Is Gulpin Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Breed-only. Poison with AbilityLiquid Ooze punishing drain moves. Swalot at level 26 is unremarkable. Not worth the breeding effort.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Gulpin has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Morty's team hits Gulpin's weaknesses hard.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Jasmine's typing presses Gulpin's defenses.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Pryce's team.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Gulpin has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Janine's team hits Gulpin's weaknesses hard.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Swalot has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Swalot has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Will's team.
Koga's team hits Gulpin's weaknesses hard.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Karen's team.
Gulpin trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Gulpin on Route 3 (walking, Lv 5, common). Swarm.
Recommended Moves
- LV 14PoisonSludgePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- LV 39PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 54PoisonGunk ShotPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
Evolve Gulpin to Swalot
Gulpin evolves into Swalot at Level 26. Your Gulpin should hit Level 26 before you reach Blaine, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 26)
- LV 26PoisonSludgePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 26NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 45PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 66PoisonGunk ShotPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
How to Get Gulpin in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Gulpin is a SoulSilver swarm catch, common on one Kanto route but only while its swarm is active. HeartGold has no wild Gulpin, so that version needs a trade to add one.
Wild Gulpin may be holding when caught:
Big Pearl (5% chance) A quite-large pearl that sparkles in a pretty silver color. It can be sold at a high price to shops.1 location to catch Gulpin
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Where To Catch Gulpin in HGSS
- Step 1Gulpin ✓
- Step 2Evolve into Swalot
Bring the right balls: check Gulpin catch odds in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Gulpin in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Gulpin oozes along Route 3 in SoulSilver, though a shiny hatches faster from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Gulpin odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Gulpin Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Gulpin in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Gulpin Weakness
Gulpin is weak to Ground and Psychic. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Just 2 weak spots to worry about, which keeps teambuilding straightforward.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Gulpin Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Gulpin
 Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodPewter City Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gulpin View Latios builds →Dream Eater 2x161-190%KO Earthquake 2x79-93% | ||
 Mewtwo Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodCerulean Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gulpin View Mewtwo builds →Future Sight 2x225-265%KO Earthquake 2x94-111%KO | ||
 Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodPewter City Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gulpin View Latias builds →Dream Eater 2x141-166%KO Earthquake 2x71-84% | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
 Steelix SteelGround | B | |
 Metagross SteelPsychic | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gulpin View Metagross builds →Zen Headbutt 2x134-158%KO Earthquake 2x112-132%KO | ||
 Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Gulpin View Gardevoir builds →Future Sight 2x187-220%KO | ||
 Garchomp DragonGround | S | |
 Kadabra Psychic | A | |
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
 Bronzong SteelPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gulpin View Bronzong builds →Future Sight 2x128-151%KO Earthquake 2x78-92% | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
 Lunatone RockPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gulpin View Lunatone builds →Future Sight 2x148-175%KO Earthquake 2x54-63% | ||
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
Gulpin Evolutions
One evolution ahead. Gulpin grows into Swalot through a straightforward two-stage chain. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 165 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Gulpin easily with 31 breeding partners from the Amorphous egg group. Pass egg moves like Acid Armor, Curse, Destiny Bond and 3 more to offspring.
HGSS Gulpin Best Moveset
Stats around 43-70 where AbilityLiquid Ooze turns HP drain moves into damage against the drainer. No offensive or defensive identity worth building around. Swalot is the marginal upgrade.
Best Build
Gulpin best EVs are Sp. Def and HP
Bulky Support Moveset
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Acid Armor
- Amnesia
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Gulpin gets Acid Armor and Curse exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Coverage across 10 types rounds out the picture alongside Gunk Shot and Sludge Bomb.
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 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It has a small heart and brain. Its stomach comprises most of its body, with enzymes to dissolve anything.
Gulpin HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Yes. Wild Gulpin in HeartGold & SoulSilver can hold Big Pearl (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Big Pearl.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Gulpin has 302 BST and evolves into Swalot. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Game Availability
Available in 15 titles since its debut in Ruby & Sapphire, Gulpin spans 7 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through catching or hatching as a base form in most mainline games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
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
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