Physical
Balanced
328Low
68Moderate
DTier

While most trainers evolve Drilbur into Excadrill immediately, the unevolved form has a niche with Eviolite boosting its defenses. Electric moves can't touch it, and only 3 types hit it super-effectively. Known as the Mole Pokemon.

Attack and Speed carry most of Drilbur's stat budget. Sp. Atk's the obvious dump stat. Common in the wild and yields 1 Attack EV. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
328Avg
HP60
C
Attack85
C
Defense40
D
Sp. Atk30
F
Sp. Def45
D
Speed68
C
Total328
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Drilbur yields +1 Atk
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch120ModerateMedium Fast1M XP0.3m / 1'00"8.5kg / 18.7 lbs66Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It can dig through the ground at a speed of 30 mph. It could give a car running aboveground a good race.

Black

It makes its way swiftly through the soil by putting both claws together and rotating at high speed.

White

Drilbur Weakness

Avg

Water, Grass, and Ice-type moves hit Drilbur for super-effective damage. The upside? Electric-type moves can't touch it at all. Standard number of weaknesses for the Ground typing.

Gen V Type Chart
  • Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
  • Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
4xCriticali
None
½xResisti
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
3Weak
2Resist
1Immune
Scorei-1
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Sand RushDoubles Speed during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
Sand ForceStrengthens rock, ground, and steel moves to 1.3× their power during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
Mold BreakerHABypasses targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent a move.

One evolution ahead. Drilbur grows into Excadrill through a straightforward two-stage chain. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 180 total stats over Drilbur.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Drilbur
Ground
Excadrill
GroundSteel
HP
60
110+50
ATK
85
135+50
DEF
40
60+20
SP.ATK
30
50+20
SP.DEF
45
65+20
SPE
68
88+20
BST
328C-Tier
508S-Tier+180
ROLE
Balanced
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed Drilbur easily with 180 breeding partners from the Ground egg group. Pass egg moves like Crush Claw, Earth Power, Iron Defense and 5 more to offspring.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
8moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 5.

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

Don't skip the egg moves. Drilbur picks up Crush Claw and Earth Power only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Earthquake and Earth Power while coverage across 9 types adds range.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Mud Sport
15Ground
Lv 1
Scratch
4010035Normal
Lv 5
Rapid Spin
5010040Normal
Lv 8
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
Lv 12
Fury Swipes
188015Normal
Lv 15
Metal Claw
509535Steel
Lv 19
Dig
8010010Ground
Lv 22
Hone Claws
15Dark
Lv 26
Slash
7010020Normal
Lv 29
Rock Slide
759010Rock
Lv 33
Earthquake
10010010Ground
Lv 36
Swords Dance
30Normal
Lv 40
Sandstorm
10Rock
Lv 43
Drill Run
809510Ground
Lv 47
Fissure
305Ground

TM Moves

Src
TM40
Aerial Ace
6020Flying
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM31
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
TM78
Bulldoze
6010020Ground
HM01
Cut
509530Normal
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM56
Fling
10010Dark
TM21
Frustration
10020Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM01
Hone Claws
15Dark
TM84
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM27
Return
10020Normal
TM80
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM94
Rock Smash
4010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
609510Rock
TM48
Round
6010015Normal
TM37
Sandstorm
10Rock
TM65
Shadow Claw
7010015Ghost
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
10Normal
TM87
Swagger
9015Normal
TM75
Swords Dance
30Normal
TM06
Toxic
9010Poison
TM81
X-Scissor
8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Crush Claw
759510Normal
Egg
Earth Power
9010010Ground
Egg
Iron Defense
15Steel
Egg
Metal Sound
8540Steel
Egg
Rapid Spin
5010040Normal
Egg
Rock Climb
908520Normal
Egg
Skull Bash
10010010Normal
Egg
Submission
808025Fighting

Tutor Moves

Drilbur can't learn any Tutor moves

Drilbur's scattered across 22 spots in early-game routes with high spawn rates. Check the list below for the closest location to wherever you are in the game. This one's quick.

Best Locations

walking encounters for Drilbur across 22 spots at Lv. 10-31. The catch is that White and Black don't share every location, so compare what's available in your version.

Wellspring Cave - 1F
WhiteGrassLv.10-13CommonEarlyCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Wellspring Cave - 1F
BlackGrassLv.10-13CommonEarlyCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Wellspring Cave - B1F
WhiteGrassLv.10-13CommonEarlyCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Wellspring Cave - B1F
BlackGrassLv.10-13CommonEarlyCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Chargestone Cave - 1F
WhiteGrassLv.24-27CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Chargestone Cave - 1F
BlackGrassLv.24-27CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Chargestone Cave - B1F
BlackGrassLv.24-27CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Chargestone Cave - B1F
WhiteGrassLv.24-27CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Chargestone Cave - B2F
WhiteGrassLv.24-27CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Chargestone Cave - B2F
BlackGrassLv.24-27CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Mistralton Cave - 1F
WhiteGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Mistralton Cave - 1F
BlackGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Mistralton Cave - 2F
WhiteGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Mistralton Cave - 2F
BlackGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Mistralton Cave - 3F
WhiteGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Mistralton Cave - 3F
BlackGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Twist Mountain - 1F
WhiteGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Twist Mountain - 1F
BlackGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Twist Mountain - 2F
WhiteGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Twist Mountain - 2F
BlackGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Twist Mountain - 3F
WhiteGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Twist Mountain - 3F
BlackGrassLv.28-31CommonMidCaveAnyShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
  • Drilbur is meant to evolve into Excadrill. At 328 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.

  • Watch for Starmie (Water), Breloom (Grass), and Cloyster (Ice) when using Drilbur. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

  • Drilbur evolves into Excadrill at level 31. Drilbur is the base form of this evolutionary line.

  • Sand Rush is what you want on Drilbur. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Sand Force, Mold Breaker) work on paper but Sand Rush is what makes Drilbur worth using.

  • At base 68 Speed, it won't be moving first often. On offense, Drilbur is a physical attacker with base 85 Attack. Defensively? Fragile — can't afford to take many hits.

  • Drilbur appears in 9 games, including Black & White, Black 2 & White 2, and X & Y.

Drilbur joined the series in Black & White and has been available in 9 titles so far. With 5 generations of appearances, it's established itself despite the later start.