Is Sandshrew Good in Platinum Playthrough?
Wayward Cave catch with LeafGreen in the DS slot. Ground becomes extremely valuable in Platinum because Flint's E4 team is now five actual Fire-types. AbilitySand Veil Sandslash handles Volkner and Flint both.
Sandshrew has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Gardenia's team hits Sandshrew's weaknesses hard.
Fantina's team hits Sandslash's weaknesses hard.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Sandslash resists most of Byron's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Aaron's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Sandslash resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Sandshrew in Wayward Cave (walking, Lv 17-18, rare). Pokémon LeafGreen in GBA slot.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- After Fantina
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- After Crasher Wake
- TM84PoisonPoison JabPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 212
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Iron Island
- TM81BugX-ScissorPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 221
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- HM08NormalRock ClimbPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Route 217 (northeast of Hiker's house)
- Post-Game
- TUTORGroundEarth PowerPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Survival Area
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Sandshrew to Sandslash
Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash at Level 22. Your Sandshrew should hit Level 22 before you reach Fantina, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- After Fantina
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Crasher Wake
- TM84PoisonPoison JabPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 212
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- Post-Game
- TUTORGroundEarth PowerPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Survival Area
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Sandshrew in Platinum
A hidden cave is the one place Sandshrew burrows, rare at levels 17 to 20, and only with a LeafGreen game in the slot. It is among the harder dual-slot mons to track down.
Wild Sandshrew may be holding when caught:
Quick Claw (5% chance) Held: Holder has a 3/16 (18.75%) chance to move first.1 location to catch Sandshrew
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 2Where To Catch Sandshrew in Pt
Sandshrew is the chain's first catch. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 17-50 across 3 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into Sandslashor evolve from Sandshrew (Step 1)
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Platinum for Sandshrew.
How to Get Shiny Sandshrew in Platinum
Sandshrew only burrows through Wayward Cave, out of the Poké Radar's reach, so breed one with a foreign Ditto for its shiny. Compare Shiny Sandshrew odds across every game
Platinum Shiny Sandshrew Calculator
2 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.
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 Platinum 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
 Cherrim Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Cherrim builds →Petal Dance 2x167-197%KO | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
 Leafeon Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Hearthome City Gift) | ||
 Wormadam BugGrass | C | |
 Roselia GrassPoison | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Roselia builds →Magical Leaf 2x127-150%KO | ||
 Grotle Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Route 201 Gift) | ||
 Prinplup Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Piplup (Route 201 Gift) Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Prinplup builds →Bubble Beam 2x116-137%KO | ||
 Omanyte RockWater | B | |
Obtain MethodOreburgh City Gift | ||
 Lombre WaterGrass | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Lombre builds →Bubble Beam 2x94-111%KO Giga Drain 2x87-103%KO | ||
 Bibarel NormalWater | C | |
 Buizel Water | C | |
 Psyduck Water | D | |
Obtain MethodCelestic Town Surfing | ||
 Lileep RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodOreburgh City Gift | ||
 Shellos Water | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing | ||
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 6 more to offspring.
Pt Sandshrew Best Moveset
Ground typing with 85 Defense absorbs some physical punishment, but the moveset can't do anything offensive at 75 Attack and 40 Speed. AbilitySand Veil adds evasion in sandstorm. 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
36 of 38 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
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 Platinum Guide
Yes. Wild Sandshrew in Platinum 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 Platinum, 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 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
Explore
Where to go next after Sandshrew.
Keep playing · PlatinumPlatinum Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Platinum Tier List