Sandshrew (Pokémon)

Sandshrew サンド Sand

Artwork from FR/LG

Type Species  Ground  Mouse Pokémon Ability Exp. at 100 Sand Veil 1,000,000 Pokédex Kanto #027 Johto #048 Hoenn #112 Sinnoh #— Browser Fiore R— Almia R-194 Height Weight 2'00" 26.5 lbs. Pokédex color Footprint Body style Catch rate Yellow 255 Gender ratio   50% male   50% female Egg groups Egg cycles Ground 21 (5355 steps*) EV yield HP 0 Atk 0 Def 1 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 Exp. 93 External links On Legendary Pokémon Pokédex: Generation III Generation IV On Smogon Pokédex: Generation I Generation II Generation III Generation IV On Eevee's Pokédex (Gen. I-IV) On Psypoke Pokédex On Pokecharms Pokédex (Gen. III-IV) On Marriland Pokédex (Gen. IV) Artwork on Bulbagarden Archives

Sandshrew (Japanese: サンド Sand) is a Ground-type Pokémon.

It evolves into Sandslash starting at level 22.

Biology

Physiology

Sandshrew is a ground-dwelling pholidote notable for its defensive capabilities. Its body is mostly covered in a dry, tough hide which is colored to blend in with the sands of the desert. It can curl into a tight ball about the same size as a basketball to protect its soft underbelly. Its primary weapon is the small but sharp claws on its paws, which are also useful for burrowing and can sometimes be poisoned.

Gender differences

None.

Special abilities

Sandshrew's special abilities are extremely limited compared to other Pokémon. It has a greater control over the ground and sand than the average Pokémon, mostly derived from adaptation to its habitat.

Behavior

In the wild, Sandshrew are mostly defensive by nature. They spend much of their time hidden underground in their burrows and will kick up sand or curl into a ball to escape predators. They may venture out to hunt, taking advantage of the desert sands to hide themselves.

However, with the help of a Trainer, a Sandshrew can become bolder and much more daring, and can even be trained to swim despite the fact that they are weakened by the water. They are still fond of curling up, though, even if not for defense.

Habitat

Rough-terrain Pokémon

Sandshrew are adapted to dry, arid areas. Thus, they can be commonly found in deserts and grasslands, and sometimes in river valleys or the upper levels of caves as well. Wherever they are, they live underground in burrows.

Diet

Main article: Pokémon food

Sandshrew do not require a lot of water, due to a very efficient system of staying hydrated with minimal moisture. They hunt for prey in the wild.

In the anime

Sandshrew in the anime

Major appearances

Sandshrew was first featured in The Path to the Pokémon League. It was owned by a Pokémon Trainer named A.J.. Despite A.J.'s seemly barbaric training methods (e.g. using a whip), it was very loyal to him.

Mira enlisted Ash and his friends to help her retrieve her Sandshrew that is lost at the bottom of an artificial lake created by a dammed river in Sandshrew's Locker!.

Minor appearances

Ash Ketchum and Pikachu pass three Sandshrew in Pokémon, I Choose You! while being chased by a flock of wild Spearow.

An ailing Sandshrew is seen briefly near the beginning of Clefairy and the Moon Stone.

A Sandshrew was one of the Pokémon that played Hide-n-Seek in Pikachu's PikaBoo. Sandshrew hid in front of a brick wall.

A Sandshrew was used by one of the students of the Pokémon Trainer's School in Gonna Rule The School!.

It also appeared in Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part One.

A Sandshrew appeared in Camping It Up!.

A Sandshrew was also seen at the Shelter Town's Pokémon Center in Battling a Cute Drama!.

Pokédex entries

In the manga

Professor Oak had a Sandshrew in the Electric Tale of Pikachu.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Sandshrew makes a cameo in Onix is On!, part of the Red, Green & Blue chapter, battling against Red's Bulbasaur as a Pewter Gym Trainer's Pokémon.

Red also had a Sandshrew he uses to fight Fire-types.

In the TCG

Main article: Sandshrew (TCG)

Game data

Pokédex entries

Game locations

In side games

Held items

Game		Held Item(s)
Red	Blue	Berry (100%)*
Yellow
Ruby	Sapphire	Quick Claw (5%)
Emerald
Pokémon XD		Quick Claw (5%)
Diamond	Pearl	Quick Claw (5%)
Platinum
* The Pokémon must be traded to a Generation II game in order for the item to appear.

Stats

Base stats

Pokéthlon stats

Type effectiveness

Learnset

Sandshrew is capable of learning the following moves in Generation IV.

• Moves in bold are damaging moves to which STAB applies.

By leveling up

By TM/HM

By breeding

By tutoring

Side game data

Pokémon Pinball
	Acquisition: Catch
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire
	Acquisition: Hatch
Pokémon Trozei!
	Rarity: Common
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team
Body size: 1	Recruit Rate: 10.4%	Friend Area: Furnace Desert
Phrases
51%-100% HP	Defense Curl makes me better protected!
26%-50% HP	I have only half my HP left...
1%-25% HP	I'm close to fainting... Can I just curl up somewhere?
Level Up	Yeah! I leveled!
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness
Body size: 1	Recruit Rate: 8.2%	IQ Group: D
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
Group:  Ground	Poké Assist: ( Ground )	Field Move: (Tunnel ×1)
"It hurls lumps of sand to attack."

Evolution

Unevolved Sandshrew  Ground

Level 22 →

First evolution Sandslash  Ground

Sprites

Gen	Game
I	Red	Blue	Yellow	Red (Ja)	Green	Back
II	Gold	Silver	Crystal			Back
III	Ruby	Sapphire	Emerald	FireRed	LeafGreen	Back
IV	Diamond	Pearl	Platinum	HeartGold	SoulSilver	Back

For other sprites and images, please see Sandshrew images on Bulbagarden Archives.

Trivia

• Sandshrew is the first Ground-type Pokémon in National Pokédex order.
• Sandshrew and Sandslash share the same species name with Rattata, Raticate, Pikachu, and Raichu. They are all known as the Mouse Pokémon, though Rattata and Raticate have also been called the Rat Pokémon.
• Although Sandshrew was introduced in Generation I as a pure Ground-type, it could not learn any Ground-type attacks via level-up until Generation III.
• Sandshrew gets Rock Slide and Swords Dance as egg moves, despite it being compatible with the TMs for aforementioned moves.

Origin

Though its design appears to be inspired by armadillos, its actual inspiration was the pangolin, which is a scaly-anteater by another name. It curls up into a ball, has sharp claws, and lives in desert regions.

Name origin

Sandshrew's name is a combination of sand and shrew, a small rodent-like mammal. Its Japanese name simply refers to sand.

In other languages

• German: Sandan - Corruption of Sand.
• French: Sabelette - From sable (sand) and belette (weasel).
• Korean: 모래두지 Moraeduji
• Chinese (Taiwan and Hong Kong): 穿山鼠 Chuan Shan Shű - A portmanteau of 穿山甲 Chuan Shan Jia (pangolin) and 鼠 (mouse). Literally means "mouse that passes through mountains".

External links

• Sand-Attack, the fanlisting for Sandshrew

Notes

This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon as a species.