What does Ekans evolve into?

Get Ekans to Arbok at level 22. At 288 BST, Ekans is just the starting point.

At what level does Ekans evolve?

Level 22 gets you Arbok . Not the fastest evolution, so consider Exp. Share or route grinding to speed it up.

In Gold & Silver, For a casual playthrough, Ekans works as a placeholder. Poison coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Arbok . That's where the stats start mattering.

Where can you catch Ekans?

You can find Ekans in Gold & Silver. The Locations section has the full breakdown of routes and encounter details. It also appears in 19 other games across the series.

Ekans - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Balanced

DTier

55Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

You won't find a real weakness in Ekans's stat line. It's well-rounded for the Snake Pokemon, and what it does with that depends on moveset and items. Yields 1 Attack stat exp, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

Below

HP35

Attack60

Defense44

Sp. Atk40

Sp. Def54

Speed55

Total288

Details

Catch Rate

Guaranteed255 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height2.0 m

Weight6.9 kg

Base XP58

Abilities

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

Intimidate

Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.

Shed Skin

Has a 33% chance of curing any major status ailment after each turn.

UnnerveHA

Prevents opposing Pokémon from eating held Berries.

EV Yield

HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe

Attack training source

Pokedex Entries

It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move, however.

Ekans Weakness

Ekans's Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground and Psychic. The Poison typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Ekans's Poison typing only leaves 2 gaps to cover.

Ekans Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Ground, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)	Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug

Type ChartAvg

2Weak

4Resist

0Immune

Score0

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

Ground Psychic

½xResist

Grass Fighting Poison Bug

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (1)

Grass

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

Onix RockGround	C
TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 29-36% View Onix builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 36-43% View Geodude builds →
Sandshrew Ground	D
TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 36-43% View Sandshrew builds →
Wooper WaterGround	D
Obtain MethodRuins Of Alph Surfing TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 29-36% View Wooper builds →
Slowpoke WaterPsychic	D
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 24-29% View Slowpoke builds →

Gold & Silver Evolution

Ekans is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Arbok. Check the evolution method below. A small partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 160 total stats over Ekans. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#023Ekans

Level 22

#024Arbok

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Ekans

Poison

Arbok

Poison

60+25

ATK

95+35

DEF

69+25

SP.ATK

65+25

SP.DEF

79+25

SPE

80+25

BST

288C-Tier

448C-Tier+160

ROLE

Balanced

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Ekans easily with 13 breeding partners from the Dragon and Ground egg groups. Pass egg moves like Beat Up, Pursuit, Slam and 1 more to offspring.

Egg Groups

DragonGround

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

4moves

Breed With (best first)

Gold & Silver Ekans Best Moveset

Best Build

Gen 2 build content has limited support (no abilities).

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

The natural movepool does the job, but Beat Up and Pursuit from the egg pool give Ekans something extra.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 1

Wrap

—158520Normal

Lv 9

Poison Sting

—1510035Poison

Lv 15

Bite

D6010025Dark

Lv 23

Glare

D—7530Normal

Lv 29

Screech

D—8540Normal

Lv 37

Acid

—4010030Poison

Lv 43

Haze

C——30Ice

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM03

Curse

C——10Ghost

TM28

Dig

D6010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM26

Earthquake

C10010010Ground

TM20

Endure+4

D——10Normal

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM19

Giga Drain

D751005Grass

TM02

Headbutt

D7010015Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM35

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM36

Sludge Bomb

D9010010Poison

TM13

Snore

—4010015Normal

HM04

Strength

D8010015Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM34

Swagger

C—8515Normal

TM46

Thief

D6010025Dark

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Beat Up

——10010Dark

Egg

Pursuit

D4010020Dark

Egg

Slam

—807520Normal

Egg

Spite

——10010Ghost

Tutor Moves

Ekans can't learn any Tutor moves

Gold & Silver Ekans Locations

Easy grab on Ekans with high spawn rates across 5 locations in early-game routes. The sorted list below shows the full spread so you can pick the most convenient spot.

Best Locations to Catch Ekans in Gold & Silver

Before you go hunting for Ekans, check which of the 5 spots belong to your version. Silver and Gold each have different walking and gift encounters at Lv. 4-10.

Route 32

SilverGrass Lv.4 Route

30%Early

Route 33

SilverGrass Lv.7 Route

30%Early

Route 3

SilverGrass Lv.8 Route

20%Early

Route 4

SilverGrass Lv.8 Route

20%Early

Goldenrod City - Game Corner

GoldGift from NPC Lv.10 City

LimitedEarly

Purchase: 700 coins

Ekans Guide

Get Ekans to Arbok at level 22. At 288 BST, Ekans is just the starting point.
Level 22 gets you Arbok. Not the fastest evolution, so consider Exp. Share or route grinding to speed it up.
In Gold & Silver, For a casual playthrough, Ekans works as a placeholder. Poison coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Arbok. That's where the stats start mattering.
You can find Ekans in Gold & Silver. The Locations section has the full breakdown of routes and encounter details. It also appears in 19 other games across the series.

Game Availability

Present since Red & Blue, Ekans appears in 20 games spanning 10 generations. Gen 1 originals like Ekans have the longest track record of availability in the series.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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Onix RockGround	C
TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 30-36% View Onix builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 40-48% View Geodude builds →
Sandshrew Ground	D
TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 34-42% View Sandshrew builds →
Wooper WaterGround	D
Obtain MethodRuins Of Alph Surfing TM Move Moves Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Mud-Slap 2x 30-36% View Wooper builds →
Drowzee Psychic	D
Available Move Moves ConfusionLv. 18 Damage vs Ekans Confusion 2x 50-60% View Drowzee builds →

Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 88-103%KO Mud-Slap 2x 26-31% View Onix builds →
Geodude RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 122-145%KO Mud-Slap 2x 34-41% View Geodude builds →
Sandshrew Ground	D
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 117-140%KO Mud-Slap 2x 34-41% View Sandshrew builds →
Wooper WaterGround	D
Obtain MethodRuins Of Alph Surfing Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 88-103%KO Mud-Slap 2x 26-31% View Wooper builds →
Drowzee Psychic	D
Available Move Moves ConfusionLv. 18 Damage vs Ekans Confusion 2x 48-57% View Drowzee builds →

Graveler RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 144-171%KO Mud-Slap 2x 39-46% View Graveler builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 85-100%KO Mud-Slap 2x 24-29% View Onix builds →
Sandshrew Ground	D
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 124-146%KO Mud-Slap 2x 35-42% View Sandshrew builds →
Wooper WaterGround	D
Obtain MethodRuins Of Alph Surfing Available Moves Moves EarthquakeLv. 31 DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Earthquake 2x 106-125%KO Dig 2x 85-100%KO Mud-Slap 2x 24-29% View Wooper builds →
Drowzee Psychic	D
Available Move Moves ConfusionLv. 18 Damage vs Ekans Confusion 2x 46-54% View Drowzee builds →

Graveler RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 141-166%KO Mud-Slap 2x 38-45% View Graveler builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 82-97% Mud-Slap 2x 23-28% View Onix builds →
Sandshrew Ground	D
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 116-138%KO Mud-Slap 2x 34-41% View Sandshrew builds →
Wooper WaterGround	D
Obtain MethodRuins Of Alph Surfing Available Moves Moves EarthquakeLv. 31 DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Earthquake 2x 103-122%KO Dig 2x 82-97% Mud-Slap 2x 23-28% View Wooper builds →
Drowzee Psychic	D
Available Move Moves ConfusionLv. 18 Damage vs Ekans Confusion 2x 47-57% View Drowzee builds →

Graveler RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 141-166%KO Mud-Slap 2x 38-45% View Graveler builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 82-97% Mud-Slap 2x 23-28% View Onix builds →
Girafarig NormalPsychic	C
Available Moves Moves ConfusionLv. 7 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Confusion 2x 76-89% Mud-Slap 2x 23-27% View Girafarig builds →
Sandshrew Ground	D
Available Moves Moves DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Dig 2x 116-138%KO Mud-Slap 2x 34-41% View Sandshrew builds →
Wooper WaterGround	D
Obtain MethodRuins Of Alph Surfing Available Moves Moves EarthquakeLv. 31 DigTM28 Mud-SlapTM31 Damage vs Ekans Earthquake 2x 103-122%KO Dig 2x 82-97% Mud-Slap 2x 23-28% View Wooper builds →

Jynx IcePsychic	B
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Ice Beam Lovely Kiss PsychicSTAB Thief Damage vs Ekans Ice Beam 85-100%KO Psychic 2x 170-200%KO Thief 38-45% View Jynx builds →
Rhydon GroundRock	B
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Rock Slide EarthquakeSTAB RoarUtility CurseSetup Damage vs Ekans Rock Slide 91-108%KO Earthquake 2x 244-287%KO View Rhydon builds →