Mixed
Tank
500High
50Slow
CTier

As a Poison-type, Muk fills a straightforward role. Only weak to Ground and Psychic. Known as the Sludge Pokémon. Known as the Sludge Pokemon. The stat spread favors raw physical power.

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
500High
HP105
B
Attack105
B
Defense75
C
Sp. Atk65
C
Sp. Def100
B
Speed50
D
Total500
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Muk yields +1 HP, +1 Atk
HP+1Atk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch75Challenging•Medium Fast1M XP•1.2m / 3'11"•30kg / 66.1 lbs•175Base XP
Pokedex Entries

They love to gather in smelly areas where sludge accumulates, making the stench around them worse.

Gold

Its body is made of a powerful poison. Touching it accidentally will cause a fever that requires bed rest.

Silver

Muk Weakness

Avg

Ground and Psychic-type moves hit Muk for super-effective damage. The Poison typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Muk's special bulk (base 100 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

Gen II Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
  • Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
GroundPsychic
½xResisti
GrassFightingPoisonBug
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
None
STAB (1)i
Grass
2Weak
4Resist
0Immune
Scorei0
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesAbsorbs on switch
Abilities
StenchHas a 10% chance of making target Pokémon flinch with each hit.
Sticky HoldPrevents a held item from being removed by other Pokémon.
Poison TouchHAHas a 30% chance of poisoning target Pokémon upon contact.

Muk is what Grimer becomes. Breed it for Grimer eggs (average hatch time). A small partner pool 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.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Grimer
#088Grimer
38
Level 38
Muk
#089Muk
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Grimer
Poison
Muk
Poison
HP
80
105+25
ATK
80
105+25
DEF
50
75+25
SP.ATK
40
65+25
SP.DEF
50
100+50
SPE
25
50+25
BST
325C-Tier
500B-Tier+175
ROLE
Trick Room
Tank
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Muk to get Grimer eggs easily using 11 partners from the Indeterminate egg group. Notable egg moves include Haze, Lick, Mean Look.

Egg Groups
Indeterminate
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
3moves
Breed With (best first)
mukgengarweezingmagcargohaunterwobbuffetkoffinggrimergastlyslugmamisdreavus
Showing all 11

The recommended build leans into Muk's strengths as an attacker. Leftovers provides passive recovery each turn, and flexible EVs EVs back that up. An ability rounds out the package.

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 2
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Nature
Not in Gen 2

Best Muk Moveset

  • Sludge BombSTAB
  • ExplosionCoverage
  • CurseSetup
  • Fire Blast

Recommended Teammates

Snorlax
SnorlaxGood
Cloyster
CloysterGood
Zapdos
ZapdosDecent

Don't skip the egg moves. Muk picks up Haze and Lick only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Sludge Bomb and Sludge while coverage across 9 types adds range.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Harden
——30Normal
Lv 1
Poison Gas
—5540Poison
Lv 1
Pound
4010035Normal
Lv 23
Minimize
——20Normal
Lv 31
Screech
—8540Normal
Lv 33
Harden
——30Normal
Lv 37
Disable
—5520Normal
Lv 45
Acid Armor
——40Poison
Lv 45
Sludge
6510020Poison
Lv 60
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM03
Curse
——10Ghost
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM01
Dynamic Punch
100505Fighting
TM20
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM48
Fire Punch
7510015Fire
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
751005Grass
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM33
Ice Punch
7510015Ice
TM31
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM35
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM13
Snore
4010015Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM34
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM25
Thunder
1207010Electric
TM41
Thunder Punch
7510015Electric
TM06
Toxic
—8510Poison
TM07
Zap Cannon
100505Electric

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Haze
——30Ice
Egg
Lick
2010030Ghost
Egg
Mean Look
——5Normal

Tutor Moves

Muk can't learn any Tutor moves

decent spawn rates across 10 locations for Muk in early-game routes. Scroll the sorted list below and pick whichever spot sits closest to your current route. The rate differences between locations are worth comparing.

Where To Catch Muk in Gold & Silver

The path to Muk starts with Grimer at Lv. 15-32 via walking and surfing encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Grimer
    Step 1Catch Grimer
    Celadon City
    GoldSurfing on waterLv.15-24CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
    Celadon City
    SilverSurfing on waterLv.15-24CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
    Route 16
    GoldGrassLv.26-28CommonMidRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 16
    SilverGrassLv.26-28CommonMidRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 18
    SilverGrassLv.26-28CommonMidRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 18
    GoldGrassLv.26-28CommonMidRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 17
    SilverGrassLv.27-29CommonMidRouteMorning/night
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 17
    GoldGrassLv.27-29CommonMidRouteMorning/night
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 17
    SilverGrassLv.29UncommonMidRouteDay
    EASY
    Route 17
    GoldGrassLv.29UncommonMidRouteDay
    EASY
  2. Muk
    Step 2Muk ✓
    Celadon City
    GoldSurfing on waterLv.15-19UncommonEarlyCity
    MODERATE
    Celadon City
    SilverSurfing on waterLv.15-19UncommonEarlyCity
    MODERATE
    Route 17
    SilverGrassLv.30-32UncommonMidRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 17
    GoldGrassLv.30-32UncommonMidRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 16
    GoldGrassLv.30RareMidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 16
    SilverGrassLv.30RareMidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 18
    SilverGrassLv.30RareMidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 18
    GoldGrassLv.30RareMidRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 17
    SilverGrassLv.32RareLateRouteMorning/day
    CHALLENGING
    Route 17
    GoldGrassLv.32RareLateRouteMorning/day
    CHALLENGING
    or evolve from Grimer (Step 1)

  • Muk works as a tank 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.

  • Grimer evolves into Muk at level 38. Muk is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Grimer. At 500 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Muk is a mixed attacker — base 105 Attack and 65 Sp. Atk. Tanky enough to absorb a few hits, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. Fits the tank role.

  • Muk appears in 19 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Available since Red & Blue, Muk appears in 19 games spanning 9 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained an Alolan form in Generation 7.