Physical
Wallbreaker
495Average
45Very Slow
ATier

Electric moves don't affect Golem at all — that's the advantage of Rock/Ground typing. It works well under Trick Room. An original Gen 1 pick. Known as the Megaton Pokemon.

Defense leads and Speed gets almost nothing. That's Golem's stat line in a nutshell. 3 stats sit in respectable range, but the spread is brutal. Tough to catch and yields 3 Defense EVs.

Base Stats
495Above
HP80
C
Attack120
A
Defense130
A
Sp. Atk55
D
Sp. Def65
C
Speed45
D
Total495
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Golem yields +3 Def
HPAtkDef+3SpASpDSpe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Medium Slow1.06M XP•1.4m / 4'07"•300kg / 661.4 lbs•223Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Its rock-like body is so durable, even high-powered dynamite blasts fail to scratch its rugged hide.

Crystal

Golem Weakness

Fragile

Golem is weak to Water, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Ground, and Steel-type moves. Watch out for Water and Grass attacks, those deal 4x damage. On the flip side, it's immune to Electric-type moves entirely. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Golem's physical bulk (base 130 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Gen II Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
  • Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
4xCriticali
WaterGrass
2xWeaki
IceFightingGroundSteel
½xResisti
NormalFireFlyingRock
¼xResisti
Poison
0xImmunei
Electric
STAB (8)i
FireIceFlyingBugElectricPoisonRockSteel
6Weak
5Resist
1Immune
Scorei-7
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
4x Water — Surf, Hydro Pump, Scald
4x Grass — Energy Ball, Giga Drain, Leaf Storm
Abilities
Rock HeadProtects against recoil damage.
SturdyPrevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Protects against the one-hit KO moves regardless of HP.
Sand VeilHAIncreases evasion to 1.25× during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.

Getting Golem requires a trade, not just grinding levels. The chain starts at Geodude. Breed this form to get Geodude eggs (quick to hatch). HP grew the most through evolution (+40 over Geodude), and Golem peaks at 495 total stats.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Geodude
#074Geodude
25
Level 25
Graveler
#075Graveler
Trade
Golem
#076Golem
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Geodude
RockGround
Graveler
RockGround
Golem
RockGround
HP
40
55+15
80+25
ATK
80
95+15
120+25
DEF
100
115+15
130+15
SP.ATK
30
45+15
55+10
SP.DEF
30
45+15
65+20
SPE
20
35+15
45+10
BST
300C-Tier
390C-Tier+90
495C-Tier+105
ROLE
Trick Room
Trick Room
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Golem to get Geodude eggs easily using 12 partners from the Mineral egg group. Notable egg moves include Mega Punch, Rock Slide.

Egg Groups
Mineral
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
2moves
Breed With (best first)
porygon2golemelectrodemagnetonsudowoodogravelerporygonmagnemitevoltorbgeodudesteelixonix
Showing all 12

For an attacker, Golem wants flexible EVs EVs and Leftovers. The a nature nature tilts toward balanced duty, and an ability contributes without taking a move slot.

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 2
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Nature
Not in Gen 2

Best Golem Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • ExplosionCoverage
  • Rapid Spin
  • RoarSLOW -6Utility

Recommended Teammates

Snorlax
SnorlaxGood
Cloyster
CloysterGood
Zapdos
ZapdosGood

TMs carry this one. Golem learns Earthquake and Dig naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Normal and Fighting and beyond give it real matchup play.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Defense Curl
——40Normal
Lv 1
Magnitude
—10030Ground
Lv 1
Rock Throw
509015Rock
Lv 1
Tackle
3510035Normal
Lv 6
Defense Curl
——40Normal
Lv 11
Rock Throw
509015Rock
Lv 16
Magnitude
—10030Ground
Lv 21
Self-Destruct
2001005Normal
Lv 27
Harden
——30Normal
Lv 34
Rollout
309020Rock
Lv 41
Earthquake
10010010Ground
Lv 48
Explosion
2501005Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM03
Curse
——10Ghost
TM40
Defense Curl
——40Normal
TM28
Dig
6010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM01
Dynamic Punch
100505Fighting
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM20
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM48
Fire Punch
7510015Fire
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM49
Fury Cutter
109520Bug
TM02
Headbutt
7010015Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM31
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
——20Normal
TM08
Rock Smash
2010015Fighting
TM04
Rollout
309020Rock
TM37
Sandstorm
——10Rock
TM35
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM13
Snore
4010015Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM34
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM06
Toxic
—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Mega Punch
808520Normal
Egg
Rock Slide
759010Rock

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Flamethrower
9510015Fire

Golem's 3-stage chain starts with Geodude, which appears at solid rates in the locations below. Level through 3 stages while you find a trade partner. Everything except the trade step is solo.

Trade Evolution Required — Requires trading with another player

How to Obtain Golem in Crystal

Geodude is your first catch on the way to Golem. You'll find walking and fixed encounters from Lv. 2-48 across 27 total spots in the chain.

  1. Geodude
    Step 1Catch Geodude
    Dark Cave - West
    GrassLv.2-3CommonEarlyCaveSwarm active
    EFFORTLESS
    Dark Cave - West
    GrassLv.2-4CommonEarlyCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 46
    GrassLv.2-3CommonEarlyRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Union Cave - 1F
    GrassLv.6CommonEarlyCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Union Cave - B1F
    GrassLv.8CommonEarlyCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Mt. Moon - 1F
    GrassLv.8-10CommonEarlyCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Rock Tunnel - 1F
    GrassLv.11-12CommonEarlyCaveNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Rock Tunnel - 1F
    GrassLv.11CommonEarlyCaveMorning/day
    EFFORTLESS
    Mt. Mortar - 1F North
    GrassLv.13CommonEarlyCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Rock Tunnel - B1F
    GrassLv.14CommonEarlyCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 33
    GrassLv.6UncommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Mt. Mortar - 1F South
    GrassLv.14RareEarlyCave
    CHALLENGING
    Dark Cave - East
    GrassLv.23CommonMidCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 45
    GrassLv.23CommonMidRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Mt. Mortar - B1F
    GrassLv.16RareMidCave
    CHALLENGING
    Union Cave - B2F
    GrassLv.20RareMidCave
    CHALLENGING
    Team Rocket HQ - B1F
    Interact with PokemonLv.21LimitedMid
    HARD
    Mt. Mortar - 2F
    GrassLv.31CommonLateCaveNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Mt. Mortar - 2F
    GrassLv.31UncommonLateCaveDay
    EASY
  2. Graveler
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Graveler
    Route 45
    GrassLv.23CommonMidRouteMorning/day
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 45
    GrassLv.23-27CommonMidRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Dark Cave - East
    GrassLv.25UncommonMidCave
    EASY
    Mt. Mortar - 2F
    GrassLv.31CommonLateCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Victory Road - 1F
    GrassLv.34CommonLateCaveMorning/day
    EFFORTLESS
    Victory Road - 1F
    GrassLv.34CommonLateCaveNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Mt. Silver - 1F
    GrassLv.43CommonLateCave
    EFFORTLESS
    Mt. Silver - Summit
    GrassLv.48UncommonPostCave
    EASY
    or evolve from Geodude (Step 1)
  3. Golem
    Step 3Golem ✓

  • We rate Golem A-Tier — a strong competitive pick. At 495 BST, it fits the wallbreaker role. Base 130 Defense stands out.

  • Golem's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Venusaur (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Gyarados is the most dangerous since Water moves deal 4x damage. Fighting, Ground, and Steel-type attackers are also a problem. With 6 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

  • Graveler evolves into Golem by trading. Golem is the final evolution in a 5-stage line starting from Geodude. At 495 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Base 45 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Golem is a physical attacker with base 120 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a wallbreaker.

  • Golem appears in 20 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Since debuting in Red & Blue, Golem has appeared in 20 titles over 9 generations. Along the way, it received an Alolan form in Generation 7, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.