
Is Poochyena Good in FireRed & LeafGreen Playthrough?
Dark-type from Hoenn, trade-only. AbilityRun Away on a Pokemon with low stats. Mightyena at 18 gets AbilityIntimidate. FRLG has no native Dark-types during the main story.
Brock's typing presses Poochyena's defenses.
Poochyena trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Poochyena trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Erika's typing presses Poochyena's defenses.
Poochyena trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Poochyena has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Poochyena trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Poochyena trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Poochyena trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Bruno's team hits Poochyena's weaknesses hard.
Poochyena has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Lance's typing presses Poochyena's defenses.
Terry's team hits Poochyena's weaknesses hard.
Poochyena cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. On GBA, cross-region trading unlocks post-game after Celio's Sevii Islands Ruby & Sapphire quest. The Switch re-release supports only one-way transfers out to Pokemon HOME.
- LV 13DarkBite90100%25
- After Lt. Surge
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- After Erika
- TM30GhostShadow Ball80100%15
- LV 33NormalTake Down9085%20
- LV 41DarkCrunch120100%15
- LV 45DarkThief90100%25
- After Giovanni
- TUTORNormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody Slam85100%15
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
How to Get Poochyena in FireRed & LeafGreen
Poochyena doesn't appear in FireRed or LeafGreen. It's one of the first Pokemon you encounter in Hoenn, spawning on Routes 101 through 103, so any Hoenn trade supplies one easily.
How to Obtain Poochyena in FRLG
Step 1Poochyena ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom Ruby & SapphireAvailableCatch in Ruby & Sapphire via Walking · Route 103, then trade to the current game via link cable.CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom EmeraldAvailableCatch in Emerald via Walking · Route 103, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCELATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Walking · Route 1 · Swarm active.LATER APPEARANCELATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire via Walking · Route 103.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl via Walking · Dazzling Cave · After National Dex obtained.LATER APPEARANCEHOME TRANSFERNot TradeablePokemon HOME on Switch FireRed & LeafGreen is permanently deposit-only — once it launches, Poochyena can be sent from this game into HOME, but never transferred in.
Step 2Evolve into Mightyena
Poochyena Weakness
Fighting and Bug moves hit Poochyena for super-effective damage. The upside? Psychic-type moves can't touch it at all. Only 2 weaknesses makes it relatively easy to build around defensively.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fighting, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Ghost, Dark |
| 0x (Immune) | Psychic |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Poochyena Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Poochyena
Mankey Fighting | C | |
Butterfree Bug | C | |
Beedrill BugPoison | C | |
Paras BugGrass | C | |
Mankey Fighting | C | |
Beedrill BugPoison | C | |
Butterfree Bug | C | |
Paras BugGrass | C | |
Primeape Fighting | C | |
Machoke Fighting | C | |
Beedrill BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Beedrill builds →Brick Break 2x97-115%KO Twineedle 2x51-62% | ||
Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Parasect builds →Leech Life 2x44-53% Rock Smash 2x29-35% | ||
Butterfree Bug | C | |
Primeape Fighting | C | |
Machoke Fighting | C | |
Beedrill BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Beedrill builds →Brick Break 2x100-118%KO Twineedle 2x53-63% | ||
Venomoth BugPoison | C | |
Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Parasect builds →Leech Life 2x46-55% Rock Smash 2x30-37% | ||
Scizor BugSteel | B | |
Recommended Build AbilitySwarm ItemSalacberry NatureJolly Moves View Scizor builds →
| ||
Poochyena Evolutions
Poochyena evolves into Mightyena. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are quick to hatch. The evolved forms gain up to 200 total stats over Poochyena. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
FRLG Poochyena Best Moveset
Dark with AbilityRun Away for wild escapes. Stats too low for competitive play. Mightyena brings AbilityIntimidate after evolving.
Best Build
Poochyena best EVs are HP and Defense
Bulky Support Moveset
- Roar
- Crunch
- Protect
- Heal Bell
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Poochyena misses out on Astonish and Covet. That's 5 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Crunch and Bite, with Normal and Ground coverage and more rounding things out.
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 has a very tenacious nature. Its acute sense of smell lets it chase a chosen prey without ever losing track.
Poochyena FireRed & LeafGreen Guide
Poochyena isn't catchable in FireRed & LeafGreen. Catch one in Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald, then trade it to FireRed & LeafGreen.
Game Availability
Poochyena first appeared in Ruby & Sapphire and has been available in 14 games across 8 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.
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