What does Sandshrew evolve into?

Get Sandshrew to Sandslash at level 22. At 300 BST, Sandshrew is just the starting point.

At what level does Sandshrew evolve?

Level 22 gets you Sandslash . Not the fastest evolution, so consider Exp. Share or route grinding to speed it up.

Should I use Sandshrew?

In Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, Sandshrew does the job early-game if you need a Ground type on your team. Evolve it into Sandslash before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Where can you catch Sandshrew?

You can find Sandshrew in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee. The Locations section has the full breakdown of routes and encounter details. It also appears in 19 other games across the series.

Sandshrew - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Balanced

DTier

40Speed · Very Slow

Stats & Training

Sandshrew's spread isn't flashy. Defense leads, Sp. Atk trails, 1 stats clear the bar. Easy to catch and worth 1 Defense EV, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

Avg

HP50

Attack75

Defense85

Sp. Atk20

Sp. Def30

Speed40

Total300

Details

Catch Rate

Guaranteed255 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height0.6 m

Weight12.0 kg

Base XP60

Abilities

Sand Veil

Increases evasion to 1.25× during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.

Sand RushHA

Doubles Speed during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.

EV Yield

HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe

Defense training source

Pokedex Entries

Its ice-covered body lets it slide across the ground with bullet-like speed, sending its enemies flying when it hits them.

Sandshrew Weakness

Sandshrew's Ground typing leaves it vulnerable to Water, Grass, and Ice. It shrugs off Electric-type attacks completely. Sandshrew's physical bulk (base 85 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Sandshrew Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Water, Grass, Ice
0.5x (Resist)	Poison, Rock
0x (Immune)	Electric

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

2Resist

1Immune

Score-1

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Water Grass Ice

½xResist

Poison Rock

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Electric

STAB (5)

Fire Electric Poison Rock Steel

How to Beat Sandshrew in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee (Best Counters)

Gyarados WaterFlying	B
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Surfing) Available Moves Moves Hydro PumpLv. 46 WaterfallLv. 31 Damage vs Sandshrew Hydro Pump 2x 161-190%KO Waterfall 2x 102-120%KO View Gyarados builds →
Venusaur GrassPoison	C
Available Moves Moves Power WhipLv. 1 Petal DanceLv. 1 Razor LeafLv. 31 Vine WhipLv. 5 Damage vs Sandshrew Power Whip 2x 108-127%KO Petal Dance 2x 261-307%KO Razor Leaf 2x 50-60% Vine Whip 2x 42-50% View Venusaur builds →
Parasect BugGrass	C
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 9 Damage vs Sandshrew Absorb 2x 32-38% View Parasect builds →
Golduck Water	C
Available Moves Moves SurfLv. 42 Water GunLv. 9 Damage vs Sandshrew Surf 2x 190-223%KO Water Gun 2x 86-101%KO View Golduck builds →

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee Evolution

Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 150 total stats over Sandshrew. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#027Sandshrew

Level 22

#028Sandslash

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Sandshrew

Ground

Sandslash

Ground

75+25

ATK

100+25

DEF

110+25

SP.ATK

45+25

SP.DEF

55+25

SPE

65+25

BST

300C-Tier

450A-Tier+150

ROLE

Balanced

Attacker

TYPE

Physical

Breeding is not available in this game

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee Sandshrew Best Moveset

Best Build

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee uses different battle mechanics.

Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.

Moves

Without TMs, Sandshrew's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get Normal and Poison coverage and more on top of Earthquake and Dig for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Defense Curl

D——40Normal

Lv 1

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 4

Poison Sting

D1510035Poison

Lv 8

Sand Attack

——10015Ground

Lv 12

Swift

D60—20Normal

Lv 16

Fury Swipes

—188015Normal

Lv 20

Dig

C8010010Ground

Lv 24

Protect+4

C——10Normal

Lv 28

Swords Dance

C——20Normal

Lv 32

Slash

D7010020Normal

Lv 36

Earthquake

C10010010Ground

TM Moves

TM13

Brick Break

D7510015Fighting

TM10

Dig

C8010010Ground

TM41

Earthquake

C10010010Ground

TM12

Facade

D7010020Normal

TM01

Headbutt

D7010015Normal

TM19

Iron Tail

D1007515Steel

TM26

Poison Jab

C8010020Poison

TM07

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM05

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM22

Rock Slide

D759010Rock

TM15

Seismic Toss

D—10020Fighting

TM56

Stealth Rock

C——20Rock

TM08

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM27

Toxic

C—9010Poison

TM24

X-Scissor

C8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Sandshrew doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Sandshrew can't learn any Tutor moves

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee Sandshrew Locations

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

Best Locations to Catch Sandshrew in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee

3 walking and trade spots from Lv. 3-27 for Sandshrew. Sorted by game progression with rates on each row, so you can compare without scrolling through everything.

Route 3

Grass Lv.3-8 Route

20%EarlyBase

Route 4

Grass Lv.7-12 Route

20%EarlyBase

Celadon City

In-game trade Lv.27 City

MidAlolan

Trade for (give Sandshrew)

Sandshrew Guide

Get Sandshrew to Sandslash at level 22. At 300 BST, Sandshrew is just the starting point.
Level 22 gets you Sandslash. Not the fastest evolution, so consider Exp. Share or route grinding to speed it up.
In Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, Sandshrew does the job early-game if you need a Ground type on your team. Evolve it into Sandslash before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
You can find Sandshrew in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee. The Locations section has the full breakdown of routes and encounter details. It also appears in 19 other games across the series.

Game Availability

Sandshrew first appeared in Red & Blue and spans 20 games across 10 generations. It later gained an Alolan form in Generation 7, adding new dimensions to its competitive identity.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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Swampert WaterGround	A
Recommended Build AbilityTorrent ItemLife Orb NatureAdamant Moves Stealth Rock EarthquakeSTAB ScaldSTAB WaterfallSTAB Damage vs Sandshrew Earthquake 99-116%KO Scald 2x 180-212%KO Waterfall 2x 159-188%KO View Swampert builds →
Tentacruel WaterPoison	B
Recommended Build AbilityClearbody ItemBlack Sludge NatureTimid Moves ScaldSTAB Rapid Spin Sludge Bomb HazeUtility Damage vs Sandshrew Scald 2x 147-173%KO Rapid Spin 12-14% Sludge Bomb 41-49% View Tentacruel builds →
Amoonguss GrassPoison	B
Recommended Build AbilityRegenerator ItemBlack Sludge NatureSassy Moves SporeUtility Rage Powder ProtectPriority Giga Drain Damage vs Sandshrew Giga Drain 2x 145-171%KO View Amoonguss builds →