Physical
Support
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 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

DONPHAN’s favorite attack is curling its body into a ball, then charging at its foe while rolling at high speed. Once it starts rolling, this POKéMON can’t stop very easily.

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 III Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
WaterGrassIce
½xResist
PoisonRock
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Electric
STAB (5)
FireElectricPoisonRockSteel
How to Beat Donphan in Ruby & Sapphire (Best Counters)

In Ruby & Sapphire, Regirock deals 43-51% with Explosion.

Magneton
MagnetonWears down with Toxic, sturdy guarantees survival, outspeeds
ElectricSteel
A
Recommended Build
AbilityMagnetpull
ItemMagnet
NatureModest
Moves
  • ThunderboltSTAB
  • Hidden Power Fire
  • ToxicUtility
  • Thunder Wave
View Magneton builds →

Ruby & Sapphire 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 102 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Ancient Power, Body Slam, Counter and 3 more.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
6moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 102·

Ruby & Sapphire Donphan Best Moveset

Donphan runs a standard defensive wall set. Impish nature with HP-heavy investment EVs shapes the build, while Leftovers brings passive recovery each turn. Sturdy supports the kit from the background.

Best Build

Solid pick
Bulky Support
Ability
Sturdy
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Donphan
Impish+DEF

Donphan best EVs are HP and Defense

EVs

Bulky Support Moveset

  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rapid Spin
  • Hidden Power Rock
  • Rock Slide

Recommended Teammates

Blissey
BlisseyDecent
Magneton
MagnetonDecent
Skarmory
SkarmoryDecent

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 Fissure and Normal and Rock coverage and more.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Growl
——10040Normal
Lv 1
Horn Attack
—6510025Normal
Lv 1
Odor Sleuth
——10040Normal
Lv 9
Defense Curl
———40Normal
Lv 17
Flail
D—10015Normal
Lv 25
Fury Attack
—158520Normal
Lv 33
Rollout
—309020Rock
Lv 41
Rapid Spin
S5010040Normal
Lv 49
Earthquake
S10010010Ground

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
——10015Normal
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
S10010010Ground
TM42
Facade
C7010020Normal
TM21
Frustration
——10020Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
C150905Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
C1007515Steel
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM44
Rest
B——10Psychic
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
B——20Normal
HM06
Rock Smash
—2010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
—609510Rock
TM37
Sandstorm
———10Rock
TM43
Secret Power
—7010020Normal
HM04
Strength
—8010015Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM06
Toxic
C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Ancient Power
D601005Rock
Egg
Body Slam
C8510015Normal
Egg
Counter-5
D—10020Fighting
Egg
Fissure
——305Ground
Egg
Focus Energy
D——30Normal
Egg
Snore
—4010015Normal

Tutor Moves

Donphan can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Donphan in Ruby & Sapphire

Can't catch Donphan directly. Start with Phanpy at solid rates from the locations below, then evolve at level 25. The 2-stage line from Phanpy to Donphan is where the leveling time goes.

How to Obtain Donphan in Ruby & Sapphire

  1. Phanpy
    Step 1Catch Phanpy
    Safari Zone - Northeast
    SapphireGrass Lv.27-29 Facility
    30%Mid
    Safari Zone - Northeast
    RubyGrass Lv.27-29 Facility
    30%Mid
  2. Donphan
    Step 2Donphan ✓

Donphan Guide

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

  • In Ruby & Sapphire, 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 support.

  • In Ruby & Sapphire, the best way to handle Donphan: Super-effective STAB from faster Pokemon is the simplest answer. Water, Grass, and Ice-type attackers hit hardest.

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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