Is Poochyena Good in Platinum Playthrough?
Route 214 via PokeRadar, postgame. Dark-type with AbilityRun Away. Mightyena at level 18 has AbilityIntimidate. Postgame timing limits both to Battle Frontier.
Poochyena has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Poochyena trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Poochyena has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Maylene's team hits Poochyena's weaknesses hard.
Mightyena trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Mightyena trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Mightyena has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Mightyena has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Aaron's team hits Mightyena's weaknesses hard.
Mightyena trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Mightyena trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Mightyena trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Mightyena has the type edge here and should clean up Jupiter's team.
Mightyena has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Mightyena trades roughly evenly with Saturn's team.
Cynthia's team hits Mightyena's weaknesses hard.
Catchable
Catch Poochyena on Route 214 (Poké Radar, Lv 23-24, common).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 23)
- LV 23DarkBitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Fantina
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- LV 29DarkAssurancePower 75Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Crasher Wake
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 210
- LV 45NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- LV 49DarkSucker PunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Volkner
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Victory Road
- LV 53DarkCrunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Poochyena to Mightyena
Poochyena evolves into Mightyena at Level 18. You get it at Level 23 or higher, past Level 18, so it evolves into Mightyena the next time it levels up.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 18)
- LV 18DarkBitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Fantina
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- After Crasher Wake
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 210
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Iron Island
- After Volkner
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Victory Road
- LV 62DarkSucker PunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Poochyena in Platinum
The only way to meet Poochyena is a Poke Radar chain on Route 214, its single spot in Platinum. Chained grass holds it in the low twenties, so this is a deliberate hunt rather than a random run-in.
Wild Poochyena may be holding when caught:
Pecha Berry (5% chance) Held: Consumed when poisoned to cure poison.1 location to catch Poochyena
Badge 5Where To Catch Poochyena in Pt
- Step 1Poochyena ✓
- Step 2Evolve into MightyenaBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Poochyena egg.
To plan your throws, open the Platinum catch rate calculator with Poochyena preloaded.
How to Get Shiny Poochyena in Platinum
Poochyena only trots out of a Poké Radar chain on Route 214, so keep the chain to 40 for a 1 in 200 shiny. Compare Shiny Poochyena odds across every game
Platinum Shiny Poochyena Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is PokeRadar Chain at full boosts, about 1 in 200 on each try. Tune it below.
PokeRadar Chain: Chain shaking-grass patches without breaking the combo. The rate peaks at a chain of 40.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 22-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 58-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 139-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 460-- | -- |
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 Platinum shiny odds calculator with Poochyena already selected.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Poochyena Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Poochyena
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
 Heracross BugFighting | B | |
 Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
 Gallade PsychicFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Gallade builds →Focus Punch 2x379-446%KO Fury Cutter 2x20-24% | ||
 Infernape FireFighting | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chimchar (Route 201 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Infernape builds →Focus Punch 2x327-386%KO U-turn 2x102-121%KO | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
 Forretress BugSteel | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Forretress builds →Bug Bite 2x118-139%KO Rock Smash 2x54-64% | ||
 Medicham FightingPsychic | C | |
 Scyther Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Scyther builds →U-turn 2x161-189%KO Brick Break 2x114-136%KO | ||
 Kricketune Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Kricketune builds →X-Scissor 2x151-179%KO Brick Break 2x94-112%KO | ||
 Vespiquen Bug | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Vespiquen builds →Attack Order 2x161-189%KO | ||
 Yanmega Bug | B | |
 Beedrill BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poochyena View Beedrill builds →U-turn 2x139-164%KO Brick Break 2x99-117%KO | ||
 Mothim Bug | C | |
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
Breeding
Breed Poochyena easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Astonish, Covet, Fire Fang and 7 more to offspring.
Pt Poochyena Best Moveset
Too weak at every stat for a competitive moveset. Dark typing and AbilityQuick Feet boosting Speed under status are the only features. Evolve to Mightyena.
Best Build
Poochyena best EVs are HP and Attack
Mixed Revenge Killer Moveset
- Iron Tail
- Crunch
- Sucker Punch
- Double Edge
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Poochyena misses out on Astonish and Covet. That's 10 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Crunch and Dark Pulse, with coverage across 9 types 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
29 of 30 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
A Pokémon with a persistent nature, it chases its chosen prey until the prey becomes exhausted.
Poochyena Platinum Guide
Yes. Wild Poochyena in Platinum can hold Pecha Berry (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Pecha Berry.
In Platinum, Poochyena does the job early-game if you need a Dark type on your team. Evolve it into Mightyena before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Poochyena first appeared in Ruby & Sapphire and has been available in 14 games across 7 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 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 Poochyena.
Keep playing · PlatinumPlatinum Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Platinum Tier List