
Is Golduck Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
AbilityCloud Nine shuts down weather conditions, countering Groudon's AbilityDrought and Kyogre's AbilityDrizzle. Golduck is fast with balanced offense. In RS, the weather-negating ability is genuinely useful against the box legendaries. Handles Flannery and contributes through the E4.
Golduck has the type edge here and should clean up Roxanne's team.
Golduck resists most of Brawly's coverage and hits back hard.
Golduck trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Golduck has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Golduck trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Golduck trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Golduck has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Golduck trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Golduck has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Golduck has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Golduck has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Golduck has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Golduck has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Catchable
Catch Golduck in the Safari Zone (Surf, Lv 25-40, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Winona
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mossdeep City
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- TM04PsychicCalm MindPower —Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Tate & Liza
- LV 58WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
Catch Psyduck
Catch Psyduck in the Safari Zone (Surf, Lv 20-35, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Winona
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mossdeep City
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- After Wallace
- TM03WaterWater PulsePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Wallace
- LV 50WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
How to Get Golduck in Ruby & Sapphire
Golduck shows up rarely on the same Safari Zone water as Psyduck, in the high 20s to 40. You can also just evolve a caught Psyduck at level 33 if the rare surf hit takes too long.
1 location to catch Golduck1 location to catch Psyduck
Encountered via Surfing
Encountered via Surfing
Catch Psyduck at any of the 1 location below, then level it up to 33 — it evolves into Golduck.
Where To Catch Golduck in RS
The path to Golduck starts with Psyduck at Lv. 20-35 via surfing encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 2Golduck ✓or evolve from Psyduck (Step 1)
Not landing the catch? Calculate Golduck catch rates for Ruby & Sapphire by ball, status, and HP.
How to Get Shiny Golduck in Ruby & Sapphire
Golduck surfaces only rarely while Surfing the Safari Zone waters, so keep gliding across them until a shiny one appears. Compare Shiny Golduck odds across every game
Ruby & Sapphire Shiny Golduck Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in Ruby & Sapphire with Golduck preloaded.
Golduck Weakness
Golduck's Water typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric and Grass. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. With 80 HP and balanced defenses, Golduck can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Golduck Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Golduck
Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Route 101 Gift) | ||
Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Tropius Grass | C | |
Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
Lombre WaterGrass | C | |
Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
Magneton ElectricSteel | A | |
Manectric Electric | C | |
Raichu Electric | C | |
Electrode Electric | B | |
Plusle Electric | C | |
Golduck Evolutions
Evolved from Psyduck. Golduck is the final form in this two-stage line. A massive partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs take an average time to hatch. HP grew the most through evolution (+30 over Psyduck), and Golduck peaks at 500 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Golduck to get Psyduck eggs easily using 102 partners from the Field and Water 1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Cross Chop, Foresight, Future Sight and 5 more.
RS Golduck Best Moveset
Weather shutdown is the niche: AbilityCloud Nine negates all weather-based strategies entirely. 95 Sp. Atk fires MoveSurf and MoveIce Beam solidly. MoveHypnosis adds sleep utility. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Anti-weather Water plus coverage from a frame fast enough to act before weather attackers.
Best Build
Golduck best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Calm Mind
- Rain Dance
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Cross Chop and Foresight from the egg pool give Golduck something extra. Pair those with Hydro Pump and Surf for STAB and coverage across 7 types for reach, and the kit fills out nicely.
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
All 28 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
The webbed flippers on its forelegs and hind legs and the streamlined body of GOLDUCK give it frightening speed. This POKéMON is definitely much faster than even the most athletic swimmer.
GOLDUCK is the fastest swimmer among all POKéMON. It swims effortlessly, even in a rough, stormy sea. It sometimes rescues people from wrecked ships floundering in high seas.
Golduck Ruby & Sapphire Guide
- Where in the Ruby & Sapphire Safari Zone can I find Golduck?
See the Locations section above for where to find Golduck in Ruby & Sapphire.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Golduck from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Golduck easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Game Availability
One of the original 151, Golduck has appeared in 21 games: nearly every mainline game. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
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 Golduck.
