Is Bouffalant Good in Sword & Shield Playthrough?
Bouffalant appears on Route 10 and the Wild Area. Normal type with AbilitySap Sipper giving Grass immunity and a free Attack boost. 110 Attack with Head Charge is strong, though the recoil adds up. AbilityReckless boosts recoil moves further. A straightforward physical Normal-type that hits hard and takes recoil.
Bouffalant has the type edge here and should clean up Milo's team.
Bouffalant has the type edge here and should clean up Nessa's team.
Bouffalant has the type edge here and should clean up Kabu's team.
Bouffalant trades roughly evenly with Bea's team.
Bouffalant trades roughly evenly with Opal's team.
Bouffalant trades roughly evenly with Gordie's team.
Bouffalant has the type edge here and should clean up Piers's team.
Bouffalant trades roughly evenly with Raihan's team.
Bouffalant trades roughly evenly with Bede's team.
Bouffalant trades roughly evenly with Leon's team.
Catch Bouffalant on Soothing Wetlands (overworld, Lv 10-15). Snowstorm.
Sword & Shield Bouffalant Locations
moderate rates across 18 encounter spots for Bouffalant. That's the kind of hunt where you pick one location and settle in. Sort by Best below to see where the odds are highest.
Best Locations to Catch Bouffalant in Sword & Shield
You can catch Bouffalant through 9 walking encounters from Lv. 10-15, but availability differs between Shield and Sword. Some spots are exclusive to one version.
Bouffalant Weakness
Type-wise, Bouffalant takes extra damage from Fighting. Ghost moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. Sap Sipper grants an additional Grass immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Bouffalant's overall bulk (95/95/95) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fighting |
| 0x (Immune) | Ghost |
What is Bouffalant Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Bouffalant
 Hitmonchan Fighting | C | |
 Pancham Fighting | D | |
 Machop Fighting | C | |
 Croagunk PoisonFighting | D | |
 Timburr Fighting | C | |
 Passimian Fighting | C | |
Hitmonchan Fighting | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Hitmonchan builds →Focus Punch 2x108-127%KO | ||
 Pangoro FightingDark | C | |
 Bewear NormalFighting | C | |
 Gurdurr Fighting | C | |
 Hawlucha Fighting | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Hawlucha builds →High Jump Kick 2x85-101%KO | ||
Passimian Fighting | C | |
Hitmonchan Fighting | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Hitmonchan builds →Focus Punch 2x109-128%KO | ||
Timburr Fighting | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Timburr builds →Focus Punch 2x87-102%KO | ||
Bewear NormalFighting | C | |
Passimian Fighting | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Passimian builds →Close Combat 2x97-114%KO | ||
 Kommo-o DragonFighting | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Kommo-o builds →Close Combat 2x90-106%KO | ||
Gurdurr Fighting | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Gurdurr builds →Focus Punch 2x108-127%KO | ||
 Heracross BugFighting | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Heracross builds →Close Combat 2x101-119%KO | ||
 Gallade PsychicFighting | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Gallade builds →Close Combat 2x101-119%KO | ||
In Sword & Shield, Conkeldurr's Drain Punch hits Bouffalant for 76-89%.
 Conkeldurr Fighting | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityGuts ItemFlame Orb NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Bouffalant View Conkeldurr builds →Mach Punch 2x41-48% Drain Punch 2x76-89% Knock Off22-26% Facade23-28% | ||
Bouffalant Evolutions
No evolution chain to worry about here. Bouffalant is a standalone Pokemon with a massive partner pool for breeding through one egg group. Eggs come out average hatch time. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
SwSh Bouffalant Best Moveset
110 Attack and 95 in both defenses with AbilitySap Sipper absorbing Grass moves for a free Attack boost. Normal TermStab with AbilityReckless powering MoveHead Charge is the alternate offensive path. The moveset has physical bulk and decent power. E-tier because 55 Speed goes second and Normal coverage has no super-effective targets.
Best Build
Bouffalant best EVs are HP and Attack
Physical Wallbreaker Moveset
- Close Combat
- Head Charge
- Wild Charge
- Throat Chop
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Hard to wall, honestly. Bouffalant threatens 11 types beyond its own STAB, with Fighting and Dark standing out. Pair that with Giga Impact and Skull Bash and switchins need to think twice.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
These Pokémon can crush a car with no more than a headbutt. Bouffalant with more hair on their heads hold higher positions within the herd.
These Pokémon live in herds of about 20 individuals. Bouffalant that betray the herd will lose the hair on their heads for some reason.
Bouffalant Sword & Shield Guide
In Sword & Shield, Bouffalant looks average on paper at 490 BST. But Sap Sipper is why it sees play. Build around that and it pulls its weight. C-Tier tank on our tier list. Close Combat with Choice Band is the standard set.
In Sword & Shield, Bouffalant's biggest threats include Hitmonlee (Fighting), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.
Bouffalant gets Sap Sipper, Reckless, and Soundproof. But Sap Sipper is the one that matters. It's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.
Bouffalant is a physical attacker with base 110 Attack. Tanky enough to absorb a few hits, too. Speed tells the real story. At base 55 Speed, it won't be moving first often. Fits the tank role.
For Sword & Shield, the core moveset is Close Combat, Headcharge, Wild Charge, and Throatchop. Close Combat leads at 0% usage. This set covers the tank role with a mix of damage and utility.
Game Availability
Since Black & White, Bouffalant has been obtainable in 7 games. A Generation 5 debut means a shorter history, but Bouffalant has appeared steadily across every generation since.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BWDebut
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves