Regional variants were introduced back in the Alola region, and one of the first Pokemon to receive this treatment was Sandshrew and its evolution, Sandslash. Both Pokemon were exclusive to Pokemon Moon, but for Gen 8, Alolan Sandshrew was made accessible to both Pokemon Sword & Shield players thanks to the Isle of Armor DLC. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet brings back regular Sandshrew and Sandslash in The Teal Mask, which also means trainers can potentially get Alolan Sandshrew and Sandslash, too.
Those battling every trainer they find in Kitakami may run into a trainer who uses Alolan Sandshrew and Alolan Vulpix. Compared to their Kanto-counterparts, these Sandshrew and Sandslash are Ice/Steel-type. Unfortunately, Scarlet/Violet trainers have limited ways of getting Alolan Sandshrew into Paldea, since they cannot be found in Kitakami.
Updated on December 18, 2023 by Renri Seong: With both parts of Pokemon Scarlet/Violet's Expansion Pass available, you can now explore Terarium and Blueberry Academy, two areas exclusive to the Indigo Disk. Like with the Teal Mask DLC, Indigo Disk brings back Pokemon from past generations - including regional variants like Alolan Sandshrew. When Alolan Sandshrew and Alolan Sandslash made their debut, they were exclusive to Pokemon Moon/Ultra Moon, and it would seem this trend stayed the same into Gen 9. Alolan Sandshrew can be found in the wild in Pokemon Violet, but those with Pokemon Scarlet will find Alolan Vulpix instead. If you want to complete your Pokedex, you're going to need to catch and evolve both. The following guide has been updated to include information about getting Alolan Sandshrew in the Indigo Disk.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: How to Get Alolan Vulpix
If you have the Indigo Disk DLC, then you might find an Alolan Vulpix in the Polar Biome of Terarium, but only in Pokemon Scarlet.
Where to Find Alolan Sandshrew in Pokemon Violet
Polar Biome
Alolan Sandshrew can be found in the Polar Biome of Terarium near the wall separating the Polar and Coastal Biomes. You can reach this area by going north from the Central Plaza. On the map in the above image, the area you'll want to search are the "pale blue mountains" that line up next to wall separating it from the Coastal Biome. On the above image, this is north of the Shadow Tera Den.
Another way of finding Alolan Sandshrew is by searching for 3-star Tera Raids in Terarium. The Pokemon in Tera Raids always have a 100% catch rate once you defeat them. At 3-stars, Alolan Sandshrew will be level 35.
How to Get Alolan Sandshrew in Pokemon Scarlet
Trade or Transfer
If you have Pokemon Scarlet, there are two options when it comes to obtaining Alolan Sandshrew and its evolution:
- Get Alolan Sandshrew by trading with a Pokemon Scarlet player.
- Transfer an Alolan Sandshrew to Scarlet from Sword/Shield or Pokemon GO by using Pokemon HOME.
Trading for Alolan Sandshrew
To trade Pokemon, you will need a Nintendo Online Membership. Membership prices are:
- $3.99 for 30 days
- $7.99 for 3 months
- $19.99 for 12 months
Once you have this, you can access the Poke Portal in the pause menu (X-button), and tap L-button to access wireless features. From there, select Link Trade, then Set Link Code. If trading with a friend, both parties will need to enter the same Code to be linked for a trade.
Getting Alolan Sandshrew with Pokemon HOME
The other way to get an Alolan Sandshrew is to catch it in another game and then use Pokemon HOME to transfer it to Pokemon Scarlet/Violet. Players can either get an Alolan Sandshrew in Sword/Shield or Pokemon GO.
To get one in Sword/Shield, you need the expansion pass. Once you can go to the Isle of Armor, you'll need to look for Alolan Digletts buried in the ground. After finding 30 Alolan Diglett, speak to the hiker NPC at the bridge leading to the dojo. She'll give an Alolan Pokemon for every set of Diglett that you find. At 30, she'll hand over an Alolan Sandshrew.
In Pokemon GO, you can catch an Alolan Sandshrew from Team GO Rocket Grunts or during certain events. As an Ice-type, Alolan Sandshrew is more common during snowy weather and winter/holidays, but its spawn rate may also be influenced by your home country. Team GO Rocket Grunts sometimes have an Alolan Sandshrew to snag, but their Pokemon change during every Team GO Rocket takeover event.
To transfer an Alolan Sandshrew to Pokemon HOME from Sword/Shield:
- Place the Alolan Sandshrew in a PC Box in Sword/Shield. Save, then close the game.
- Open Pokemon HOME on the Switch, and select Sword/Shield.
- Move the Sandshrew from the Sword/Shield box to the Basic Box (left window). Save and exit.
- Open Scarlet or Violet, then move Alolan Sandshrew from the Basic Box to the one of Scarlet/Violet's PC Boxes. Save and exit.
To transfer an Alolan Sandshrew to Pokemon HOME from Pokemon GO:
- Make sure the Alolan Sandshrew is not "starred" or a Shadow Alolan Sandshrew. If it's a Shadow Pokemon, then players will need to purify it first.
- Tap the Poke Ball icon on the main screen/map, then select the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Select Connected Devices and Services, then select Pokemon HOME.
- Choose the Alolan Sandshrew, then hit Next to complete the transfer.
- Go into Pokemon HOME on the Switch, and select the GO icon from the menu to automatically move the Alolan Sandshrew into a HOME Basic Box.
- Open Scarlet/Violet in HOME to move Alolan Sandshrew from the Basic Box to a PC Box. Save and exit.
In order to transfer to Pokemon HOME through GO, players need to link their HOME account. This just requires logging in from Pokemon GO in the settings/Connected Devices.
Lacey's Quiz Answers and How to Beat Her in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
Here's a rundown of Lacey's Elite Four Trial in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk DLC.
Other Ways to Get More Alolan Sandshrews in Scarlet/Violet
How to Get Alolan Sandshrew Eggs
Alolan Sandshrew can breed with a Kantonian Sandshrew, Ditto, or a Pokemon that shares the same Egg Group. However, Sandshrew Eggs in Paldea/Kitakami will hatch into the Kantonian/Ground-type Sandshrew. If players want to hatch Alolan Sandshrews, they'll need to have it hold an Everstone.
Breeding Pokemon of the same Egg Group requires the Alolan Sandshrew to be female. The offspring takes after the mother Pokemon instead of the father.
Players can buy an Everstone for 3000 at Delibird Presents. Unlike the evolutionary stones, Everstones are available at the start of the game and don't need to be unlocked. Another way to get Everstones is to pick them up off the ground in Paldea.
How to Evolve Alolan Sandshrew
Ice Stone
Unlike Kantonian Sandshrew, Alolan Sandshrew only evolves when it's exposed to an Ice Stone. There's a guaranteed Ice Stone in West Province (Area Three) in Dalizapa Passage. You may want to have Koraidon/Miraidon's climb ability to make it easier to reach. From where the Ice Stone is located, you will be able to see the nearby Pokemon Center, so use that as a guide. Otherwise, Ice Stones occasionally appear at the Port Marinada auction house, or you can try your luck with RNG and take a stroll through the snowy mountains. Sometimes, an Ice Stone can be picked up off the ground in the "wild."
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: How to Get Tyrogue, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, & Hitmontop
These four Fighting-type Pokemon are part of the same evolutionary line in Scarlet and Violet.
If you're playing Pokemon Violet, you can find Alolan Sandslash in 6-star Tera Raids. These won't unlock until after you've cleared the Academy Ace Tournament, and then receive a call from Jacq about "black Tera Crystals." The latter will happen once you beat the postgame (Academy Ace Tournament), and to get the 6-star Tera Raids to appear, you'll have to clear some 5-star Tera Raids. Thus, it may be easier for you to catch a wild Alolan Sandshrew and evolve it with an Ice Stone.
3/4/5/6-star Tera Raid Pokemon sometimes have their Hidden Ability.
Which Sandshrew Should You Use?
Alolan Sandshrew or Kantonian Sandshrew
If you intend to use Alolan Sandshrew, then it's recommended to evolve it into Alolan Sandslash. However, you may be wondering if you should use the Alolan Sandslash, or the Kantonian Sandslash. As most trainers know, Kantonian Sandshrew/Sandslash is a Ground-type Pokemon. Despite the Type difference, both Sandshrew-lines have the same base stat total.
Here's what trainers may want to know:
|
Alolan Sandslash |
Kantonian Sandslash |
|
|---|---|---|
|
HP: |
75 |
75 |
|
Attack: |
100 |
100 |
|
Special Attack: |
25 |
45 |
|
Defense: |
120 |
110 |
|
Special Defense: |
65 |
55 |
|
Speed: |
65 |
65 |
|
Total: |
450 |
450 |
|
Alolan Sandshrwe & Sandslash |
Kantonian Sandshrew & Sandslash |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Super effective against: |
Grass, Dragon, Rock, Fairy, Flying, Ice, Ground |
Fire, Electric, Rock, Steel, Poison |
|
Weaknesses: |
Fire (x4), Fighting (x4), Ground |
Ice, Grass, Water |
|
Resistances: |
Ice, Dragon, Flying, Normal, Fairy, Psychic, Bug, Grass |
Rock, Poison |
|
Immunities: |
Poison |
Electric |
Both Sandshrew-lines can benefit from an Adamant (+Attk, -Sp.Attk) Nature or even an Impish (+Def, -Sp.Attk) Nature. Their Special Attack is too poor for a Modest Nature (+Sp.Attk, - Attk), and they'll want to avoid Natures that increase Defense at the cost of lowering their Attack.
Most of the moves Sandslash learns by evolving or remembering are physical moves. Both Sandslash can learn the move Poison Jab, which gives them coverage against most Grass-type Pokemon, one of Kantonian Sandslash's weaknesses. Also, despite being an Ice/Steel-type, Alolan Sandslash can learn Earthquake via TM149, giving it coverage against one of its biggest weaknesses: Fire-type Pokemon. It can also learn Rock Slide to hit Fire/Flying-types that are immune to Ground-type moves.
In terms of type-effectiveness, they have the same amount of Pokemon they're weak against, but Alolan Sandslash has two Types that inflict x4 damage to it. Unfortunately, Alolan Sandslash's base speed is rather poor, meaning it's highly likely their opponent will move before it in battle. Therefore, Alolan Sandslash should best steer cleer of Fire and Fighting-types. On the other hand, Kantonian Sandslash is weak to more common Types such as Grass and Water, but with the right TMs, it can protect itself from most Grass-type Pokemon.
While both Sandslash have high Defense, Alolan Sandslash edges out its Kantonian counterpart with 120. Thus, players may have better luck using Alolan Sandslash as a wall against a physical attacker than they would a special attacker.
In short, both Sandshrew and Sandslash have their pros and cons. They can learn just about the same moves through TMs, enabling them to have a variety of moves in their moveset. Trainers should analyze their team and see if they want a dual-type Sandslash or a single-type Sandslash. Either one makes a good party member, but it's best to keep them away from powerful special attackers.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available for Nintendo Switch.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
- Released
- November 18, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- RPG
