Is Meowth Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
SoulSilver encounter on Routes 38 and 39. Normal-type with AbilityPickup finding free items or AbilityTechnician boosting weaker moves. Persian at level 28 is functional but forgettable. HeartGold players need to breed for it.
Meowth has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Meowth trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Meowth trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Meowth trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Persian trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Persian trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Persian trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Persian has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Gift
Meowth is given to you as a gift on Route 38 at Lv 16.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- LV 33NormalSlashPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 15Lake of Rage
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
Evolve Meowth to Persian
Meowth evolves into Persian at Level 28. Your Meowth should hit Level 28 before you reach Chuck, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 225Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 15Lake of Rage
- LV 37NormalSlashPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
How to Get Meowth in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Meowth is a SoulSilver pick, prowling several Kanto and Johto routes there from morning through night across eight spots. HeartGold players see none and need a trade, since the scratch cat is one side of a clean version split.
Wild Meowth may be holding when caught:
Quick Claw (5% chance) An item to be held by a Pokemon. A light, sharp claw that lets the bearer move first occasionally.6 locations to catch Meowth
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Meowth in HGSS
Meowth is the chain's first catch. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 13-39 across 13 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into PersianRoute 7Lv.19GrassSoulSilverRate 5%Cerulean Cave - 1FLv.38-39CaveSoulSilverRate 14%Morning/dayCerulean Cave - 1FLv.39CaveSoulSilverRate 4%Nightor evolve from Meowth (Step 1)
To plan your throws, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver catch rate calculator with Meowth preloaded.
How to Get Shiny Meowth in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Meowth prowls Route 5 and Route 6 in SoulSilver, but a shiny hatches faster from Masuda breeding with a foreign parent. Compare Shiny Meowth odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Meowth 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.
For time estimates and charm math, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds calculator with Meowth already selected.
Meowth Weakness
Meowth is weak to Fighting. On the flip side, it's immune to Ghost-type moves entirely. Just 1 weak spot to worry about, which keeps teambuilding straightforward.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fighting |
| 0x (Immune) | Ghost |
Meowth Evolutions
One evolution ahead. Meowth grows into Persian through a straightforward two-stage chain. A massive 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 Meowth easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Amnesia, Assist, Charm and 8 more to offspring.
HGSS Meowth Best Moveset
Fast for an unevolved Pokemon at 90 Speed, but 45 Attack and 40 Sp. Atk mean the moveset outruns targets it can't damage. AbilityTechnician boosts weaker moves by 50%, which helps Persian more than Meowth. Persian at 115 Speed puts that same ability to proper use.
Best Build
Meowth best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Fake Out
- Bite
- Aerial Ace
- U Turn
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Iron Tail and Thunder bring the raw damage. But Meowth also picks up coverage across 10 types from TMs, making it tough to find a safe switch. You're not locked into one angle here.
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 28 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It is fascinated by round objects. It can’t stop playing with them until it tires and falls asleep.
It loves anything that shines. It especially adores coins that it picks up and secretly hoards.
Meowth Event Distributions
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Meowth has been offered just once as a Mystery Gift event Pokemon.
Pokemon Center Meowth GiftHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumNot shiny
Meowth HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Yes. Wild Meowth in HeartGold & SoulSilver can hold Quick Claw (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Quick Claw.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, you can run Meowth through the first few routes without issues. 290 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Persian as fast as you can.
Meowth has 2 regional forms: Alolan and Galarian. Each one changes the typing and stat distribution. Added Alolan in Gen 7 and Galarian in Gen 8.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Red & Blue, Meowth has appeared in 21 titles over 9 generations. Along the way, it received an Alolan form in Generation 7 and Gigantamax and Galarian forms in Generation 8, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
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 7SMAlolan
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwShGigantamaxGalarian
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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