Is Krabby Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Olivine City fishing and various coastal spots. Water-type with AbilityHyper Cutter preventing Attack drops. Kingler at level 28 finally shines in HGSS thanks to the physical/special split giving it physical Water moves for the first time.
Krabby trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Krabby resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Krabby has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Morty's typing presses Krabby's defenses.
Chuck's typing presses Krabby's defenses.
Kingler resists most of Jasmine's coverage and hits back hard.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Clair's typing presses Kingler's defenses.
Kingler resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Kingler trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Kingler trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Kingler resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Kingler has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Krabby in Cliff Cave (walking, Lv 20, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 20)
- LV 20WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- LV 39WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 41WaterCrabhammerPower 135Accuracy 85%PP 10
Evolve Krabby to Kingler
Krabby evolves into Kingler at Level 28. Your Krabby should hit Level 28 before you reach Jasmine, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 28)
- LV 28WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM75NormalSwords DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 30Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- LV 51WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 56WaterCrabhammerPower 135Accuracy 85%PP 10
How to Get Krabby in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Krabby clatters across ten coastal spots by rod, Rock Smash, and grass, common to rare from level 10 to 40. The little crab is one of the most flexible water catches here, turning up on a line or under a smashed rock.
11 locations to catch Krabby
Encountered via fishing with a Rod, tall grass encounters
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Krabby in HGSS
Krabby is the chain's first catch. You'll find fishing, walking, and more encounters from Lv. 10-40 across 108 total spots in the chain.
- Step 1Krabby ✓Cianwood CityLv.15-24Smashing rocksRate 90%Safari Zone - Rocky BeachLv.13-15Old RodRate 30%Safari Zone - Rocky BeachLv.15-17FloorRate 30%Cherrygrove CityLv.10Old RodRate 15%Cianwood CityLv.10Old RodRate 15%Olivine CityLv.10Old RodRate 15%Route 34Lv.10Old RodRate 15%Route 40Lv.10Old RodRate 15%Union Cave - B2FLv.10Old RodRate 15%Whirl Islands - 1FLv.10Old RodRate 15%Whirl Islands - B2FLv.10Old RodRate 15%Route 19Lv.10Old RodRate 15%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.10Old RodRate 15%Cliff Cave - 1FLv.20-26Smashing rocksRate 90%Cherrygrove CityLv.20Good RodRate 50%Cianwood CityLv.20Good RodRate 50%Olivine CityLv.20Good RodRate 50%Route 34Lv.20Good RodRate 50%Route 40Lv.20Good RodRate 50%Union Cave - B2FLv.20Good RodRate 50%Whirl Islands - 1FLv.20Good RodRate 50%Whirl Islands - B2FLv.20Good RodRate 50%Route 19Lv.20Good RodRate 50%Whirl Islands - 1FLv.22-24GrassRate 50%Whirl Islands - B1FLv.22-24GrassRate 50%Whirl Islands - B2FLv.22-24GrassRate 50%Whirl Islands - B3FLv.23-25GrassRate 50%Safari Zone - Rocky BeachLv.22-25Good RodRate 40%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.20Good RodRate 20%Cliff Cave - 1FLv.20CaveRate 10%Route 19Lv.24-27Smashing rocksRate 10%Cherrygrove CityLv.40Super RodRate 60%Cianwood CityLv.40Super RodRate 60%Olivine CityLv.40Super RodRate 60%Route 34Lv.40Super RodRate 60%Route 40Lv.40Super RodRate 60%Union Cave - B2FLv.40Super RodRate 60%Route 19Lv.40Super RodRate 60%Whirl Islands - 1FLv.40Super RodRate 40%Whirl Islands - B2FLv.40Super RodRate 40%
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into KinglerRoute 19Lv.28-31Smashing rocksRate 90%Cliff Cave - 1FLv.22CaveRate 10%Cliff Cave - 1FLv.28-31Smashing rocksRate 10%Safari Zone - Rocky BeachLv.38-39Super RodRate 20%Whirl Islands - 1FLv.40Super RodRate 20%Whirl Islands - B2FLv.40Super RodRate 20%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.40Super RodRate 15%Cherrygrove CityLv.40Super RodRate 10%Cianwood CityLv.40Super RodRate 10%Olivine CityLv.40Super RodRate 10%Route 34Lv.40Super RodRate 10%Route 40Lv.40Super RodRate 10%Union Cave - B2FLv.40Super RodRate 10%Route 19Lv.40Super RodRate 10%or evolve from Krabby (Step 1)
Bring the right balls: check Krabby catch odds in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Krabby in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Krabby scuttles around Route 19 and Cianwood City, though a shiny comes fastest from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Krabby odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Krabby 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 Krabby in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Krabby Weakness
Type-wise, Krabby takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. The Water typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Krabby's physical bulk (base 90 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Krabby Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Krabby
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Carnivine Grass | C | |
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | A | |
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
 Jumpluff Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodSafari Zone Surfing | ||
 Luxray Electric | C | |
 Plusle Electric | B | |
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodTeam Rocket Hq Interact Encounter | ||
 Budew GrassPoison | C | |
Krabby Evolutions
Krabby is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Kingler. Check the evolution method below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 150 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Krabby easily with 21 breeding partners from the Water 3 egg group. Pass egg moves like Agility, Amnesia, Ancient Power and 7 more to offspring.
HGSS Krabby Best Moveset
105 Attack is elite for a first-stage Pokemon, and the per-move physical/special split means MoveCrabhammer now uses that Attack stat directly. The moveset finally hits hard with physical Water damage. 25 Sp. Def and 30 HP still fold to anything special. Evolve to Kingler.
Best Build
Krabby best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Crabhammer
- Agility
- Return
- Brick Break
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Agility and Amnesia aren't available any other way for Krabby, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Crabhammer and Surf for solid options.
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 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
If it senses danger approaching, it cloaks itself with bubbles from its mouth so it will look bigger.
The pincers break off easily. If it loses a pincer, it somehow becomes incapable of walking sideways.
Krabby HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- How do I catch Krabby in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Krabby in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Krabby from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Krabby easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, for a casual playthrough, Krabby works as a placeholder. Water coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Kingler. That's where the stats start mattering.
Game Availability
Present since Red & Blue, Krabby appears in 19 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Krabby 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
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