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 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.

Where can you catch Sandshrew?

You can find Sandshrew in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. 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

To protect itself from attackers, it curls up into a ball. It lives in arid regions with minimal rainfall.

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 Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Best Counters)

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Slowbro can KO Sandshrew with Scald (176-208%). Mamoswine threatens a KO with Earthquake (102-120%). Swampert deals 68-80% with Flip Turn.

Slowbro WaterPsychic	B
Recommended Build AbilityRegenerator ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureRelaxed Moves TeleportUtility Future Sight ScaldSTAB Slack Off Damage vs Sandshrew Scald 2x 176-208%KO View Slowbro builds →
Mamoswine IceGround	B
Recommended Build AbilityThickfat ItemLife Orb NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Icicle Crash Ice Shard Knock Off Damage vs Sandshrew Earthquake 102-120%KO Ice Shard 2x 82-97% Knock Off 44-52% View Mamoswine builds →
Swampert WaterGround	B
Recommended Build AbilityTorrent ItemLeftovers NatureSassy Moves Stealth Rock EarthquakeSTAB Flip Turn ToxicUtility Damage vs Sandshrew Earthquake 56-66% Flip Turn 2x 68-80% View Swampert builds →

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl 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

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

Very Easy

Breed Sandshrew easily with 131 breeding partners from the Ground egg group. Pass egg moves like Counter, Crush Claw, Flail and 6 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

9moves

Breed With (best first)

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Sandshrew Best Moveset

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.

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

Moves

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.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Defense Curl

D——40Normal

Lv 1

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 3

Poison Sting

—1510035Poison

Lv 6

Sand Attack

D—10015Ground

Lv 9

Rollout

—309020Rock

Lv 12

Fury Cutter

—409520Bug

Lv 15

Rapid Spin

D5010040Normal

Lv 18

Bulldoze

C6010020Ground

Lv 21

Swift

D60—20Normal

Lv 24

Fury Swipes

—188015Normal

Lv 27

Agility

C——30Psychic

Lv 30

Slash

D7010020Normal

Lv 33

Dig

C8010010Ground

Lv 36

Gyro Ball

D—1005Steel

Lv 39

Swords Dance

C——20Normal

Lv 42

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

Lv 45

Earthquake

C10010010Ground

TM Moves

TM40

Aerial Ace

D60—20Flying

TM45

Attract

C—10015Normal

TM31

Brick Break

D7510015Fighting

TM83

Bulldoze

C6010020Ground

TM93

Cut

—509530Normal

TM28

Dig

C8010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM26

Earthquake

C10010010Ground

TM58

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM42

Facade

D7010020Normal

TM56

Fling

——10010Dark

TM01

Focus Punch-3

C15010020Fighting

TM74

Gyro Ball

D—1005Steel

TM23

Iron Tail

D1007515Steel

TM84

Poison Jab

C8010020Poison

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM100

Rock Climb

—908520Normal

TM80

Rock Slide

D759010Rock

TM98

Rock Smash

D4010015Fighting

TM39

Rock Tomb

D609515Rock

TM20

Safeguard

C——25Normal

TM37

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TM65

Shadow Claw

D7010015Ghost

TM82

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM76

Stealth Rock

C——20Rock

TM96

Strength

—8010015Normal

TM90

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM87

Swagger

D—8515Normal

TM75

Swords Dance

C——20Normal

TM46

Thief

D6010025Dark

TM10

Work Up

D——30Normal

TM81

X-Scissor

C8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Egg

Counter-5

D—10020Fighting

Egg

Crush Claw

D759510Normal

Egg

Flail

D—10015Normal

Egg

Hone Claws

C——15Dark

Egg

Metal Claw

D509535Steel

Egg

Mud Shot

D559515Ground

Egg

Mud-Slap

D2010010Ground

Egg

Night Slash

D7010015Dark

Egg

Rapid Spin

D5010040Normal

Tutor Moves

Sandshrew can't learn any Tutor moves

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Sandshrew Locations

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.

Best Locations to Catch Sandshrew in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

4 walking spots from Lv. 58-63 for Sandshrew. Sorted by game progression with rates on each row, so you can compare without scrolling through everything.

Big Bluff Cavern

Grass Lv.58-63 Cave

Post

Post-game

Rocky Cave

Grass Lv.58-63 Cave

Post

Post-game

Sandsear Cave

Grass Lv.58-63 Desert

Post

Post-game

Spacious Cave

Grass Lv.58-63 Cave

Post

Post-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 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.
You can find Sandshrew in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. 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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