Is Lapras Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Union Cave basement encounter on Fridays only. Water/Ice with AbilityWater Absorb healing from Water attacks. One appearance per week makes Lapras a planned catch, not a casual one. Ice coverage handles Clair and Lance. Worth planning a Friday visit.
Lapras resists most of Falkner's coverage and hits back hard.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Chuck's team hits Lapras's weaknesses hard.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Lapras resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Lapras trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Lapras trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Lapras trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Lapras has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Lapras in Union Cave (interact, Lv 20, limited). Encounter in Union Cave B2F on Fridays only.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- LV 32IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Pryce
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- LV 37WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 49WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
HeartGold & SoulSilver Lapras Locations
Lapras has a single fixed encounter in Union Cave at level 20, plus a surf spot in the Safari Zone. The Union Cave one is a one-and-done battle, so do not knock it out by accident.
2 locations to catch Lapras
Encountered via Surfing
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6Best Locations to Catch Lapras in HeartGold & SoulSilver
How to Get Shiny Lapras in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Lapras appears in Union Cave on Fridays, but breeding it Masuda-style is the quicker route to a shiny. Compare Shiny Lapras odds across every game
Shiny Lapras Evolution
Does Not EvolveHeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Lapras Calculator
3 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.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
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.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver with Lapras preloaded.
Lapras Weakness
Lapras's Water/Ice typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric, Grass, Fighting, and Rock. Water Absorb grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Lapras's overall bulk (130/80/95) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass, Fighting, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Water |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Ice |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Lapras Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Lapras
 Carnivine Grass | C | |
 Leafeon Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Flaaffy Electric | C | |
 Oddish GrassPoison | C | |
 Bayleef Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Minun Electric | C | |
 Plusle Electric | B | |
 Bellsprout GrassPoison | C | |
 Luxio Electric | C | |
 Budew GrassPoison | C | |
 Skiploom Grass | C | |
 Paras BugGrass | C | |
 Makuhita Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Lapras View Makuhita builds →Vital Throw 2x36-43% Rock Tomb 2x18-21% | ||
 Meditite FightingPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Lapras View Meditite builds →Focus Blast 2x42-50% Rock Tomb 2x13-17% | ||
Lapras Evolutions
No evolution chain to worry about here. Lapras is a standalone Pokemon with plenty of partners for breeding through two egg groups. Its eggs take forever to hatch. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Lapras easily with 63 breeding partners from the Monster and Water 1 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Ancient Power, Curse, Dragon Dance and 8 more to offspring.
HGSS Lapras Best Moveset
Bulky Water/Ice with 130 HP and balanced 80-95 defenses that absorbs hits from both sides. AbilityWater Absorb heals HP from incoming Water moves. The moveset fires special Water and Ice attacks from 85 Sp. Atk at 60 Speed. Durable but slow.
Best Build
Lapras best EVs are HP and Sp. Atk
Special Tank Moveset
- Ice Beam
- Ice Shard
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Ancient Power and Curse on Lapras. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Hydro Pump and Blizzard, they expand what Lapras 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
All 27 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
They have gentle hearts. Because they rarely fight, many have been caught. Their number has dwindled.
It ferries people across the sea on its back. It may sing an enchanting cry if it is in a good mood.
Lapras HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- Where in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone can I find Lapras?
See the Locations section above for where to find Lapras 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 Lapras from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Lapras easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Lapras is a static encounter at Johto Union Cave in HeartGold & SoulSilver. Lapras appears at level 20. Save before the encounter. These one-shot Pokemon don't respawn if you knock them out or run out of Poke Balls.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Lapras as a balanced. Splits damage between physical and special. Not the fastest,
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, build your team around Heatran. These have the highest co-usage rates with Lapras in competitive formats. They cover each other's weaknesses.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Quiet on Lapras. +Sp. Atk is what matters, and the -Speed cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the balanced role.
Game Availability
Available since Red & Blue, Lapras appears in 20 games spanning 9 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained a Gigantamax form in Generation 8.
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 8SwShGigantamax
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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