Physical
Balanced
292Low
65Moderate
DTier

Mid-stage Pokemon like Sandile rarely see competitive play outside of special formats. It's a waypoint on the road to Krookodile, which is where the real potential kicks in. Part of the Gen 5 roster. Electric and Psychic moves can't touch it, which offsets the 6 weaknesses somewhat.

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
292Below
HP50
D
Attack72
C
Defense35
F
Sp. Atk35
F
Sp. Def35
F
Speed65
C
Total292
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Sandile yields +1 Atk
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch180ModerateMedium Slow1.06M XP0.7m / 2'04"15.2kg / 33.5 lbs58Base XP
Pokedex Entries

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

Sun

It conceals itself in the sand and chomps down on the legs of any prey that unwarily walk over it. Its favorite food is Trapinch.

Moon

Sandile Weakness

Avg

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

4xCriticali
None
¼xResisti
None
6Weak
4Resist
2Immune
Scorei-2
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
IntimidateLowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
MoxieRaises Attack one stage upon KOing a Pokémon.
Anger PointHARaises Attack to the maximum of six stages upon receiving a critical hit.

Sandile kicks off a three-stage evolution line through Krokorok all the way to Krookodile. For breeding, average hatch time with no compatible partners via one egg group. The evolved forms gain up to 227 total stats over Sandile.

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
519A-Tier+168
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed Sandile easily from the Ground egg group. Pass egg moves like Beat Up, Counter, Double-Edge and 9 more to offspring.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
12moves

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 7.

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

The natural movepool does the job, but Beat Up and Counter from the egg pool give Sandile something extra.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Leer
10030Normal
Lv 1
Rage
2010020Normal
Lv 4
Bite
6010025Dark
Lv 7
Sand Attack
10015Ground
Lv 10
Torment
10015Dark
Lv 13
Sand Tomb
358515Ground
Lv 16
Assurance
6010010Dark
Lv 19
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
Lv 22
Embargo
10015Dark
Lv 25
Swagger
8515Normal
Lv 28
Crunch
8010015Dark
Lv 31
Dig
8010010Ground
Lv 34
Scary Face
10010Normal
Lv 37
Foul Play
9510015Dark
Lv 40
Sandstorm
10Rock
Lv 43
Earthquake
10010010Ground
Lv 46
Thrash
12010010Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM78
Bulldoze
6010020Ground
TM100
Confide
20Normal
TM97
Dark Pulse
8010015Dark
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM63
Embargo
10015Dark
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM21
Frustration
10020Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM66
Payback
5010010Dark
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM27
Return
10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
20Normal
TM80
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM39
Rock Tomb
609515Rock
TM48
Round
6010015Normal
TM37
Sandstorm
10Rock
TM88
Sleep Talk
10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM95
Snarl
559515Dark
TM71
Stone Edge
100805Rock
TM90
Substitute
10Normal
TM87
Swagger
8515Normal
TM12
Taunt
10020Dark
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM41
Torment
10015Dark
TM06
Toxic
9010Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Beat Up
10010Dark
Egg
Counter-5
10020Fighting
Egg
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
Egg
Fire Fang
659515Fire
Egg
Focus Energy
30Normal
Egg
Me First
20Normal
Egg
Mean Look
5Normal
Egg
Power Trip
2010010Dark
Egg
Pursuit
4010020Dark
Egg
Rock Climb
908520Normal
Egg
Thunder Fang
659515Electric
Egg
Uproar
9010010Normal

Tutor Moves

Sandile can't learn any Tutor moves

Transfer Moves

Src
Gen 6
Cut
509530Normal
Gen 6
Hone Claws
15Dark
Gen 6
Incinerate
6010015Fire
Gen 6
Retaliate
701005Normal
Gen 6
Secret Power
7010020Normal

Sandile starts showing up in mid-game routes at high spawn rates across 4 encounter spots. The list below is sorted so you can pick what fits your current progress without scrolling through everything.

Best Locations

Before you go hunting for Sandile, check which of the 4 spots belong to your version. Moon and Sun each have different walking encounters at Lv. 28-31.

Haina Desert
MoonGrassLv.28-3170%MidDesertShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Haina Desert
MoonGrassLv.28-3170%MidDesert
EFFORTLESS
Haina Desert
SunGrassLv.28-3170%MidDesertShaking spot
EFFORTLESS
Haina Desert
SunGrassLv.28-3170%MidDesert
EFFORTLESS
  • At 292 BST, Sandile is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Krokorok before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Watch for Milotic (Water), Venusaur (Grass), and Weavile (Ice) when using Sandile. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Fighting, Bug, and Fairy-type attackers are also a problem. With 6 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

  • Sandile evolves into Krokorok at level 29. Sandile is the base form in a 3-stage evolutionary line.

  • Sandile gets Intimidate, Moxie, and Anger Point. But Intimidate is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Sandile is a physical attacker with base 72 Attack. Fragile — can't afford to take many hits, too. But the speed tells the real story — at base 65 Speed, it won't be moving first often.

  • Sandile appears in 9 games, including Black & White, Black 2 & White 2, and X & Y.

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.