Is Drapion Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Poison/Dark with AbilityBattle Armor blocking crits or AbilitySniper boosting crit damage. Drapion has one weakness: Ground. Handles Fantina, Lucian, and contributes against Cynthia's Spiritomb. Aaron picked Drapion as his ace for good reason.
Skorupi has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Skorupi has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Skorupi trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Skorupi trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Fantina's team hits Skorupi's weaknesses hard.
Skorupi trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Drapion resists most of Candice's coverage and hits back hard.
Drapion has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Drapion has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Drapion trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Drapion has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Drapion has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Drapion has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Drapion has the type edge here and should clean up Jupiter's team.
Drapion has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Drapion trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catch Skorupi
Catch Skorupi in the Great Marsh (walking, Lv 22-26, uncommon). Pre-National Dex.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- After Crasher Wake
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 210
- After Candice
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Galactic HQ B2F in Veilstone City
- LV 45DarkCrunchPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Volkner
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Victory Road
- LV 50PoisonCross PoisonPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Skorupi to Drapion
Skorupi evolves into Drapion at Level 40. Your Skorupi should hit Level 40 before you reach Candice, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Fantina
- TM84PoisonPoison JabPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 212
- After Byron
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- After Candice
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Galactic HQ B2F in Veilstone City
- LV 49DarkCrunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Volkner
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Victory Road
- LV 58PoisonCross PoisonPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Drapion in Diamond & Pearl
Drapion also walks the Great Marsh, an uncommon catch in the low 20s once the National Dex rotation opens. You can grab the ogre scorpion straight from the marsh rather than leveling a Skorupi up.
Wild Drapion may be holding when caught:
Poison Barb (5% chance) An item to be held by a Pokemon. It is a small, poisonous barb that ups the power of Poison-type moves.1 location to catch Drapion1 location to catch Skorupi
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3Catch Skorupi at any of the 1 location below, then level it up to 40 — it evolves into Drapion.
Badge 3Where To Catch Drapion in DP
The path to Drapion starts with Skorupi at Lv. 22-26 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Drapion ✓or evolve from Skorupi (Step 1)
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Diamond & Pearl for Drapion.
How to Get Shiny Drapion in Diamond & Pearl
Drapion evolves from Skorupi, so breed that pre-evo Masuda-style and raise its armor. Compare Shiny Drapion odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Drapion Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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 Diamond & Pearl shiny odds for Drapion.
Drapion Weakness
Drapion is weak to Ground. On the flip side, it's immune to Psychic-type moves entirely. The Poison/Dark typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Drapion's physical bulk (base 110 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Poison, Ghost, Dark |
| 0x (Immune) | Psychic |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Drapion Weak Against
Excellent
Drapion Evolutions
Drapion is what Skorupi becomes. Breed it for Skorupi eggs (average hatch time). A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs take an average time to hatch. The evolution from Skorupi pushed Drapion to 500 total stats. Attack saw the largest single gain at +40. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Drapion to get Skorupi eggs easily using 48 partners from the Bug and Water 3 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Agility, Confuse Ray, Feint Attack and 6 more.
DP Drapion Best Moveset
Poison/Dark typing means only Ground hits super-effectively, and 110 Defense takes physical hits well. 90 Attack at 95 Speed delivers fast physical Dark and Poison coverage, and AbilitySniper boosts critical hit damage. The moveset is durable and offensive with minimal type vulnerabilities.
Best Build
Drapion best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Crunch
- Toxic Spikes
- Earthquake
- Cross Poison
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Earthquake and Giga Impact bring the raw damage. But Drapion also picks up coverage across 11 types from TMs, making it tough to find a safe switch. You're not locked into one angle here.
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
44 of 45 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It has the power in its clawed arms to make scrap of a car. The tips of its claws release poison.
Its body is encased in a sturdy shell. Its head rotates 180 degrees, eliminating blind spots.
Drapion Diamond & Pearl Guide
Yes. Wild Drapion in Diamond & Pearl can hold Poison Barb (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Poison Barb.
In Diamond & Pearl, Drapion plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully. Crunch is the primary attack.
In Diamond & Pearl, Jolly is the go-to nature for Drapion. That's +Speed / -Sp. Atk. Pair it with 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the balanced role.
Game Availability
Debuting in Diamond & Pearl, Drapion appears in 12 games across 6 generations. A reliable presence in a solid number of games, typically found through wild encounters.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
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 Drapion.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List