Special
Balanced
480Average
70Moderate
CTier

Swift Swim doubles its Speed in rain, adding real value on top of Ludicolo's already solid stats. Water/Grass typing means only weak to Poison, Flying, and Bug. Known as the Carefree Pokemon. Flexible enough to run physical or special sets.

Nothing fancy in Ludicolo's spread. It leans mixed with Sp. Def out front. And you'll get 3 Sp. Def EVs per KO for it. Follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats
480Above
HP80
C
Attack70
C
Defense70
C
Sp. Atk90
B
Sp. Def100
B
Speed70
C
Total480
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Ludicolo yields +3 SpD
HPAtkDefSpASpD+3Spe
Details
Catch45ChallengingMedium Slow1.06M XP1.5m / 4'11"55kg / 121.3 lbs216Base XP
Pokedex Entries

If it hears festive music, all its muscles fill with energy. It can’t help breaking out into a dance.

Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl

Ludicolo Weakness

Avg

Ludicolo is weak to Poison, Flying, and Bug-type moves. Ludicolo's special bulk (base 100 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

4xCriticali
None
½xResisti
¼xResisti
0xImmunei
None
3Weak
3Resist
0Immune
Scorei-2
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Swift SwimDoubles Speed during rain.
Rain DishHeals for 1/16 max HP after each turn during rain.
Own TempoHAPrevents confusion.

Ludicolo evolved from Lotad's chain using an evolution item. It's a non-standard trigger, so check the details below. Breed this form to get Lotad eggs (quick to hatch). The evolution from Lotad pushed Ludicolo to 480 total stats. Sp.Atk saw the largest single gain at +50.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Lotad
#270Lotad
14
Level 14
Lombre
#271Lombre
Water Stone
Ludicolo
#272Ludicolo
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Lotad
WaterGrass
Lombre
WaterGrass
Ludicolo
WaterGrass
HP
40
60+20
80+20
ATK
30
50+20
70+20
DEF
30
50+20
70+20
SP.ATK
40
60+20
90+30
SP.DEF
50
70+20
100+30
SPE
30
50+20
70+20
BST
220D-Tier
340D-Tier+120
480C-Tier+140
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Utility
Utility
Special
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Ludicolo to get Lotad eggs easily from the Plant and Water1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Counter, Flail, Leech Seed and 6 more.

Egg Groups
PlantWater1
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
9moves

Ludicolo runs a standard attacker set. Hardy nature with max Defense and Speed EVs shapes the build, while Leftovers brings passive recovery each turn. Swiftswim supports the kit from the background.

Best Build

Bulky Support
Ability
Swiftswim
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Nature
Hardy
EVs

Best Ludicolo Moveset

  • Giga DrainSTAB
  • Rain DanceSTAB
  • Ice Beam
  • ScaldSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Breeding opens up real options for Ludicolo. Counter and Flail come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Solar Beam and Hydro Pump and Ghost and Normal coverage and more.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Absorb
2010025Grass
Lv 1
Astonish
3010015Ghost
Lv 1
Bubble Beam
6510020Water
Lv 1
Energy Ball
9010010Grass
Lv 1
Fake Out+3
4010010Normal
Lv 1
Flail
10015Normal
Lv 1
Fury Swipes
188015Normal
Lv 1
Giga Drain
7510010Grass
Lv 1
Growl
10040Normal
Lv 1
Hydro Pump
110805Water
Lv 1
Knock Off
6510020Dark
Lv 1
Mega Drain
4010015Grass
Lv 1
Mist
30Ice
Lv 1
Nature Power
20Normal
Lv 1
Rain Dance
5Water
Lv 1
Teeter Dance
10020Normal
Lv 1
Water Gun
4010025Water
Lv 1
Zen Headbutt
809015Psychic

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM14
Blizzard
110705Ice
TM31
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
TM09
Bullet Seed
2510030Grass
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM60
Drain Punch
7510010Fighting
TM58
Endure+4
10Normal
TM53
Energy Ball
9010010Grass
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM70
Flash
10020Normal
TM56
Fling
10010Dark
TM52
Focus Blast
120705Fighting
TM01
Focus Punch-3
15010020Fighting
TM19
Giga Drain
7510010Grass
TM68
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM86
Grass Knot
10020Grass
TM07
Hail
10Ice
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
9010010Ice
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
5Water
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM100
Rock Climb
908520Normal
TM98
Rock Smash
4010015Fighting
TM49
Scald
8010015Water
TM82
Sleep Talk
10Normal
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM96
Strength
8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
5Fire
TM95
Surf
9010015Water
TM87
Swagger
8515Normal
TM75
Swords Dance
20Normal
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM03
Water Pulse
6010020Water
TM99
Waterfall
8010015Water

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Counter-5
10020Fighting
Egg
Flail
10015Normal
Egg
Leech Seed
9010Grass
Egg
Razor Leaf
559525Grass
Egg
Sweet Scent
10020Normal
Egg
Synthesis
5Grass
Egg
Teeter Dance
10020Normal
Egg
Tickle
10020Normal
Egg
Water Gun
4010025Water

Tutor Moves

Ludicolo can't learn any Tutor moves

Ludicolo doesn't appear wild. Catch Lotad instead, it shows up at moderate rates. Evolve it through a special method to get Ludicolo. The 3-stage chain is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Ludicolo in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

To get Ludicolo, start by catching Lotad through walking encounters at Lv. 58-63. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Lotad
    Step 1Catch Lotad
    Fountainspring Cave
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Grassland Cave
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Riverbank Cave
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Still-Water Cavern
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Sunlit Cavern
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
  2. Lombre
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Lombre
    Fountainspring Cave
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Grassland Cave
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Riverbank Cave
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Still-Water Cavern
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Sunlit Cavern
    GrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    or evolve from Lotad (Step 1)
  3. Ludicolo
    Step 3Ludicolo
  • Ludicolo looks average on paper at 480 BST. But Swift Swim is why it sees play — build around that and it pulls its weight. C-Tier on our tier list.

  • Ludicolo's biggest threats include Crobat (Poison), Dodrio (Flying), and Heracross (Bug), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.

  • Lombre evolves into Ludicolo using a Water Stone. Ludicolo is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Lotad. At 480 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Ludicolo gets Swift Swim, Rain Dish, and Own Tempo. But Swift Swim is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Ludicolo is a special attacker with base 90 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 70 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many.

  • Ludicolo appears in 15 games, including Ruby & Sapphire, FireRed & LeafGreen, and Emerald.

Since Ruby & Sapphire, Ludicolo has been in 15 games. Requiring an item-based evolution to obtain means it's consistently available but requires more effort than simply catching it in the wild.