Is Nosepass Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Granite Cave, available before Brawly. AbilityMagnet Pull traps Steel-types and AbilitySturdy prevents one-hit KOs. Pure Rock-type with massive Defense and terrible Speed. Nosepass doesn't evolve in Gen 3. Handles Roxanne's gym well and contributes against Winona. Falls off after mid-game.
Roxanne's typing presses Nosepass's defenses.
Brawly's team hits Nosepass's weaknesses hard.
Wattson's typing presses Nosepass's defenses.
Nosepass resists most of Flannery's coverage and hits back hard.
Nosepass trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Nosepass has the type edge here and should clean up Winona's team.
Tate & Liza's team hits Nosepass's weaknesses hard.
Nosepass trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Nosepass trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Nosepass trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Nosepass has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Nosepass trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Steven's team hits Nosepass's weaknesses hard.
Catchable
Catch Nosepass in Granite Cave (Rock Smash, Lv 10-20, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- LV 22ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 111
- LV 28RockRock SlidePower 113Accuracy 90%PP 10
- After Norman
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Lilycove Department Store
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
Ruby & Sapphire Nosepass Locations
The only Rock Smash catch in this batch. Nosepass hides inside boulders at one cave, levels 10 to 20, common once you start breaking rocks. No grass or surf option exists, so the hammer is mandatory.
1 location to catch Nosepass
Badge 2Best Locations to Catch Nosepass in Ruby & Sapphire
How to Get Shiny Nosepass in Ruby & Sapphire
Nosepass lurks inside the rocks of Granite Cave, so smash the boulders there with Rock Smash and scan every one you turn up for a shiny. Compare Shiny Nosepass odds across every game
Shiny Nosepass Evolution
Does Not EvolveRuby & Sapphire Shiny Nosepass 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.
For time estimates and charm math, open the Ruby & Sapphire shiny odds calculator with Nosepass already selected.
Nosepass Weakness
Nosepass's Rock typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, and Steel. The Rock typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Nosepass's physical bulk (base 135 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Steel |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Fire, Poison, Flying |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Nosepass Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Nosepass
 Makuhita Fighting | C | |
 Aron SteelRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nosepass View Aron builds →Metal Claw 2x39-48% Mud-Slap 2x14-18% | ||
 Geodude RockGround | C | |
 Shroomish Grass | D | |
 Mudkip Water | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nosepass View Mudkip builds →Water Gun 2x34-41% Mud-Slap 2x14-18% | ||
 Wingull Water | C | |
Obtain MethodDewford Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nosepass View Wingull builds →Water Gun 2x39-48% Steel Wing 2x23-27% | ||
 Treecko Grass | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift | ||
 Surskit BugWater | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 102 Surfing | ||
 Nincada BugGround | C | |
Nosepass Evolutions
What you see is what you get. Nosepass sits outside any evolution chain, so focus on the egg moves and a decent partner pool from one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Nosepass easily with 23 breeding partners from the Mineral egg group. Pass egg moves like Explosion, Magnitude, Rollout to offspring.
RS Nosepass Best Moveset
135 Defense blocks physical hits, and AbilityMagnet Pull traps Steel-types for team utility. AbilitySturdy blocks OHKO moves. 45 Sp. Def and 30 Speed limit everything else. MoveThunder Wave paralyzes. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Physical bulk with Steel-locking on a severely slow frame.
Best Build
Nosepass best EVs are HP and Sp. Atk
Special Tank Moveset
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Fire Punch
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Explosion and Magnitude on Nosepass. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Rock Slide and Rock Tomb, they expand what Nosepass can actually threaten in practice.
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 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
NOSEPASS’s magnetic nose is always pointed to the north. If two of these POKéMON meet, they cannot turn their faces to each other when they are close because their magnetic noses repel one another.
NOSEPASS had been said to be completely unmoving, with its magnetic nose pointed due north. However, close observation has revealed that the POKéMON actually moves by a little over 3/8 of an inch every year.
Nosepass Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Nosepass can be caught in the wild at Hoenn Granite Cave in Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire.
Game Availability
Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Nosepass appears in 15 games across 7 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 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 Nosepass.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List