Is Smeargle Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Transfer-only Normal. AbilityOwn Tempo blocks confusion. Smeargle learns any move through MoveSketch, making it the most customizable Pokemon in the game. The stats are terrible, but the move flexibility is unmatched. More useful for breeding and Battle Tower strategy than the story.
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Catchable
Catch Smeargle on Route 212 (Poké Radar, Lv 16-18, common).
Diamond & Pearl Smeargle Locations
Only a Poke Radar chain pulls Smeargle from the grass on one mid-game route, common at level 16 to 18. A plain walk through that route will never produce the painter Pokemon.
1 location to catch Smeargle
Badge 3Best Locations to Catch Smeargle in Diamond & Pearl
How to Get Shiny Smeargle in Diamond & Pearl
Smeargle paints its way across Route 212, so a PokeRadar chain in that grass yields its shiny with patience. Compare Shiny Smeargle odds across every game
Shiny Smeargle Evolution
Does Not EvolveDiamond & Pearl Shiny Smeargle 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.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in Diamond & Pearl with Smeargle preloaded.
Smeargle Weakness
Smeargle's Normal typing leaves it vulnerable to Fighting. It shrugs off Ghost-type attacks completely. Just 1 weak spot to worry about, which keeps teambuilding straightforward.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fighting |
| 0x (Immune) | Ghost |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Smeargle Weak Against
Good
Smeargle Evolutions
Smeargle doesn't evolve, so breeding's where the action is. You'll find a massive partner pool across one egg group, and eggs take an average time to hatch. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Smeargle easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field egg group.
DP Smeargle Best Moveset
Any move in the game is learnable through MoveSketch, so the moveset is whatever the team needs. MoveSpore for 100% accurate sleep, MoveStealth Rock for hazards, and MoveExplosion to exit after setting up. 20 in both Attack stats means zero direct damage, but the support role is unmatched.
Best Build
Smeargle best EVs are Attack and Speed
Support Moveset
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Spikes
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Not a lot to pick from. Smeargle gets Normal STAB for same-type damage, and limited coverage rounds things out. You're building around what's available rather than choosing from a deep bench.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It marks its territory by using its tail like a paintbrush. There are more than 5,000 different marks.
Smeargle Diamond & Pearl Guide
For Diamond & Pearl, go for it. Smeargle rates S-Tier, and its Normal typing handles most of what the story throws at you.
In Diamond & Pearl, use Smeargle as a hazard setter. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling, Explosion is the primary attack.
For Diamond & Pearl, run Jolly on Smeargle. +Speed is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the hazard setter role.
Game Availability
Available in 16 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Smeargle spans 8 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in most mainline games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
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 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
Explore
Where to go next after Smeargle.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List