The Tiger Cat Pokemon. Purugly has Defiant raising Attack by two stages when any stat is lowered. Thick Fat adds Fire and Ice resistance. Faster than it looks.
Ability 1Thick FatAbility 1Halves damage from fire and ice moves.Ability 2Own TempoAbility 2Prevents confusion.
452HP71Attack82Defense64Speed112Sp.Def59Sp.Atk64
Glameow
Purugly
Weak to
Immune to
Physical
Pivot
112Speed · Fast

Purugly Best Moveset

112 Speed at 82 Attack on Normal. Agile Style at this Speed guarantees double turns against nearly everything. The moveset runs fast physical Normal TermStab at moderate power. 71/64/59 bulk is thin, but the pace prevents most counterattacks.

Evolution family tier history
SABCDEFCE+E+E+Diamond, Pearl & PlatinumIVDP/PtPEAKBlack & White / B2W2VBW/B2W2THE FALLX & Y / ORASVIXY/ORASSun & Moon / USUMVIISM/USUMCURRENT
★Gen IV — Diamond, Pearl & PlatinumC

112 Speed was the fastest Normal-type in Gen IV (Diamond & Pearl). 82 Attack was mediocre at that speed. Fake Out plus U-turn for quick damage.

Physical/Special split overhauled move damage

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TM89
U-turn
Bug70COMMONCoverage
TM65
Shadow Claw
Ghost70COMMONCoverage
Lv 1
Fake Out
Normal40COMMONSTAB
TM27
Return
Normal—COMMONSTAB
TM12
Taunt
Dark—RAREUtility

Best Build

Experimental
Physical Sweeper
Ability
Thick Fat
Item
Life OrbPOWER
Best Nature for Purugly
Jolly+SPE

Purugly best EVs are Attack and Speed

EVs

Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • U Turn
  • Shadow Claw
  • Fake OutSTAB
  • ReturnSTAB
↓Gen V — Black & White / B2W2E+

Defiant boosted Attack when stats dropped in Gen V (Black & White). Punished Intimidate on switch-in. 82 Attack after +2 was finally threatening.

Gained Defiant as hidden abilityHidden Abilities became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 1
Fake Out
Normal40COMMONSTAB
TM27
Return
Normal—COMMONSTAB
Tutor
Knock Off
Dark65COMMONCoverage
TM89
U-turn
Bug70COMMONCoverage
TM65
Shadow Claw
Ghost70RARECoverage
Lv 60
Hone Claws
Dark—RAREUtility
Tutor
Iron Tail
Steel100RARECoverage
Egg
Last Resort
Normal140RARESTAB
Experimental
Physical Sweeper
Ability
Defiant
Item
Silk Scarf
Best Nature for Purugly
Jolly+SPE
EVs

Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • Fake OutSTAB
  • ReturnSTAB
  • Knock Off
  • U Turn
→Gen VI — X & Y / ORASE+

Borderline in Gen VI (X & Y). Banned from the lowest but 112 Speed with Defiant was too disruptive in small ponds. Not strong enough above.

Fairy type added to the gameMega Evolution became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Tutor
Knock Off
Dark65POPULARCoverage
Lv 1
Fake Out
Normal40POPULARSTAB
Tutor
Sucker Punch
Dark70POPULARCoverage
TM89
U-turn
Bug70COMMONCoverage
Experimental
Physical Sweeper
Ability
Defiant
Item
Life OrbPOWER
Best Nature for Purugly
EVs

Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • Knock Off
  • Fake OutSTAB
  • Sucker Punch
  • U Turn
→Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUME+

Four gens of being fast without being strong in Gen VII (Sun & Moon). 82 Attack even with Defiant boosts couldn't break through real walls.

Z-Moves became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Tutor
Knock Off
Dark65COMMONCoverage
Lv 1
Fake Out
Normal40COMMONSTAB
TM27
Return
Normal—COMMONSTAB
TM89
U-turn
Bug70COMMONCoverage
Tutor
Play Rough
Fairy90RARECoverage
Experimental
Physical Sweeper
Ability
Defiant
Item
Life OrbPOWER
Best Nature for Purugly
Jolly+SPE
EVs

Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • Knock Off
  • Fake OutSTAB
  • ReturnSTAB
  • U Turn

Purugly Weakness

Purugly is weak to Fighting. On the flip side, it's immune to Ghost-type moves entirely. Thick Fat reduces Fire/Ice damage, further improving the defensive spread. At base 112 Speed, Purugly outspeeds most threats and doesn't need to tank what it can outrun.

Purugly Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Fighting
0x (Immune)Ghost

What is Purugly Weak Against

Good
1Weak
0Resist
1Immune
Score+1
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
½xResist
None
¼xResist
None
0xImmune

What is Purugly Strong Against

0Strong
2Resisted
1Immune
Score-3
2xStrong
None
½xResisted
0xImmune

Best Pokemon Against Purugly

Machamp can KO Purugly with Close Combat (218-257%).

Machamp
Machamp
Fighting
B

Evolution

Purugly is the evolved form of Glameow. Breeding produces Glameow eggs, and they take an average time to hatch. Evolving from Glameow gave Purugly the biggest boost in Attack (+27), bringing the total to 452 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Glameow
Normal
Purugly
Normal
HP
49
71+22
ATK
55
82+27
DEF
42
64+22
SP.ATK
42
64+22
SP.DEF
37
59+22
SPE
85
112+27
BST
310D-Tier
452C-Tier+142
ROLE
Balanced
Pivot
TYPE
Utility
Physical

Breeding

Easy

Breed with Purugly to get Glameow eggs easily using 278 partners from the Field egg group.

Egg Groups
Field
Gender
♂25.0%♀75.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy

Shiny Purugly

Purugly gets a barely different gray. The fat cat was already fighting an uphill battle in the popularity department and this shiny hands it another loss. Glameow's pinkish tint was at least something.

Normal vs Shiny
Normal PuruglyNormal
Shiny Purugly Shiny
Color ShiftGraytoPurple
Shiny TierD Tier Shiny

Shiny Purugly Evolution

2 Forms
Showing shiny artworkView Full Evolution Chart

Shiny Purugly Odds & Hunting Methods

11 of 11 Verified
GameBest MethodOddsDifficulty
More dots = harder hunt1/200 Green = best verified rate
How do we research these odds?

We check every game where a shiny is possible, then rank each one by the best method available in that game, so the row at the top is the fastest route overall.

Odds marked verified are cross-checked against multiple independent sources before we publish them. Where a rate is not yet confirmed we mark the row pending rather than guess a number.

Read our full methodology

How to Get Purugly

All 11 games

Decent spawn rates for Purugly across 3 locations in mid-game routes. Nothing complicated. Check the sorted list below, compare the top few options, and head to whichever is closest.

Where To Catch Purugly in PLA

The path to Purugly starts with Glameow at Lv. 16-52 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Glameow
    Step 1Catch Glameow
    Glacier Terrace
    Lv.16-52Cave
    Uncommon
    Crossing Slope
    Lv.27-30Grass
    Uncommon
    Veilstone Cape
    Lv.29-32Grass
    Uncommon
  2. Purugly
    Step 2Purugly ✓
    Glacier Terrace
    Lv.16-52Cave
    Uncommon
    Veilstone Cape
    Lv.16-32Grass
    Uncommon
    Crossing Slope
    Lv.38-41Grass
    Uncommon
    or evolve from Glameow (Step 1)

Base Stats

Purugly's built around mixed offense. Speed leads the charge, Sp. Def pays for it. Moderately hard to find, worth 2 Speed EVs. Follows a fast 800K XP curve.

Base Stats
Above
HP71
C
Attack82
C
Defense64
C
Sp. Atk64
C
Sp. Def59
D
Speed112
B
Total452
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging75 / 255
Growth Rate
Fast800,000 XP
Height1.0 m
Weight43.8 kg
Base XP158
Abilities
Thick Fat
Halves damage from fire and ice moves.
Own Tempo
Prevents confusion.
DefiantHidden Ability
Raises Attack two stages upon having any stat lowered.
Thick Fat reduces Fire/Ice to ½x
EV Yield
HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+2
Speed training target
Pokedex Entry

Though impudent and difficult to tame, Purugly enjoys great popularity due to its fur, the beauty of which surpasses even velveteen.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Game Availability

Purugly first appeared in Diamond & Pearl and has been available in 11 games across 6 generations. Obtainable through wild encounters in most titles where it appears.

Explore

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