Is Nincada Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Route 116 catch. AbilityCompound Eyes boosts accuracy. The evolution at 20 is unique: Ninjask appears in your party and Shedinja appears in an empty slot. Two Pokemon from one evolution. Nincada itself is filler until this split happens.
Nincada trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Brawly's typing presses Nincada's defenses.
Wattson's team hits Ninjask's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wattson:
Flannery's team hits Ninjask's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Flannery:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Norman:
Winona's team hits Ninjask's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Winona:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Tate & Liza:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wallace:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Sidney:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Phoebe:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Glacia:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Drake:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Steven:
Catchable
Catch Nincada on Route 116 (walking, Lv 6-7, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Wattson
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 111
- After Flannery
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Fiery Path
- After Norman
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Safari Zone
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Mt. Pyre
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- TM19GrassGiga DrainPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 5Route 123
- After Winona
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Winona
- LV 45GroundDigPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10
Evolve Nincada to Ninjask
Nincada evolves into Ninjask at Level 20. Your Nincada should hit Level 20 before you reach Wattson, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- LV 31NormalSlashPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Norman
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Safari Zone
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Mt. Pyre
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Winona
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Winona
Evolve Nincada to Shedinja
Nincada evolves into Shedinja at Level 20. Your Nincada should hit Level 20 before you reach Wattson, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Flannery
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Fiery Path
- After Norman
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Safari Zone
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Winona
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Winona
- LV 38GhostShadow BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Nincada in Ruby & Sapphire
One uncommon grass spot, levels 6 to 7. Nincada doesn't spread out, but catching a couple is worth it, since its evolution at 20 quietly leaves a bonus Pokemon behind if you have a spare party slot.
1 location to catch Nincada
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 1Where To Catch Nincada in RS
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Ruby & Sapphire for Nincada.
How to Get Shiny Nincada in Ruby & Sapphire
Nincada burrows through the grass on Route 116, so battle its wild encounters and watch for a shiny among them. Compare Shiny Nincada odds across every game
Ruby & Sapphire Shiny Nincada Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
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.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your Ruby & Sapphire shiny odds for Nincada.
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Nincada Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nincada
 Taillow Normal | C | |
 Wingull Water | C | |
Obtain MethodDewford Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Wingull builds →Water Gun 2x74-87% Wing Attack 2x39-47% | ||
 Mudkip Water | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift | ||
 Torchic Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift | ||
 Surskit BugWater | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 102 Surfing | ||
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
Breeding
Breed Nincada easily with 37 breeding partners from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Endure, Feint Attack, Gust and 1 more to offspring.
RS Nincada Best Moveset
Bug/Ground pre-evolution with AbilityCompound Eyes boosting accuracy. Evolves into Ninjask (Speed Boost attacker) and simultaneously produces Shedinja (Wonder Guard). Both evolutions are more interesting than the base.
Best Build
Nincada best EVs are Defense and Sp. Def
Wall Moveset
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Ground
- Silver Wind
- Toxic
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Endure and Feint Attack aren't available any other way for Nincada, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Leech Life 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
All 18 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
NINCADA lives underground for many years in complete darkness. This POKéMON absorbs nutrients from the roots of trees. It stays motionless as it waits for evolution.
NINCADA lives underground. It uses its sharp claws to carve the roots of trees and absorb moisture and nutrients. This POKéMON can’t withstand bright sunlight so avoids it.
Nincada Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Nincada can be caught in the wild at Hoenn Route 116 in Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire.
Game Availability
Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Nincada appears in 14 games across 7 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 7Let's Go
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
Explore
Where to go next after Nincada.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List