Utility
Balanced
281Low
66Moderate
DTier

Almost nobody uses Purrloin in battle. It exists to evolve into Liepard, which is a completely different story. Get it there and you won't regret it. Known as the Devious Pokemon. Part of the Gen 5 roster.

Nothing fancy in Purrloin's spread. It leans mixed with Speed out front. And you'll get 1 Speed EV per KO for it. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
281Below
HP41
D
Attack50
D
Defense37
F
Sp. Atk50
D
Sp. Def37
F
Speed66
C
Total281
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Purrloin yields +1 Spe
HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+1
Details
Catch255GuaranteedMedium Fast1M XP0.4m / 1'04"10.1kg / 22.3 lbs56Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It steals things from people just to amuse itself with their frustration. A rivalry exists between this Pokémon and Nickit.

Sword

Opponents that get drawn in by its adorable behavior come away with stinging scratches from its claws and stinging pride from its laughter.

Shield

Purrloin Weakness

Avg

Fighting, Bug, and Fairy-type moves hit Purrloin for super-effective damage. The upside? Psychic-type moves can't touch it at all. Not too many gaps in the chart, 3 weaknesses to account for.

4xCriticali
None
½xResisti
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
STAB (2)i
3Weak
2Resist
1Immune
Scorei-1
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
LimberPrevents paralysis.
UnburdenDoubles Speed upon using or losing a held item.
PranksterHARaises non-damaging moves' priority by one stage.

Purrloin is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Liepard. Check the evolution method below. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 165 total stats over Purrloin.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Purrloin
Dark
HP
41
64+23
ATK
50
88+38
DEF
37
50+13
SP.ATK
50
88+38
SP.DEF
37
50+13
SPE
66
106+40
BST
281D-Tier
446C-Tier+165
ROLE
Balanced
Pivot
TYPE
Utility
Mixed
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed Purrloin easily with 278 breeding partners from the Ground egg group.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy

Eviolite makes Purrloin bulkier than you'd expect from something that still evolves. Max HP and Attack EVs with Adamant nature handle the stat profile. Utility options keeps it from being passive.

Best Build

Physical Tank
Ability
Prankster
Item
EvioliteBULK
Nature
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Best Purrloin Moveset

  • Thunder Wave
  • EncoreUtility
  • Fake Out
  • TauntUtility
All 8 games

The level-up pool tells the story here. Purrloin learns Play Rough and First Impression naturally, plus enough variety that TMs feel like bonuses. Coverage across 7 types extends the reach beyond that.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Fake Out+3
4010010Normal
Lv 1
Growl
10040Normal
Lv 1
Mimic
10Normal
Lv 1
Quick Attack+1
4010030Normal
Lv 9
Lick
3010030Ghost
Lv 12
Bite
6010025Dark
Lv 16
Torment
10015Dark
Lv 19
Fake Tears
10020Dark
Lv 24
Slash
7010020Normal
Lv 26
Screech
8540Normal
Lv 32
Nasty Plot
20Dark
Lv 38
Night Slash
7010015Dark
Lv 44
Parting Shot
10020Dark
Lv 52
Play Rough
909010Fairy

TM Moves

Src
TM47
Agility
30Psychic
TM90
Dark Pulse
8010015Dark
TM132
Double Hit
359010Normal
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM35
Endure+4
10Normal
TM109
Facade
7010020Normal
TM141
Fake Out+3
4010010Normal
TM142
First Impression+2
9010010Bug
TM100
Gunk Shot
120805Poison
TM71
Hyper Voice
9010010Normal
TM87
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
TM45
Knock Off
6510020Dark
TM125
Mimic
10Normal
TM83
Nasty Plot
20Dark
TM34
Night Slash
7010015Dark
TM116
Pay Day
4010020Normal
TM20
Play Rough
909010Fairy
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM128
Seed Bomb
8010015Grass
TM74
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
TM61
Shadow Claw
7010015Ghost
TM85
Substitute
10Normal
TM139
Swagger
8515Normal
TM27
Swift
6020Normal
TM95
Taunt
10020Dark
TM08
Thunder Wave
9020Electric
TM121
Torment
10015Dark
TM82
U-turn
7010020Bug

Egg Moves

Purrloin doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Purrloin can't learn any Tutor moves
All 8 games

Purrloin doesn't appear in Legends: Z-A. Transfer it from Black, Black 2, or Sword to add it to your collection. Check the source games below for encounter details.

Purrloin is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Also found in:

  • At 281 BST, Purrloin is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Liepard before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Watch for Conkeldurr (Fighting), Scyther (Bug), and Gardevoir (Fairy) when using Purrloin. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

  • Purrloin evolves into Liepard at level 20. Purrloin is the base form of this evolutionary line.

  • Purrloin gets Prankster, Limber, and Unburden. But Prankster is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Purrloin is leaning toward the physical side (base 50 Attack). Fragile — can't afford to take many hits, too. But the speed tells the real story — at base 66 Speed, it won't be moving first often.

  • Purrloin appears in 8 games, including Black & White, Black 2 & White 2, and X & Y.

Since Black & White, Purrloin has been obtainable in 8 games. A Generation 5 debut means a shorter history, but Purrloin has appeared steadily across every generation since.