Physical
Balanced
DTier
55Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

You won't find a real weakness in Ekans's stat line. It's well-rounded for the Snake Pokemon, and what it does with that depends on moveset and items. Yields 1 Attack EV, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
Below
HP35
F
Attack60
C
Defense44
D
Sp. Atk40
D
Sp. Def54
D
Speed55
D
Total288
Details
Catch Rate
Guaranteed255 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height2.0 m
6'07"Average
Weight6.9 kg
15.2 lbsFeather
Base XP58
Low Yield
Abilities
Intimidate
Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
Shed Skin
Has a 33% chance of curing any major status ailment after each turn.
UnnerveHA
Prevents opposing Pokémon from eating held Berries.
EV Yield
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Attack training source
Pokedex Entries

It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.

Ekans Weakness

Ekans's Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground and Psychic. The Poison typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. Ekans's Poison typing only leaves 2 gaps to cover.

Ekans Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Ground, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug, Fairy
Type ChartGood
2Weak
5Resist
0Immune
Score+1
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
GroundPsychic
½xResist
GrassFightingPoisonBugFairy
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
None
STAB (2)
GrassFairy
How to Beat Ekans in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Best Counters)

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Hatterene can KO Ekans with Psychic (261-307%). Krookodile threatens a KO with Earthquake (258-304%). Landorus's Psychic also KOs at 182-214%.

Hatterene
Hatterene
PsychicFairy
A
Recommended Build
AbilityMagic Bounce
ItemLeftovers
NatureQuiet
Moves
  • Dazzling Gleam
  • Trick Room
  • PsychicSTAB
  • ProtectPriority
Damage vs Ekans
Dazzling Gleam
58-68%
Psychic 2x
261-307%KO
View Hatterene builds →

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Evolution

Ekans is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Arbok. Check the evolution method below. A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 160 total stats over Ekans. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Ekans
#023Ekans
22
Level 22
Arbok
#024Arbok
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Ekans
Poison
Arbok
Poison
HP
35
60+25
ATK
60
95+35
DEF
44
69+25
SP.ATK
40
65+25
SP.DEF
54
79+25
SPE
55
80+25
BST
288C-Tier
448C-Tier+160
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Ekans easily with 30 breeding partners from the Dragon and Ground egg groups. Pass egg moves like Beat Up, Disable, Poison Fang and 6 more to offspring.

Egg Groups
DragonGround
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
9moves
Breed With (best first)
gyaradosraichupikachucharizardkingdrasceptileflygonmiloticnidokinggolduckampharosaltaria
12 of 30·

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Ekans Best Moveset

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.

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

Moves

The natural movepool does the job, but Beat Up and Disable from the egg pool give Ekans something extra.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Leer
D—10030Normal
Lv 1
Wrap
—159020Normal
Lv 4
Poison Sting
—1510035Poison
Lv 9
Bite
D6010025Dark
Lv 12
Glare
C—10030Normal
Lv 17
Screech
D—8540Normal
Lv 20
Acid
—4010030Poison
Lv 25
Spit Up
D—10010Normal
Lv 25
Stockpile
D——20Normal
Lv 25
Swallow
D——10Normal
Lv 28
Acid Spray
D4010020Poison
Lv 33
Sludge Bomb
D9010010Poison
Lv 36
Gastro Acid
D—10010Poison
Lv 38
Belch
C1209010Poison
Lv 41
Haze
C——30Ice
Lv 44
Coil
D——20Poison
Lv 49
Gunk Shot
C120805Poison

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
C—10015Normal
TM83
Bulldoze
D6010020Ground
TM79
Dark Pulse
D8010015Dark
TM28
Dig
D8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
C10010010Ground
TM58
Endure+4
C——10Normal
TM42
Facade
D7010020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
D7510010Grass
TM23
Iron Tail
D1007515Steel
TM66
Payback
D5010010Dark
TM84
Poison Jab
C8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
C——5Water
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM80
Rock Slide
D759010Rock
TM39
Rock Tomb
D609515Rock
TM82
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
D9010010Poison
TM96
Strength
—8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
D—8515Normal
TM46
Thief
D6010025Dark
TM41
Torment
D—10015Dark

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Beat Up
D—10010Dark
Egg
Disable
C—10020Normal
Egg
Poison Fang
D5010015Poison
Egg
Poison Tail
—5010025Poison
Egg
Scary Face
——10010Normal
Egg
Slam
—807520Normal
Egg
Spite
D—10010Ghost
Egg
Sucker Punch+1
D701005Dark
Egg
Switcheroo
C—10010Dark

Tutor Moves

Ekans can't learn any Tutor moves

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Ekans Locations

moderate rates across 6 locations for Ekans in endgame routes. Scroll the sorted list below and pick whichever spot sits closest to your current route. The rate differences between locations are worth comparing.

Best Locations to Catch Ekans in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

6 walking spots from Lv. 58-63 for Ekans. Sorted by game progression with rates on each row, so you can compare without scrolling through everything.

Bogsunk Cavern
Grass Lv.58-63 Swamp
Post
Post-game
Grassland Cave
Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Riverbank Cave
Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Still-Water Cavern
Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Sunlit Cavern
Grass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Swampy Cave
Grass Lv.58-63 Swamp
Post
Post-game

Ekans Guide

  • Get Ekans to Arbok at level 22. At 288 BST, Ekans is just the starting point.

  • Level 22 gets you Arbok. Not the fastest evolution, so consider Exp. Share or route grinding to speed it up.

  • In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, For a casual playthrough, Ekans works as a placeholder. Poison coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Arbok. That's where the stats start mattering.

  • You can find Ekans in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. The Locations section has the full breakdown of routes and encounter details. It also appears in 19 other games across the series.

Game Availability

Present since Red & Blue, Ekans appears in 20 games spanning 10 generations. Gen 1 originals like Ekans have the longest track record of availability in the series.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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