It must be said that Pokémon's Ekans isn't particularly impressive. This slithering 'mon might look cute, but that's about as far as its usefulness goes. If you're trying to make it fit onto a team, though (maybe because you love that its name is 'snake' spelled backwards), we can help you out - knowledge is power, and we all know Ekans could use some.
If you're going through the Pokédex to try to find and catch every cutie, you could probably use some Pokémon Go codes or Pokémon Legends: Z-A mystery gift codes, depending on whether you play on your phone or Switch.
Here's everything in our Ekans guide:
Here's the key information you need to know about Ekans:
| National Pokédex # | 0,023 |
| Type | Poison |
| Abilities | Intimidate and Shed Skin |
| Hidden ability | Unnerve |
| Gender ratio | Male - 50% Female - 50% |
| Catch rate | 255 (43.9%) |
| Egg groups | Dragon and Field |
| EV yield | One attack |
Ekans's evolution
Ekans evolves into Arbok at level 22, which is its final evolution.
Ekans's locations
Here are all the locations you can find Ekans in each Pokémon game:
Gen 1 locations
| Red / Blue | Routes 4, 8-11, and 23, Trade |
| Yellow | Trade |
Gen 2 locations
| Gold / Silver | Goldenrod Game Corner, Routes 3, 4, 32, and 33 |
| Crystal | Routes 3, 4, 32, 33, and 42 (morning), Routes 26, 27, 32, 33, and 42, Azalea Town |
Gen 3 locations
| Ruby / Sapphire | Trade, Event |
| Emerald | Trade, Event |
| FireRed / LeafGreen | Routes 4, 8-11, and 23 |
| Colosseum | Trade |
| XD | Trade |
Gen 4 locations
| Diamond / Pearl | Route 212 (dual slot mode with FireRed) |
| Platinum | Route 212 (dual slot mode with FireRed) |
| HeartGold / SoulSilver | Goldenrod Game Corner, Safari Zone - Marshland (morning) |
Gen 5 locations
| Black / White | Poké Transfer |
| Black 2 / White 2 | Poké Transfer |
Gen 6 locations
| X / Y | Route 14 Horde Encounter |
| Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire | Trade |
Gen 7 locations
| Sun / Moon | Trade |
| Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon | Route 2 |
| Let's Go Pikachu / Let's Go Eevee | Trade (Pikachu), Routes 3 and 4 (Eevee) |
Gen 8 locations
| Sword / Shield | Unobtainable |
| Isle of Armor | Unobtainable |
| Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl | Trade (Shining Pearl only), Grand Underground - Grassland Cave, Swampy Cave, Riverbank Cave, Still-Water Cavern, Sunlit Cavern, Bogsunk Cavern (after obtaining National Pokédex) |
| Legends: Arceus | Unobtainable |
Gen 9 locations
| Scarlet / Violet | Trade |
| The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero | Kitakami Road, Apple Hills, Loyalty Plaza, Reveler's Road, Mossfell Confluence, Fellhorn Gorge, Oni Mountain, Wistful Fields, Tera Raid Battles (one or three star) |
| Legends: Z-A | Jaune sectors 2 and 3, Rouge sections 3 and 8, Magenta Sectors 2 and 3, Wild Zone 4, Lysandre Labs |
Ekans's base stats
Ekans's base stats are as follows. As you level it up, these stats grow.
- HP - 35
- Attack - 60
- Defense - 44
- Sp. Atk - 40
- Sp. Def - 54
- Speed - 55
Ekans's type strengths and weaknesses
As a poison-type Pokémon, Ekans has certain types that it's strong against or weak to. While it's not immune to any type, it does have an array of resistances, making it an interesting curveball to throw down on the battlefield.
| Normal damage | Dark, Dragon, Electric, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel, Water |
| Weak | Ground, Psychic |
| Resistant | Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Grass, Poison |
| Immune | N/A |
Ekans's moveset
In the latest generation of Pokémon games, Ekans can learn the following moves:
Level up moves (Scarlet/Violet)
| Level | Move | Type |
| One | Wrap | Normal |
| One | Leer | Normal |
| Four | Poison Sting | Poison |
| Nine | Bite | Dark |
| 12 | Glare | Normal |
| 17 | Screech | Normal |
| 20 | Acid | Poison |
| 25 | Stockpile | Normal |
| 25 | Swallow | Normal |
| 25 | Spit Up | Normal |
| 28 | Acid Spray | Poison |
| 33 | Sludge Bomb | Poison |
| 36 | Gastro Acid | Poison |
| 38 | Belch | Poison |
| 41 | Haze | Ice |
| 44 | Coil | Poison |
| 49 | Gunk Shot | Poison |
Level up moves (Legends: Z-A)
| Level | Move | Type |
| One | Tackle | Normal |
| One | Leer | Normal |
| Seven | Poison Sting | Poison |
| Nine | Bite | Dark |
| 12 | Glare | Normal |
| 15 | Brutal Swing | Dark |
| 17 | Screech | Normal |
| 25 | Toxic | Poison |
| 33 | Leech Life | Bug |
| 36 | Poison Jab | Poison |
| 41 | Haze | Ice |
| 49 | Gunk Shot | Poison |
Learnable TMs (Scarlet/Violet)
| Move | Type |
| Acid Spray | Poison |
| Crunch | Dark |
| Dark Pulse | Dark |
| Dig | Ground |
| Double-Edge | Normal |
| Earthquake | Ground |
| Endure | Normal |
| Facade | Normal |
| Fire Fang | Fire |
| Giga Drain | Grass |
| Gunk Shot | Poison |
| Haze | Ice |
| Knock Off | Dark |
| Lash Out | Dark |
| Leech Life | Bug |
| Mud Shot | Ground |
| Mud-Slap | Ground |
| Poison Jab | Poison |
| Poison Tail | Poison |
| Protect | Normal |
| Psychic Fangs | Psychic |
| Rain Dance | Water |
| Rest | Psychic |
| Rock Slide | Rock |
| Rock Tomb | Rock |
| Scale Shot | Dragon |
| Scary Face | Normal |
| Seed Bomb | Grass |
| Skitter Smack | Bug |
| Sleep Talk | Normal |
| Sludge Bomb | Poison |
| Sludge Wave | Poison |
| Snarl | Dark |
| Spite | Dark |
| Substitute | Normal |
| Sunny Day | Fire |
| Take Down | Normal |
| Tera Blast | Normal |
| Thief | Dark |
| Toxic | Poison |
| Toxic Spikes | Poison |
| Trailblaze | Grass |
| Venoshock | Poison |
Learnable TMs (Legends: Z-A)
| Move | Type |
| Acid Spray | Poison |
| Body Slam | Normal |
| Bulldoze | Ground |
| Dark Pulse | Dark |
| Dig | Ground |
| Earthquake | Ground |
| Endure | Normal |
| Facade | Normal |
| Fire Fang | Fire |
| Giga Drain | Grass |
| Gunk Shot | Poison |
| Ice Fang | Ice |
| Iron Tail | Steel |
| Knock Off | Dark |
| Mud Shot | Ground |
| Poison Fang | Poison |
| Poison Jab | Poison |
| Protect | Normal |
| Psychic Fangs | Psychic |
| Rock Slide | Rock |
| Rock Tomb | Rock |
| Scale Shot | Dragon |
| Seed Bomb | Grass |
| Sludge Bomb | Poison |
| Substitute | Normal |
| Thunder Fang | Electric |
| Toxic | Poison |
| Trailblaze | Grass |
Egg moves
| Move | Type | Breed with |
| Poison Fang | Poison | Grafaiai, Salandit, Seviper, or Shroodle |
| Poison Tail | Poison | Wooper, Clodsire, Seviper, Skrelp, Dragalge, or Goodra |
| Scary Face | Normal | Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard, Rhyhorn, Rhydon, Rhyperior, Tauros (all forms), Gyarados, Flareon, Snubbull, Granbull, Ursaring, Ursaluna, Donphan, Poochyena, Mightyena, Bagon, Shelgon, Salamence, Shinx, Luxio, Luxray, Sandile, Krokorok, Krookodile, Scraggy, Scrafty, Zorua, Axew, Fraxure, Haxorus, Deino, Zweilous, Hydreigon, Litten, Torracat, Incineroar, Yungoos, Gumshoos, Rockruff, Lycanroc (both forms), Passimian, Jangmo-o, Hakamo-o, Kommo-o, Skeledirge, Maschiff, or Mabosstiff |
| Spite | Ghost | Vulpix (both forms), Ninetales (both forms), Zorua, or Zoroark |
| Sucker Punch | Dark | Diglett (both forms), Dugtrio (both forms), Sentret, Furret, Poochyena, Mightyena, Seedot, Nuzleaf, Shiftry, Slaking, Stunky, Skuntank, Samurott, Espurr, Meowstic, Lycanroc (both forms), Komala, Sobble, Drizzile, or Inteleon |
| Switcheroo | Dark | Persian (both forms), Zangoose, Delphox, Shroodlem, or Grafaiai |
Now that you know everything about our snakey friend, go and find it hiding in the grass. Watch out, as it might bite.