Is Zangoose Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Breed-only. Normal with AbilityImmunity preventing poison. Strong Attack, no evolution. Not enough to stand out among HGSS Normal-types.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Zangoose resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Zangoose trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Zangoose has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Zangoose in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 43-45). Requires 15 Peak objects placed in Plains.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 43)
- LV 43NormalCrush ClawPower 113Accuracy 95%PP 10
- LV 43NormalSlashPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 105Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- LV 53FightingClose CombatPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
HeartGold & SoulSilver Zangoose Locations
Breeding is the only road to Zangoose, hatched from a Zangoose egg at the Day-Care. It never appears in the wild here, so the catch starts with a traded or transferred parent.
Wild Zangoose may be holding when caught:
Quick Claw (5% chance) An item to be held by a Pokemon. A light, sharp claw that lets the bearer move first occasionally.1 location to catch Zangoose
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Best Locations to Catch Zangoose in HeartGold & SoulSilver
How to Get Shiny Zangoose in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Zangoose wants a foreign-language parent, so breed it Masuda-style for a shiny of its own. Compare Shiny Zangoose odds across every game
Shiny Zangoose Evolution
Does Not EvolveHeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Zangoose Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
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 | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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 HeartGold & SoulSilver 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
GoodBest Pokemon Against Zangoose
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
 Hitmonchan Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrogue (Mt Mortar Gift) | ||
 Primeape Fighting | C | |
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
 Medicham FightingPsychic | C | |
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 11 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, Disable and 8 more to offspring.
HGSS Zangoose Best Moveset
115 Attack and 90 Speed with AbilityImmunity preventing poison entirely. Fast physical Normal and coverage hits without worrying about Toxic stalling. 73 HP and 60 defenses are thin. Pure offense.
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 12 types means it always has an effective option. Last Resort and Strength 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
All 37 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its fur would all stand on end if it smelled a SEVIPER nearby. Its sharp claws tear up its foes.
Zangoose HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- Where in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone can I find Zangoose?
See the Locations section above for where to find Zangoose in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Zangoose from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Zangoose easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Yes. Wild Zangoose in HeartGold & SoulSilver 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 HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Zangoose as a cannon. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, 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
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