Physical
Wallbreaker
BTier
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 VeilHANot in game
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, then 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
Gen IV Type Chart
  • Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
  • Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
WaterGrassIce
½xResist
PoisonRock
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Electric
STAB (5)
FireElectricPoisonRockSteel
How to Beat Donphan in Diamond & Pearl (Best Counters)

In Diamond & Pearl, Metagross's Explosion hits Donphan for 51-60%.

Metagross
MetagrossOutspeeds, walls physical sets
SteelPsychic
S
Recommended Build
AbilityClearbody
ItemLum Berry
NatureAdamant
Moves
  • Meteor Mash
  • Earthquake
  • Explosion
  • Stealth Rock
Damage vs Donphan
Earthquake
21-24%
Explosion
51-60%
View Metagross builds →

Diamond & 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 5 more.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
8moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 131·

Diamond & Pearl Donphan Best Moveset

Donphan's job is getting Stealth Rock up and staying on the field. Leftovers provides passive recovery each turn, Sturdy helps it stick around, and max HP and Defense EVs prioritize longevity.

Best Build

Recommended
Hazard Setter
Ability
Sturdy
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Donphan
Impish+DEF

Donphan best EVs are HP and Defense

EVs

Hazard Setter Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rapid Spin
  • Ice Shard
  • Stealth Rock

Recommended Teammates

Gyarados
GyaradosDecent
Tyranitar
TyranitarDecent
Jirachi
JirachiDecent

Moves

Breeding opens up real options for Donphan. Ancient Power and Body Slam come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Earthquake and Magnitude and coverage across 9 types.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Defense Curl
———40Normal
Lv 1
Fire Fang
C659515Fire
Lv 1
Flail
——10015Normal
Lv 1
Growl
——10040Normal
Lv 1
Horn Attack
—6510025Normal
Lv 1
Thunder Fang
C659515Electric
Lv 6
Rapid Spin
S5010040Normal
Lv 10
Knock Off
B6510020Dark
Lv 15
Rollout
—309020Rock
Lv 19
Magnitude
——10030Ground
Lv 24
Slam
—807520Normal
Lv 25
Fury Attack
D158520Normal
Lv 31
Assurance
—5010010Dark
Lv 39
Scary Face
D—9010Normal
Lv 46
Earthquake
S10010010Ground
Lv 54
Giga Impact
B150905Normal

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
——10015Normal
TM78
Captivate
——10020Normal
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
S10010010Ground
TM58
Endure+4
———10Normal
TM42
Facade
C7010020Normal
TM21
Frustration
D—10020Normal
TM68
Giga Impact
B150905Normal
TM74
Gyro Ball
D—1005Steel
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
C150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
C1007515Steel
TM83
Natural Gift
D—10015Normal
TM84
Poison Jab
C8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
C——20Normal
TM69
Rock Polish
C——20Rock
TM80
Rock Slide
C759010Rock
HM06
Rock Smash
D4010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
C609510Rock
TM37
Sandstorm
———10Rock
TM43
Secret Power
—7010020Normal
TM82
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM76
Stealth Rock
A——20Rock
TM71
Stone Edge
C100805Rock
HM04
Strength
C8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
——9015Normal
TM06
Toxic
C—8510Poison

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
———30Normal
Egg
Ice Shard+1
S4010030Ice
Egg
Snore
D4010015Normal

Tutor Moves

Donphan can't learn any Tutor moves

Reminder Moves

Rem
Rem
Charm
——10020Normal
Rem
Double-Edge
B12010015Normal
Rem
Endure+4
———10Normal
Rem
Last Resort
B1301005Normal
Rem
Natural Gift
D—10015Normal
Rem
Odor Sleuth
———40Normal
Rem
Tackle
—3510035Normal
Rem
Take Down
—908520Normal

Transfer Moves

Gen
Gen 3
Mimic
———10Normal

How to Get Donphan in Diamond & 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 Diamond & Pearl

  1. Phanpy
    Step 1Catch Phanpy
    Route 207
    PearlGrass Lv.5 Route
    CommonEarly
    Swarm active
    Route 207
    DiamondGrass Lv.5 Route
    CommonEarly
    Swarm active
  2. Donphan
    Step 2Donphan ✓

Donphan Guide

  • For Diamond & Pearl, we rate Donphan B-Tier: a solid option in Diamond & Pearl for the right team. At 500 BST, it fits the wallbreaker role. Earthquake with Leftovers is the standard set.

  • In Diamond & 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 Diamond & Pearl, the core moveset is Earthquake, Rapid Spin, Ice Shard, and Stealth Rock. Earthquake leads at 25% 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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