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 may plummet from the sky. If attacked by a SPEAROW, it will violently shake its leaves.
It lives by drinking only dewdrops from under the leaves of plants. It is said that it eats nothing else.
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.
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
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 45 breeding partners from the Plant egg group. Pass egg moves like Curse, Encore, Grass Whistle and 5 more to offspring.
Best Build
No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 4.
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
The natural movepool does the job, but Curse and Encore from the egg pool give Sunkern something extra. Pair those with Solar Beam and Energy Ball for STAB and Normal and Poison coverage for reach, and the kit fills out nicely.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Sunkern's scattered across 4 spots in early-game routes with high spawn rates. Check the list below for the closest location to wherever you are in the game. This one's quick.
Best Locations
walking encounters for Sunkern across 4 spots at Lv. 10-12. The catch is that HeartGold and SoulSilver don't share every location, so compare what's available in your version.
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 gets Chlorophyll, Solar Power, and Early Bird. But Chlorophyll is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.
Sunkern is a physical attacker with 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