Is Ekans Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Jessie's partner Pokemon in Yellow, but you can't catch one yourself. Trade from Red if you want an Ekans, though Poison typing still doesn't threaten anything important in the game.
Brock's Pokemon outpace and outclass Ekans here.
Misty's typing presses Ekans's defenses.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Ekans has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Giovanni's team hits Ekans's weaknesses hard.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Agatha's team hits Ekans's weaknesses hard.
Lance's typing presses Ekans's defenses.
Ekans trades roughly evenly with Blue'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 Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket Grunt in Cerulean City after you defeat him
- 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.
How to Get Ekans in Yellow
Ekans isn't catchable anywhere in Yellow. Game Freak pulled it to mirror the anime's Team Rocket, so you'll have to import one from Red or Blue.
How to Obtain Ekans in Y
- Step 1Ekans ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom Red & BlueAvailableCatch in Red & Blue via Walking · Route 11, then trade to the current game via link cable.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 FireRed & LeafGreenNot TradeableAppears in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Route 11. 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
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
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
 Mewtwo Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodCerulean Cave Interact Encounter | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Kadabra builds →Psychic 2x219-258%KO Dig 2x60-71% | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
 Dugtrio Ground | B | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Parasect builds →Dig 2x125-147%KO Leech Life 2x39-46% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 12 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Slowbro builds →Psychic 2x189-222%KO Earthquake 2x103-121%KO | ||
 Onix RockGround | 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.
Y Ekans Best Moveset
Poison typing finds nothing to hit in a format where Psychic-types sit at the top and Poison attacks deal unresisted damage to nearly everything. The stats need Arbok's modest improvements before anything starts working.
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
The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
Ekans Yellow Guide
Ekans isn't catchable in Yellow. Catch one in Red, then trade it to Yellow.
In Yellow, Ekans has 274 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 · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List