
Is Ekans Good in FireRed & LeafGreen Playthrough?
FireRed only. AbilityIntimidate lowers the opponent's Attack on switch-in, giving Ekans something it never had in the originals: utility beyond its own stats. Arbok with Intimidate weakens physical attackers before your real threats take the field. Poison typing doesn't threaten any gym leader directly, but the Attack drop on entry supports everything else.
Brock's typing presses Ekans's defenses.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Terry's team.
Catch Ekans on Route 4 (walking, Lv 6-12, common).
- After Lt. Surge
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- After Erika
- TM36PoisonSludge Bomb135100%10
- TM23SteelIron Tail10075%15
- HM04NormalStrength80100%15
- TM19GrassGiga Drain75100%10
- After Giovanni
- TUTORNormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- TM26GroundEarthquake100100%10
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody Slam85100%15
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
Your Ekans should hit Level 22 before you reach Lt. Surge, at typical leveling pace.
- After Lt. Surge
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- After Erika
- TM36PoisonSludge Bomb135100%10
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- HM04NormalStrength80100%15
- TM19GrassGiga Drain75100%10
- After Giovanni
- TUTORNormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- TM26GroundEarthquake100100%10
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody Slam85100%15
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
How to Get Ekans in FireRed & LeafGreen
FireRed exclusive. Ekans has six grass encounters across early and mid-game routes, common enough that you'll spot it without trying.
6 locations to catch Ekans
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Ekans in FRLG
To get Ekans, start by catching Ekans through walking encounters at Lv. 6-46. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 2Catch or Evolve into ArbokRoute 23Lv.44GrassFireRedRate 5%Victory Road - 1FLv.44CaveFireRedRate 5%Victory Road - 3FLv.44CaveFireRedRate 5%Victory Road - 2FLv.46CaveFireRedRate 5%or evolve from Ekans (Step 1)
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
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 are average hatch time. 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 Ground egg groups. Pass egg moves like Beat Up, Poison Fang, Pursuit and 2 more to offspring.
FRLG Ekans Best Moveset
Poison type carrying AbilityIntimidate for Attack drops on switch-in, the one useful contribution. The moveset can't threaten anything competitively, but the Intimidate support at least helps the team.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
A very common sight in grassland, etc. It flicks its tongue in and out to sense danger in its surroundings.
Moving silently and stealthily, it eats the eggs of birds, such as PIDGEY and SPEAROW, whole.
Ekans FireRed & LeafGreen Guide
- Why can't I find Ekans in LeafGreen?
Ekans is exclusive to Pokemon FireRed. LeafGreen players have to trade for one.

See the Locations section above for where to find Ekans in FireRed.
How to trade in FireRed and LeafGreen
GBA cartridges: You need a Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable and both players' FireRed/LeafGreen cartridges. Trade at the Cable Club on the 2nd floor of any Pokemon Center, which opens up shortly after Oak gives you the Pokedex.Nintendo Switch (2026 release): Trading uses local wireless only. There is no online play, and no Nintendo Switch Online subscription is required. Both players head to the Pokemon Wireless Club on the 2nd floor of any Pokemon Center, then step into a Union Room. Up to four other players can join. Available once you have the Pokedex from Professor Oak.
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
- 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 7LGPE

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