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

What is Donphan weak to?

In Gold & Silver, Donphan's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.

What role does Donphan play in battle?

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.

What counters Donphan?

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

How do you use Donphan in battle?

In Gold & Silver, Donphan plays as a support. Not the fastest, so pick your spots carefully. Earthquake is the primary attack.

Donphan - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Support

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 stat exp. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

High

HP90

Attack120

Defense120

Sp. Atk60

Sp. Def60

Speed50

Total500

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging60 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height1.1 m

Weight120.0 kg

Base XP175

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

Sturdy

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 has sharp, hard tusks and a rugged hide. Its TACKLE is strong enough to knock down a house.

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
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Water, Grass, Ice
0.5x (Resist)	Poison, Rock
0x (Immune)	Electric

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

2Resist

1Immune

Score-1

Gen II Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Water Grass Ice

½xResist

Poison Rock

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Electric

STAB (5)

Fire Electric Poison Rock Steel

How to Beat Donphan in Gold & Silver (Best Counters)

Delibird IceFlying	C
Available Moves Moves BlizzardTM14 Icy WindTM16 Damage vs Donphan Blizzard 2x 79-94% Icy Wind 2x 41-50% View Delibird builds →
Gyarados WaterFlying	C
Obtain MethodLake Of Rage Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves BlizzardTM14 SurfHM03 WaterfallHM07 Icy WindTM16 Damage vs Donphan Blizzard 2x 50-59% Surf 2x 62-74% Waterfall 2x 56-66% Icy Wind 2x 26-31% View Gyarados builds →
Tangela Grass	C
Available Moves Moves Vine WhipLv. 19 Mega DrainLv. 31 AbsorbLv. 10 Damage vs Donphan Vine Whip 2x 47-55% Mega Drain 2x 41-50% Absorb 2x 23-28% View Tangela builds →
Hoppip GrassFlying	D
Available Move Moves Mega DrainLv. 30 Damage vs Donphan Mega Drain 2x 20-25% View Hoppip builds →
Weepinbell GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Vine Whip 2x 41-50% View Weepinbell builds →

Gold & Silver Evolution

Evolved from Phanpy. Donphan is the final form in this two-stage line. Plenty of partners 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

#231Phanpy

Level 25

#232Donphan

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Phanpy

Ground

Donphan

Ground

ATK

120+60

DEF

120+60

SP.ATK

60+20

SP.DEF

60+20

SPE

50+10

BST

330D-Tier

500A-Tier+170

ROLE

Balanced

Wallbreaker

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Donphan to get Phanpy eggs easily using 66 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Ancient Power, Body Slam, Focus Energy.

Egg Groups

Ground

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

3moves

Breed With (best first)

Gold & Silver Donphan Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental

Utility

Ability

Not in Gen 2

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Nature

Not in Gen 2

Utility Moveset

EarthquakeSTAB
Rapid Spin
RestRecovery
Ancient Power

Recommended Teammates

SnorlaxGood

ZapdosDecent

CloysterDecent

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 Mud-Slap and Normal and Rock coverage.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Growl

D—10040Normal

Lv 1

Horn Attack

—6510025Normal

Lv 9

Defense Curl

D——40Normal

Lv 17

Flail

D—10015Normal

Lv 25

Fury Attack

—158520Normal

Lv 33

Rollout

D309020Rock

Lv 41

Rapid Spin

A5010040Normal

Lv 49

Earthquake

S10010010Ground

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM03

Curse

C——10Ghost

TM40

Defense Curl

D——40Normal

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM26

Earthquake

S10010010Ground

TM20

Endure+4

D——10Normal

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM02

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

C150905Normal

TM31

Mud-Slap

D2010010Ground

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM44

Rest

A——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM05

Roar-6

B——20Normal

TM08

Rock Smash

—2010015Fighting

TM04

Rollout

D309020Rock

TM37

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TM35

Sleep Talk

B——10Normal

TM13

Snore

—4010015Normal

HM04

Strength

C8010015Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM34

Swagger

C—8515Normal

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Ancient Power

A601005Rock

Egg

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

Egg

Focus Energy

———30Normal

Tutor Moves

Donphan can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Donphan in Gold & Silver

high spawn rates for Donphan across 7 locations in late-game routes. Nothing complicated. Check the sorted list below, compare the top few options, and head to whichever is closest.

Where To Catch Donphan in Gold & Silver

The path to Donphan starts with Phanpy at Lv. 20-50 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.

Step 1Catch Phanpy
Route 45
Grass Lv.20 Route
10%Mid
Train until Level 25
Step 2Donphan ✓
Mt. Silver - 1F
Grass Lv.44 Cave
30%Late
Victory Road - 1F
Grass Lv.33 Cave
20%Late
Route 28
Grass Lv.40 Route
20%Late
Mt. Silver - Outside
Grass Lv.42 Cave
20%Late
Mt. Silver - 2F
Grass Lv.47 Cave
20%Post
Mt. Silver - Side chambers
Grass Lv.47 Cave
20%Post
Mt. Silver - Summit
Grass Lv.50 Cave
10%Post
or evolve from Phanpy (Step 1)

Donphan Guide

For Gold & Silver, we rate Donphan B-Tier: a solid option in Gold & Silver for the right team. At 500 BST, it fits the support role. Earthquake with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Gold & Silver, Donphan's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.
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 Gold & Silver, the best way to handle Donphan: Super-effective STAB from faster Pokemon is the simplest answer. Water, Grass, and Ice-type attackers hit hardest.
In Gold & Silver, Donphan plays as a support. Not the fastest, so pick your spots carefully. Earthquake is the primary attack.

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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Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Vine Whip 2x 43-54% View Bellsprout builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Upcoming Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Learns Razor Leaf at Level 8 View Chikorita builds →
Totodile Water	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Upcoming Move Moves Water GunLv. 13 Learns Water Gun at Level 13 View Totodile builds →

Lapras WaterIce	C
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Move Moves Water GunLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Water Gun 2x 42-51% View Lapras builds →
Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Absorb 2x 20-25% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Donphan Razor Leaf 2x 37-46% View Chikorita builds →
Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Vine Whip 2x 37-46% View Bellsprout builds →
Slowpoke WaterPsychic	D
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Move Moves Water GunLv. 15 Damage vs Donphan Water Gun 2x 25-31% View Slowpoke builds →

Lapras WaterIce	C
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves BlizzardTM14 Water GunLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Blizzard 2x 106-125%KO Water Gun 2x 42-50% View Lapras builds →
Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Absorb 2x 21-25% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Donphan Razor Leaf 2x 39-46% View Chikorita builds →
Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Vine Whip 2x 42-50% View Bellsprout builds →
Hoppip GrassFlying	D
Upcoming Move Moves Mega DrainLv. 30 Learns Mega Drain at Level 30 View Hoppip builds →

Lapras WaterIce	C
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves BlizzardTM14 SurfHM03 Water GunLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Blizzard 2x 100-118%KO Surf 2x 81-96% Water Gun 2x 39-46% View Lapras builds →
Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Absorb 2x 20-25% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Donphan Razor Leaf 2x 36-43% View Chikorita builds →
Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Vine Whip 2x 39-46% View Bellsprout builds →
Sunkern Grass	D
Available Moves Moves Mega DrainLv. 10 AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Mega Drain 2x 20-25% Absorb 2x 12-14% View Sunkern builds →

Hoppip GrassFlying	D
Available Move Moves Mega DrainLv. 30 Damage vs Donphan Mega Drain 2x 21-25% View Hoppip builds →
Oddish GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Absorb 2x 19-23% View Oddish builds →
Chikorita Grass	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves Razor LeafLv. 8 Damage vs Donphan Razor Leaf 2x 36-42% View Chikorita builds →
Bellsprout GrassPoison	D
Available Move Moves Vine WhipLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Vine Whip 2x 38-45% View Bellsprout builds →
Sunkern Grass	D
Available Moves Moves Mega DrainLv. 10 AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Donphan Mega Drain 2x 21-25% Absorb 2x 11-14% View Sunkern builds →