Physical
Wallbreaker
CTier
50Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

Attack and Defense carry most of Donphan's stat budget. Speed's the obvious dump stat. Moderately hard to find and yields 2 Attack and Defense EVs. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
High
HP90
B
Attack120
A
Defense120
A
Sp. Atk60
C
Sp. Def60
C
Speed50
D
Total500
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging60 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height1.1 m
3'07"Small
Weight120.0 kg
264.6 lbsHeavy
Base XP175
Average
Abilities
SturdyTop Pick
Prevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Protects against the one-hit KO moves regardless of HP.
Sand VeilHA
Increases evasion to 1.25× during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
EV Yield
HPAtk+1Def+1SpASpDSpe
Attack training target
Pokedex Entries

It attacks by curling up and rolling into its foe. It can blow apart a house in one hit.

Donphan Weakness

Donphan is weak to Water, Grass, and Ice. On the flip side, it's immune to Electric-type moves entirely. Donphan's physical bulk (base 120 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Donphan Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Water, Grass, Ice
0.5x (Resist)Poison, Rock
0x (Immune)Electric
Type ChartAvg
3Weak
2Resist
1Immune
Score-1
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
WaterGrassIce
½xResist
PoisonRock
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Electric
STAB (5)
FireElectricPoisonRockSteel
How to Beat Donphan in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Best Counters)

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Slowking's Scald hits Donphan for 68-80%.

Weavile
Weavile
DarkIce
A
Recommended Build
AbilityPressure
ItemHeavy-Duty Boots
NatureJolly
Moves
  • Knock Off
  • Ice Shard
  • Triple Axel
  • Swords Dance
Damage vs Donphan
Knock Off
23-27%
Ice Shard 2x
28-34%
View Weavile builds →

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Evolution

Evolved from Phanpy. Donphan is the final form in this two-stage line. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Attack grew the most through evolution (+60 over Phanpy), and Donphan peaks at 500 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Phanpy
#231Phanpy
25
Level 25
Donphan
#232Donphan
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Phanpy
Ground
Donphan
Ground
HP
90
90
ATK
60
120+60
DEF
60
120+60
SP.ATK
40
60+20
SP.DEF
40
60+20
SPE
40
50+10
BST
330D-Tier
500A-Tier+170
ROLE
Balanced
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Donphan to get Phanpy eggs easily using 131 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Ancient Power, Body Slam, Counter and 10 more.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
13moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 131·

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Donphan Best Moveset

Bulk and offense in one package. Donphan runs Leftovers for passive recovery each turn with a Adamant nature, so it survives long enough to threaten with Earthquake. Max HP and Attack EVs and the remaining moves make it hard to safely switch into.

Best Build

Experimental
Physical Tank
Ability
Sturdy
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Donphan
Adamant+ATK

Donphan best EVs are HP and Attack

EVs

Physical Tank Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rapid Spin
  • Knock Off
  • Ice Shard

Moves

The TM pool is where it gets interesting. Coverage across 10 types means almost nothing walls Donphan cleanly, with Earthquake and High Horsepower anchoring the STAB side. Matchup flexibility isn't a problem.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Bulldoze
C6010020Ground
Lv 1
Charm
C—10020Fairy
Lv 1
Defense Curl
D——40Normal
Lv 1
Double-Edge
B12010015Normal
Lv 1
Endure+4
C——10Normal
Lv 1
Fire Fang
C659515Fire
Lv 1
Flail
D—10015Normal
Lv 1
Fury Attack
—158520Normal
Lv 1
Growl
——10040Normal
Lv 1
Horn Attack
—6510025Normal
Lv 1
Last Resort
B1401005Normal
Lv 1
Tackle
D4010035Normal
Lv 1
Take Down
C908520Normal
Lv 1
Thunder Fang
C659515Electric
Lv 6
Rapid Spin
S5010040Normal
Lv 10
Rollout
—309020Rock
Lv 15
Assurance
—6010010Dark
Lv 19
Knock Off
S6510020Dark
Lv 24
Slam
—807520Normal
Lv 30
Rock Tomb
C609515Rock
Lv 37
Scary Face
——10010Normal
Lv 43
Earthquake
S10010010Ground
Lv 50
Giga Impact
B150905Normal

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
C—10015Normal
TM83
Bulldoze
C6010020Ground
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
S10010010Ground
TM58
Endure+4
C——10Normal
TM42
Facade
C7010020Normal
TM68
Giga Impact
B150905Normal
TM74
Gyro Ball
D—1005Steel
TM15
Hyper Beam
C150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
C1007515Steel
TM84
Poison Jab
C8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM05
Roar-6
C——20Normal
TM69
Rock Polish
C——20Rock
TM80
Rock Slide
C759010Rock
TM98
Rock Smash
D4010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
C609515Rock
TM37
Sandstorm
D——10Rock
TM82
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM76
Stealth Rock
A——20Rock
TM71
Stone Edge
C100805Rock
TM96
Strength
—8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
D—8515Normal

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Ancient Power
D601005Rock
Egg
Body Slam
C8510015Normal
Egg
Counter-5
D—10020Fighting
Egg
Endeavor
D—1005Normal
Egg
Fissure
——305Ground
Egg
Focus Energy
C——30Normal
Egg
Head Smash
B150805Rock
Egg
Heavy Slam
D—10010Steel
Egg
High Horsepower
B959510Ground
Egg
Ice Shard+1
A4010030Ice
Egg
Mud-Slap
D2010010Ground
Egg
Play Rough
C909010Fairy
Egg
Snore
—5010015Normal

Tutor Moves

Donphan can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Donphan in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

You're catching Phanpy first, not Donphan. Phanpy appears at solid rates in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 2-stage line with evolution methods between each stage.

How to Obtain Donphan in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

The path to Donphan starts with Phanpy at Lv. 5-63 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Phanpy
    Step 1Catch Phanpy
    Route 207
    Shining PearlGrass Lv.5 Route
    40%Early
    Swarm active
    Route 207
    Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.5 Route
    40%Early
    Swarm active
    Big Bluff Cavern
    Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Big Bluff Cavern
    Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Rocky Cave
    Brilliant DiamondGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
    Rocky Cave
    Shining PearlGrass Lv.58-63 Cave
    Post
    Post-game
  2. Donphan
    Step 2Donphan ✓

Donphan Guide

  • For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, we rate Donphan C-Tier: a niche pick in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's meta. At 500 BST, it fits the wallbreaker role. Earthquake with Leftovers is the standard set.

  • In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Donphan's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.

  • Sturdy is the go-to ability for Donphan. It prevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Its hidden ability Sand Veil can work in specific setups.

  • Base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Donphan is a physical attacker with base 120 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a wallbreaker.

  • For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, the core moveset is Earthquake, Rapid Spin, Knock Off, and Ice Shard. Earthquake leads at 22% usage. Earthquake provides reliable STAB damage.

Game Availability

Available in 16 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Donphan spans 9 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in most mainline games.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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