Physical
Balanced
65Speed · Below Avg

Sandile Best Moveset

Ground/Dark at 72 Attack and 65 Speed with AbilityMoxie boosting Attack after every KO and AbilityIntimidate dropping opposing Attack on entry. The stats are pre-evolution level. Evolve through to Krookodile for 117 Attack and the Moxie snowball at 92 Speed.

SABCDEFEEEEEBlack & White / B2W2VBW/B2W2PEAKX & Y / ORASVIXY/ORASSun & Moon / USUMVIISM/USUMSword & Shield / BDSPVIIISS/BDSPScarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AIXSV/LZACURRENT
Gen V — Black & White / B2W2E

Sandile saw minimal competitive use in Gen V (Black & White / B2W2). This was Sandile's competitive peak. Its most popular set ran Moxie with Choice Scarf, favoring a Adamant nature.

Hidden Abilities became available

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 28
Crunch
Dark80COMMONSTAB
Lv 43
Earthquake
Ground100COMMONSTAB
Egg
Fire Fang
Fire65COMMONCoverage
TM71
Stone Edge
Rock100COMMONCoverage
TM1
Hone Claws
DarkRARESTAB

Best Build

Experimental
Utility
Ability
Moxie
Item
Choice ScarfSPEED
Best Nature for Sandile

Sandile best EVs are Speed and Attack

EVs

Utility Moveset

  • CrunchSTAB
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Fire Fang
  • Stone Edge
Gen VI — X & Y / ORASE

Sandile saw minimal competitive use in Gen VI (X & Y / ORAS). Sandile maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Moxie with Choice Scarf, favoring a Jolly nature.

Fairy type added to the gameMega Evolution became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 28
Crunch
Dark80POPULARSTAB
Lv 43
Earthquake
Ground100POPULARSTAB
Egg
Fire Fang
Fire65COMMONCoverage
TM80
Rock Slide
Rock75COMMONCoverage
TM27
Return
NormalRARECoverage
TM90
Substitute
NormalRAREUtility
Tutor
Aqua Tail
Water90RARECoverage
Experimental
Utility
Ability
Moxie
Item
Choice ScarfSPEED
Best Nature for Sandile
Jolly+SPE
EVs

Utility Moveset

  • CrunchSTAB
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Fire Fang
  • Rock Slide
Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUME

Sandile saw minimal competitive use in Gen VII (Sun & Moon / USUM). Sandile maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Moxie with Choice Scarf, favoring a Jolly nature.

Z-Moves became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 43
Earthquake
Ground100COMMONSTAB
Lv 28
Crunch
Dark80COMMONSTAB
Egg
Fire Fang
Fire65COMMONCoverage
TM71
Stone Edge
Rock100COMMONCoverage
Egg
Pursuit
Dark40RARESTAB
Experimental
Utility
Ability
Moxie
Item
Choice ScarfSPEED
Best Nature for Sandile
Jolly+SPE
EVs

Utility Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • CrunchSTAB
  • Fire Fang
  • Stone Edge
Gen VIII — Sword & Shield / BDSPE

Sandile saw minimal competitive use in Gen VIII (Sword & Shield / BDSP). Sandile maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Moxie with Lum Berry, favoring a Adamant nature.

Gigantamax became availableDynamax became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 36
Earthquake
Ground100POPULARSTAB
TM68
Fire Fang
Fire65COMMONCoverage
Lv 1
Power Trip
Dark20COMMONSTAB
TR76
Stealth Rock
RockCOMMONUtility
Experimental
Physical Sweeper
Ability
Moxie
Item
Lum BerryRECOVERY
Best Nature for Sandile
EVs

Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Fire Fang
  • Power TripSTAB
  • Stealth Rock

Recommended Teammates

Gen IX — Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AE

Sandile saw minimal competitive use in Gen IX (Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-A). Sandile maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Moxie with Eviolite, favoring a Adamant nature.

Terastallization became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 1
Power Trip
Dark20COMMONSTAB
Lv 36
Earthquake
Ground100COMMONSTAB
TM58
Brick Break
Fighting75RARECoverage
Lv 27
Crunch
Dark80RARESTAB
Egg
Aqua Tail
Water90RARECoverage
TM103
Substitute
NormalRAREUtility
Experimental
Physical Tank
Ability
Moxie
Item
EvioliteBULK
Best Nature for Sandile
EVs

Physical Tank Moveset

  • Power TripSTAB
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Brick Break
  • CrunchSTAB

Sandile Weakness

Sandile's Ground/Dark typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Bug, and Fairy. It shrugs off Electric and Psychic-type attacks completely. The Ground/Dark typing picks up 4 resistances to work with.

Sandile Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Water, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Bug, Fairy
0.5x (Resist)Poison, Rock, Ghost, Dark
0x (Immune)Electric, Psychic

What is Sandile Weak Against

Avg
6Weak
4Resist
2Immune
Score-2
4xCritical
None
¼xResist
None

What is Sandile Strong Against

7Strong
0Resisted
0Immune
Score+7
½xResisted
None
0xImmune
None

Best Pokemon Against Sandile

Rillaboom can KO Sandile with Wood Hammer (306-360%). Starmie threatens a KO with Hydro Pump (146-172%). Baxcalibur deals 48-57% with Icicle Spear.

Evolution

Sandile kicks off a three-stage evolution line through Krokorok all the way to Krookodile. For breeding, average hatch time with a massive partner pool via one egg group. The evolved forms gain up to 227 total stats over Sandile. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Sandile
GroundDark
Krokorok
GroundDark
Krookodile
GroundDark
HP
50
60+10
95+35
ATK
72
82+10
117+35
DEF
35
45+10
80+35
SP.ATK
35
45+10
65+20
SP.DEF
35
45+10
70+25
SPE
65
74+9
92+18
BST
292D-Tier
351D-Tier+59
519B-Tier+168
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

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

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

How to Get Sandile

All 9 games

Easy grab on Sandile with high spawn rates across 4 locations in early-game routes. The sorted list below shows the full spread so you can pick the most convenient spot.

Where To Catch Sandile in SV

To get Sandile, start by catching Sandile through walking encounters at Lv. 15-80. The chain covers 3 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Sandile
    Step 1Sandile
    Asado Desert - Desert
    Lv.15-33Overworld
    Rate 50%
    Savanna Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
  2. Krokorok
    Step 2Catch or Evolve into Krokorok
    Asado Desert - Desert
    Lv.29-40Overworld
    Rate 9%
    Savanna Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    Savanna Biome
    Lv.61Overworld
    or evolve from Sandile (Step 1)
  3. Krookodile
    Step 3Catch or Evolve into Krookodile
    Savanna Biome
    Lv.50-80Overworld
    or evolve from Krokorok (Step 2)

Base Stats

Nothing fancy in Sandile's spread. It leans physical with Attack out front. And you'll get 1 Attack EV per KO for it. Follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats
Below
HP50
D
Attack72
C
Defense35
F
Sp. Atk35
F
Sp. Def35
F
Speed65
C
Total292
Details
Catch Rate
Moderate180 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Slow1.06M XP
Height0.7 m
Weight15.2 kg
Base XP58
Abilities
Intimidate
Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
Moxie
Raises Attack one stage upon KOing a Pokémon.
Anger PointHidden Ability
Raises Attack to the maximum of six stages upon receiving a critical hit.
EV Yield
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Attack training source
Pokedex Entry

It submerges itself in sand and moves as if swimming. This wise behavior keeps its enemies from finding it and maintains its temperature.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Sandile Guide

  • For a casual playthrough, Sandile works as a placeholder. Ground/Dark coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Krokorok. That's where the stats start mattering.

Game Availability

Since Black & White, Sandile has been obtainable in 9 games. A Generation 5 debut means a shorter history, but Sandile has appeared steadily across every generation since.

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