Is Donphan Good in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Playthrough?
Donphan appears wild with 120 Attack and 120 Defense in a Ground package. AbilitySturdy guarantees one turn to set up or attack. Handles Wattson and Steven's Steel squad. Competes with Flygon, but Donphan is purely physical while Flygon flies.
Phanpy resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Phanpy resists most of Brawly's coverage and hits back hard.
Phanpy resists most of Wattson's coverage and hits back hard.
Phanpy has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Norman's typing presses Phanpy's defenses.
Winona's team hits Phanpy's weaknesses hard.
Tate & Liza's team hits Donphan's weaknesses hard.
Donphan has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Donphan trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Donphan has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Donphan trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Donphan trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Donphan trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Catch Donphan on Safari Zone (walking, Lv 28-30, common).
How to Get Donphan in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Donphan appears at high spawn rates across 10 spots in mid-game routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.
Where To Catch Donphan in ORAS
Phanpy is your first catch on the way to Donphan. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 28-38 across 10 total spots in the chain.
Step 1Obtain Phanpy
Step 2Donphan ✓Safari Zone - Area 2Lv.28-30FloorRate 20%Mirage Spots - Area 17Lv.36-38GrassRate 30%Mirage Spots - Area 18Lv.36-38GrassRate 30%Mirage Spots - Area 19Lv.36-38GrassRate 30%Mirage Spots - Area 20Lv.36-38GrassRate 30%or evolve from Phanpy (Step 1)
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Grass, Ice |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Poison, Rock |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
What is Donphan Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Donphan
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Ludicolo builds →Surf 2x85-100%KO Mega Drain 2x39-46% | ||
 Vaporeon Water | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Vaporeon builds →Surf 2x100-118%KO Aurora Beam 2x48-57% | ||
 Prinplup Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Piplup (Route 101 Gift) | ||
 Wingull Water | C | |
Obtain MethodDewford Town Surfing | ||
 Omanyte RockWater | B | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
 Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodBattle Resort Surfing | ||
Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Ludicolo builds →Surf 2x86-102%KO Mega Drain 2x40-48% | ||
 Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
 Dewott Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Oshawott (Route 101 Gift) | ||
Vaporeon Water | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Vaporeon builds →Surf 2x99-117%KO Aurora Beam 2x49-58% | ||
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Serperior's Leaf Storm hits Donphan for 74-87%. Keldeo's Hydro Pump also KOs at 141-166%.
S | ||
Recommended Build AbilityMold Breaker ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Excadrill builds →Earthquake19-22% Rapid Spin9-11% | ||
A | ||
Recommended Build AbilityContrary ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Serperior builds →Leaf Storm 2x74-87% | ||
A | ||
Recommended Build AbilityJustified ItemChoice Specs NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Keldeo builds →Scald 2x103-121%KO Hydro Pump 2x141-166%KO | ||
 Swampert WaterGround | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTorrent ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Donphan View Swampert builds →Earthquake27-32% Scald 2x54-63% | ||
Donphan Evolutions
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
Breeding
Breed with Donphan to get Phanpy eggs easily using 200 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Ancient Power, Body Slam, Counter and 9 more.
ORAS Donphan Best Moveset
120 Attack and 120 Defense behind Ground TermStab. AbilitySturdy survives any single hit from full HP. MoveRapid Spin clears hazards. The moveset earns A-tier through the combination of physical bulk, hazard removal, and MoveEarthquake power that fills defensive and offensive roles simultaneously.
Best Build
Donphan best EVs are HP and Defense
Bulky Support Moveset
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The TM pool is where it gets interesting. Coverage across 12 types means almost nothing walls Donphan cleanly, with Earthquake and Earth Power anchoring the STAB side. Matchup flexibility isn't a problem.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
Donphan’s favorite attack is curling its body into a ball, then charging at its foe while rolling at high speed. Once it starts rolling, this Pokémon can’t stop very easily.
If Donphan were to tackle with its hard body, even a house could be destroyed. Using its massive strength, the Pokémon helps clear rock and mud slides that block mountain trails.
Donphan Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Guide
For Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, we rate Donphan B-Tier: a solid option in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire for the right team. At 500 BST, it fits the wallbreaker role. Earthquake with Leftovers is the standard set.
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 wallbreaker.
For Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, the core moveset is Earthquake, Rapid Spin, Ice Shard, and Knock Off. Earthquake leads at 0% usage. Earthquake provides reliable STAB damage.
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
- 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 7LGPE
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