Is Empoleon Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Water/Steel at level 36. AbilityTorrent for Water boost. Resists a massive number of types. If bred, Empoleon handles Pryce, Blaine, and Karen. The Steel resistance package makes it one of the safest Water-types available.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Chuck's team hits Empoleon's weaknesses hard.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Empoleon trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Empoleon resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Empoleon trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Empoleon has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Trade
Empoleon 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. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 36.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- LV 19WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- LV 33WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Pryce
- TUTORWaterHydro CannonPower 225Accuracy 90%PP 5Blackthorn City
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 59WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
How to Get Empoleon in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Empoleon can't be caught in HeartGold & SoulSilver. Transfer Piplup in from Diamond & Pearl or Platinum, then evolve it into Empoleon. The step cards below show each evolution.
How to Obtain Empoleon in HGSS
- Step 1Obtain PiplupCARTRIDGE TRADEfrom Diamond & PearlAvailableCatch in Diamond & Pearl via Gift · Lake Verity · Starter Pokémon, then trade to the current game via link cable.CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom PlatinumAvailableCatch in Platinum via Gift · Route 201 · Starter Pokémon, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire via Gift · Route 101 · Post-Elite Four second time. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl via Gift · Lake Verity. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Legends: ArceusNot TradeableAppears in Legends: Arceus via Walking · Spring Path. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Scarlet & VioletNot TradeableAppears in Scarlet & Violet via Overworld · Polar Biome. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Prinplup
- Step 3Empoleon ✓
How to Get Shiny Empoleon in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Empoleon cannot be caught in these games, so grow the Piplup line into a shiny in Sinnoh and transfer it in. See every game where Shiny Empoleon can be hunted
Empoleon Weakness
Empoleon's Water/Steel typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric, Fighting, and Ground. It shrugs off Poison-type attacks completely. It resists 11 types, so it can switch into a lot of moves safely. With 84 HP and balanced defenses, Empoleon can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Fighting, Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Water, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Ice, Steel |
| 0x (Immune) | Poison |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Empoleon Weak Against
FortressBest Pokemon Against Empoleon
 Gallade PsychicFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Gallade builds →Focus Punch 2x143-168%KO Earthquake 2x63-75% Thunderbolt 2x32-37% | ||
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Hariyama builds →Focus Punch 2x138-163%KO Earthquake 2x62-73% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
 Hitmonlee Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrogue (Mt Mortar Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Hitmonlee builds →Focus Punch 2x138-163%KO Earthquake 2x62-73% | ||
 Garchomp DragonGround | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Garchomp builds →Earthquake 2x99-116%KO Brick Break 2x49-58% | ||
 Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Toxicroak builds →Focus Punch 2x124-147%KO Earthquake 2x56-66% | ||
 Blaziken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Blaziken builds →Focus Punch 2x138-163%KO Earthquake 2x62-73% | ||
 Primeape Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Primeape builds →Focus Punch 2x123-145%KO Earthquake 2x55-65% Thunderbolt 2x30-36% | ||
 Raikou Electric | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Raikou builds →Thunderbolt 2x75-89% Dig 2x37-44% Rock Smash 2x19-23% | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Machoke builds →Focus Punch 2x119-140%KO Earthquake 2x53-62% | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x66-78% Focus Punch 2x66-78% | ||
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodRoute 10 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Zapdos builds →Thunderbolt 2x81-96% Rock Smash 2x20-24% | ||
 Quagsire WaterGround | C | |
Obtain MethodCliff Edge Gate Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Quagsire builds →Earthquake 2x70-82% Focus Punch 2x69-81% | ||
 Swampert WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Mudkip (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Empoleon View Swampert builds →Earthquake 2x86-101%KO Focus Punch 2x85-100%KO | ||
Empoleon Evolutions
The three-stage chain from Piplup through Prinplup ends here at Empoleon. Want more? Breed for Piplup eggs. A massive partner pool available via two egg groups. The evolution from Piplup pushed Empoleon to 530 total stats. Sp.Atk saw the largest single gain at +50. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Empoleon to get Piplup eggs easily using 131 partners from the Field and Water 1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Agility, Aqua Ring, Double Hit and 8 more.
HGSS Empoleon Best Moveset
Water/Steel resisting 10 types and setting MoveStealth Rock from one team slot. The moveset fires special Water and Ice attacks from 111 Sp. Atk while absorbing hits at 101 Sp. Def. 60 Speed is the only real drawback for a defensive switch-in this versatile.
Best Build
Empoleon best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Grass Knot
- Aqua Jet
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Agility and Aqua Ring on Empoleon. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Hydro Cannon and Hydro Pump, they expand what Empoleon can actually threaten in practice.
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
31 of 32 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Base Stats
It avoids unnecessary disputes, but it will decimate anything that threatens its pride.
Empoleon HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Empoleon as a setup sweeper. Splits damage between physical and special. Not the fastest,
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Modest on Empoleon. +Sp. Atk is what matters, and the -Attack cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the setup sweeper role.
Empoleon isn't catchable in HeartGold & SoulSilver. Obtain one in Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum, then trade it to HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Game Availability
Debuting in Diamond & Pearl, Empoleon appears in 12 games across 6 generations. A reliable presence in a solid number of games, typically found through wild encounters.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
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
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