Is Sandshrew Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Ground-type available during the Johto story. AbilitySand Veil boosts evasion in sandstorm. Sandslash at level 22 fills a role the early Johto roster lacks. Ground-types are scarce before Sandshrew shows up.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Sandshrew has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Sandshrew has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Sandslash resists most of Jasmine's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Sandslash resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Sandslash resists most of Lt. Surge's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Will's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Sandshrew in Union Cave (walking, Lv 6, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- TM65GhostShadow ClawPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 42
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
Evolve Sandshrew to Sandslash
Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash at Level 22. Your Sandshrew should hit Level 22 before you reach Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 22)
- LV 22NormalCrush ClawPower 75Accuracy 95%PP 10
- After Bugsy
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
How to Get Sandshrew in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Sandshrew walks a few routes wild in both versions, common in the desert-edge grass. SoulSilver adds a second path: a 700-coin Game Corner prize in Goldenrod, the mirror of HeartGold's Ekans deal, so SoulSilver owners get it cheaper.
Wild Sandshrew may be holding when caught:
Quick Claw (5% chance) An item to be held by a Pokemon. A light, sharp claw that lets the bearer move first occasionally.4 locations to catch Sandshrew
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Sandshrew in HGSS
The line opens with Sandshrew at Lv. 6-17 via walking and gift encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into SandslashSafari Zone - DesertLv.15-17FloorRate 30%Mt. Moon - 1FLv.10CaveHeartGoldRate 5%Mt. Moon - 2FLv.10CaveHeartGoldRate 5%Route 26Lv.28GrassHeartGoldRate 30%or evolve from Sandshrew (Step 1)
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver for Sandshrew.
How to Get Shiny Sandshrew in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Sandshrew burrows through Mt. Moon and Union Cave, though a shiny hatches faster from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Sandshrew odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Sandshrew Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds for Sandshrew.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Sandshrew Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Sandshrew
 Carnivine Grass | C | |
 Bellsprout GrassPoison | C | |
 Buizel Water | C | |
 Chikorita Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift | ||
 Budew GrassPoison | C | |
 Totodile Water | C | |
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift | ||
 Slowpoke WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing | ||
 Oddish GrassPoison | C | |
 Hoppip Grass | C | |
 Wooper WaterGround | C | |
Obtain MethodViolet City Gift | ||
 Paras BugGrass | C | |
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 take an average time to hatch. 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 131 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Counter, Crush Claw, Flail and 7 more to offspring.
HGSS Sandshrew Best Moveset
Ground typing with 85 Defense gives some physical bulk, but 20 Sp. Atk and 40 Speed leave the moveset one-dimensional and slow. AbilitySand Veil adds evasion in sandstorm that Sandshrew can't set up itself. Evolve to Sandslash.
Best Build
Sandshrew best EVs are HP and Sp. Def
Hazard Setter Moveset
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- 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 Earth Power, 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
All 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
If it fell from a great height, this Pokémon could save itself by rolling into a ball and bouncing.
Disliking water, it lives in deep burrows in arid areas. It can roll itself instantly into a ball.
Sandshrew HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- Where in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone can I find Sandshrew?
See the Locations section above for where to find Sandshrew in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Sandshrew from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Sandshrew easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Sandshrew costs 700 Coins in SoulSilver. Earn coins by playing the slot machines on the Game Corner floor or buying them at the counter (1,000 coins for ₽10,000).
Yes. Wild Sandshrew in HeartGold & SoulSilver can hold Quick Claw (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Quick Claw.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, 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.
Game Availability
Sandshrew first appeared in Red & Blue and spans 20 games across 9 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 7Let's Go
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
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