Alolan Sandshrew
IceSteel
Best attacking moveset: Metal Claw and Blizzard, worth 8.3 damage per second against a neutral target.
Best moveset
Alolan Sandshrew can learn 6 combinations. Metal Claw with Blizzard does the most damage per second of them, at level 40 with a perfect attack stat. Same-type moves get the 1.2× bonus, and the cycle assumes the charged attack fires the moment it has the energy.
Stats and moves come straight from the game's own data files. Every number on this page is a raid and gym number, not a PvP one.
Type matchups
| Fast attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Claw | Steel | 6 | 0.5s | +5 |
| Powder Snow | Ice | 6 | 1.0s | +15 |
| Charged attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blizzard | Ice | 130 | 3.0s | -100 |
| Gyro Ball | Steel | 85 | 3.5s | -50 |
| Night Slash | Dark | 45 | 2.0s | -33 |
Shiny
Shiny availability is tracked for Sandshrew as a species, on the Sandshrew page.
Other forms
Evolution family
Numbers
| Max CP | 1,462 at level 50, 1,293 at level 40 |
|---|---|
| Raid catch | 739 CP at level 20, or 924 if weather boosted (perfect IVs) |
| Lowest possible raid catch | 688 CP. Raid encounters can't roll below 10/10/10 |
| Base stats | 125 attack · 129 defense · 137 stamina |
What it costs
| Candy to evolve | 50 Candy |
|---|---|
| Second charged move | 50,000 Stardust and 50 Candy |
| Buddy distance | 3 km per Candy |
| Purify a Shadow one | 3,000 Stardust and 3 Candy |
| Size | 0.6 m and 12 kg |
Best moveset against each type
Alolan Sandshrew does not have one best moveset, it has 3. Which one wins depends on what you are attacking, because a move only gets its bonus against something weak to it. Best against Flying, Ground, Grass.
| Against | Best moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|
| Powder Snow + Blizzard | 10.7 | |
| Ground | Powder Snow + Blizzard | 10.7 |
| Grass | Powder Snow + Blizzard | 10.7 |
| Dragon | Powder Snow + Blizzard | 10.7 |
| Rock | Metal Claw + Gyro Ball | 10.7 |
| Ice | Metal Claw + Gyro Ball | 10.7 |
| Fairy | Metal Claw + Gyro Ball | 10.7 |
| Normal | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 8.3 |
| Fighting | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 8.3 |
| Poison | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 8.3 |
| Bug | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 8.3 |
| Ghost | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 8.3 |
| Psychic | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 8.3 |
| Dark | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 8.3 |
| Electric | Powder Snow + Blizzard | 7.0 |
| Steel | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 5.4 |
| Fire | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 5.4 |
| Water | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 5.4 |
Same maths as the headline number, run once per defending type: level 40, perfect attack IV, and the target's own type taken into account. Sorted by damage, so the top of this table is what Alolan Sandshrew is actually for.
Counters: what beats Alolan Sandshrew
| Attacker | Type | Moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|---|
 Blacephalon | FireGhost | Incinerate + Mind Blown Legacy | 80.8 |
 Lucario | FightingSteel | Force Palm + Aura Sphere Legacy | 68.6 |
 Reshiram | DragonFire | Fire Fang + Fusion Flare Legacy | 67.1 |
 Pheromosa | BugFighting | Low Kick + Focus Blast | 62.8 |
 Terrakion | RockFighting | Double Kick + Sacred Sword Legacy | 62.5 |
 Blaziken | FireFighting | Counter + Aura Sphere | 62.0 |
 Chandelure | GhostFire | Fire Spin + Overheat | 61.5 |
 Cinderace | Fire | Fire Spin + Pyroball | 60.6 |
 Volcarona | BugFire | Fire Spin + Overheat | 60.0 |
 Darmanitan | Fire | Fire Fang + Overheat | 59.7 |
Ranked by damage per second against Alolan Sandshrew's own defense, at level 40 with a 15 attack IV, one per evolution family.