Is Ekans Good in Emerald Playthrough?
AbilityIntimidate drops Attack on switch-in, giving Arbok a defensive support niche worth trading for. Useful for softening Wallace's physical threats like Gyarados. Ekans needs a trade to reach Hoenn, but the utility justifies it more than most Poison imports.
Roxanne's typing presses Ekans's defenses.
Ekans has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Wattson's typing presses Ekans's defenses.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Norman's team hits Ekans's weaknesses hard.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Tate & Liza's team hits Ekans's weaknesses hard.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Juan's team.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Phoebe's team hits Ekans's weaknesses hard.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Drake's team hits Ekans's weaknesses hard.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Trade
Ekans cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by the Tunnel Man in Rusturf Tunnel
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 111
- After Norman
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Dewford Town
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Tate & Liza
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- After Juan
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Meteor Falls
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
- TUTORRockRock SlidePower 75Accuracy 90%PP 10Battle Frontier
How to Get Ekans in Emerald
Hoenn leaves Ekans out, so trade one in if you want the line. Seviper takes the venomous-snake slot in this region instead, a fitting stand-in.
How to Obtain Ekans in E
- Step 1Ekans ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenAvailableCatch in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Route 11, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Walking · Route 11. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Gift · Goldenrod City · 700 Coins. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Walking · Route 42. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Walking · Route 212 · Dual-slot: FireRed. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Walking · Route 212 · Dual-slot: FireRed. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Walking · Safari Zone. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Arbok
How to Get Shiny Ekans in Emerald
Ekans is a FireRed exclusive, so trade one over from that version, where it slithers through Route 4 and Route 9; hunt the shiny in that grass before moving it into Emerald. See every game where Shiny Ekans can be hunted
Ekans Weakness
Ekans's Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground and Psychic. The Poison typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Ekans's Poison typing only leaves 2 gaps to cover.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Ekans Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Ekans
 Deoxys Psychic | A | |
Obtain MethodBirth Island Interact Encounter | ||
 Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Latios builds →Psychic 2x190-224%KO Earthquake 2x119-140%KO | ||
 Metagross SteelPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Beldum (Mossdeep City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Metagross builds →Earthquake 2x167-197%KO Psychic 2x146-172%KO | ||
 Groudon Ground | S | |
Obtain MethodTerra Cave Interact Encounter | ||
 Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Latias builds →Psychic 2x165-194%KO Earthquake 2x109-128%KO | ||
 Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Gardevoir builds →Future Sight 2x243-286%KO | ||
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
 Mew Psychic | B | |
Obtain MethodFaraway Island Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Mew builds →Psychic 2x151-178%KO Earthquake 2x130-153%KO | ||
 Lugia Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodNavel Rock Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Lugia builds →Psychic 2x139-164%KO Earthquake 2x119-140%KO | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
 Girafarig NormalPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Girafarig builds →Psychic 2x139-164%KO Earthquake 2x109-128%KO | ||
 Chimecho Psychic | C | |
 Grumpig Psychic | C | |
Ekans Evolutions
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 take an average time to hatch. The evolved forms gain up to 160 total stats over Ekans. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
Breeding
Breed Ekans easily with 27 breeding partners from the Dragon and Field egg groups. Pass egg moves like Beat Up, Poison Fang, Pursuit and 2 more to offspring.
E Ekans Best Moveset
Poison pre-evolution with AbilityIntimidate providing team support through Attack drops. Stats too low for the moveset to contribute offensively. One evolution from Arbok.
Best Build
Ekans best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Wrap
- Poison Sting
- Leer
- Bite
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Beat Up and Poison Fang from the egg pool give Ekans something extra.
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
20 of 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
An EKANS curls itself up in a spiral while it rests. This position allows it to quickly respond to an enemy from any direction with a threat from its upraised head.
Ekans Emerald Guide
Ekans isn't catchable in Emerald. Catch one in FireRed, then trade it to Emerald.
In Emerald, Ekans has 288 BST and evolves into Arbok. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Game Availability
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.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
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 Ekans.
Keep playing · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List