Is Smeargle Good in Emerald Playthrough?
Safari Zone catch. Smeargle with AbilityOwn Tempo prevents confusion. Learns any move via MoveSketch, which copies the last move used. Can build any moveset in theory. The base stats are terrible, so the custom moveset carries a frame that can't back it up. A gimmick artist.
Roxanne's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Brawly's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Wattson's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Flannery's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Norman's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Winona's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Tate & Liza's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Juan's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Sidney's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Phoebe's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Glacia's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Drake's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Wallace's Pokemon outpace and outclass Smeargle here.
Catchable
Catch Smeargle in Altering Cave (walking, Lv 18-28). Only after exactly eight Altering Cave Mystery Gifts, or 18, 28 and so on (the cycle repeats every 10 gifts); with no gift the cave holds Zubat.
Emerald Smeargle Locations
Smeargle is a common catch deep in Artisan Cave near the Battle Frontier, sitting at a high level 40 to 50. That late, hidden cave is its one real home in Emerald, well past the main story.
2 locations to catch Smeargle
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Best Locations to Catch Smeargle in Emerald
Walking encounters at Lv. 18-50 across 3 spots for Smeargle. Sorted by progression so you can see what's reachable at your current point in the game.
How to Get Shiny Smeargle in Emerald
Smeargle fills Artisan Cave near the Battle Frontier as a common wall-to-wall encounter, making this the easy grind: walk the two-floor cave over and over until its painterly palette shifts to the shiny green-tailed look. Compare Shiny Smeargle odds across every game
Shiny Smeargle Evolution
Does Not EvolveEmerald Shiny Smeargle Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
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.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
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 Emerald 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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
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 102 breeding partners from the Field egg group.
E Smeargle Best Moveset
MoveSketch copies any move permanently, letting Smeargle build a moveset from the entire move pool in the game. Teams use it as a dedicated MoveSpikes and MoveSpore lead since AbilityOwn Tempo prevents confusion while it sets up.
Best Build
Smeargle best EVs are Speed and Sp. Def
Pivot Moveset
- Spore
- Spikes
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
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
A SMEARGLE marks its territory using a fluid that leaks out from the tip of its tail. About 5,000 different marks left by this POKéMON have been found.
Smeargle Emerald Guide
In Emerald, Smeargle is one of the stronger picks around. It rates A-Tier for this generation, and the Normal typing with 250 BST covers a lot of matchups.
Yes. Smeargle is a post-game Pokemon. You need to defeat the Elite Four and enter the Hall of Fame first. Smeargle becomes available after the main story is complete in Emerald.
In Emerald, use Smeargle as a hazard setter. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,
For Emerald, run Jolly on Smeargle. +Speed is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the hazard setter role.
For Emerald, build your team around Metagross, Tyranitar, and Aerodactyl. These have the highest co-usage rates with Smeargle in competitive formats. They cover each other's weaknesses.
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 · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List