Alolan Sandslash
IceSteel
Best attacking moveset: Metal Claw and Blizzard, worth 11.2 damage per second against a neutral target.
Best moveset
Alolan Sandslash can learn 18 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 |
| Shadow Claw Legacy | Ghost | 6 | 0.5s | +4 |
| Charged attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerial Ace | 55 | 2.5s | -33 | |
| Blizzard | Ice | 130 | 3.0s | -100 |
| Bulldoze | Ground | 80 | 3.5s | -50 |
| Drill Run | Ground | 85 | 3.0s | -50 |
| Gyro Ball | Steel | 85 | 3.5s | -50 |
| Ice Punch | Ice | 50 | 2.0s | -33 |
Shiny
Shiny availability is tracked for Sandslash as a species, on the Sandslash page.
Other forms
Evolution family
Numbers
| Max CP | 2,750 at level 50, 2,432 at level 40 |
|---|---|
| Raid catch | 1,390 CP at level 20, or 1,737 if weather boosted (perfect IVs) |
| Lowest possible raid catch | 1,320 CP. Raid encounters can't roll below 10/10/10 |
| Base stats | 177 attack · 195 defense · 181 stamina |
What it costs
| 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 | 1 m and 29.5 kg |
Best moveset against each type
Alolan Sandslash does not have one best moveset, it has 7. 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 | 14.4 | |
| Ground | Powder Snow + Blizzard | 14.4 |
| Grass | Powder Snow + Blizzard | 14.4 |
| Dragon | Powder Snow + Blizzard | 14.4 |
| Rock | Metal Claw + Gyro Ball | 14.0 |
| Ice | Metal Claw + Gyro Ball | 14.0 |
| Fairy | Metal Claw + Gyro Ball | 14.0 |
| Ghost | Shadow Claw + Blizzard | 12.3 |
| Psychic | Shadow Claw + Blizzard | 12.3 |
| Poison | Metal Claw + Drill Run | 12.2 |
| Electric | Powder Snow + Drill Run | 11.3 |
| Normal | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 11.2 |
| Fighting | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 11.2 |
| Bug | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 11.2 |
| Dark | Metal Claw + Blizzard | 11.2 |
| Steel | Shadow Claw + Drill Run | 10.3 |
| Fire | Shadow Claw + Drill Run | 10.3 |
| Water | Shadow Claw + Drill Run | 7.9 |
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 Sandslash is actually for.
Counters: what beats Alolan Sandslash
| Attacker | Type | Moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|---|
 Blacephalon | FireGhost | Incinerate + Mind Blown Legacy | 55.4 |
 Lucario | FightingSteel | Force Palm + Aura Sphere Legacy | 47.0 |
 Reshiram | DragonFire | Fire Fang + Fusion Flare Legacy | 46.0 |
 Pheromosa | BugFighting | Low Kick + Focus Blast | 43.0 |
 Terrakion | RockFighting | Double Kick + Sacred Sword Legacy | 42.9 |
 Blaziken | FireFighting | Counter + Aura Sphere | 42.5 |
 Chandelure | GhostFire | Fire Spin + Overheat | 42.1 |
 Cinderace | Fire | Fire Spin + Pyroball | 41.6 |
 Volcarona | BugFire | Fire Spin + Overheat | 41.1 |
 Darmanitan | Fire | Fire Fang + Overheat | 41.0 |
Ranked by damage per second against Alolan Sandslash's own defense, at level 40 with a 15 attack IV, one per evolution family.