Physical
Balanced
288Low
55Slow
DTier

Almost nobody uses Ekans in battle. It exists to evolve into Arbok, which is a completely different story. Get it there and you won't regret it. Only weak to Ground and Psychic. Known as the Snake Pokemon.

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
288Below
HP35
F
Attack60
C
Defense44
D
Sp. Atk40
D
Sp. Def54
D
Speed55
D
Total288
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Ekans yields +1 Atk
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch255GuaranteedMedium Fast1M XP2m / 6'07"6.9kg / 15.2 lbs58Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It flutters the tip of its tongue to seek out the scent of prey, then swallows the prey whole.

Crystal

Ekans Weakness

Avg

Ekans's Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground and Psychic moves. The Poison typing picks up 4 resistances to work with.

Gen II Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
  • Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
4xCriticali
None
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
None
STAB (1)i
2Weak
4Resist
0Immune
Scorei0
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesAbsorbs on switch
Abilities
IntimidateLowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
Shed SkinHas a 33% chance of curing any major status ailment after each turn.
UnnerveHAPrevents opposing Pokémon from eating held Berries.

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

How to Evolve

2 Forms
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 13 breeding partners from the Dragon and Ground egg groups. Pass egg moves like Beat Up, Crunch, Pursuit and 2 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
5moves
Breed With (best first)
gyaradosraichupikachucharizardkingdranidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokseadra

Best Build

Gen 2 build content has limited support (no abilities).

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

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

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Leer
10030Normal
Lv 1
Wrap
158520Normal
Lv 9
Poison Sting
1510035Poison
Lv 15
Bite
6010025Dark
Lv 23
Glare
7530Normal
Lv 29
Screech
8540Normal
Lv 37
Acid
4010030Poison
Lv 43
Haze
30Ice

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM03
Curse
10Ghost
TM28
Dig
6010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM20
Endure+4
10Normal
TM21
Frustration
10020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
751005Grass
TM02
Headbutt
7010015Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM27
Return
10020Normal
TM35
Sleep Talk
10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM13
Snore
4010015Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
5Fire
TM34
Swagger
8515Normal
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM06
Toxic
8510Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Beat Up
10010Dark
Egg
Crunch
8010015Dark
Egg
Pursuit
4010020Dark
Egg
Slam
807520Normal
Egg
Spite
10010Ghost

Tutor Moves

Ekans can't learn any Tutor moves

Easy grab on Ekans with high spawn rates across 11 locations in early-game areas. Two different catch methods are in play here. The sorted list below shows the full spread so you can pick the most convenient spot.

Best Locations

You'll find Ekans across 11 headbutt and walking encounters from Lv. 4-13, sorted by game progression. Earlier spots show up first so you can grab one as soon as it's reachable.

Route 32
GrassLv.4CommonEarlyRoute
EFFORTLESS
Route 42
GrassLv.13CommonEarlyRouteMorning/day
EFFORTLESS
Route 3
GrassLv.8UncommonEarlyRoute
EASY
Route 4
GrassLv.8UncommonEarlyRoute
EASY
Azalea Town
Headbutting treesLv.10UncommonEarlyCity
MODERATE
Route 32
Headbutting treesLv.10UncommonEarlyRoute
MODERATE
Route 33
Headbutting treesLv.10UncommonEarlyRoute
MODERATE
Route 42
Headbutting treesLv.10UncommonEarlyRoute
MODERATE
Route 26
Headbutting treesLv.10UncommonEarlyRoute
MODERATE
Route 27
Headbutting treesLv.10UncommonEarlyRoute
MODERATE
Route 33
GrassLv.7RareEarlyRouteMorning/day
CHALLENGING
  • At 288 BST, Ekans is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Arbok before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Watch for Rhydon (Ground) and Alakazam (Psychic) when using Ekans. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • Ekans evolves into Arbok at level 22. Ekans is the base form of this evolutionary line.

  • Ekans is a physical attacker with base 60 Attack. Fragile — can't afford to take many hits, too. But the speed tells the real story — at base 55 Speed, it won't be moving first often.

  • Ekans appears in 20 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Present since Red & Blue, Ekans appears in 20 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Ekans have the longest track record of availability in the series.