Is Shedinja Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Bonus evolution when Nincada evolves with an empty party slot. Bug/Ghost with AbilityWonder Guard blocking all non-super-effective damage. Immune to most types. One super-effective hit ends it. The ultimate gimmick.
Nincada trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Nincada trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Nincada trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Morty's Pokemon outpace and outclass Nincada here.
Chuck's team hits Ninjask's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Chuck:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Jasmine:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Pryce:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Clair:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Brock:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Misty:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Lt. Surge:
Ninjask resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Erika:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Janine:
Ninjask resists most of Sabrina's coverage and hits back hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Sabrina:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Blaine:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Blue:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Will:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Koga:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Bruno:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Karen:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Lance:
Catch Nincada
Catch Nincada in the National Park (walking, Lv 26-36, uncommon). Post-National Dex - Thursday, Saturday.
Recommended Moves
- After Falkner
- HM01NormalCutPower 50Accuracy 95%PP 30From charcoal maker after returning Farfetch'd
- After Bugsy
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Lake of Rage
- LV 38SteelMetal ClawPower 50Accuracy 95%PP 35
- After Clair
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Mt. Mortar
- LV 45GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10
Evolve Nincada to Shedinja
Nincada evolves into Shedinja at Level 20. Your Nincada should hit Level 20 before you reach Chuck, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- TM65GhostShadow ClawPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 42
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- LV 38GhostShadow SneakPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 30
- After Clair
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Mt. Mortar
- LV 59GhostShadow BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
Evolve Nincada to Ninjask
Nincada evolves into Ninjask at Level 20. Your Nincada should hit Level 20 before you reach Chuck, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 20)
- LV 20BugBug BitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM89BugU-turnPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- LV 25NormalSwords DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 30
- After Clair
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Mt. Mortar
- LV 52BugX-ScissorPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Shedinja in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Shedinja is never caught directly. It materializes in an empty party slot the instant Nincada evolves into Ninjask, as long as you have a free slot and a spare Poke Ball, so one evolution yields two Pokemon.
Catch Nincada at any of these 1 spot to eventually evolve into Shedinja.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
- 1Catch Nincada
- 2Evolve Shedinjaat Lv.20
Badge 3How to Obtain Shedinja in HGSS
- Step 2Shedinja ✓
How to Get Shiny Shedinja in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Shedinja splits off when Nincada evolves, so breed a shiny Nincada Masuda-style and leave an open party slot with a spare Poke Ball. Compare Shiny Shedinja odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Shedinja 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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Shedinja in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Shedinja Weakness
Shedinja is weak to Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost, and Dark. On the flip side, it's immune to Normal and Fighting-type moves entirely. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Wonder Guard makes Shedinja immune to all non-super-effective damage.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost, Dark |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Poison, Ground, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Normal, Fighting |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Shedinja Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Shedinja
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Ninetales builds →Fire Blast 2x342-405%KO Payback 2x74-88% | ||
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Arcanine builds →Fire Blast 2x402-474%KO Bite 2x114-135%KO | ||
 Noctowl Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Noctowl builds →Sky Attack 2x219-258%KO Shadow Ball 2x160-191%KO | ||
 Magmar Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Magmar builds →Fire Blast 2x402-474%KO Feint Attack 2x102-121%KO | ||
 Scyther Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Scyther builds →Wing Attack 2x170-202%KO Pursuit 2x79-93% | ||
 Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Flareon builds →Fire Blast 2x391-460%KO Shadow Ball 2x172-205%KO | ||
 Absol Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Absol builds →Payback 2x165-195%KO Shadow Claw 2x149-177%KO Fire Blast 2x216-256%KO Rock Tomb 2x109-130%KO | ||
 Haunter GhostPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Haunter builds →Shadow Ball 2x302-356%KO Sucker Punch 2x86-102%KO | ||
 Quilava Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Yanmega Bug | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Yanmega builds →Shadow Ball 2x200-237%KO Night Slash 2x102-121%KO | ||
 Chatot Normal | C | |
 Fearow Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Fearow builds →Pluck 2x147-174%KO Pursuit 2x65-79% | ||
 Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Farfetch'd builds →Aerial Ace 2x147-174%KO Knock Off 2x35-42% | ||
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Shedinja View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Tomb 2x135-160%KO Feint Attack 2x105-126%KO | ||
Shedinja Evolutions
Nincada's line splits into 2 evolutions, and Shedinja is the level-up path. Each sibling form needs a different method to obtain. Breed through Nincada to get eggs. Ninjask has 220 more total stats, but Shedinja makes up for it with a stronger Attack gain (+45 from Nincada). View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Shedinja is genderless — breed with Ditto to produce Nincada eggs. Part of the Mineral egg group.
Ditto onlyHGSS Shedinja Best Moveset
1 HP and AbilityWonder Guard blocking all moves except super-effective ones. The moveset takes zero damage from anything that isn't Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost, or Dark. Against teams without those types, Shedinja is invincible. Against teams with them, it dies to any hit.
Best Build
Shedinja best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Swords Dance
- X Scissor
- Shadow Sneak
- Sucker Punch
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Shedinja gets Bug Bite and Bug Buzz exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Normal and Flying coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Bug Buzz and Leech Life.
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 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Base Stats
A strange Pokémon--it flies without moving its wings, has a hollow shell for a body, and does not breathe.
Shedinja HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Shedinja can work for a story run. It rates C-Tier, a middle-of-the-pack pick, so the Bug/Ghost typing decides whether it earns a team slot.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Shedinja plays as a trick room. It's slow, so Trick Room or priority moves are key. so pick your spots carefully.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Jolly is the go-to nature for Shedinja. That's +Speed / -Sp. Atk. Pair it with 252 Atk / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the trick room role.
Game Availability
Available in 14 titles since its debut in Ruby & Sapphire, Shedinja spans 7 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in a solid number of games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
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 7SM
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
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