While most trainers evolve Deerling into Sawsbuck immediately, the unevolved form has a niche with Eviolite boosting its defenses. Ghost moves can't touch it, which offsets the 6 weaknesses somewhat. Can go either physical or special depending on the set. Been around since Gen 5.
Deerling's spread isn't flashy. Speed leads, Sp. Atk trails, 0 stats clear the bar. Common in the wild and worth 1 Speed EV, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.
Deerling’s scent changes with the seasons, but when the Pokémon is in its Winter Form, it has hardly any scent at all.
This Pokémon will playfully headbutt those it gets along well with. It has antlers hidden under its flower, so the headbutts are a little painful.
Deerling Weakness
VulnerableFire, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Flying, and Bug-type moves hit Deerling for super-effective damage. The upside? Ghost-type moves can't touch it at all. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Sap Sipper grants an additional Grass immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
Deerling evolves into Sawsbuck. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 140 total stats over Deerling.
How to Evolve
Breed Deerling easily with 195 breeding partners from the Ground egg group. Pass egg moves like Agility, Baton Pass, Fake Tears and 4 more to offspring.
Serenegrace and Eviolite give Deerling staying power beyond its evolution stage. Jolly nature boosts Speed, a spread EV build EVs set the spread, and the pre-evolution bulk actually works here.
Best Build
Best Deerling Moveset
- Body Slam
- Headbutt
- Play Rough
- Seed Bomb
Recommended Teammates
Don't skip the egg moves. Deerling picks up Agility and Baton Pass only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Leaf Storm and Double-Edge while Fighting and Psychic coverage and more adds range.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Easy grab on Deerling with high spawn rates across 22 locations in mid-game routes. The sorted list below shows the full spread so you can pick the most convenient spot.
Best Locations
Before you go hunting for Deerling, check which of the 22 spots belong to your version. Violet and Scarlet each have different walking encounters at Lv. 16-55.
Deerling isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Sawsbuck to unlock its full potential. At 335 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.
Deerling evolves into Sawsbuck at level 34. Deerling is the base form of this evolutionary line.
Run Chlorophyll on Deerling. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Deerling also gets Sap Sipper and Serene Grace, but they don't compare.
Deerling fills the balanced role. It's a physical attacker with base 60 Attack. Base 75 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. And it's fragile — can't afford to take many hits.
Deerling appears in 7 games, including Black & White, Black 2 & White 2, and X & Y.
Introduced in Black & White, Deerling has appeared in 7 games across 5 generations. Later debuts mean fewer total appearances, but it's been a consistent presence since its introduction.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRB
Red & Blue - Gen IIGS
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBWDebut
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXY
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A