Is Zangoose Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Transfer-only Normal from Hoenn. AbilityImmunity blocks all poison. High Attack and Speed. The physical/special split helps Zangoose pick physical coverage moves properly. Poison immunity removes Toxicroak as a concern entirely if imported.
Zangoose trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Zangoose trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Crasher Wake's team.
Zangoose trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Zangoose trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Zangoose resists most of Candice's coverage and hits back hard.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Zangoose resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Zangoose on Route 208 (walking, Lv 18, rare). Pokémon Ruby in GBA slot.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Lost Tower
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20Amity Square
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Veilstone Department Store
- LV 31NormalCrush ClawPower 113Accuracy 95%PP 10
- After Byron
- HM08NormalRock ClimbPower 135Accuracy 85%PP 20Route 217
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- LV 53FightingClose CombatPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Diamond & Pearl Zangoose Locations
Zangoose appears on two routes, but only with a Ruby cart in the GBA port. Link that cartridge and the cat ferret shows up rare at level 18 and again at 26, hunting for its rival Seviper.
Wild Zangoose may be holding when caught:
Quick Claw (5% chance) Held: Holder has a 3/16 (18.75%) chance to move first.2 locations to catch Zangoose
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 2Best Locations to Catch Zangoose in Diamond & Pearl
How to Get Shiny Zangoose in Diamond & Pearl
Zangoose prowls Route 208 and Route 210, so a PokeRadar chain in that grass hands over its shiny. Compare Shiny Zangoose odds across every game
Shiny Zangoose Evolution
Does Not EvolveDiamond & Pearl Shiny Zangoose 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 Zangoose preloaded.
Zangoose Weakness
Zangoose's Normal typing leaves it vulnerable to Fighting. It shrugs off Ghost-type attacks completely. Zangoose leans offensive (base 115 Atk) rather than trying to tank its weaknesses.
| 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 Zangoose Weak Against
Good
Zangoose Evolutions
Zangoose 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. It's got 10 egg moves worth looking into. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Zangoose easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Counter, Curse, Double Hit and 7 more to offspring.
DP Zangoose Best Moveset
115 Attack and 90 Speed behind AbilityImmunity (can't be poisoned) creates a fast physical Normal attacker. The moveset runs MoveClose Combat for Fighting coverage and physical Normal hits at high power. Outclassed by some physical attackers, but the speed and poison immunity have niche value.
Best Build
Zangoose best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Revenge Killer Moveset
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Night Slash
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breadth over depth defines this movepool. Zangoose won't stack one type's damage ceiling, but coverage across 14 types means it always has an effective option. Double-Edge and Mega Kick anchor the STAB core.
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
50 of 51 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It has feuded with SEVIPER for many generations. Its sharp claws are its biggest weapons.
Zangoose Diamond & Pearl Guide
Yes. Wild Zangoose in Diamond & Pearl can hold Quick Claw (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Quick Claw.
In Diamond & Pearl, use Zangoose as a cannon. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,
For Diamond & Pearl, run Adamant on Zangoose. +Attack is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the cannon role.
Game Availability
Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Zangoose appears in 15 games across 7 generations. A reliable presence in most mainline games, typically found through wild encounters.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
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 Zangoose.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List