Is Noctowl Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Tanky on the special side for a Flying-type. Noctowl handles Morty's Ghost-types with MoveForesight and contributes against Chuck. Falls off once the gym levels climb past its damage output. An early-to-mid game pick that gets outpaced.
Falkner's typing presses Hoothoot's defenses.
Hoothoot has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Hoothoot trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Noctowl has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Noctowl has the type edge here and should clean up Chuck's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Noctowl has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Noctowl resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Noctowl has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Noctowl has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Noctowl has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Noctowl has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Noctowl has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Noctowl trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catch Hoothoot
Catch Hoothoot on Route 29 (walking, Lv 2-4, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Falkner
- TM39NormalSwiftPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Union Cave
- LV 11FlyingPeckPower 53Accuracy 100%PP 35
- After Whitney
- TM13NormalSnorePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Moomoo Farm
- LV 28NormalTake DownPower 135Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Chuck
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 105Accuracy 95%PP 15Cianwood City
- After Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- After Lt. Surge
- TM47SteelSteel WingPower 70Accuracy 90%PP 25Route 28
- LV 48PsychicDream EaterPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15
Evolve Hoothoot to Noctowl
Hoothoot evolves into Noctowl at Level 20. Your Hoothoot should hit Level 20 before you reach Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Falkner
- TM39NormalSwiftPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Union Cave
- After Whitney
- TM13NormalSnorePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Moomoo Farm
- After Chuck
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 105Accuracy 95%PP 15Cianwood City
- LV 33NormalTake DownPower 135Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 225Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner
- TM47SteelSteel WingPower 70Accuracy 90%PP 25Route 28
- LV 57PsychicDream EaterPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Noctowl in Gold & Silver
Noctowl also keeps to the night, twelve encounters over six spots from common to uncommon. Evolving a Hoothoot at level 20 works just as well, since both forms only ever appear once the sun is down.
6 locations to catch Noctowl9 locations to catch Hoothoot
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Catch Hoothoot at any of the 9 locations below, then level it up to 20 — it evolves into Noctowl.
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5 Badge 6 Badge 7 Badge 8Where To Catch Noctowl in GS
Available earlier: catch Hoothoot at the very start and evolve it at Lv 20. Wild Noctowl first appears at Route 43 (after Badge 6).
- Step 1Catch HoothootNational ParkLv.10-14FloorRate 100%NightRoute 29Lv.2-4GrassRate 85%NightRoute 2Lv.3-5GrassSilverRate 80%NightRoute 30Lv.2-4GrassSilverRate 60%NightRoute 37Lv.13-15GrassSilverRate 60%NightRoute 2Lv.3-5GrassGoldRate 50%NightRoute 1Lv.2-4GrassRate 45%NightRoute 31Lv.3-5GrassSilverRate 40%NightRoute 30Lv.4GrassGoldRate 30%NightRoute 36Lv.13-15GrassRate 25%NightRoute 37Lv.15GrassGoldRate 20%NightRoute 31Lv.5GrassGoldRate 10%NightRoute 35Lv.14GrassRate 5%NightRoute 35Lv.14GrassRate 5%Nightthe Yanma swarm on Route 35 that Bug Catcher
- Step 2Noctowl ✓Route 2Lv.7GrassSilverRate 15%NightRoute 2Lv.7GrassGoldRate 10%NightRoute 8Lv.17-19GrassGoldRate 40%NightRoute 43Lv.17GrassRate 20%Nightor evolve from Hoothoot (Step 1)
Bring the right balls: check Noctowl catch odds in the Gold & Silver Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Noctowl in Gold & Silver
Noctowl waits in the grass across Route 13, Route 14, and Route 43, so work those three stretches and keep flushing them out one encounter at a time. Compare Shiny Noctowl odds across every game
Gold & Silver Shiny Noctowl Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Noctowl in the Gold & Silver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Noctowl Weakness
Noctowl is weak to Electric, Ice, and Rock. On the flip side, it's immune to Ground and Ghost-type moves entirely. Noctowl's special bulk (base 96 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Ice, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground, Ghost |
- 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
What is Noctowl Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Noctowl
 Magneton ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Noctowl View Magneton builds →Thunder 2x95-113%KO Rollout 2x16-19% | ||
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Noctowl View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Slide 2x86-101%KO Ice Punch 2x16-19% Thunder Punch 2x16-19% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Noctowl View Lapras builds →Blizzard 2x73-86% Thunder 2x49-58% | ||
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodTeam Rocket Hq Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Noctowl View Electrode builds →Thunder 2x69-82% Rollout 2x14-18% | ||
 Graveler RockGround | B | |
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Shuckle BugRock | B | |
Noctowl Evolutions
Noctowl is what Hoothoot becomes. Breed it for Hoothoot eggs (quick to hatch). A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are quick to hatch. The evolution from Hoothoot pushed Noctowl to 442 total stats. HP saw the largest single gain at +40. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Noctowl to get Hoothoot eggs easily using 19 partners from the Flying egg group. Notable egg moves include Feint Attack, Mirror Move, Supersonic and 2 more.
GS Noctowl Best Moveset
100 Sp. Def from the stat split but only 76 Sp. Atk limits offensive output. MoveHypnosis at 60%% accuracy provides unreliable sleep. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Tanks special hits decently but can't threaten back. Defensive Normal/Flying without enough offense.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Confusion
- Steel Wing
- Wing Attack
- Take Down
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Noctowl gets Feint Attack and Mirror Move exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Psychic and Ground coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Hyper Beam and Take Down.
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.
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
17 of 24 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its eyes are specially adapted. They concentrate even faint light and enable it to see in the dark.
When it needs to think, it rotates its head 180 degrees to sharpen its intellectual power.
Noctowl Gold & Silver Guide
Honestly, in Gold & Silver Noctowl is a tough sell. It rates just E-Tier, and stronger Normal/Flying options exist. Fun pick, not a practical one.
In Gold & Silver, Noctowl plays as a support. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully.
Game Availability
Debuting in Gold & Silver, Noctowl appears in 17 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in most mainline games, typically found through wild encounters.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
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 Noctowl.
Keep playing · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List