed. At 320 stats as a Ground type, evolution is the only path. Evolving adds up to 105 stat points total.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Cubone
Ground
Marowak
Ground
HP
50
60+10
ATK
50
80+30
DEF
95
110+15
SP.ATK
40
50+10
SP.DEF
50
80+30
SPE
35
45+10
BST
320D-Tier
425C-Tier+105
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Utility
Physical
Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Best Build

Gen 1 build content has limited support (no abilities, held items, or natures).

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Most of Cubone's flexibility comes from TMs. Same-type output runs through Earthquake and Dig, but Normal and Ice and the rest of the TM pool push it from predictable to genuinely threatening.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Growl
10040Normal
Lv 10
Bone Club
658520Ground
Lv 13
Tail Whip
10030Normal
Lv 18
Headbutt
7010015Normal
Lv 25
Leer
10030Normal
Lv 31
Focus Energy
30Normal
Lv 38
Thrash
12010020Normal
Lv 43
Bonemerang
509010Ground
Lv 46
Rage
2010020Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM34
Bide+1
10Normal
TM14
Blizzard
110905Ice
TM08
Body Slam
8510015Normal
TM11
Bubble Beam
6510020Water
TM18
Counter-5
10020Fighting
TM28
Dig
10010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM27
Fissure
305Ground
TM13
Ice Beam
9510010Ice
TM05
Mega Kick
120755Normal
TM01
Mega Punch
808520Normal
TM31
Mimic
10Normal
TM20
Rage
2010020Normal
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM19
Seismic Toss
10020Fighting
TM40
Skull Bash
10010010Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM17
Submission
808025Fighting
TM50
Substitute
10Normal
TM09
Take Down
908520Normal
TM06
Toxic
9010Poison
TM12
Water Gun
4010025Water

Egg Moves

Cubone doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Cubone can't learn any Tutor moves

decent spawn rates for Cubone across 6 locations in mid-game routes. Nothing complicated. Check the sorted list below, compare the top few options, and head to whichever is closest.

Best Locations

6 walking spots from Lv. 16-24 for Cubone. Sorted by game progression with rates on each row, so you can compare without scrolling through everything.

Safari Zone - East
GrassLv.19UncommonMidFacility
EASY
Safari Zone - West
GrassLv.19UncommonMidFacility
EASY
Safari Zone - North
GrassLv.16RareMidFacility
CHALLENGING
Pokémon Tower - 5F
GrassLv.20RareMidBuilding
CHALLENGING
Pokémon Tower - 6F
GrassLv.20RareMidBuilding
CHALLENGING
Pokémon Tower - 7F
GrassLv.24RareMidBuilding
CHALLENGING
  • At 320 BST, Cubone is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Marowak before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Cubone's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. At base 35 Speed, Cubone won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.

  • Cubone can evolve into Marowak and Alolan Marowak depending on the method. Cubone is the base form in a 3-stage evolutionary line.

  • Cubone is leaning toward the physical side (base 50 Attack). But the speed tells the real story — base 35 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go.

  • Cubone appears in 20 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Present since Red & Blue, Cubone appears in 20 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Cubone have the longest track record of availability in the series.