Stats & Training
Sandshrew's all-in on Defense at the expense of Sp. Atk. The physical lean is obvious from the bars. Yields 1 Defense EV and follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.
It lives on snowy mountains. Its steel shell is very hard—so much so, it can't roll its body up into a ball.
An ancient tradition of Alolan festivals, still carried on to this day, is a competition to slide Sandshrew across ice as far as one can.
Sandshrew Weakness
Sandshrew's Ice/Steel typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire, Fighting, and Ground. Fire and Fighting hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. It shrugs off Poison-type attacks completely. 8 resistances give it solid defensive coverage on top of that. Sandshrew's physical bulk (base 90 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Fire, Fighting |
| 2x (Weak) | Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Grass, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Dragon, Fairy |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Ice |
| 0x (Immune) | Poison |
 Incineroar FireDark | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Litten (Iki Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Incineroar builds →Overheat 4x432-509%KO Flare Blitz 4x269-317%KO Cross Chop 4x152-179%KO Flamethrower 4x302-355%KO | ||
 Chandelure GhostFire | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Chandelure builds →Overheat 4x706-830%KO Flame Burst 4x383-451%KO Flame Charge 4x69-82% | ||
 Arcanine Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Arcanine builds →Overheat 4x514-605%KO Fire Fang 4x142-168%KO Bulldoze 2x45-53% Flame Charge 4x114-134%KO | ||
 Typhlosion Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Typhlosion builds →Eruption 4x636-749%KO Burn Up 4x554-653%KO Overheat 4x554-653%KO Inferno 4x428-504%KO | ||
 Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Paniola Ranch Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Flareon builds →Overheat 4x494-581%KO Flare Blitz 4x302-355%KO Lava Plume 4x306-360%KO Fire Fang 4x167-197%KO | ||
In Sun & Moon, Excadrill can KO Sandshrew with Earthquake (153-180%). Volcarona's Giga Drain hits Sandshrew for 39-46%. Hawlucha's High Jump Kick also KOs at 336-396%.
 Excadrill GroundSteel | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityMold Breaker ItemFocus Sash NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Excadrill builds →Earthquake 2x153-180%KO Rapid Spin13-15% | ||
 Volcarona BugFire | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityFlame Body ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Volcarona builds →Giga Drain39-46% | ||
 Hawlucha Fighting | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityUnburden ItemElectricseed NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Hawlucha builds →Acrobatics18-21% High Jump Kick 4x336-396%KO | ||
 Blaziken FireFighting | C | |
Recommended Build AbilitySpeed Boost ItemLife Orb NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Blaziken builds →Flare Blitz 4x481-566%KO High Jump Kick 4x522-615%KO | ||
Sun & Moon Evolution
Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A massive 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
Breeding
Breed Sandshrew easily with 218 breeding partners from the Ground egg group. Pass egg moves like Amnesia, Chip Away, Counter and 8 more to offspring.
Sun & Moon Sandshrew Best Moveset
Best Build
No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 7.
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
Moves
You'll want to breed for Amnesia and Chip Away on Sandshrew. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Blizzard and Icicle Crash, they expand what Sandshrew can actually threaten in practice.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Sun & Moon Alolan Sandshrew Locations
Alolan Sandshrew appears at high spawn rates across 3 spots in mid-game routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.
Best Locations to Catch Alolan Sandshrew in Sun & Moon
Walking encounters at Lv. 28-45 across 3 spots for Alolan Sandshrew. Sorted by progression so you can see what's reachable at your current point in the game.
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 Sun & Moon, Sandshrew does the job early-game if you need a Ice/Steel 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 Sun & Moon. 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
- Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7SMAlolan
Sun & Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves