For Emerald, we rate Donphan C-Tier: a niche pick in Emerald's meta. At 500 BST, it fits the support role. Earthquake with Leftovers is the standard set.

What is Donphan weak to?

In Emerald, Donphan's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.

What is the best ability for Donphan?

Sturdy is the go-to ability for Donphan. It prevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Its hidden ability Sand Veil can work in specific setups.

What role does Donphan play in battle?

Base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Donphan is a physical attacker with base 120 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a support.

What counters Donphan?

In Emerald, the best way to handle Donphan: Super-effective STAB from faster Pokemon is the simplest answer. Water, Grass, and Ice-type attackers hit hardest.

Donphan - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Support

CTier

50Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

Attack and Defense carry most of Donphan's stat budget. Speed's the obvious dump stat. Moderately hard to find and yields 2 Attack and Defense EVs. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

High

HP90

Attack120

Defense120

Sp. Atk60

Sp. Def60

Speed50

Total500

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging60 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height1.1 m

Weight120.0 kg

Base XP175

Abilities

SturdyTop Pick

Prevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Protects against the one-hit KO moves regardless of HP.

Sand VeilHANot in game

Increases evasion to 1.25× during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.

EV Yield

HPAtk+1Def+1SpASpDSpe

Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

A DONPHAN is so strong it can easily haul a dump truck. Its hide has toughened to a rock-hard state. An ordinary sort of attack won’t even leave a scratch.

Emerald

Donphan Weakness

Donphan is weak to Water, Grass, and Ice. On the flip side, it's immune to Electric-type moves entirely. Donphan's physical bulk (base 120 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Donphan Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Water, Grass, Ice
0.5x (Resist)	Poison, Rock
0x (Immune)	Electric

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

2Resist

1Immune

Score-1

Gen III Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Water Grass Ice

½xResist

Poison Rock

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Electric

STAB (5)

Fire Electric Poison Rock Steel

How to Beat Donphan in Emerald (Best Counters)

In Emerald, Regirock deals 43-51% with Explosion.

MagnetonWears down with Toxic, sturdy guarantees survival, outspeeds ElectricSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilityMagnetpull ItemMagnet NatureModest Moves ThunderboltSTAB Hidden Power Fire ToxicUtility Thunder Wave View Magneton builds →
AerodactylImmune to Ground, outspeeds RockFlying	A
Recommended Build AbilityRockhead ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves Earthquake Rock Slide Double Edge Hidden Power Flying Damage vs Donphan Earthquake 24-29% Rock Slide 14-16% Double Edge 29-35% View Aerodactyl builds →
RegirockSturdy guarantees survival, excellent bulk Rock	B
Recommended Build AbilityClearbody ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves Explosion Rock Slide Thunder Wave Superpower Damage vs Donphan Explosion 43-51% Rock Slide 10-12% Superpower 21-25% View Regirock builds →
ForretressSturdy guarantees survival, walls physical sets BugSteel	B
Recommended Build AbilitySturdy ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves SpikesHazard Rapid Spin Explosion Earthquake Damage vs Donphan Rapid Spin 6-7% Explosion 28-34% Earthquake 12-14% View Forretress builds →
RegisteelExcellent bulk Steel	B
Recommended Build AbilityClearbody ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves Thunder Wave Explosion Seismic Toss Counter Damage vs Donphan Explosion 25-29% View Registeel builds →

Emerald Evolution

Evolved from Phanpy. Donphan is the final form in this two-stage line. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Attack grew the most through evolution (+60 over Phanpy), and Donphan peaks at 500 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#231Phanpy

Level 25

#232Donphan

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Phanpy

Ground

Donphan

Ground

ATK

120+60

DEF

120+60

SP.ATK

60+20

SP.DEF

60+20

SPE

50+10

BST

330D-Tier

500A-Tier+170

ROLE

Balanced

Wallbreaker

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Donphan to get Phanpy eggs easily using 102 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Ancient Power, Body Slam, Counter and 3 more.

Egg Groups

Ground

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

6moves

Breed With (best first)

Emerald Donphan Best Moveset

Donphan runs a standard defensive wall set. Impish nature with HP-heavy investment EVs shapes the build, while Leftovers brings passive recovery each turn. Sturdy supports the kit from the background.

Best Build

Solid pick

Bulky Support

Ability

Sturdy

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Best Nature for Donphan

Impish+DEF

Donphan best EVs are HP and Defense

EVs

Atk

Def

Spe

Bulky Support Moveset

EarthquakeSTAB
Rapid Spin
Hidden Power Rock
Rock Slide

Recommended Teammates

BlisseyDecent

MagnetonDecent

SkarmoryDecent

Moves

Breeding opens up real options for Donphan. Ancient Power and Body Slam come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Earthquake and Mud-Slap and Normal and Rock coverage and more.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Growl

——10040Normal

Lv 1

Horn Attack

—6510025Normal

Lv 1

Odor Sleuth

——10040Normal

Lv 9

Defense Curl

———40Normal

Lv 17

Flail

D—10015Normal

Lv 25

Fury Attack

—158520Normal

Lv 33

Rollout

—309020Rock

Lv 41

Rapid Spin

S5010040Normal

Lv 49

Earthquake

S10010010Ground

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

——10015Normal

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM26

Earthquake

S10010010Ground

TM42

Facade

C7010020Normal

TM21

Frustration

——10020Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

C150905Normal

TM23

Iron Tail

C1007515Steel

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM44

Rest

B——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM05

Roar-6

B——20Normal

HM06

Rock Smash

—2010015Fighting

TM39

Rock Tomb

—609510Rock

TM37

Sandstorm

———10Rock

TM43

Secret Power

—7010020Normal

HM04

Strength

—8010015Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Ancient Power

D601005Rock

Egg

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

Egg

Counter-5

D—10020Fighting

Egg

Fissure

——305Ground

Egg

Focus Energy

D——30Normal

Egg

Snore

—4010015Normal

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

Tutor

Counter-5

D—10020Fighting

Tutor

Defense Curl

———40Normal

Tutor

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

Tutor

Endure+4

D——10Normal

Tutor

Mimic

———10Normal

Tutor

Mud-Slap

D2010010Ground

Tutor

Rock Slide

A759010Rock

Tutor

Rollout

—309020Rock

Tutor

Sleep Talk

D——10Normal

Tutor

Snore

—4010015Normal

Tutor

Substitute

C——10Normal

Tutor

Swagger

——9015Normal

Reminder Moves

Rem

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

Rem

Endure+4

D——10Normal

Rem

Tackle

—3510035Normal

Rem

Take Down

C908520Normal

How to Get Donphan in Emerald

No wild encounters for Donphan. The 2-stage line runs through Phanpy, which you can catch at solid rates from the locations below. Evolve at level 25 once you've got the levels.

How to Obtain Donphan in Emerald

Step 1Catch Phanpy
Safari Zone - Northeast
Grass Lv.27-29 Facility
CommonMid
Train until Level 25
Step 2Donphan ✓

Donphan Guide

For Emerald, we rate Donphan C-Tier: a niche pick in Emerald's meta. At 500 BST, it fits the support role. Earthquake with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Emerald, Donphan's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.
Sturdy is the go-to ability for Donphan. It prevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Its hidden ability Sand Veil can work in specific setups.
Base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Donphan is a physical attacker with base 120 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a support.
In Emerald, the best way to handle Donphan: Super-effective STAB from faster Pokemon is the simplest answer. Water, Grass, and Ice-type attackers hit hardest.

Game Availability

Available in 16 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Donphan spans 9 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in most mainline games.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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