Is Sandshrew Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Route 111 desert area in Hoenn, one of the few Gen 1 Pokemon native to RS. AbilitySand Veil boosts evasion in sandstorm, which pairs with the Route 111 desert weather. Sandslash handles Wattson and contributes against Steven's Steel team. A mid-game Ground option.
Roxanne's typing presses Sandshrew's defenses.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Brawly's team.
Sandshrew trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Winona's team hits Sandslash's weaknesses hard.
Tate & Liza's team hits Sandslash's weaknesses hard.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Drake's typing presses Sandslash's defenses.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Catchable
Catch Sandshrew on Route 113 (walking, Lv 14-16, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Wattson
- TM28GroundDigPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 114
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 111
- After Norman
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- After Wallace
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Meteor Falls
Evolve Sandshrew to Sandslash
Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash at Level 22. Your Sandshrew should hit Level 22 before you reach Flannery, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Wattson
- TM28GroundDigPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 114
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- After Norman
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- After Wallace
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Meteor Falls
How to Get Sandshrew in Ruby & Sapphire
Sandshrew sticks to the dry routes, with common encounters on Route 111 and Route 113. Both versions share the same two spots, and levels run from the mid teens up to about 21.
Wild Sandshrew may be holding when caught:
Quick Claw (5% chance) A hold item that occasionally allows the first strike.2 locations to catch Sandshrew
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3Where To Catch Sandshrew in RS
The line opens with Sandshrew at Lv. 14-21 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Evolve into SandslashBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Sandshrew egg.
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Ruby & Sapphire for Sandshrew.
How to Get Shiny Sandshrew in Ruby & Sapphire
Sandshrew roams the grass on Route 111 and Route 113, so work through the wild encounters there watching for a shiny. Compare Shiny Sandshrew odds across every game
Ruby & Sapphire Shiny Sandshrew Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
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 Ruby & Sapphire 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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Sandshrew Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Sandshrew
 Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodDewford Town Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Pelipper builds →Ice Beam 2x128-151%KO Water Gun 2x82-97% | ||
 Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Roselia builds →Magical Leaf 2x127-150%KO | ||
 Lombre WaterGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Lombre builds →Ice Beam 2x92-108%KO Absorb 2x34-41% | ||
 Marshtomp WaterGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Mudkip (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Marshtomp builds →Ice Beam 2x92-108%KO Water Gun 2x61-73% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
 Surskit BugWater | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 102 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Surskit builds →Bubble Beam 2x85-101%KO Ice Beam 2x80-95% | ||
 Azumarill Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Azurill (Petalburg City Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandshrew View Azumarill builds →Bubble Beam 2x96-114%KO Ice Beam 2x92-108%KO | ||
 Treecko Grass | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift | ||
 Gloom GrassPoison | C | |
 Cacnea Grass | C | |
 Nuzleaf GrassDark | C | |
 Lileep RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
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 102 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Counter, Crush Claw, Flail and 5 more to offspring.
RS Sandshrew Best Moveset
Ground pre-evolution with AbilitySand Veil boosting evasion in sandstorm. MoveEarthquake at low Attack can't threaten. Sandslash improves everything the ability needs to function.
Best Build
Sandshrew best EVs are Attack and HP
Physical Tank Moveset
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break
- Earthquake
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
All 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
SANDSHREW’s body is configured to absorb water without waste, enabling it to survive in an arid desert. This POKéMON curls up to protect itself from its enemies.
SANDSHREW has a very dry hide that is extremely tough. The POKéMON can roll into a ball that repels any attack. At night, it burrows into the desert sand to sleep.
Sandshrew Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Yes. Wild Sandshrew in Ruby & Sapphire 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.
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 · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List