Utility
Balanced
DTier
40Very Slow

Nothing fancy in Nincada's spread. It leans mixed with Defense out front. And you'll get 1 Defense EV per KO for it. Follows a standard growth curve.

Base Stats
266Below
HP31
F
Attack45
D
Defense90
B
Sp. Atk30
F
Sp. Def30
F
Speed40
D
Total266
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV Yield
HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe
Details
Catch255GuaranteedErratic600,000 XP0.5m / 1'08"5.5kg / 12.1 lbs53Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It grows underground, sensing its surroundings using antennae instead of its virtually blind eyes.

Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl

Nincada Weakness

Avg

Type-wise, Nincada takes extra damage from Fire, Water, Ice, and Flying. Electric moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. Nincada's physical bulk (base 90 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

4xCritical
None
2xWeak
FireWaterIceFlying
½xResist
FightingPoisonGround
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Electric
STAB (8)
GrassPsychicDarkFireElectricPoisonRockSteel
4Weak
3Resist
1Immune
Score-2
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Compound EyesIncreases moves' accuracy to 1.3×.
Run AwayHAEnsures success fleeing from wild battles.

Nincada can evolve into Ninjask and Shedinja. Nincada sits before the split, so check the evolution methods below to pick your path. Evolving adds up to 190 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Evolutions
Nincada
#290Nincada
Ninjask
#291NinjaskLevel 20
Shedinja
#292ShedinjaLevel 20
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Nincada
BugGround
Ninjask
BugFlying
Shedinja
BugGhost
HP
31
61+30
1-30
ATK
45
90+45
90+45
DEF
90
45-45
45-45
SP.ATK
30
50+20
30
SP.DEF
30
50+20
30
SPE
40
160+120
40
BST
266D-Tier
456C-Tier+190
236C-Tier-30
ROLE
Balanced
Pivot
Trick Room
TYPE
Utility
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Nincada easily with 91 breeding partners from the Bug egg group.

Egg Groups
Bug
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
flygondrapionmasquerainvolbeatillumiseparasectvibravaskorupiparastrapinchsurskitshuckle
12 of 91·

Nincada's built to absorb hits. Impish nature leans into physical wall duty, Eviolite gives it a bulk boost that only works before full evolution, and the moveset handles sustain. Compoundeyes and max HP and Defense EVs tie the defensive profile together.

Best Build

All 14 games

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

All 14 games

Most of Nincada's flexibility comes from TMs. Same-type output runs through Bug Buzz and Dig, but Normal and Grass and the rest of the TM pool push it from predictable to genuinely threatening.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Sand Attack
—10015Ground
Lv 1
Scratch
4010035Normal
Lv 5
Harden
——30Normal
Lv 10
False Swipe
4010040Normal
Lv 15
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
Lv 21
Absorb
2010025Grass
Lv 25
Metal Claw
509535Steel
Lv 30
Fury Swipes
188015Normal
Lv 35
Mind Reader
——5Normal
Lv 40
Dig
8010010Ground

TM Moves

TM
TM40
Aerial Ace
60—20Flying
TM62
Bug Buzz
9010010Bug
TM93
Cut
509530Normal
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM58
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM54
False Swipe
4010040Normal
TM70
Flash
—10020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
7510010Grass
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM37
Sandstorm
——10Rock
TM30
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
TM82
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM90
Substitute
——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM81
X-Scissor
8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Nincada doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Nincada can't learn any Tutor moves
All 14 games

A solid number of locations for Nincada with decent spawn rates across early-game routes. The sort toggle below swaps between best odds and earliest access, so you can approach it based on where you are in the game.

Best Locations to Catch Nincada in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

10 walking and special encounters at Lv. 10-63 for Nincada across Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. A few locations are version-exclusive, so your copy of the game affects what's available.

Eterna Forest
Brilliant DiamondUsing PokeRadar Lv.10-12 Forest
22%Early
Eterna Forest
Shining PearlUsing PokeRadar Lv.10-12 Forest
22%Early
Grassland Cave
Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Grassland Cave
Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Riverbank Cave
Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Riverbank Cave
Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Still-Water Cavern
Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Still-Water Cavern
Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Sunlit Cavern
Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Sunlit Cavern
Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game

  • Nincada has 2 evolution paths: Ninjask at level 20 and Shedinja at level 20. Different conditions, different results.

  • Nincada has 2 evolution paths: Ninjask at level 20 and Shedinja at level 20. Different method for each one.

  • For a casual playthrough, Nincada works as a placeholder. Bug/Ground coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Ninjask. That's where the stats start mattering.

  • Nincada is catchable across 14 games. Debuted in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and most recently available in Ruby & Sapphire and FireRed & LeafGreen.

Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Nincada appears in 14 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in a solid number of games, typically found through catching or hatching as a base form.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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