Almost nobody uses Sunkern in battle. It exists to evolve into Sunflora, which is a completely different story. Get it there and you won't regret it. Part of the Gen 2 roster. 5 type weaknesses to keep in mind.
You won't find a real weakness in Sunkern's stat line. It's well-rounded for the Seed Pokemon, and what it does with that depends on moveset and items. Yields 1 Sp. Atk EV, on a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.
It is very weak. Its only means of defense is to shake its leaves desperately at its attacker.
Sunkern Weakness
FragileSunkern's Grass typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, and Bug moves. The Grass typing picks up 4 resistances to work with.
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
To get Sunflora from Sunkern, you need an evolution item. The evolution method matters here. The evolved forms gain up to 245 total stats over Sunkern.
How to Evolve
Breed Sunkern easily with 23 breeding partners from the Plant egg group.
Best Build
Gen 2 build content has limited support (no abilities).
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Sunkern's Normal and Poison coverage all comes from technical machines, built on top of Solar Beam and Giga Drain for same-type damage. Sludge Bomb and Solar Beam are the payoff moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
high spawn rates in early-game routes across 2 locations. Sunkern's one of the easier catches on the list. Knock it out fast and save your time for harder targets.
Best Locations
At 180 BST, Sunkern is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Sunflora before bringing it to any serious fight.
Watch for Arcanine (Fire), Lapras (Ice), and Nidoking (Poison) when using Sunkern. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Flying and Bug-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter. At base 30 Speed, Sunkern won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.
Sunkern evolves into Sunflora using a Sun Stone. Sunkern is the base form of this evolutionary line.
Sunkern is leaning toward the physical side (base 30 Attack). Fragile — can't afford to take many hits, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 30 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go.
Sunkern appears in 16 games, including Gold & Silver, Crystal, and Ruby & Sapphire.
Since Gold & Silver, Sunkern has been in 16 games. Requiring an item-based evolution to obtain means it's consistently available but requires more effort than simply catching it in the wild.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRB
Red & Blue - Gen IIGSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBW
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXY
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A