Empoleon Pokemon Guide

Pokemon Guide

Empoleon Pokemon Guide

Empoleon is a Water and Steel-type Pokemon known for its emperor-like design, strong Special Attack, many resistances and evolution from Prinplup. This guide covers Empoleon’s stats, best moves, abilities, evolution, shiny form, typing, weaknesses, locations and general competitive information.

Normal Form

Empoleon

Shiny Form

Shiny Empoleon

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

Empoleon Guide Contents

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

Empoleon Description

Empoleon is the final evolution of Piplup and Prinplup. It evolves from Prinplup starting at Level 36 and is the only Water and Steel-type starter final evolution.

Competitive Overview

Is Empoleon Good in Competitive?

Empoleon can be a useful competitive Pokemon because of its unique Water and Steel typing, good Special Attack and many resistances. It can function as a special attacker, defensive utility Pokemon or hazard-focused support option depending on the format.

Empoleon’s biggest strengths are its typing, access to strong Water and Steel-type moves, and resistance profile. Its main weaknesses are Electric, Fighting and Ground-type attacks.

Empoleon Quick Facts

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

Name

Empoleon

National Dex

#0395

Type

Water / Steel

Species

Emperor Pokemon

Height

5’07” / 1.7 m

170 cm

Weight

186.3 lbs / 84.5 kg

84.5 kg

Abilities

Torrent, Competitive

Empoleon Stats

Empoleon has strong Special Attack and good defensive stats. Its typing gives it many resistances, but it must watch out for common Electric, Fighting and Ground coverage.

Attack

Defense

Special Attack

111

Special Defense

101

Speed

Empoleon Best Moves Across Pokemon Games

Empoleon can use Water, Steel, Ice, Flying and support moves across Pokemon games. These are some of Empoleon’s most useful and recognizable moves.

Water type Pokemon icon

Hydro Pump

A powerful Water-type special attack with major damage potential.

Water type Pokemon icon

Surf

A reliable Water-type attack that gives Empoleon consistent special damage.

Steel type Pokemon icon

Flash Cannon

A dependable Steel-type special attack and one of Empoleon’s key STAB options.

Steel type Pokemon icon

Steel Beam

A very strong Steel-type attack in games where Empoleon has access to it.

Ice type Pokemon icon

Ice Beam

Coverage against Dragon, Flying, Grass and Ground-type Pokemon.

Flying type Pokemon icon

Roost

A recovery option in games where Empoleon has access to it.

Dark type Pokemon icon

Knock Off

Useful utility coverage that can remove opposing held items in supported games.

Normal type Pokemon icon

Protect

A flexible defensive move that helps Empoleon scout attacks or gain extra turns.

Empoleon All Moves

Empoleon can learn Water, Steel, Ice, Flying, Normal, Dark and support moves across different Pokemon games. Use the section below to view Empoleon’s move list by learn method.

Move data shown from: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Level-Up Moves

Level	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Start	Aqua Jet	Water	Physical	40	100
1	Growl	Normal	Status	–	100
1	Metal Claw	Steel	Physical	50	95
1	Tackle	Normal	Physical	40	100
1	Water Gun	Water	Special	40	100
11	Swords Dance	Normal	Status	–	–
15	Peck	Flying	Physical	35	100
19	Bubble Beam	Water	Special	65	100
24	Swagger	Normal	Status	–	85
28	Fury Attack	Normal	Physical	15	85
33	Brine	Water	Special	65	100
39	Whirlpool	Water	Special	35	85
46	Mist	Ice	Status	–	–
52	Drill Peck	Flying	Physical	80	100
59	Hydro Pump	Water	Special	110	80
66	Wave Crash	Water	Physical	120	100

TM Moves

Method	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
TM	Aerial Ace	Flying	Physical	60	–
TM	Agility	Psychic	Status	–	–
TM	Air Cutter	Flying	Special	60	95
TM	Air Slash	Flying	Special	75	95
TM	Avalanche	Ice	Physical	60	100
TM	Blizzard	Ice	Special	110	70
TM	Body Slam	Normal	Physical	85	100
TM	Brick Break	Fighting	Physical	75	100
TM	Bulldoze	Ground	Physical	60	100
TM	Charm	Fairy	Status	–	100
TM	Chilling Water	Water	Special	50	100
TM	Disarming Voice	Fairy	Special	40	–
TM	Double Edge	Normal	Physical	120	100
TM	Dual Wingbeat	Flying	Physical	40	90
TM	Earthquake	Ground	Physical	100	100
TM	Endure	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Facade	Normal	Physical	70	100
TM	False Swipe	Normal	Physical	40	100
TM	Feather Dance	Flying	Status	–	100
TM	Flash Cannon	Steel	Special	80	100
TM	Fling	Dark	Physical	–	100
TM	Flip Turn	Water	Physical	60	100
TM	Giga Impact	Normal	Physical	150	90
TM	Grass Knot	Grass	Special	–	100
TM	Haze	Ice	Status	–	–
TM	Helping Hand	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Hydro Cannon	Water	Special	150	90
TM	Hydro Pump	Water	Special	110	80
TM	Hyper Beam	Normal	Special	150	90
TM	Ice Beam	Ice	Special	90	100
TM	Ice Spinner	Ice	Physical	80	100
TM	Icy Wind	Ice	Special	55	95
TM	Iron Defense	Steel	Status	–	–
TM	Knock Off	Dark	Physical	65	100
TM	Lash Out	Dark	Physical	75	100
TM	Liquidation	Water	Physical	85	100
TM	Metal Claw	Steel	Physical	50	95
TM	Metal Sound	Steel	Status	–	85
TM	Mud Slap	Ground	Special	20	100
TM	Protect	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Psych Up	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Rain Dance	Water	Status	–	–
TM	Rest	Psychic	Status	–	–
TM	Roar	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Rock Slide	Rock	Physical	75	90
TM	Rock Tomb	Rock	Physical	60	95
TM	Scary Face	Normal	Status	–	100
TM	Shadow Claw	Ghost	Physical	70	100
TM	Sleep Talk	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Snowscape	Ice	Status	0	–
TM	Stealth Rock	Rock	Status	–	–
TM	Steel Beam	Steel	Special	140	95
TM	Substitute	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Surf	Water	Special	90	100
TM	Swift	Normal	Special	60	–
TM	Swords Dance	Normal	Status	–	–
TM	Take Down	Normal	Physical	90	85
TM	Tera Blast	Normal	Special	80	100
TM	Throat Chop	Dark	Physical	80	100
TM	Triple Axel	Ice	Physical	20	90
TM	Uproar	Normal	Special	90	100
TM	Vacuum Wave	Fighting	Special	40	100
TM	Water Pledge	Water	Special	80	100
TM	Water Pulse	Water	Special	60	100
TM	Waterfall	Water	Physical	80	100
TM	Weather Ball	Normal	Special	50	100
TM	Whirlpool	Water	Special	35	85

Egg Moves

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Aqua Ring	Water	Status	–	–
Feather Dance	Flying	Status	–	100
Power Trip	Dark	Physical	20	100
Roost	Flying	Status	–	–
Snore	Normal	Special	50	100
Supersonic	Normal	Status	–	55
Yawn	Normal	Status	–	–

Empoleon Typing, Weaknesses and Resistances

Empoleon is a Water and Steel-type Pokemon. This gives it many useful resistances and a Poison immunity, but it is weak to Electric, Fighting and Ground-type attacks.

Type

Water / Steel

Weaknesses

Electric, Fighting and Ground

Resistances

Normal, Flying, Rock, Bug, Steel, Water, Psychic, Ice, Dragon and Fairy

Immunity

Poison

Empoleon Abilities

Empoleon’s abilities support its Water-type attacks or punish opposing stat drops depending on the game and format.

Torrent

Powers up Empoleon’s Water-type moves when its HP is low. This can make Surf, Hydro Pump and other Water attacks much more threatening.

Competitive

Raises Empoleon’s Special Attack when an opposing Pokemon lowers one of its stats. This can punish Intimidate and other stat-lowering effects in supported games.

Empoleon Evolution

Empoleon evolves from Prinplup starting at Level 36. Prinplup evolves from Piplup starting at Level 16.

Stage 1

Piplup

Starting form

Stage 2

Prinplup

Evolves from Piplup at Level 16

Stage 3

Empoleon

Evolves from Prinplup at Level 36

Where to Find Empoleon in Pokemon Games

Empoleon availability changes depending on the Pokemon game.

Generation 1: Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon Red	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.
Pokemon Blue	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.
Pokemon Yellow	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.

Generation 2: Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon Gold	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.
Pokemon Silver	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.
Pokemon Crystal	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.

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

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon Ruby	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.
Pokemon Sapphire	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.
Pokemon Emerald	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.
Pokemon FireRed	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.
Pokemon LeafGreen	Not available because Empoleon had not been introduced yet.

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

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon Diamond	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.
Pokemon Pearl	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.
Pokemon Platinum	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.
Pokemon HeartGold	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.
Pokemon SoulSilver	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.

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

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon Black	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.
Pokemon White	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Black 2	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.
Pokemon White 2	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.

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

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon X	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Y	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Omega Ruby	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.
Pokemon Alpha Sapphire	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.

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

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon Sun	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Moon	Trade, transfer or migrate from another game.
Pokemon Ultra Sun	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.
Pokemon Ultra Moon	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu	Not available in this game.
Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee	Not available in this game.

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

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon Sword	Not available in this game.
Pokemon Shield	Not available in this game.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.
Pokemon Shining Pearl	Evolve Piplup or Prinplup.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus	Islespy Shore.

Generation 9: Scarlet, Violet and Legends Z-A

Game	Where to Find Empoleon
Pokemon Scarlet	Evolve Prinplup in The Indigo Disk or transfer from Pokemon HOME.
Pokemon Violet	Evolve Prinplup in The Indigo Disk or transfer from Pokemon HOME.
Pokemon Legends Z-A	Location data not yet available.

Generation 10: Pokemon Winds and Waves

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

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Empoleon FAQ

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

What type is Empoleon?

Empoleon is a Water / Steel-type Pokemon.

What is Empoleon weak against?

Empoleon is weak to Electric, Fighting and Ground-type moves.

What does Empoleon evolve from?

Empoleon evolves from Prinplup starting at Level 36. Prinplup evolves from Piplup starting at Level 16.

What are Empoleon’s abilities?

Empoleon’s abilities are Torrent, Competitive.

What are Empoleon’s best moves?

Empoleon’s best moves often include Hydro Pump, Surf, Flash Cannon, Steel Beam, Ice Beam, Roost, Knock Off and Protect.

Is Empoleon good in Pokemon?

How do you get Empoleon?

Empoleon availability changes depending on the Pokemon game.

Does Empoleon have a Mega Evolution?

No, Empoleon does not have a Mega Evolution, Gigantamax form or major alternate form in the main Pokemon games.

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Empoleon Pokemon Guide