Physical
Support
50Speed · Slow

Muk Best Moveset

105 Attack and 105 HP at 100 Sp. Def on Poison TermStab with AbilityPoison Touch threatening poison on every physical move. The moveset absorbs special hits and punches back physically. 50 Speed means always taking a hit first, but 105 HP and the Sp. Def handle it. Tera Poison removes all weaknesses except Ground and Psychic.

SABCDEFEAACEEEERed, Blue & YellowIRB/YGold, Silver & CrystalIIGS/CPEAKRuby, Sapphire & EmeraldIIIRS/EDiamond, Pearl & PlatinumIVDP/PtTHE FALLBlack & White / B2W2VBW/B2W2X & Y / ORASVIXY/ORASSun & Moon / USUMVIISM/USUMScarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AIXSV/LZACURRENT
Gen I — Red, Blue & YellowE

Pure Poison with no real offensive niche in Gen I (Red & Blue). Psychic-types countered it hard, and 50 Speed meant Muk was moving last.

Had a combined Special stat of 65
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Egg
Explosion
Normal250COMMONCoverage
Lv 34
Acid Armor
PoisonCOMMONSTAB
Lv 13
Sludge
Poison65COMMONSTAB
Tutor
Body Slam
Normal85COMMONCoverage
TM15
Hyper Beam
Normal150COMMONCoverage
Xfer
Mega Drain
Grass40RARECoverage
TM38
Fire Blast
Fire110RARECoverage
Experimental
Utility
Ability
Unknown
Item
None
Best Nature for Muk
HardyNEUTRAL

Utility Moveset

  • ExplosionCoverage
  • Acid ArmorSTAB
  • SludgeSTAB
  • Body Slam
Gen II — Gold, Silver & CrystalA

Curse turned Muk into a slow, powerful physical tank in Gen II (Gold & Silver). Sludge Bomb as reliable Poison STAB and 105 Attack gave it real offensive presence.

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 60
Sludge Bomb
Poison90COMMONSTAB
Xfer
Explosion
Normal250COMMONCoverage
TM3
Curse
GhostCOMMONSetup
TM38
Fire Blast
Fire110RARECoverage
Tutor
Flamethrower
Fire90RARECoverage

Best Build

Experimental
Utility
Ability
Unknown
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Muk
HardyNEUTRAL

Utility Moveset

  • Sludge BombSTAB
  • ExplosionCoverage
  • CurseSetup
  • Fire Blast
Gen III — Ruby, Sapphire & EmeraldA

Sticky Hold prevented item theft, and Curse plus Rest plus Sleep Talk made Muk a frustrating wall to break through in Gen III (Ruby & Sapphire).

Received Stench and Sticky Hold
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 47
Sludge Bomb
Poison90COMMONSTAB
Egg
Explosion
Normal250COMMONCoverage
Egg
Curse
GhostCOMMONSetup
TM1
Focus Punch
Fighting150RARECoverage
TM31
Brick Break
Fighting75RARECoverage
Tutor
Substitute
NormalRAREUtility
Experimental
Physical Tank
Ability
Sticky Hold
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Muk
EVs

Physical Tank Moveset

  • Sludge BombSTAB
  • ExplosionCoverage
  • CurseSetup
  • Focus Punch
Gen IV — Diamond, Pearl & PlatinumC

Faster metagame punished Muk's 50 Speed in Gen IV (Diamond & Pearl). Ground-types with Earthquake were everywhere and hit its mediocre Defense.

Physical/Special split overhauled move damage
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TM84
Poison Jab
Poison80COMMONSTAB
TM64
Explosion
Normal250COMMONCoverage
Egg
Curse
GhostCOMMONSetup
Tutor
Fire Punch
Fire75COMMONCoverage
Tutor
Ice Punch
Ice75RARECoverage
Egg
Shadow Sneak
Ghost40RARECoverage
Lv 54
Gunk Shot
Poison120RARESTAB
Experimental
Physical Tank
Ability
Sticky Hold
Item
Black SludgeSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Muk
EVs

Physical Tank Moveset

  • Poison JabSTAB
  • ExplosionCoverage
  • CurseSetup
  • Fire Punch

Recommended Teammates

Gen V — Black & White / B2W2E

Power creep and stronger Poison-types pushed Muk further down in Gen V (Black & White). Its tools hadn't kept up.

Gained Poison Touch as hidden abilityHidden Abilities became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TM84
Poison Jab
Poison80COMMONSTAB
Egg
Curse
GhostCOMMONSetup
Lv 49
Gunk Shot
Poison120RARESTAB
TM6
Toxic
PoisonRARESTAB
Egg
Shadow Sneak
Ghost40RARECoverage
TM44
Rest
PsychicRARERecovery
Tutor
Fire Punch
Fire75RARECoverage
Lv 43
Acid Armor
PoisonRARESTAB
Experimental
Wall
Ability
Poison Touch
Item
Black SludgeSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Muk
Impish+DEF
EVs

Wall Moveset

  • Poison JabSTAB
  • CurseSetup
  • Gunk ShotSTAB
  • ToxicUtility
Gen VI — X & Y / ORASE

No Mega, no new tools in Gen VI (X & Y). Just a slow Poison-type in a format that didn't need one.

Fairy type added to the gameMega Evolution became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Egg
Shadow Sneak
Ghost40COMMONCoverage
Lv 40
Gunk Shot
Poison120COMMONSTAB
TM98
Power-Up Punch
Fighting40COMMONCoverage
Tutor
Ice Punch
Ice75COMMONCoverage
Egg
Curse
GhostRARESetup
TM31
Brick Break
Fighting75RARECoverage
TM84
Poison Jab
Poison80RARESTAB
Experimental
Physical Tank
Ability
Poison Touch
Item
Assault VestBULK
Best Nature for Muk
EVs

Physical Tank Moveset

  • Shadow Sneak
  • Gunk ShotSTAB
  • Power Up Punch
  • Ice Punch
Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUME

Alolan Muk (Poison/Dark) was strictly better in almost every competitive way. Regular Muk was obsolete in Gen VII (Sun & Moon).

Z-Moves became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 40
Gunk Shot
Poison120COMMONSTAB
Egg
Shadow Sneak
Ghost40RARECoverage
Tutor
Ice Punch
Ice75RARECoverage
TM84
Poison Jab
Poison80RARESTAB
TM6
Toxic
PoisonRARESTAB
TM31
Brick Break
Fighting75RARECoverage
Egg
Curse
GhostRARESetup
Lv 15
Sludge
Poison65RARESTAB
Experimental
Physical Tank
Ability
Sticky Hold
Item
Black SludgeSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Muk
EVs

Physical Tank Moveset

  • Gunk ShotSTAB
  • Shadow Sneak
  • Ice Punch
  • Poison JabSTAB
Gen IX — Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AE

Returned in Gen IX (Scarlet & Violet) but still outclassed by its Alolan form and newer Poison-types.

Terastallization became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TM83
Poison Jab
Poison80COMMONSTAB
TM181
Knock Off
Dark65RARECoverage
Lv 26
Toxic
PoisonRARESTAB
TM73
Drain Punch
Fighting75RARECoverage
Lv 40
Gunk Shot
Poison120RARESTAB
TM85
Rest
PsychicRARERecovery
Experimental
Physical Tank
Ability
Sticky Hold
Item
Black SludgeSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Muk
EVs

Physical Tank Moveset

  • Poison JabSTAB
  • Knock Off
  • ToxicUtility
  • Drain Punch

Recommended Teammates

Muk Weakness

Ground and Psychic moves hit Muk for super-effective damage. The Poison typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. Muk's special bulk (base 100 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

Muk Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Ground, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug, Fairy

What is Muk Weak Against

Good
2Weak
5Resist
0Immune
Score+1
4xCritical
None
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
None

What is Muk Strong Against

2Strong
4Resisted
1Immune
Score-3
2xStrong
0xImmune

Best Pokemon Against Muk

Gliscor deals 43-50% with Earthquake.

Evolution

Muk is what Grimer becomes. Breed it for Grimer eggs (average hatch time). Plenty of partners for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolution from Grimer pushed Muk to 500 total stats. Sp.Def saw the largest single gain at +50. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Evolutions
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Grimer
Poison
Muk
Poison
Alola Muk
Poison
HP
80
105+25
105+25
ATK
80
105+25
105+25
DEF
50
75+25
75+25
SP.ATK
40
65+25
65+25
SP.DEF
50
100+50
100+50
SPE
25
50+25
50+25
BST
325C-Tier
500C-Tier+175
500C-Tier+175
ROLE
Trick Room
Tank
Tank
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Muk to get Grimer eggs easily using 63 partners from the Indeterminate egg group.

Egg Groups
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
gardevoirgalladegastrodonstunfisktrevenantshellosphantumpcofagriguskirliacastformraltsyamask

How to Get Muk

All 19 games

Muk appears at moderate rates across 8 spots in late-game routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.

Where To Catch Muk in SV

Grimer is your first catch on the way to Muk. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 19-80 across 16 total spots in the chain.

  1. Grimer
    Step 1Catch Grimer
    East Province (Area Two) - Near Town
    Lv.19-42Overworld
    Rate 48%
    West Province (Area Two) - Near Town
    Lv.19-42Overworld
    Rate 48%
    Coastal Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    Coastal Biome
    Lv.61Overworld
  2. Muk
    Step 2Muk
    East Province (Area Two) - Near Town
    Lv.38-57Overworld
    Rate 2%
    West Province (Area Two) - Near Town
    Lv.38-57Overworld
    Rate 2%
    Coastal Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    Coastal Biome
    Lv.65Overworld
    or evolve from Grimer (Step 1)

Base Stats

Muk's built to absorb hits, not race for knockouts. Special bulk with HP doing the heavy lifting. And the medium-fast 1M XP curve means it won't take forever to bring up, worth 2 HP and Attack EVs.

Base Stats
High
HP105
B
Attack105
B
Defense75
C
Sp. Atk65
C
Sp. Def100
B
Speed50
D
Total500
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging75 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height1.2 m
Weight30.0 kg
Base XP175
Abilities
Stench
Has a 10% chance of making target Pokémon flinch with each hit.
Sticky Hold
Prevents a held item from being removed by other Pokémon.
Poison TouchHidden Ability
Has a 30% chance of poisoning target Pokémon upon contact.
EV Yield
HP+1Atk+1DefSpASpDSpe
HP training target
Pokedex Entry

It’s thickly covered with a filthy, vile sludge. It is so toxic, even its footprints contain poison.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Muk Guide

  • Muk works as a support with 500 BST behind it. C-Tier on our list: a situational pick that fills a niche. That 105 base HP does the heavy lifting.

  • Watch for Rhydon (Ground) and Alakazam (Psychic) when using Muk. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • Stench has a 10% chance of making target Pokémon flinch with each hit. That's the one you want on Muk. Poison Touch is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses. Sticky Hold works too if your team needs something different.

  • Muk is a physical attacker with base 105 Attack. Tanky enough to absorb a few hits, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. Fits the support role.

  • Run Poisonjab, Knock Off, Toxic, and Drain Punch on Muk. Poisonjab is the most common pick at 0% usage. This set covers the support role with a mix of damage and utility.

Game Availability

Available since Red & Blue, Muk appears in 19 games spanning 10 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained an Alolan form in Generation 7.

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