Is Sandslash Good in Platinum Playthrough?
Sandshrew evolves at level 22. AbilitySand Veil pairs with Hippowdon's AbilitySand Stream for evasion in sandstorm. Ground coverage against Volkner and Flint's full-Fire team makes Sandslash a practical E4 pick.
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.
Catch Sandshrew
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 Sandslash in Platinum
Sandslash takes the same LeafGreen dual-slot trigger, appearing rarely on a far post-game route near levels 49 to 50. Most players just evolve a Sandshrew at level 22 once they have the cartridge handy.
Wild Sandslash 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 Sandslash1 location to catch Sandshrew
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Catch Sandshrew at any of the 1 location below, then level it up to 22 — it evolves into Sandslash.
Badge 2Where To Catch Sandslash in Pt
The only way to get Sandslash during the story is evolving Sandshrew (Lv 22).
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Platinum for Sandslash.
How to Get Shiny Sandslash in Platinum
Sandslash kicks through the sandy grass of Route 228, so run a Poké Radar chain to 40 there for a shiny. Compare Shiny Sandslash odds across every game
Platinum Shiny Sandslash Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is PokeRadar Chain at full boosts, about 1 in 200 on each try. Tune it below.
PokeRadar Chain: Chain shaking-grass patches without breaking the combo. The rate peaks at a chain of 40.
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 | 22-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 58-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 139-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 460-- | -- |
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 Sandslash.
Sandslash Weakness
Sandslash is weak to Water, Grass, and Ice. On the flip side, it's immune to Electric-type moves entirely. Sandslash's physical bulk (base 110 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 Sandslash Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Sandslash
 Tropius Grass | C | |
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandslash View Exeggutor builds →Leaf Storm 2x204-240%KO | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Articuno Ice | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandslash View Articuno builds →Ice Beam 2x110-130%KO Water Pulse 2x47-55% | ||
 Carnivine Grass | C | |
 Palkia WaterDragon | S | |
Obtain MethodSpear Pillar Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandslash View Palkia builds →Surf 2x163-192%KO Ice Beam 2x109-128%KO | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Tangrowth Grass | C | |
 Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Route 201 Gift) | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Sandslash View Victreebel builds →Leaf Storm 2x169-200%KO | ||
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
 Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandslash View Abomasnow builds →Wood Hammer 2x79-93% Ice Beam 2x107-127%KO Water Pulse 2x46-54% | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Sandslash View Jynx builds →Ice Beam 2x130-153%KO Energy Ball 2x73-86% Water Pulse 2x55-65% | ||
Sandslash Evolutions
Evolved from Sandshrew. Sandslash is the final form in this two-stage line. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. HP grew the most through evolution (+25 over Sandshrew), and Sandslash peaks at 450 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Sandslash to get Sandshrew eggs easily using 131 partners from the Field egg group. Notable egg moves include Counter, Crush Claw, Flail and 6 more.
Pt Sandslash Best Moveset
Physical tank with Ground typing that blocks Electric and resists Poison and Rock. The moveset uses 110 Defense to absorb physical hits and MoveEarthquake at 100 Attack to punish anything staying in. AbilitySand Veil adds evasion in the sandstorm teams common at higher levels.
Best Build
Sandslash best EVs are HP and Defense
Hazard Setter Moveset
- Stealth Rock
- Shadow Claw
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Sandslash gets Counter and Crush Claw exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Coverage across 9 types rounds out the picture alongside Earthquake and Earth Power.
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
40 of 42 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It curls up, then rolls into foes with its back. Its sharp spines inflict severe damage.
Sandslash Platinum Guide
Yes. Wild Sandslash 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, Sandslash plays as a attacker. Not the fastest, so pick your spots carefully. Earthquake is the primary attack.
Yes. Alolan Sandslash is a regional variant with different typing and a reworked stat spread. Introduced in Gen 7. Plays completely differently from the original.
In Platinum, Impish is the go-to nature for Sandslash. That's +Defense / -Sp. Atk. Pair it with 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def EVs. Fits the attacker role.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Red & Blue, Sandslash has appeared in 20 titles over 9 generations. Along the way, it received an Alolan form in Generation 7, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
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 Sandslash.
Keep playing · PlatinumPlatinum Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Platinum Tier List