Is Sandshrew Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Shining Pearl Underground catch. Sandslash is a physical Ground-type with AbilitySand Veil, but Garchomp and Hippowdon both outclass it for that role. Gets the job done against Volkner and Flint if you need a Ground-type before Gible shows up.
Sandshrew has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's team hits Sandshrew's weaknesses hard.
Fantina's team hits Sandshrew's weaknesses hard.
Sandshrew has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Candice's team hits Sandshrew's weaknesses hard.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Aaron's team.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Lucian's team hits Sandshrew's weaknesses hard.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Sandshrew cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
How to Get Sandshrew in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
moderate rates across 4 locations for Sandshrew in endgame routes. Scroll the sorted list below and pick whichever spot sits closest to your current route. The rate differences between locations are worth comparing.
Where To Catch Sandshrew in BDSP
The path to Sandshrew starts with Sandshrew at Lv. 58-63 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Sandshrew ✓Big Bluff CavernLv.58-63CaveShining PearlPost-gameRocky CaveLv.58-63CaveShining PearlPost-gameSandsear CaveLv.58-63GrassShining PearlPost-gameSpacious CaveLv.58-63CaveShining PearlPost-game
Step 2Catch or Evolve into SandslashBig Bluff CavernLv.58-63CaveShining PearlPost-gameRocky CaveLv.58-63CaveShining PearlPost-gameSandsear CaveLv.58-63GrassShining PearlPost-gameSpacious CaveLv.58-63CaveShining PearlPost-gameor evolve from Sandshrew (Step 1)
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Grass, Ice |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Poison, Rock |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
What is Sandshrew Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Sandshrew
 Psyduck Water | D | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing | ||
 Surskit BugWater | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Surskit builds →Scald 2x102-121%KO Giga Drain 2x64-76% | ||
 Budew GrassPoison | D | |
 Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x90-106%KO Ice Beam 2x114-134%KO | ||
 Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Bibarel builds →Waterfall 2x77-91% Ice Beam 2x84-99% | ||
 Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Gastrodon builds →Surf 2x180-213%KO Ice Beam 2x120-142%KO | ||
Psyduck Water | D | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Psyduck builds →Surf 2x138-163%KO Ice Beam 2x92-109%KO | ||
Budew GrassPoison | D | |
 Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x184-216%KO Ice Beam 2x122-144%KO | ||
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x90-106%KO Ice Beam 2x114-134%KO | ||
Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Bibarel builds →Waterfall 2x77-91% Ice Beam 2x84-99% | ||
Budew GrassPoison | D | |
Psyduck Water | D | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Psyduck builds →Surf 2x138-163%KO Ice Beam 2x92-109%KO | ||
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x183-216%KO Ice Beam 2x122-144%KO | ||
 Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Golduck builds →Surf 2x183-216%KO Ice Beam 2x122-144%KO | ||
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x87-103%KO Ice Beam 2x111-131%KO | ||
Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Bibarel builds →Waterfall 2x73-87% Ice Beam 2x80-95% | ||
Budew GrassPoison | D | |
 Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x181-213%KO Ice Beam 2x120-142%KO | ||
Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Golduck builds →Surf 2x181-213%KO Ice Beam 2x120-142%KO | ||
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x86-102%KO Ice Beam 2x110-130%KO | ||
 Snover GrassIce | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Snover builds →Solar Beam 2x173-204%KO Ice Beam 2x130-153%KO Water Pulse 2x59-70% | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Roserade builds →Petal Dance 2x297-350%KO | ||
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x179-210%KO Ice Beam 2x119-140%KO | ||
 Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Abomasnow builds →Solar Beam 2x231-272%KO Ice Beam 2x174-205%KO Water Pulse 2x78-92% | ||
Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Golduck builds →Surf 2x179-210%KO Ice Beam 2x119-140%KO | ||
Floatzel Water | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Floatzel builds →Waterfall 2x85-101%KO Ice Beam 2x109-129%KO | ||
Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Roserade builds →Petal Dance 2x297-350%KO | ||
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x179-210%KO Ice Beam 2x119-140%KO | ||
Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Abomasnow builds →Solar Beam 2x231-272%KO Ice Beam 2x174-205%KO Water Pulse 2x78-92% | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Jynx builds →Ice Beam 2x207-244%KO Energy Ball 2x137-163%KO Water Pulse 2x93-110%KO | ||
Golduck Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Golduck builds →Surf 2x179-210%KO Ice Beam 2x119-140%KO | ||
Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Roserade builds →Petal Dance 2x311-367%KO | ||
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x185-219%KO Ice Beam 2x123-146%KO | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Vileplume builds →Petal Dance 2x278-328%KO | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Rillaboom's U-turn hits Sandshrew for 54-63%. Swampert threatens a KO with Flip Turn (85-100%).
 Rillaboom Grass | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityGrassy Surge ItemChoice Band NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Rillaboom builds →Knock Off49-59% U Turn54-63% | ||
 Swampert WaterGround | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTorrent ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Swampert builds →Earthquake70-82% Flip Turn 2x85-100%KO | ||
Sandshrew Evolutions
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
BDSP Sandshrew Best Moveset
75 Attack at 40 Speed on a Ground pre-evo with hidden AbilitySand Rush doubling Speed in sandstorm. That sand boost didn't exist in the original Sinnoh games but these stats can't use it. The moveset waits for Sandslash.
Best Build
Sandshrew best EVs are Attack and Sp. Def
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Counter and Crush Claw on Sandshrew. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Earthquake and Dig, they expand what Sandshrew can actually threaten in practice.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
To protect itself from attackers, it curls up into a ball. It lives in arid regions with minimal rainfall.
Sandshrew Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, 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.
Sandshrew has an Alolan form that swaps the typing and reshuffles the stats. Introduced in Gen 7. Worth checking if the original version doesn't fit your team.
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 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SMAlolan
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves