Utility
Balanced
DTier
40Speed · Very Slow

Stats & Training

Nothing fancy in Nincada's spread. It leans mixed with Defense out front. And you'll get 1 Defense EV per KO for it. Follows a standard growth curve.

Base Stats
Below
HP31
F
Attack45
D
Defense90
B
Sp. Atk30
F
Sp. Def30
F
Speed40
D
Total266
Details
Catch Rate
Guaranteed255 / 255
Growth Rate
Erratic600,000 XP
Height0.5 m
1'08"Tiny
Weight5.5 kg
12.1 lbsFeather
Base XP53
Low Yield
Abilities
Compound EyesTop Pick
Increases moves' accuracy to 1.3×.
Run AwayHA
Ensures success fleeing from wild battles.
EV Yield
HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe
Defense training source
Pokedex Entries
No Ultrasun Ultramoon entries available

It grows underground, sensing its surroundings using antennae instead of its virtually blind eyes.

Nincada Weakness

Type-wise, Nincada takes extra damage from Fire, Water, Ice, and Flying. Electric moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. Nincada's physical bulk (base 90 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Nincada Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Fire, Water, Ice, Flying
0.5x (Resist)Fighting, Poison, Ground
0x (Immune)Electric
Type ChartAvg
4Weak
3Resist
1Immune
Score-2
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
FireWaterIceFlying
½xResist
FightingPoisonGround
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Electric
STAB (8)
GrassPsychicDarkFireElectricPoisonRockSteel
How to Beat Nincada in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon (Best Counters)
Volcanion
Volcanion
FireWater
A
Fire is super effective against NincadaView Volcanion →

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Evolution

Nincada can evolve into Ninjask and Shedinja. Nincada sits before the split, so check the evolution methods below to pick your path. Evolving adds up to 190 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Evolutions
Nincada
#290Nincada
Ninjask
#291NinjaskLevel 20
Shedinja
#292ShedinjaLevel 20
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Nincada
BugGround
Ninjask
BugFlying
Shedinja
BugGhost
HP
31
61+30
1-30
ATK
45
90+45
90+45
DEF
90
45-45
45-45
SP.ATK
30
50+20
30
SP.DEF
30
50+20
30
SPE
40
160+120
40
BST
266D-Tier
456C-Tier+190
236C-Tier-30
ROLE
Balanced
Pivot
Trick Room
TYPE
Utility
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Nincada easily with 77 breeding partners from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Bug Bite, Bug Buzz, Endure and 5 more to offspring.

Egg Groups
Bug
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
8moves
Breed With (best first)
flygondrapionmasquerainvolbeatillumiseparasectvibravaskorupiparastrapinchsurskitshuckle
12 of 77·

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Nincada Best Moveset

Nothing fancy here. Nincada builds around Air Balloon for temporary Ground immunity, Mild nature for the right stat lean, and max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs. Compoundeyes does its job quietly.

Best Build

Experimental
Special Attacker
Ability
Compound Eyes
Item
Air Balloon
Best Nature for Nincada
Mild+SPA

Nincada best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed

EVs

Special Attacker Moveset

  • Sleep Talk
  • Hone Claws
  • ConfideUtility
  • Unknown

Recommended Teammates

Golisopod
GolisopodExcellent
Armaldo
ArmaldoExcellent

Moves

The egg pool carries weight here. Bug Bite and Bug Buzz aren't available any other way for Nincada, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Bug Buzz and Dig for solid options.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Harden
D——30Normal
Lv 1
Scratch
—4010035Normal
Lv 5
Absorb
—4010025Grass
Lv 9
Sand Attack
——10015Ground
Lv 13
Fury Swipes
—188015Normal
Lv 17
Mud-Slap
D2010010Ground
Lv 21
Metal Claw
D509535Steel
Lv 25
Mind Reader
———5Normal
Lv 29
Bide+1
———10Normal
Lv 33
False Swipe
—4010040Normal
Lv 37
Dig
D8010010Ground

TM Moves

TM
TM40
Aerial Ace
D60—20Flying
TM100
Confide
S——20Normal
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM42
Facade
D7010020Normal
TM54
False Swipe
—4010040Normal
TM21
Frustration
D—10020Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM28
Leech Life
D8010010Bug
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
TM48
Round
D6010015Normal
TM37
Sandstorm
D——10Rock
TM30
Shadow Ball
D8010015Ghost
TM88
Sleep Talk
S——10Normal
TM22
Solar Beam
D20010010Grass
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
D—8515Normal
TM06
Toxic
C—9010Poison
TM81
X-Scissor
D8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Bug Bite
D6010020Bug
Egg
Bug Buzz
D9010010Bug
Egg
Endure+4
C——10Normal
Egg
Feint Attack
D60—20Dark
Egg
Final Gambit
D—1005Fighting
Egg
Gust
D4010035Flying
Egg
Night Slash
D7010015Dark
Egg
Silver Wind
D601005Bug

Tutor Moves

Tut
Tutor
Bug Bite
D6010020Bug
Tutor
Giga Drain
D7510010Grass
Tutor
Snore
—5010015Normal
Tutor
Spite
D—10010Ghost

Transfer Moves

Gen
Gen 6
Cut
—509530Normal
Gen 3
Double-Edge
D12010015Normal
Gen 6
Flash
D—10020Normal
Gen 4
Fury Cutter
D409520Bug
Gen 6
Hone Claws
S——15Dark
Gen 3
Mimic
D——10Normal
Gen 4
Natural Gift
——10015Normal
Gen 6
Secret Power
—7010020Normal
Gen 4
String Shot
——9540Bug
Gen 6
Struggle Bug
D5010020Bug

How to Get Nincada in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon

Nincada can't be caught in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon. Bring it over from Ruby, Emerald, or Brilliant Diamond instead. The encounter info below covers the source games.

Nincada is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Also found in:

RubyEmeraldDiamondPlatinumHeartGoldX

Nincada Guide

  • Nincada has 2 evolution paths: Ninjask at level 20 and Shedinja at level 20. Different conditions, different results.

  • Nincada has 2 evolution paths: Ninjask at level 20 and Shedinja at level 20. Different method for each one.

  • In Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, For a casual playthrough, Nincada works as a placeholder. Bug/Ground coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Ninjask. That's where the stats start mattering.

  • Nincada is catchable in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 13 other games across the series.

Game Availability

Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Nincada appears in 14 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in a solid number of games, typically found through catching or hatching as a base form.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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