Prinplup is meant to evolve into Empoleon . At 405 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.

What is Prinplup weak to?

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Prinplup's biggest threats include Manectric (Electric) and Roserade (Grass), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

How do you evolve Prinplup?

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Piplup evolves into Prinplup at level 16. Prinplup evolves into Empoleon at level 36. Prinplup is a middle-stage evolution in the Piplup line.

What role does Prinplup play in battle?

Base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Prinplup is a special attacker with base 81 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two.

Prinplup - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Balanced

DTier

50Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

Sp. Atk and Sp. Def carry most of Prinplup's stat budget. Speed's the obvious dump stat. Tough to catch and yields 2 Sp. Atk EVs. Follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats

Above

HP64

Attack66

Defense68

Sp. Atk81

Sp. Def76

Speed50

Total405

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Slow1.06M XP

Height0.8 m

Weight23.0 kg

Base XP142

Abilities

Torrent

Strengthens water moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less.

CompetitiveHA

Raises Special Attack by two stages upon having any stat lowered.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpA+2SpDSpe

Special Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

It lives alone, away from others. Apparently, every one of them believes it is the most important.

Prinplup Weakness

Type-wise, Prinplup takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Just 2 weak spots to worry about, which keeps teambuilding straightforward.

Prinplup Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Electric, Grass
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Water, Ice, Steel

Type ChartGood

2Weak

4Resist

0Immune

Score0

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Electric Grass

½xResist

Fire Water Ice Steel

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (3)

Fire Ground Rock

How to Beat Prinplup in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Best Counters)

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Zarude's Close Combat hits Prinplup for 63-74%. Regieleki threatens a KO with Thunderbolt (116-136%). Kartana deals 46-55% with Knock Off.

Zarude DarkGrass	A
Recommended Build AbilityLeafguard ItemChoice Scarf NatureJolly Moves Darkest Lariat Power Whip U Turn Close Combat Damage vs Prinplup U Turn 37-43% Close Combat 63-74% View Zarude builds →
Regieleki Electric	A
Recommended Build AbilityTransistor ItemMagnet NatureTimid Moves Volt Switch ProtectPriority ElectrowebSTAB ThunderboltSTAB Damage vs Prinplup Volt Switch 2x 90-106%KO Electroweb 2x 71-84% Thunderbolt 2x 116-136%KO View Regieleki builds →
Kartana GrassSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilityBeastboost ItemChoice Scarf NatureJolly Moves Leaf Blade Sacred Sword Knock Off Smart Strike Damage vs Prinplup Knock Off 46-55% View Kartana builds →
Rotom ElectricGhost	C
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemAssault Vest NatureTimid Moves Dark Pulse DischargeSTAB HexSTAB Nasty Plot Damage vs Prinplup Dark Pulse 33-39% Discharge 2x 99-117%KO Hex 40-47% View Rotom builds →

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Evolution

Partway through Piplup's chain. Prinplup still has another evolution ahead before reaching Empoleon. For breeding, average hatch time with a massive partner pool via two egg groups. Sp.Atk has grown the most so far (+20), but there's still another 125 stats to gain in the final evolution. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms

#393Piplup

Level 16

#394Prinplup

Level 36

#395Empoleon

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Piplup

Water

Prinplup

Water

Empoleon

WaterSteel

64+11

84+20

ATK

66+15

86+20

DEF

68+15

88+20

SP.ATK

81+20

111+30

SP.DEF

76+20

101+25

SPE

50+10

60+10

BST

314D-Tier

405D-Tier+91

530B-Tier+125

ROLE

Balanced

Attacker

TYPE

Utility

Special

Breeding

Easy

Breed with Prinplup to get Piplup eggs easily using 131 partners from the Ground and Water1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Agility, Aqua Ring, Double Hit and 8 more.

Egg Groups

GroundWater1

Gender

♂87.5%♀12.5%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

11moves

Breed With (best first)

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Prinplup Best Moveset

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

Hard to wall, honestly. Prinplup threatens 10 types beyond its own STAB, with Steel and Normal standing out. Pair that with Hydro Pump and Surf and switchins need to think twice.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Growl

——10040Normal

Lv 1

Metal Claw

D509535Steel

Lv 1

Pound

—4010035Normal

Lv 1

Tackle

D4010035Normal

Lv 4

Growl

——10040Normal

Lv 8

Water Gun

—4010025Water

Lv 11

Charm

C—10020Fairy

Lv 15

Peck

—3510035Flying

Lv 19

Bubble Beam

C6510020Water

Lv 24

Swagger

D—8515Normal

Lv 28

Fury Attack

—158520Normal

Lv 33

Brine

C6510010Water

Lv 37

Whirlpool

D358515Water

Lv 42

Mist

D——30Ice

Lv 46

Drill Peck

D8010020Flying

Lv 50

Hydro Pump

C110805Water

TM Moves

TM40

Aerial Ace

D60—20Flying

TM45

Attract

C—10015Normal

TM14

Blizzard

C110705Ice

TM31

Brick Break

D7510015Fighting

TM55

Brine

C6510010Water

TM93

Cut

—509530Normal

TM97

Defog

C——15Flying

TM28

Dig

D8010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM58

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM42

Facade

D7010020Normal

TM56

Fling

——10010Dark

TM86

Grass Knot

D—10020Grass

TM07

Hail

C——10Ice

TM13

Ice Beam

C9010010Ice

TM88

Pluck

—6010020Flying

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM98

Rock Smash

D4010015Fighting

TM39

Rock Tomb

D609515Rock

TM49

Scald

C8010015Water

TM65

Shadow Claw

D7010015Ghost

TM82

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM76

Stealth Rock

C——20Rock

TM96

Strength

—8010015Normal

TM90

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM95

Surf

C9010015Water

TM87

Swagger

D—8515Normal

TM03

Water Pulse

C6010020Water

TM99

Waterfall

C8010015Water

TM10

Work Up

D——30Normal

Egg Moves

Egg

Agility

C——30Psychic

Egg

Aqua Ring

D——20Water

Egg

Double Hit

D359010Normal

Egg

Feather Dance

D—10015Flying

Egg

Flail

D—10015Normal

Egg

Hydro Pump

C110805Water

Egg

Icy Wind

D559515Ice

Egg

Mud-Slap

D2010010Ground

Egg

Snore

—5010015Normal

Egg

Supersonic

D—5520Normal

Egg

Yawn

C——10Normal

Tutor Moves

Prinplup can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Prinplup in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Can't catch Prinplup directly. Start with Piplup at moderate rates from the locations below, then evolve at level 16. The 2-stage line from Piplup to Prinplup is where the leveling time goes.

How to Obtain Prinplup in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

To get Prinplup, start by catching Piplup through walking encounters at Lv. 58-63. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.

Step 1Catch Piplup
Fountainspring Cave
Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Fountainspring Cave
Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Riverbank Cave
Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Riverbank Cave
Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Still-Water Cavern
Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Still-Water Cavern
Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
Post
Post-game
Train until Level 16
Step 2Prinplup ✓

Prinplup Guide

Prinplup is meant to evolve into Empoleon. At 405 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Prinplup's biggest threats include Manectric (Electric) and Roserade (Grass), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Piplup evolves into Prinplup at level 16. Prinplup evolves into Empoleon at level 36. Prinplup is a middle-stage evolution in the Piplup line.
Torrent is the go-to ability for Prinplup. It strengthens water moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less. Its hidden ability Competitive can work in specific setups.
Base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Prinplup is a special attacker with base 81 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two.

Game Availability

Available in 12 titles since its debut in Diamond & Pearl, Prinplup spans 7 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through catching or hatching as a base form in a solid number of games.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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