Is Nincada Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Route 116 catch. AbilityCompound Eyes boosts accuracy. The evolution at 20 is unique: Ninjask appears in your party and Shedinja appears in an empty slot. Two Pokemon from one evolution. Nincada itself is filler until this split happens.
Nincada trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Nincada trades roughly evenly with Brawly's team.
Wattson's team hits Ninjask's weaknesses hard.
Wattson's team hits Shedinja's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wattson:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Flannery:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Norman's team hits Shedinja's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Norman:
Winona's team hits Ninjask's weaknesses hard.
Winona's Pokemon outpace and outclass Shedinja here.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Winona:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Tate & Liza:
Ninjask has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wallace:
Ninjask resists most of Sidney's coverage and hits back hard.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Sidney:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Phoebe:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Glacia:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Drake's team hits Shedinja's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Drake:
Ninjask trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Shedinja trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Steven:
Catch Nincada on Route 116 (walking, Lv 6-7, uncommon).
- STARTING (Lv 6)
- LV 6BugLeech Life120100%10
- After Brawly
- TM43NormalSecret Power70100%20
- After Wattson
- TM06PoisonToxic—90%10
- After Norman
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
- After Winona
- TM22GrassSolar Beam120100%10
- TM30GhostShadow Ball80100%15
- TM19GrassGiga Drain75100%10
- LV 45GroundDig120100%10
Your Nincada should hit Level 20 before you reach Wattson, at typical leveling pace.
- STARTING (Lv 20)
- LV 20BugLeech Life120100%10
- After Wattson
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- After Norman
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
- After Winona
- TM40FlyingAerial Ace90100%20
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- TM22GrassSolar Beam120100%10
- TM30GhostShadow Ball80100%15
- TM19GrassGiga Drain75100%10
Your Nincada should hit Level 20 before you reach Wattson, at typical leveling pace.
- STARTING (Lv 20)
- LV 20BugLeech Life120100%10
- After Wattson
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- TM06PoisonToxic—90%10
- After Norman
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
- After Winona
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- TM22GrassSolar Beam120100%10
- TM19GrassGiga Drain75100%10
- LV 38GhostShadow Ball120100%15
How to Get Nincada in Ruby & Sapphire
decent spawn rates for Nincada across 2 locations in early-game routes. Nothing complicated. Check the sorted list below, compare the top few options, and head to whichever is closest.
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Water, Ice, Flying |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fighting, Poison, Ground |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Nincada Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Nincada
 Mudkip Water | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift | ||
 Taillow Normal | C | |
 Wingull Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvergrande City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Wingull builds →Water Gun 2x74-87% Wing Attack 2x39-47% | ||
 Torchic Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift | ||
 Surskit BugWater | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 102 Surfing | ||
 Combusken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Combusken builds →Overheat 2x294-346%KO Peck 2x26-31% | ||
 Skarmory Steel | A | |
 Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvergrande City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x218-258%KO Ice Beam 2x146-172%KO Wing Attack 2x43-51% | ||
 Torkoal Fire | C | |
 Golbat Poison | C | |
Combusken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Combusken builds →Overheat 2x299-352%KO Peck 2x26-32% | ||
Skarmory Steel | A | |
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvergrande City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x222-261%KO Ice Beam 2x148-174%KO Wing Attack 2x43-52% | ||
Torkoal Fire | C | |
Golbat Poison | C | |
Combusken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Combusken builds →Overheat 2x303-358%KO Aerial Ace 2x44-52% | ||
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Skarmory Steel | A | |
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvergrande City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x223-263%KO Ice Beam 2x148-175%KO Fly 2x52-62% | ||
Torkoal Fire | C | |
 Blaziken FireFighting | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Blaziken builds →Overheat 2x384-452%KO Aerial Ace 2x56-67% | ||
Skarmory Steel | A | |
Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvergrande City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x231-272%KO Ice Beam 2x154-182%KO Fly 2x52-62% | ||
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
Blaziken FireFighting | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Blaziken builds →Overheat 2x379-447%KO Aerial Ace 2x57-67% | ||
Skarmory Steel | A | |
Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Pelipper Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvergrande City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Pelipper builds →Surf 2x233-274%KO Ice Beam 2x154-183%KO Fly 2x52-62% | ||
Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Rayquaza Dragon | S | |
Obtain MethodSky Pillar Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Rayquaza builds →Overheat 2x343-404%KO Fly 2x117-139%KO Ice Beam 2x233-274%KO Surf 2x233-274%KO | ||
Blaziken FireFighting | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Blaziken builds →Overheat 2x394-463%KO Aerial Ace 2x54-65% | ||
 Altaria Dragon | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Altaria builds →Sky Attack 2x123-145%KO Fire Blast 2x156-183%KO Ice Beam 2x123-145%KO | ||
Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Skarmory Steel | A | |
In Ruby & Sapphire, Charizard can KO Nincada with Fire Blast (226-266%).
 Charizard Fire | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityBlaze ItemLeftovers NatureHasty Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Charizard builds →Fire Blast 2x226-266%KO | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Nincada View Gyarados builds →Earthquake20-24% | ||
Nincada Evolutions
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
RS Nincada Best Moveset
Bug/Ground pre-evolution with AbilityCompound Eyes boosting accuracy. Evolves into Ninjask (Speed Boost attacker) and simultaneously produces Shedinja (Wonder Guard). Both evolutions are more interesting than the base.
Best Build
Nincada best EVs are Defense and Sp. Def
Wall Moveset
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Ground
- Silver Wind
- Toxic
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Endure and Feint Attack aren't available any other way for Nincada, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Leech Life and Dig for solid options.
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
NINCADA lives underground for many years in complete darkness. This POKéMON absorbs nutrients from the roots of trees. It stays motionless as it waits for evolution.
NINCADA lives underground. It uses its sharp claws to carve the roots of trees and absorb moisture and nutrients. This POKéMON can’t withstand bright sunlight so avoids it.
Nincada Ruby & Sapphire Guide
In Ruby & Sapphire, 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.
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
- 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