Is Nincada Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Underground Bug/Ground. Ninjask is fast with AbilitySpeed Boost, and Shedinja has AbilityWonder Guard (only hit by super-effective moves). Two evolutions from one Pokemon.
Nincada trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Ninjask resists most of Gardenia's coverage and hits back hard.
Shedinja has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Gardenia:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Maylene:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Crasher Wake:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Fantina:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Shedinja has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Byron:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Shedinja has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Candice:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Volkner:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Aaron's team hits Shedinja's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Aaron:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Bertha:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Flint's team hits Shedinja's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Flint:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Lucian:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Cynthia:
Catch Nincada on Eterna Forest (Poké Radar, Lv 10-12, common).
Your Nincada should hit Level 20 before you reach Gardenia, at typical leveling pace.
Your Nincada should hit Level 20 before you reach Gardenia, at typical leveling pace.
How to Get Nincada in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
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.
Where To Catch Nincada in BDSP
To get Nincada, start by catching Nincada through walking and special encounters at Lv. 10-63. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
Nincada Weakness
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Water, Ice, Flying |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fighting, Poison, Ground |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
What is Nincada Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nincada
 Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Bibarel builds →Waterfall 2x92-111%KO Pluck 2x47-58% | ||
 Staravia Normal | D | |
 Doduo Normal | D | |
 Psyduck Water | D | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Psyduck builds →Surf 2x166-197%KO Aerial Ace 2x34-42% | ||
 Beautifly Bug | C | |
 Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Surfing | ||
 Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x101-121%KO Ice Beam 2x134-158%KO | ||
 Noctowl Normal | C | |
 Masquerain Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Masquerain builds →Ice Beam 2x152-179%KO Air Cutter 2x152-179%KO Scald 2x134-158%KO | ||
Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Bibarel builds →Waterfall 2x87-103%KO Pluck 2x45-54% Ice Beam 2x99-116%KO | ||
Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Surfing | ||
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x101-121%KO Ice Beam 2x134-158%KO | ||
 Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x216-255%KO Air Slash 2x182-215%KO Ice Beam 2x143-170%KO | ||
Noctowl Normal | C | |
Masquerain Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Masquerain builds →Ice Beam 2x152-179%KO Air Cutter 2x152-179%KO Scald 2x134-158%KO | ||
 Staraptor Normal | B | |
Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Surfing | ||
 Dodrio Normal | C | |
 Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Golduck builds →Surf 2x215-254%KO Ice Beam 2x143-170%KO Aerial Ace 2x43-51% | ||
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x100-118%KO Ice Beam 2x130-154%KO | ||
Staraptor Normal | B | |
Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Surfing | ||
Dodrio Normal | C | |
 Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Golduck builds →Surf 2x213-251%KO Ice Beam 2x141-167%KO Aerial Ace 2x40-47% | ||
Staraptor Normal | B | |
Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Surfing | ||
Dodrio Normal | C | |
Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Golduck builds →Surf 2x210-247%KO Ice Beam 2x140-165%KO Aerial Ace 2x38-46% | ||
Staraptor Normal | B | |
Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Surfing | ||
Dodrio Normal | C | |
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Jynx builds →Ice Beam 2x243-287%KO Water Pulse 2x110-130%KO | ||
Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
Staraptor Normal | B | |
 Skarmory Steel | B | |
Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
 Kingler Water | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Kingler builds →Crabhammer 2x145-171%KO Ice Beam 2x89-105%KO | ||
 Rapidash Fire | B | |
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Charizard can KO Nincada with Flamethrower (190-224%). Gyarados's Waterfall hits Nincada for 72-85%.
 Charizard Fire | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityBlaze ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Charizard builds →Flamethrower 2x190-224%KO Air Slash 2x159-187%KO Dragon Pulse60-71% | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemWacanberry NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Gyarados builds →Waterfall 2x72-85% Earthquake15-18% Crunch24-28% | ||
Nincada Evolutions
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
BDSP Nincada Best Moveset
Bug/Ground pre-evo with AbilityCompound Eyes boosting accuracy. 45 Attack at 90 Defense but 40 Speed limits it. The moveset is non-competitive. Evolves into Ninjask at level 20, and if a spare slot plus spare Pokeball exist, Shedinja appears as a second evolution.
Best Build
Nincada best EVs are Speed and HP
Utility Moveset
- Leech Life
- Final Gambit
- Toxic
- Giga Drain
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Bug Bite and Final Gambit aren't available any other way for Nincada, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Bug Buzz and Dig for solid options.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It grows underground, sensing its surroundings using antennae instead of its virtually blind eyes.
Nincada Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, 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.
Game Availability
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
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
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 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
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