Slugma is wild in Hoenn's Fiery Path. Magma Armor prevents freezing, and Flame Body burns on contact. D-Tier Magcargo is still a tough sell though.
Ability 1Magma ArmorAbility 1Prevents freezing.Ability 2Flame BodyAbility 2Has a 30% chance of burning attacking Pokémon on contact.
250HP40Attack40Defense40Speed20Sp.Def40Sp.Atk70
Slugma
Magcargo
Weak to
Special
Balanced
20Speed · Very Slow

Is Slugma Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?

Fiery Path in Hoenn, native to RS. AbilityFlame Body burns attackers on contact and AbilityMagma Armor prevents freezing. Magcargo evolves at 38 with Fire/Rock typing. The 4x Water weakness is still brutal. Native to Hoenn but outclassed by Camerupt and Torkoal locally.

StrongGoodEvenToughBadTGGTEETTGEGTERoxanneGym 1BrawlyGym 2WattsonGym 3SlugmaCatchableFlanneryGym 4NormanGym 5WinonaGym 6MagcargoEvolveTate & LizaGym 7WallaceGym 8SidneyE4PhoebeE4GlaciaE4DrakeE4StevenChamp*
Roxanne
Gym 1
Tough

Roxanne's team hits Slugma's weaknesses hard.

Risky
Geodude
Lv 14
RockGround
Rock Head
TackleDefense CurlRock ThrowRock Tomb
Avoid
Nosepass
Lv 15
Rock
Sturdy
TackleHardenRock ThrowRock Tomb
Brawly
Gym 2
Good

Slugma has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.

Even
Machop
Lv 17
Fighting
Guts
LeerKarate ChopSeismic TossBulk Up
You Win
Makuhita
Lv 18
Fighting
Thick Fat
Arm ThrustKnock OffSand AttackBulk Up
Wattson
Gym 3
Good

Slugma has the type edge here and should clean up Wattson's team.

You Win
Magnemite
Lv 22
ElectricSteel
Magnet Pull
SupersonicSonic BoomThunder ShockThunder Wave
Even
Voltorb
Lv 20
Electric
Soundproof
RolloutSelf DestructSparkSonic Boom
You Win
Magneton
Lv 23
ElectricSteel
Magnet Pull
SupersonicSonic BoomShock WaveThunder Wave
Flannery
Gym 4
Tough

Flannery's team hits Slugma's weaknesses hard.

Even
Slugma
Lv 26
Fire
Magma Armor
OverheatSmogLight ScreenSunny Day
Even
Slugma
Lv 26
Fire
Magma Armor
FlamethrowerRock SlideLight ScreenSunny Day
Risky
Torkoal
Lv 28
Fire
White Smoke
OverheatBody SlamFlailAttract
Norman
Gym 5
Even

Slugma trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.

Risky
Slaking
Lv 28
Normal
Truant
EncoreFacadeYawnFeint Attack
Even
Vigoroth
Lv 30
Normal
Vital Spirit
SlashFeint AttackFacadeEncore
Risky
Slaking
Lv 31
Normal
Truant
Focus PunchSlack OffFacadeFeint Attack
Winona
Gym 6
Even

Slugma trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.

Even
Swellow
Lv 31
NormalFlying
Guts
Quick AttackAerial AceDouble TeamEndeavor
Risky
Pelipper
Lv 30
WaterFlying
Keen Eye
Water GunSupersonicProtectAerial Ace
You Win
Skarmory
Lv 32
SteelFlying
Keen Eye
Sand AttackFury AttackSteel WingAerial Ace
Avoid
Altaria
Lv 33
DragonFlying
Natural Cure
EarthquakeDragon BreathDragon DanceAerial Ace
Tate & Liza
Gym 7
Tough

Tate & Liza's typing presses Magcargo's defenses.

Risky
Lunatone
Lv 42
RockPsychic
Levitate
Light ScreenPsychicHypnosisCalm Mind
Risky
Solrock
Lv 42
RockPsychic
Levitate
Sunny DaySolar BeamPsychicFlamethrower
Wallace
Gym 8
Tough

Wallace's team hits Magcargo's weaknesses hard.

Risky
Luvdisc
Lv 40
Water
Swift Swim
Water PulseAttractSweet KissFlail
Avoid
Whiscash
Lv 42
WaterGround
Oblivious
Rain DanceWater PulseAmnesiaEarthquake
You Win
Sealeo
Lv 40
IceWater
Thick Fat
EncoreBody SlamAurora BeamWater Pulse
Risky
Seaking
Lv 42
Water
Swift Swim
Water PulseRain DanceFury AttackHorn Drill
Risky
Milotic
Lv 43
Water
Marvel Scale
Water PulseTwisterRecoverIce Beam
Sidney
Elite Four
Good

Magcargo has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.

Even
Mightyena
Lv 46
Dark
Intimidate
RoarTake DownSand AttackCrunch
Easy KO
Shiftry
Lv 48
GrassDark
Chlorophyll
Fake OutDouble TeamSwaggerExtrasensory
Easy KO
Cacturne
Lv 46
GrassDark
Sand Veil
Leech SeedFeint AttackNeedle ArmCotton Spore
Risky
Sharpedo
Lv 48
WaterDark
Rough Skin
CrunchSwaggerSurfSlash
Even
Absol
Lv 49
Dark
Pressure
Aerial AceSnatchSwords DanceSlash
Phoebe
Elite Four
Even

Magcargo trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.

You Win
Dusclops
Lv 48
Ghost
Pressure
Shadow PunchConfuse RayCurseFuture Sight
You Win
Banette
Lv 49
Ghost
Insomnia
Shadow BallSpiteWill O WispFeint Attack
Even
Sableye
Lv 50
DarkGhost
Keen Eye
Shadow BallPsychicAttractFeint Attack
Even
Banette
Lv 49
Ghost
Insomnia
Shadow BallPsychicToxicSkill Swap
Even
Dusclops
Lv 51
Ghost
Pressure
Shadow BallIce BeamConfuse RayEarthquake
Glacia
Elite Four
Good

Magcargo has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.

Easy KO
Glalie
Lv 50
Ice
Inner Focus
Light ScreenCrunchHailIce Beam
You Win
Sealeo
Lv 50
IceWater
Thick Fat
SurfBody SlamHailIce Ball
You Win
Sealeo
Lv 52
IceWater
Thick Fat
AttractDiveHailBlizzard
Easy KO
Glalie
Lv 52
Ice
Inner Focus
Shadow BallCrunchHailIce Beam
Even
Walrein
Lv 53
IceWater
Thick Fat
SurfBody SlamBlizzardSheer Cold
Drake
Elite Four
Tough

Drake's team hits Magcargo's weaknesses hard.

Even
Shelgon
Lv 52
Dragon
Rock Head
Rock TombDragon ClawProtectCrunch
Even
Altaria
Lv 54
DragonFlying
Natural Cure
Take DownDragon BreathDragon DanceRefresh
Avoid
Flygon
Lv 53
GroundDragon
LevitateImmune to Ground attacks
DigDragon BreathFlySandstorm
Risky
Flygon
Lv 53
GroundDragon
LevitateImmune to Ground attacks
FlamethrowerCrunchDragon BreathSand Attack
Even
Salamence
Lv 55
DragonFlying
Intimidate
FlamethrowerDragon ClawFlyCrunch
Steven
Champion
Even

Magcargo trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.

Easy KO
Skarmory
Lv 57
SteelFlying
Keen Eye
ToxicAerial AceSpikesSteel Wing
Risky
Claydol
Lv 55
GroundPsychic
LevitateImmune to Ground attacks
ReflectLight ScreenAncient PowerEarthquake
Even
Aggron
Lv 56
SteelRock
Sturdy
ThunderEarthquakeSolar BeamDragon Claw
Even
Cradily
Lv 56
RockGrass
Suction Cups
Giga DrainAncient PowerSludge BombConfuse Ray
You Win
Armaldo
Lv 56
RockBug
Battle Armor
Water PulseAncient PowerAerial AceSlash
Even
Metagross
Lv 58
SteelPsychic
Clear Body
EarthquakePsychicMeteor MashHyper Beam

Catchable

Available after Badge 3
Type
Fire
Tier
F

Catch Slugma in Fiery Path (walking, Lv 15, uncommon).

View Slugma locations

Evolve Slugma to Magcargo

Level 38
Type
FireRock
Tier
E

Slugma evolves into Magcargo at Level 38. Your Slugma should hit Level 38 before you reach Tate & Liza, at typical leveling pace.

Recommended Moves

  • STARTING (Lv 38)
    • LV 38FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
  • After Flannery
  • After Norman
  • After Tate & Liza
    • LV 48RockRock SlidePower 113Accuracy 90%PP 10
    • LV 60NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15

How to Get Slugma in Ruby & Sapphire

Slugma oozes through the Fiery Path as an uncommon catch at level 15. No other spot in Hoenn runs hot enough for it.

1 location to catch Slugma

Encountered via tall grass encounters

Badge 3

Where To Catch Slugma in RS

  1. Magcargo
    Step 2Evolve into Magcargo
    BREEDING
    Available
    Leave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Slugma egg.

Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Ruby & Sapphire for Slugma.

How to Get Shiny Slugma in Ruby & Sapphire

Slugma crawls the walking encounters of Fiery Path, so battle the wild ones there for a shiny. Compare Shiny Slugma odds across every game

Normal vs Shiny
Normal Slugma in Ruby & SapphireNormal
Shiny Slugma in Ruby & Sapphire Shiny
Color ShiftRedtoGray
Shiny TierB Tier Shiny

Shiny Slugma Evolution

2 Forms
Showing shiny artworkView Full Evolution Chart

Ruby & Sapphire Shiny Slugma Calculator

2 Methods
Shiny Odds

Both methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.

Step 1 · Encounter Method2 in Ruby & Sapphire

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.

120,000
Shiny Odds Per Try1 / 8,192Full Odds
Chance By Now50.0%at 5,678 encountersAbout 5 in 10 hunters have one by now
What To Expect
ChanceEncountersTime
10%lucky few864----
25%one in four2,357----
50%coin flip5,678----
90%very likely18,862----
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.

Where these shiny odds come from: Read our full methodology

Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your Ruby & Sapphire shiny odds for Slugma.

Slugma Weakness

Type-wise, Slugma takes extra damage from Water, Ground, and Rock. The Fire typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. Not too many gaps in the chart, 3 weaknesses to account for.

Slugma Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Water, Ground, Rock
0.5x (Resist)Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel
Gen III Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move

What is Slugma Weak Against

Avg
3Weak
5Resist
0Immune
Score-1
4xCritical
None
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
None

What is Slugma Strong Against

4Strong
4Resisted
0Immune
Score0
0xImmune
None

Best Pokemon Against Slugma

Sandslash
Sandslash
Ground
A
C
Graveler
Graveler
RockGround
C
Marshtomp
Marshtomp
WaterGround
C
Trapinch
Trapinch
Ground
C

Slugma Evolutions

Slugma is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Magcargo. Check the evolution method below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 180 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Slugma
Fire
Magcargo
FireRock
HP
40
60+20
ATK
40
50+10
DEF
40
120+80
SP.ATK
70
90+20
SP.DEF
40
80+40
SPE
20
30+10
BST
250F-Tier
430E-Tier+180
ROLE
Balanced
Trick Room
TYPE
Special
Special

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Slugma easily with 22 breeding partners from the Amorphous egg group. Pass egg moves like Acid Armor, Heat Wave to offspring.

Egg Groups
Amorphous
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
2moves
Breed With (best first)
gardevoirkirliacastformraltsmukgengarweezingswalotmagcargohaunterwobbuffetkoffing

RS Slugma Best Moveset

Fire pre-evolution heading toward Magcargo with AbilityFlame Body burning on contact. Stats too low for any format. The Fire/Rock typing introduces devastating 4x weaknesses on evolution.

Best Build

Experimental
Wall
Ability
Magma Armor
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Slugma
Calm+SPD

Slugma best EVs are HP and Sp. Def

EVs

Wall Moveset

  • FlamethrowerSTAB
  • Light Screen
  • Acid Armor
  • RestRecovery

Moves List

Most of Slugma's flexibility comes from TMs. Same-type output runs through Overheat and Fire Blast, but Poison and Rock and the rest of the TM pool push it from predictable to genuinely threatening.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Smog
—207020Poison
Lv 1
Yawn
C——10Normal
Lv 8
Ember
—6010025Fire
Lv 15
Rock Throw
—509015Rock
Lv 22
Harden
C——30Normal
Lv 29
Amnesia
D——20Psychic
Lv 36
Flamethrower
B14210015Fire
Lv 43
Rock Slide
D759010Rock
Lv 50
Body Slam
D8510015Normal

TM Moves

All 17 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four

TM
TM45
AttractVerdanturf Townbadge 2
——10015Normal
TM32
Double TeamRoute 113badge 2
———15Normal
TM42D7010020Normal
TM38
Fire BlastLilycove Department Storebadge 5
C180855Fire
TM35
FlamethrowerMauville Game Cornerbadge 2
B14210015Fire
TM10
Hidden PowerFortree Citybadge 3
—6010015Normal
TM16
Light ScreenLilycove Department Storebadge 5
B——30Psychic
TM50A210905Fire
TM17C——10Normal
TM33A——20Psychic
TM44
RestLilycove Citybadge 5
A——10Psychic
TM27
ReturnFallarbor Townbadge 3
D—10020Normal
HM06
Rock SmashMauville Citybadge 2
D2010015Fighting
TM43
Secret PowerRoute 111badge 3
—7010020Normal
TM11
Sunny DayScorched Slabbadge 5
C——5Fire
TM06
ToxicFiery Pathbadge 4
C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Acid Armor
A——40Poison
Egg
Heat Wave
A1509010Fire

Tutor Moves

Slugma can't learn any Tutor moves

Base Stats

Base Stats
Below
HP40
D
Attack40
D
Defense40
D
Sp. Atk70
C
Sp. Def40
D
Speed20
F
Total250
Details
Catch Rate
Easy190 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height0.7 m
Weight35.0 kg
Base XP50
Abilities
Magma Armor
Prevents freezing.
Flame Body
Has a 30% chance of burning attacking Pokémon on contact.
EV Yield
HPAtkDefSpA+1SpDSpe
Special Attack training source
Pokedex Entry

Molten magma courses throughout SLUGMA’s circulatory system. If this POKéMON is chilled, the magma cools and hardens. Its body turns brittle and chunks fall off, reducing its size.

SLUGMA does not have any blood in its body. Instead, intensely hot magma circulates throughout this POKéMON’s body, carrying essential nutrients and oxygen to its organs.

Slugma Ruby & Sapphire Guide

  • Slugma can be caught in the wild at Hoenn Fiery Path in Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire.

Game Availability

Debuting in Gold & Silver, Slugma appears in 16 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in most mainline games, typically found through catching or hatching as a base form.

Explore

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