
Is Sandshrew Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Blue version only. Sandshrew fills the Ground-type slot early, which helps against Lt. Surge and later Giovanni. Slow and can't take special hits well, but the physical side holds up. Sandslash is the real destination.
Brock's typing presses Sandshrew's defenses.
Misty's team hits Sandshrew's weaknesses hard.
Sandslash resists most of Lt. Surge's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Sandslash resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Sandslash resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Lorelei'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 Agatha's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Sandshrew on Route 4 (walking, Lv 6-12, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- LV 17NormalSlashPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Fuchsia City
- After Koga
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Silph Co.
Evolve Sandshrew to Sandslash
Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash at Level 22. Your Sandshrew should hit Level 22 before you reach Lt. Surge, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket thief after you defeat him in Cerulean City
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Fuchsia City
How to Get Sandshrew in Red & Blue
Blue exclusive in the wild, with six common spots across the central routes. Red players catch Sandshrew only by trading for one, since the desert mouse never spawns on their side.
6 locations to catch Sandshrew
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Sandshrew in RB
Sandshrew is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 6-26. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 2Catch or Evolve into SandslashRoute 23Lv.41GrassBlueRate 5%Cerulean Cave - 1FLv.52CaveBlueRate 10%Cerulean Cave - B1FLv.57CaveBlueRate 5%or evolve from Sandshrew (Step 1)
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Red & Blue 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 |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Sandshrew Weak Against
AvgSandshrew Evolutions
A Ground type with 310 stats, Sandshrew has a chain leading to Sandslash. Breeding won't work. The evolved forms gain up to 140 total stats over Sandshrew. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Sandshrew Best Moveset
Decent Attack for MoveEarthquake but nothing else noteworthy. Ground TermStab handles Electric and Rock matchups, and the physical bulk absorbs a few hits. Functional in lower tiers without standing out.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without TMs, Sandshrew's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get Normal and Poison coverage and more on top of Earthquake and Dig for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Burrows deep underground in arid locations far from water. It only emerges to hunt for food.
Sandshrew Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, 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.