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.
The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
Ekans Weakness
GoodEkans's Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground and Psychic moves. The Poison typing picks up 5 resistances to work with.
Ekans is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Arbok. Check the evolution method below. No compatible partners for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 160 total stats over Ekans.
Breed Ekans easily from the Dragon and Ground egg groups.
Best Build
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee uses different battle mechanics.
Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Ekans's Normal and Dark coverage and more all comes from technical machines, built on top of Sludge Bomb and Poison Jab for same-type damage. Earthquake and Iron Tail are the payoff moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
decent spawn rates across 2 locations for Ekans in early-game 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
At 288 BST, Ekans is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Arbok before bringing it to any serious fight.
Ekans evolves into Arbok at level 22. Ekans is the base form of this evolutionary line.
Ekans gets Intimidate, Shed Skin, and Unnerve. But Intimidate is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.
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.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen IIGS
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBW
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXY
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A