Is Huntail Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Physical Water attacker from Clamperl trade. Outclassed by Gyarados and Crawdaunt. Not worth the trade evolution hassle.
Clamperl resists most of Roark's coverage and hits back hard.
Gardenia's team hits Clamperl's weaknesses hard.
Clamperl trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's typing presses Clamperl's defenses.
Fantina's team hits Clamperl's weaknesses hard.
Clamperl has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Candice's team hits Clamperl's weaknesses hard.
Volkner's team hits Clamperl's weaknesses hard.
Huntail has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Gorebyss has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Aaron:
Huntail has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Gorebyss has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Bertha:
Huntail has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Gorebyss has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Flint:
Huntail has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Gorebyss trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Lucian:
Huntail trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Gorebyss trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Cynthia:
Catch Clamperl on Route 219 (Super Rod fishing, Lv 20-30, uncommon).
Most players are ready to trade before reaching Aaron.
Most players are ready to trade before reaching Aaron.
How to Get Huntail in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
A trade step sits in Huntail's 2-stage line from Clamperl. The step cards below map each stage with catch locations and evolution methods. Clamperl shows up at moderate rates, so the starting catch is the easy part.
How to Obtain Huntail in BDSP
The path to Huntail starts with Clamperl at Lv. 20-63 via walking and fishing encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Catch ClamperlRoute 219Lv.20-30Super RodRate 5%Route 221Lv.20-30Super RodRate 5%Fountainspring CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameRiverbank CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameStill-Water CavernLv.58-63CavePost-game
Step 2Huntail ✓
Huntail Weakness
Huntail's Water typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric and Grass. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Huntail's physical bulk (base 105 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
What is Huntail Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Huntail
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
 Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Rillaboom's U-turn hits Huntail for 47-55%. Regieleki threatens a KO with Thunderbolt (187-220%).
 Rillaboom Grass | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityGrassy Surge ItemChoice Band NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Huntail View Rillaboom builds →Knock Off43-51% U Turn47-55% | ||
 Regieleki Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTransistor ItemChoice Specs NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Huntail View Regieleki builds →Volt Switch 2x145-171%KO Thunderbolt 2x187-220%KO Rapid Spin13-15% | ||
Huntail Evolutions
Out of 2 evolutions from Clamperl, Huntail comes from the trade route. The method you use determines which form you end up with. Breed through Clamperl to get eggs. Both Huntail and Gorebyss hit 485 total stats from Clamperl. The difference is how those stats are split. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Huntail to get Clamperl eggs easily using 69 partners from the Water1 egg group. Notable egg moves include Aqua Ring, Body Slam, Confuse Ray and 2 more.
BDSP Huntail Best Moveset
104 Attack with AbilitySwift Swim doubling 52 Speed in rain. Water TermStab behind that Attack in rain gives the moveset physical presence. But 55/105/75 across HP, Defense, and Sp. Def at that base Speed limit it outside rain. Rain-dependent physical Water attacker.
Best Build
No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Aqua Ring and Body Slam from the egg pool give Huntail something extra.
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
It lives deep in the sea. With a tail shaped like a small fish, it attracts unsuspecting prey.
Huntail Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Swift Swim changes the entire equation for Huntail. The 485 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier as an attacker.
No. Huntail is not catchable in the wild. It only comes from trade-evolving Clamperl. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Clamperl to a friend, then have them trade it back. The 2026 Switch re-release supports the same trade through local wireless on the Pokemon Center 2F Wireless Club, with no cables required. The Deep Sea Tooth must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
Swift Swim is what you want on Huntail. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Water Veil) work on paper but Swift Swim is what makes Huntail worth using.
At base 52 Speed, it won't be moving first often. On offense, Huntail is a mixed attacker with base 104 Attack and 94 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as an attacker.
Game Availability
Obtainable through a trade evolution, Huntail appears in 13 titles across 8 generations since Ruby & Sapphire. The evolution method adds a barrier that wild-catchable Pokemon don't have.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
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