
Is Sandshrew Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Available to everyone in Yellow with no version lock. Sandshrew fills the Ground-type slot early and evolves into Sandslash at 22. Helps against Lt. Surge and later against Giovanni. Straightforward pickup.
Brock's typing presses Sandshrew's defenses.
Misty's team hits Sandshrew's weaknesses hard.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Sandslash trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Sandslash has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
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 3 (walking, Lv 8-10, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket Grunt in Cerulean City after you defeat him
- 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 Grunt in Cerulean City after you defeat him
- 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 Yellow
Sandshrew keeps to a few dry routes, rare-to-uncommon wherever it digs in. Just 3 spots hold it, all clustered in the same desert-route stretch, so the map points you to one corner.
3 locations to catch Sandshrew
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Sandshrew in Y
The line opens with Sandshrew at Lv. 8-12 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 2Catch or Evolve into Sandslashor evolve from Sandshrew (Step 1)
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Yellow 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
AvgBest Pokemon Against Sandshrew
Ivysaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Cerulean City Gift) | ||
Bellsprout GrassPoison | D | |
Oddish GrassPoison | C | |
Sandshrew 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
Y Sandshrew Best Moveset
Ground typing keeps it immune to MoveThunderbolt and MoveThunder Wave, the two most common Electric moves in the format. 75 Attack behind MoveEarthquake is modest. The physical bulk absorbs a few hits but nothing here outperforms Sandslash or any serious Ground-type.
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
Its body is dry. When it gets cold at night, its hide is said to become coated with a fine dew.
Sandshrew Yellow Guide
In Yellow, 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.