
Is Ekans Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Red version only. Ekans shows up early on Route 4 but Poison typing doesn't carry much weight in Red and Blue. Not many important trainers are weak to Poison, so Arbok ends up being more of a team filler than a key contributor. Usable if you like it, but you won't miss it if you skip it.
Brock's Pokemon outpace and outclass Ekans here.
Misty's typing presses Ekans's defenses.
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 Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Ekans on Route 4 (walking, Lv 6-12, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- TM48RockRock SlidePower 75Accuracy 90%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Fuchsia City
- After Koga
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Silph Co.
Evolve Ekans to Arbok
Ekans evolves into Arbok at Level 22. Your Ekans should hit Level 22 before you reach Lt. Surge, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- LV 27NormalGlarePower —Accuracy 75%PP 30
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Fuchsia City
- After Koga
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Silph Co.
How to Get Ekans in Red & Blue
Red exclusive, with six grass encounters spread across six different routes. Ekans is the Red counterpart to Blue's Sandshrew, so Blue players need a trade to get one.
6 locations to catch Ekans
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Ekans in RB
Ekans is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 6-26. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 2Catch or Evolve into ArbokRoute 23Lv.41GrassRedRate 5%Cerulean Cave - 1FLv.52CaveRedRate 10%Cerulean Cave - B1FLv.57CaveRedRate 5%or evolve from Ekans (Step 1)
To plan your throws, open the Red & Blue catch rate calculator with Ekans preloaded.
Ekans Weakness
Ekans's Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground, Psychic, and Bug. Not too many gaps in the chart, 3 weaknesses to account for.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground, Psychic, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Poison |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Ekans Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Ekans
Geodude RockGround | C | |
Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Kadabra builds →Confusion 2x114-136%KO Dig 2x64-76% | ||
Paras BugGrass | C | |
Butterfree Bug | C | |
Beedrill BugPoison | C | |
Ekans Evolutions
A Poison type with 274 stats, Ekans has a chain leading to Arbok. Breeding won't work. The evolved forms gain up to 174 total stats over Ekans. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
RB Ekans Best Moveset
Poison pre-evolution with nothing to offer. The stats are too low and Poison typing provides no offensive or defensive edge. No path to relevance before evolving.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Wrap
- Mega Drain
- Substitute
- Rock Slide
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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 Acid and Poison Sting for same-type damage. Double-Edge and Earthquake are the payoff moves.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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
All 17 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Moves silently and stealthily. Eats the eggs of birds, such as PIDGEY and SPEAROW, whole.
Ekans Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, 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.
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.