In X & Y, Don't let Ninjask's 456 base stat total fool you. Speed Boost is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it B-Tier as a pivot. Protect with Focus Sash is the standard set.

What is Ninjask weak to?

In X & Y, watch for Golem (Rock), Charizard (Fire), and Raikou (Electric) when using Ninjask. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Golem is the most dangerous since Rock moves deal 4x damage. Ice and Flying-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter. Ninjask's base 160 Speed lets it outpace many threats and strike first, which matters more than trying to tank hits.

What is the best ability for Ninjask?

In X & Y, Run Speed Boost on Ninjask. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Ninjask also gets Infiltrator, but they don't compare.

What role does Ninjask play in battle?

In X & Y, Ninjask fills the pivot role. It's a special attacker with base 50 Sp. Atk. Base 160 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. And it's fragile, can't afford to take many hits.

What are the best moves for Ninjask?

In X & Y, run Protect, Swords Dance, Round, and Baton Pass on Ninjask. Protect is the most common pick at 23% usage. This set covers the pivot role with a mix of damage and utility.

Ninjask - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Pivot

BTier

160Speed · Extreme

Stats & Training

Ninjask's all-in on Speed at the expense of Defense. The physical lean is obvious from the bars. Yields 2 Speed EVs and follows a standard growth curve.

Base Stats

Above

HP61

Attack90

Defense45

Sp. Atk50

Sp. Def50

Speed160

Total456

Details

Catch Rate

Moderate120 / 255

Growth Rate

Erratic600,000 XP

Height0.8 m

Weight12.0 kg

Base XP160

Abilities

Speed BoostTop Pick

Raises Speed one stage after each turn.

InfiltratorHA

Bypasses light screen, reflect, and safeguard.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+2

Speed training target

Pokedex Entries

Its cry leaves a lasting headache if heard for too long. It moves so quickly that it is almost invisible.

Ninjask Weakness

Ninjask's Bug/Flying typing leaves it vulnerable to Rock, Fire, Electric, Ice, and Flying. Rock hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. It shrugs off Ground-type attacks completely. At base 160 Speed, Ninjask outspeeds most threats and doesn't need to tank what it can outrun.

Ninjask Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
4x (Critical)	Rock
2x (Weak)	Fire, Electric, Ice, Flying
0.5x (Resist)	Bug
0.25x (Resist)	Grass, Fighting
0x (Immune)	Ground

Type ChartVulnerable

5Weak

3Resist

1Immune

Score-4

4xCritical

Rock

2xWeak

Fire Electric Ice Flying

½xResist

Bug

¼xResist

Grass Fighting

0xImmune

Ground

STAB (5)

Grass Psychic Dark Fighting Bug

How to Beat Ninjask in X & Y (Best Counters)

In X & Y, Weavile can KO Ninjask with Ice Shard (132-156%). Zapdos's Thunderbolt also KOs at 155-182%.

Weavile DarkIce	A
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves Knock Off Icicle Crash Ice Shard PursuitSTAB Damage vs Ninjask Knock Off 107-126%KO Ice Shard 2x 132-156%KO Pursuit 66-78% View Weavile builds →
Heatran FireSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilityFlashfire ItemLeftovers NatureCalm Moves Stealth Rock Lava Plume Earth Power TauntUtility View Heatran builds →
Zapdos ElectricFlying	A
Recommended Build AbilityStatic ItemSitrus Berry NatureTimid Moves Heat Wave TailwindUtility ThunderboltSTAB RoostRecovery Damage vs Ninjask Heat Wave 2x 109-128%KO Thunderbolt 2x 155-182%KO View Zapdos builds →
Tyranitar RockDark	A
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemChoice Band NatureRelaxed Moves Stone Edge PursuitSTAB CrunchSTAB Superpower Damage vs Ninjask Stone Edge 4x 591-695%KO Pursuit 59-70% Crunch 118-139%KO Superpower 29-34% View Tyranitar builds →
Gliscor GroundFlying	B
Recommended Build AbilityPoisonheal ItemToxic Orb NatureCareful Moves EarthquakeSTAB RoostRecovery Swords Dance Knock Off Damage vs Ninjask Knock Off 32-38% View Gliscor builds →

X & Y Evolution

Out of 2 evolutions from Nincada, Ninjask comes from the level-up path. The method you use determines which form you end up with. Breed through Nincada to get eggs. Stat-wise, Ninjask comes out 220 points ahead of Shedinja, mostly thanks to a bigger Speed gain. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Evolutions

#290Nincada

#291NinjaskLevel 20

#292ShedinjaLevel 20

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Nincada

BugGround

Ninjask

BugFlying

Shedinja

BugGhost

61+30

1-30

ATK

90+45

DEF

45-45

SP.ATK

50+20

SP.DEF

50+20

SPE

160+120

BST

266D-Tier

456C-Tier+190

236C-Tier-30

ROLE

Balanced

Pivot

Trick Room

TYPE

Utility

Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Ninjask to get Nincada eggs easily using 68 partners from the Bug egg group. Notable egg moves include Bug Bite, Bug Buzz, Endure and 5 more.

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)

X & Y Ninjask Best Moveset

Find one free turn for Swords Dance and Ninjask can run through teams. Jolly nature leans fast physical, Speed Boost supports the sweep, and Normal coverage stops anything from walling it cleanly.

Best Build

Experimental

Ability

Speed Boost

Item

Focus SashSURVIVAL

Best Nature for Ninjask

Jolly+SPE

Ninjask best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed

EVs

SpA

Spe

Doubles Mixed Setup Sweeper Moveset

ProtectFAST +4
Swords Dance
RoundCoverage
Baton Pass

Recommended Teammates

Porygon-ZGood

VolcanionGood

Moves

You'll want to breed for Bug Bite and Bug Buzz on Ninjask. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Bug Buzz and Leech Life, they expand what Ninjask can actually threaten in practice.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Bug Bite

C6010020Bug

Lv 1

Harden

———30Normal

Lv 1

Leech Life

C2010010Bug

Lv 1

Sand Attack

——10015Ground

Lv 1

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 5

Leech Life

C2010010Bug

Lv 9

Sand Attack

——10015Ground

Lv 14

Fury Swipes

—188015Normal

Lv 19

Mind Reader

———5Normal

Lv 20

Double Team

———15Normal

Lv 20

Fury Cutter

D409520Bug

Lv 20

Screech

——8540Normal

Lv 25

Swords Dance

S——20Normal

Lv 31

Slash

C7010020Normal

Lv 38

Agility

C——30Psychic

Lv 45

Baton Pass

S——40Normal

Lv 52

X-Scissor

S8010015Bug

TM Moves

TM40

Aerial Ace

A60—20Flying

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM100

Confide

———20Normal

HM01

Cut

D509530Normal

TM28

Dig

C8010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM42

Facade

C7010020Normal

TM54

False Swipe

—4010040Normal

TM70

Flash

D—10020Normal

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM68

Giga Impact

B150905Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM01

Hone Claws

C——15Dark

TM15

Hyper Beam

C150905Normal

TM17

Protect+4

S——10Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM19

Roost

C——10Flying

TM48

Round

S6010015Normal

TM37

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TM30

Shadow Ball

D8010015Ghost

TM88

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM22

Solar Beam

C12010010Grass

TM76

Struggle Bug

D5010020Bug

TM90

Substitute

B——10Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM87

Swagger

——9015Normal

TM75

Swords Dance

S——20Normal

TM46

Thief

D6010025Dark

TM06

Toxic

B—9010Poison

TM89

U-turn

A7010020Bug

TM81

X-Scissor

S8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Egg

Bug Bite

C6010020Bug

Egg

Bug Buzz

C9010010Bug

Egg

Endure+4

D——10Normal

Egg

Feint Attack

—60—20Dark

Egg

Final Gambit

D—1005Fighting

Egg

Gust

—4010035Flying

Egg

Night Slash

A7010015Dark

Egg

Silver Wind

D601005Bug

Tutor Moves

Ninjask can't learn any Tutor moves

Reminder Moves

Rem

Dig

C8010010Ground

Rem

False Swipe

—4010040Normal

Rem

Metal Claw

—509535Steel

Rem

Mud-Slap

D2010010Ground

Transfer Moves

Gen

Gen 4

Air Cutter

D609525Flying

Gen 4

Captivate

——10020Normal

Gen 4

Defog

C——15Flying

Gen 3

Double-Edge

C12010015Normal

Gen 3

Mimic

———10Normal

Gen 4

Natural Gift

D—10015Normal

Gen 4

Ominous Wind

—601005Ghost

Gen 4

String Shot

——9540Bug

Gen 4

Swift

—60—20Normal

How to Get Ninjask in X & Y

Ninjask doesn't appear wild. Catch Nincada instead, it shows up at decent rates. Evolve it at level 20 to get Ninjask. The 2-stage line is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Ninjask in X & Y

Step 1Catch Nincada
Route 6
YGrass Lv.12 Route
UncommonEarly
Tall grass only
Route 6
XGrass Lv.12 Route
UncommonEarly
Tall grass only
Train until Level 20
Step 2Ninjask ✓

Ninjask Guide

In X & Y, Don't let Ninjask's 456 base stat total fool you. Speed Boost is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it B-Tier as a pivot. Protect with Focus Sash is the standard set.
In X & Y, watch for Golem (Rock), Charizard (Fire), and Raikou (Electric) when using Ninjask. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Golem is the most dangerous since Rock moves deal 4x damage. Ice and Flying-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter. Ninjask's base 160 Speed lets it outpace many threats and strike first, which matters more than trying to tank hits.
In X & Y, Run Speed Boost on Ninjask. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Ninjask also gets Infiltrator, but they don't compare.
In X & Y, Ninjask fills the pivot role. It's a special attacker with base 50 Sp. Atk. Base 160 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. And it's fragile, can't afford to take many hits.
In X & Y, run Protect, Swords Dance, Round, and Baton Pass on Ninjask. Protect is the most common pick at 23% usage. This set covers the pivot role with a mix of damage and utility.

Game Availability

Ninjask first appeared in Ruby & Sapphire and has been available in 14 games across 8 generations. Obtainable through wild encounters in most titles where it appears.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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