Introduced in the original generation one, Pokemon Red, Blue, and Green games, Ekans is a monotype poison Pokemon. It is the base evolution of Arbok and is not known to evolve from any other Pokemon. Ekans is classified by the Pokedex as the “Snake Pokemon” which is a nod to its general design as well as the word Ekans, its name, spelled backwards. This guide will showcase Ekans’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime as well as other general facts about Ekans.
About Ekans
As one of the original 151 Pokemon, Ekans first appeared in the original series with the episode Pokemon Emergency!. This episode was the second episode ever released and featured Ekans alongside Jessie as one of her primary Pokemon that would follow her throughout the series. Ekans will evolve into Arbok after reaching level 22 and these two Pokemon make up its evolution line. The Pokedex states that Ekans spends more of its time resting while also maintaining a defensive stance.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Original Series: Pokemon Emergency! |
| First appearance in game | Red/Green (Japan) Red/Blue (International) |
| Region | Kanto |
| Evolution | Evolves into Arbok when it reaches the level threshold. |
| 1st Evo level | 22 |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | Ekans curls itself up in a spiral while it rests. Assuming this position allows it to quickly respond to a threat from any direction with a glare from its upraised head. |
Ekans Base Stats
| HP | 35 |
| ATTACK | 60 |
| DEFENCE | 44 |
| SP. ATTACK | 40 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 54 |
| SPEED | 55 |
| TOTAL | 288 |
Appearance
Ekans is a long, snake-like Pokemon with a purple and yellow body. It resembles a rattlesnake in real life and it has a rattler at the base of its tail to showcase that. Most of its body is purple with a yellow stripe around its neck, a yellow rattler, and yellow eyes. Its eyes are slitted like most real-life snakes and spends most of its time coiled around itself. Ekans is a tall Pokemon and is, , end-to-end, 6 feet and 7 inches, or 2 meters, tall.
Behavior
Most of Ekans’s appearances throughout the anime showcased it in a villainous role alongside Team Rocket member Jessie. It would typically obey her commands without question, although it was shown to follow its own beliefs when the Team Rocket duo attempted to harm the Pokemon that healed Ekans. Ekans is typically shown as one of Jessie’s primary Pokemon and it stays with her until it evolves into an Arbok.
Strengths and Weaknesses
As a base evolution Pokemon, there is not much to mention about Ekans’s strengths. It does have a decent physical attack and a good speed to match for a base evolution Pokemon, but it has a weak health pool making it relatively frail. As a monotype poison Pokemon, Ekans will take 2x damage from ground and psychic type moves, has no immunities, but takes half damage from fighting, poison, bug, grass, and fairy type moves.
Best Moveset
As a base evolution Pokemon, Ekans is exclusively limited to the LC (Little Cup) brackets of competitive play where it will only face other base evolution Pokemon. It is typically used as an offensive Pokemon and pairing it with an Eviolite held item can make it seem much bulkier. Consider running Coil, Gunk Shot, Sucker Punch, and Earthquake. A set up move is rare for a base evolution Pokemon and Coil helps give Ekans some pseudo defensive capabilities, Gunk Shot benefits from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) while Sucker Punch grants you some outplay potential. Finally, having Earthquake as a move allows Ekans to have type coverage.
| Coil | Gunk Shot |
| Sucker Punch | Earthquake |
How to Catch Ekans in Pokemon Go
If you want to obtain an Ekans in Pokemon Go, there are a few ways of doing so. You can find one in the wild at a boosted rate near wetlands, marshes, lakes, and industrial areas. It is found, typically, in places that can be considered as pollution because they will spawn poison type Pokemon far more frequently. You can also hatch an Ekans from 2 and 5 km eggs, and it has also appeared as a tier one raid boss in the past as well. You will need 50 Ekans candies in order to evolve it into Arbok.
Trivia
- While Ekans appeared as early as the second episode of the anime, it has never been scanned by a Pokedex in the anime.
FAQ
At what level does Ekans evolve?
Ekans will evolve into Arbok once it reaches level 22 and you do not need to fulfill any special conditions as your Ekans will evolve once it reaches the level threshold. After your Ekans is level 22 you just need to allow the evolution animation to play without pressing the “B” button. Once it evolves, you do not need to worry about any other evolutions as its evolution line ends with Arbok.
Which country made Ekans?
Ekans was designed by Ken Sugimori of the original generation one games and since Nintendo is based in Japan, it makes Japan the country that designed Ekans. It was originally going to be named Arbo, its name in Japanese, which likely lended inspiration for Ekans’s evolution name.
What is Ekans Weakness?
Ekans is a monotype poison Pokemon making it take 2x damage from ground and psychic type moves. Its special defense is slightly stronger than its physical defense, but its health pool is low enough where it does not seem to matter much. While Ekans is not immune to any type, it will resist fighting, poison, bug, grass, and fairy type moves.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Snake Pokemon”. While Ekans is not the most formidable Pokemon, it is rather memorable as one of the original 151 Pokemon of generation one. A Pokemon that is modeled after a snake and its name is the word snake spelled backwards helps keep it in the minds of fans of the franchise. Reserve a slot for Ekans if you want a poison type snake Pokemon on your team.
