Ekans Pokemon Guide

Pokemon Guide

Ekans Pokemon Guide

Ekans is a classic Poison-type Pokemon from the Kanto region, known for its snake-like body, status moves, poison attacks and evolution into Arbok. This guide covers Ekans stats, best moves, abilities, evolution, shiny form, typing, weaknesses, locations and current game availability.

Normal Form

Ekans

Shiny Form

Shiny Ekans

Last Updated: May 2026 | Page Status: This Ekans guide supports current Pokemon games and future updates. Location, moves and availability details will be updated as new Pokemon game data becomes available.

Ekans Guide Contents

Description	Quick Facts
Stats	Best Moves
All Moves	Weaknesses
Evolution	Locations
Abilities	FAQ

Ekans Description

Ekans is a Poison-type Pokemon introduced in Generation 1. It is known for coiling its body, flicking its tongue to sense danger and evolving into Arbok starting at Level 22.

Competitive Overview

Is Ekans Good in Competitive?

Ekans is usually more of an early-game or lower-tier Pokemon than a high-level competitive pick. Its access to Intimidate, Shed Skin and status moves can be useful, but its low overall stats make it difficult to use against fully evolved Pokemon.

Ekans is most valuable when it uses utility such as Glare, Poison-type pressure and coverage moves before evolving into Arbok at Level 22.

Ekans Quick Facts

Here are the key facts to know about Ekans, including its type, abilities, height, weight and species information.

Name

Ekans

National Dex

#0023

Type

Poison

Species

Snake Pokemon

Height

6’07” / 2.0 m

200 cm

Weight

15.2 lbs / 6.9 kg

6.9 kg

Abilities

Intimidate, Shed Skin, Unnerve

Ekans Stats

Ekans has modest early-game stats, with Attack and Speed standing out compared to its bulk. It is usually strongest before evolving or when using support moves like Glare.

Attack

Defense

Special Attack

Special Defense

Speed

Ekans Best Moves Across Pokemon Games

Ekans uses Poison-type attacks, status moves and coverage options to pressure opponents. These are some of Ekans most useful and recognizable moves across Pokemon games.

Poison Jab

A reliable physical Poison-type attack that gives Ekans useful same-type damage and a chance to poison.

Gunk Shot

A very powerful Poison-type move that gives Ekans its strongest direct poison damage in games where it can learn it.

Sludge Bomb

A strong special Poison-type option that can be useful when Ekans needs ranged poison coverage.

Crunch

A Dark-type coverage move that helps Ekans pressure Psychic and Ghost-type Pokemon.

Earthquake

A powerful Ground-type coverage move that helps Ekans hit Rock, Steel, Poison, Fire and Electric-type Pokemon.

Bulldoze

A Ground-type attack that can lower Speed, helping Ekans control slower battles.

Poison Fang

A biting Poison-type move that can badly poison targets in games where the effect is available.

Glare

A signature-style utility move for the Ekans line that paralyzes targets and supports slower teammates.

Ekans All Moves

Ekans can learn different moves across Pokemon games, including Poison, Dark, Ground, Normal and utility options. Use the section below to view Ekans move list by learn method.

Move data shown from: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Level-Up Moves

Level	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
1	Leer	Normal	Status	–	100
1	Wrap	Normal	Physical	15	90
4	Poison Sting	Poison	Physical	15	100
9	Bite	Dark	Physical	60	100
12	Glare	Normal	Status	–	100
17	Screech	Normal	Status	–	85
20	Acid	Poison	Special	40	100
25	Spit Up	Normal	Special	–	100
25	Stockpile	Normal	Status	–	–
25	Swallow	Normal	Status	–	–
28	Acid Spray	Poison	Special	40	100
33	Sludge Bomb	Poison	Special	90	100
36	Gastro Acid	Poison	Status	–	100
38	Belch	Poison	Special	120	90
41	Haze	Ice	Status	–	–
44	Coil	Poison	Status	–	–
49	Gunk Shot	Poison	Physical	120	80

TM Moves

Method	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
TM	Acid Spray	Poison	Special	40	100
TM	Crunch	Dark	Physical	80	100
TM	Dark Pulse	Dark	Special	80	100
TM	Dig	Ground	Physical	80	100
TM	Double Edge	Normal	Physical	120	100
TM	Earthquake	Ground	Physical	100	100
TM	Endure	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Facade	Normal	Physical	70	100
TM	Fire Fang	Fire	Physical	65	95
TM	Giga Drain	Grass	Special	75	100
TM	Gunk Shot	Poison	Physical	120	80
TM	Haze	Ice	Status	–	–
TM	Knock Off	Dark	Physical	65	100
TM	Lash Out	Dark	Physical	75	100
TM	Leech Life	Bug	Physical	80	100
TM	Mud Shot	Ground	Special	55	95
TM	Mud Slap	Ground	Special	20	100
TM	Poison Jab	Poison	Physical	80	100
TM	Poison Tail	Poison	Physical	50	100
TM	Protect	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Psychic Fangs	Psychic	Physical	85	100
TM	Rain Dance	Water	Status	–	–
TM	Rest	Psychic	Status	–	–
TM	Rock Slide	Rock	Physical	75	90
TM	Rock Tomb	Rock	Physical	60	95
TM	Scale Shot	Dragon	Physical	25	90
TM	Scary Face	Normal	Status	–	100
TM	Seed Bomb	Grass	Physical	80	100
TM	Skitter Smack	Bug	Physical	70	90
TM	Sleep Talk	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Sludge Bomb	Poison	Special	90	100
TM	Sludge Wave	Poison	Special	95	100
TM	Snarl	Dark	Special	55	95
TM	Spite	Ghost	Status	–	100
TM	Substitute	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Sunny Day	Fire	Status	–	–
TM	Take Down	Normal	Physical	90	85
TM	Tera Blast	Normal	Special	80	100
TM	Thief	Dark	Physical	60	100
TM	Toxic	Poison	Status	–	90
TM	Toxic Spikes	Poison	Status	–	–
TM	Trailblaze	Grass	Physical	50	100
TM	Venoshock	Poison	Special	65	100

Egg Moves

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Poison Fang	Poison	Physical	50	100
Poison Tail	Poison	Physical	50	100
Scary Face	Normal	Status	–	100
Spite	Ghost	Status	–	100
Sucker Punch	Dark	Physical	70	100
Switcheroo	Dark	Status	–	100

Ekans Typing, Weaknesses and Resistances

Ekans is a Poison-type Pokemon. This gives it useful resistances to Fighting, Poison, Bug, Grass and Fairy-type moves, but it is weak to Ground and Psychic-type attacks.

Type

Poison

Weaknesses

Ground and Psychic

Resistances

Fighting, Poison, Bug, Grass and Fairy

Immunity

None

Ekans Abilities

Ekans abilities help it lower enemy Attack, recover from status conditions or stop opposing Pokemon from eating Berries in games where its hidden ability is available.

Intimidate

Lowers the opposing Pokemon Attack stat when Ekans enters battle. This can help Ekans and its teammates survive physical attacks.

Shed Skin

Gives Ekans a chance to cure its own status conditions. This can help against poison, paralysis, burn and sleep depending on the game.

Unnerve

Prevents opposing Pokemon from eating held Berries. Unnerve is Ekans hidden ability in games where hidden abilities are available.

Ekans Evolution

Ekans evolves into Arbok starting at Level 22. The full Ekans evolution line is Ekans and Arbok.

Stage 1

Ekans

Poison type Pokemon icon

Starting form

Stage 2

Arbok

Poison type Pokemon icon

Evolves from Ekans at Level 22

Where to Find Ekans in Pokemon Games

Ekans availability changes depending on the Pokemon game. In many games, it can be caught on specific routes, while other games require trading, transfer support or evolving from another source.

Generation 1: Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Red	Routes 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 23.
Pokemon Blue	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Yellow	Trade or migrate from another game.

Generation 2: Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Gold	Goldenrod City.
Pokemon Silver	Routes 3, 4, 32 and 33.
Pokemon Crystal	Routes 3, 4, 26, 27, 32, 33 and 42, and Azalea Town.

Generation 3: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Ruby	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Sapphire	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Emerald	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon FireRed	Routes 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 23.
Pokemon LeafGreen	Trade or migrate from another game.

Generation 4: Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Diamond	Route 212.
Pokemon Pearl	Route 212.
Pokemon Platinum	Route 212.
Pokemon HeartGold	Goldenrod City.
Pokemon SoulSilver	Routes 3, 4, 32 and 33.

Generation 5: Black, White, Black 2 and White 2

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Black	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon White	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Black 2	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon White 2	Trade or migrate from another game.

Generation 6: X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon X	Route 14.
Pokemon Y	Route 14.
Pokemon Omega Ruby	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Alpha Sapphire	Trade or migrate from another game.

Generation 7: Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon and Let’s Go

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Sun	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Moon	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Ultra Sun	Route 2.
Pokemon Ultra Moon	Route 2.
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee	Routes 3 and 4.

Generation 8: Sword, Shield, Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl and Legends: Arceus

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Sword	Not available in this game.
Pokemon Shield	Not available in this game.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond	Grassland Cave, Swampy Cave, Riverbank Cave, Still-Water Cavern, Sunlit Cavern and Bogsunk Cavern.
Pokemon Shining Pearl	Trade or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus	Not available in this game.

Generation 9: Scarlet, Violet and Legends Z-A

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Scarlet	Found in Kitakami, including Apple Hills, Crystal Pool, Mossfell Confluence and other areas around Kitakami.
Pokemon Violet	Found in Kitakami, including Apple Hills, Crystal Pool, Mossfell Confluence and other areas around Kitakami.
Pokemon Legends Z-A	Found in Wild Zone 4 during the day. Also available in Lysandre Labs, with Alpha Ekans possible in Lysandre Labs.

Generation 10: Pokemon Winds and Waves

Game	Where to Find Ekans
Pokemon Winds and Waves	Coming soon once official location, encounter or transfer information is confirmed.

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Ekans FAQ

Here are quick answers to common questions about Ekans. This FAQ is visible on-page content only and does not use FAQ schema markup.

What type is Ekans?

Ekans is a Poison-type Pokemon.

What is Ekans weak against?

Ekans is weak to Ground and Psychic-type moves.

What does Ekans evolve into?

Ekans evolves into Arbok starting at Level 22.

What are Ekans abilities?

Ekans abilities are Intimidate, Shed Skin and Unnerve. Unnerve is its hidden ability in games where hidden abilities are available.

What are Ekans best moves?

Ekans best moves often include Poison Jab, Gunk Shot, Sludge Bomb, Crunch, Earthquake, Bulldoze, Poison Fang and Glare.

Is Ekans good in Pokemon?

Ekans can be useful during early-game playthroughs and lower-tier formats, but it usually works best when evolved into Arbok.

How do you get Ekans?

Ekans can be caught in several games, including Pokemon Red, FireRed, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon, Let’s Go Eevee, Brilliant Diamond, Scarlet, Violet and Pokemon Legends Z-A. In other games, it may require trading or transfer support.

Does Ekans have a Mega Evolution or regional form?

No. Ekans does not have a Mega Evolution, Gigantamax form, regional form or other major alternate form in the official games.

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Ekans Pokemon Guide