Is Ekans Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Jessie's partner Pokemon in Yellow, but you can't catch one yourself. Trade from Red if you want an Ekans, though Poison typing still doesn't threaten anything important in the game.
Brock's Pokemon outpace and outclass Ekans here.
Misty's typing presses Ekans's defenses.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Arbok trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Arbok has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Your Ekans should hit Level 22 before you reach Lt. Surge, at typical leveling pace.
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody Slam85100%15
- LV 27NormalGlare—100%30
- After Erika
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- TM40NormalSkull Bash130100%10
- TM10NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- After Koga
- TM26GroundEarthquake100100%10
- HM04NormalStrength80100%15
How to Get Ekans in Yellow
Ekans can't be caught in Yellow. Transfer Ekans from Red & Blue, Gold & Silver, or Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and evolve through the 2-stage line to get it. The step cards below map the full chain.
How to Obtain Ekans in Y
Step 1Ekans ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom Red & BlueAvailableCatch in Red & Blue via Walking · Route 9, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Gift · Goldenrod City · 700 Coins. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Walking · Route 42. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenNot TradeableAppears in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Route 11. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Walking · Route 212 · Dual-slot: FireRed. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Walking · Route 212 · Dual-slot: FireRed. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Gift · Goldenrod City · 700 Coins. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
Step 2Evolve into Arbok
Ekans Weakness
Ekans's Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground, Psychic, and Bug. Not too many gaps in the chart, 3 weaknesses to account for.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground, Psychic, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Poison |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Ekans Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Ekans
 Geodude RockGround | C | |
 Sandshrew Ground | C | |
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Kadabra builds →Confusion 2x109-130%KO Dig 2x61-73% | ||
 Paras BugGrass | C | |
 Butterfree Bug | C | |
Geodude RockGround | C | |
Sandshrew Ground | C | |
Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ekans View Kadabra builds →Confusion 2x109-130%KO Dig 2x61-73% | ||
Paras BugGrass | C | |
Butterfree Bug | C | |
Ekans Evolutions
A Poison type with 274 stats, Ekans has a chain leading to Arbok. Breeding won't work. The evolved forms gain up to 174 total stats over Ekans. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
Y Ekans Best Moveset
Poison typing finds nothing to hit in a format where Psychic-types sit at the top and Poison attacks deal unresisted damage to nearly everything. The stats need Arbok's modest improvements before anything starts working.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Wrap
- Mega Drain
- Substitute
- Rock Slide
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Ekans's Normal and Dark coverage and more all comes from technical machines, built on top of Acid and Poison Sting for same-type damage. Double-Edge and Earthquake are the payoff moves.
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
The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
Ekans Yellow Guide
Ekans isn't catchable in Yellow. Catch one in Red, then trade it to Yellow.
In Yellow, 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.
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
- Gen 1RBDebut
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 5BW
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