Sandslash counters

#0028

groundElite

Lobby CP

38,402

20,000

Timer

5:00

Attack

194

Defense

187

Difficulty

2.59

Pokebattler scale

Beating Sandslash should take 3 trainers with level 40 counters. Caught CP 1,288-1,356.

Weak towater1.6xgrass1.6xice1.6x

Who to bring

IncludeMega Legendary Shadow

Improve your raidweather · friendship · Mega in the lobby · Party Power · Adventure EffectsShow ▾

Weather

★ boosts a type this boss is weak to

No boost Sunny or clear ★Rainy ★Partly cloudy Cloudy Windy Snow ★Fog

Friendship

every trainer in the lobby who is your friend

None Good friend (+3%)Great friend (+5%)Ultra friend (+7%)Best friend (+10%)

Mega in the lobby

a Mega boosts every trainer's attacks: 1.3x of its own type, 1.1x of others

Try a Water Mega — most top counters attack with Water

Party Power

Party Play: the charged move after a full meter does 2x

Off 2 trainers 3 trainers 4 trainers

Adventure Effects

only these three change a raid

Behemoth Blade (+10% attack)Behemoth Bash (+10% defense)Dynamic Punch+ (+15% attack vs Mega)

Of the game's eleven Adventure Effects only Behemoth Blade (Crowned Sword Zacian), Behemoth Bash (Crowned Shield Zamazenta) and Dynamic Punch+ (Mega Mewtwo X) change a raid; Roar of Time, Spacial Rend, Freeze Shock, Ice Burn, Sunsteel Strike, Moongeist Beam, Future Sight+ and Dynamax Cannon act outside raids. Dynamic Punch+ only counts against a Mega boss, so it changes nothing here. Sources: the full list, Behemoth Blade / Bash, Dynamic Punch+.

Best counters

Mega, Legendary, Shadow · level 40

The best Sandslash counters are Mega Greninja, Kyurem (White), Shadow Kyogre, Kyurem (Black), Shadow Chesnaught & Shaymin (Sky).

Suggested party of sixat most one Mega

M. Greninja
Kyurem (White)
S. Kyogre
Kyurem (Black)
S. Chesnaught
Shaymin (Sky)

8 more Megas ranked inside the top six — a party can hold only one Mega, so the best one stays and the next non-Mega takes the slot.

Ranked by Estimator (trainers needed); small print: time to winOrder byEstimatorOverall %

1Mega GreninjaMegapartyWater Shuriken / Surf+2.3210:41
2Mega StarmieMegaPsywave / Liquidation+2.5811:52
3Mega ChesnaughtMegaVine Whip / Seed Bomb+2.5911:55
4Primal KyogreMegaLegendaryWaterfall / Origin Pulse2.6011:58
5Mega Mewtwo YMegaLegendaryPsycho Cut / Future Sight+2.6812:20
6Kyurem (White)LegendarypartyIce Fang / Ice Burn2.7512:38
7Mega SceptileMegaFury Cutter / Frenzy Plant2.7712:45
8Mega SwampertMegaWater Gun / Hydro Cannon2.8513:06
9Mega Mewtwo XMegaLegendaryPsycho Cut / Dynamic Punch+2.8813:16
10Shadow KyogreShadowLegendarypartyWaterfall / Origin Pulse2.9013:21
11Kyurem (Black)LegendarypartyDragon Tail / Freeze Shock3.0714:06
13Shadow ChesnaughtShadowpartyVine Whip / Frenzy Plant3.1914:40
14Shaymin (Sky)LegendarypartyMagical Leaf / Grass Knot3.2314:52

More orders under All settings (Sort by). The top 15 in detail.

Build and order a party of six →Plan your raid lobby →

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The Pokebox saved in this browser · each at its own level, IVs and moves.

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Raid tier — Elite Raid

Super Mega Legendary Super Mega Primal Mega Legendary Mega Elite Shadow Tier 5 Tier 5 Shadow Tier 3 Tier 3 Shadow Tier 1 Tier 1 Tier 4 Tier 2

Related countersAlolan Sandslash

Raid alerts…

Top 15 Sandslash counters in detail

Click a row for damage per move, breakpoints and the energy cycle. Click a column to sort. All 30 ranked attackers, with every column, are under All settings.

Trainers3small group

#	Attacker	Moveset
1	Mega Greninjawaterdarkjoint top pick	waterWater ShurikenwaterSurf+	3,784	10:41	2.32	6.0	47.4%
2	Mega Starmiewaterpsychic	psychicPsywavewaterLiquidation+	3,701	11:52	2.58	6.0	42.7%
3	Mega Chesnaughtgrassfighting	grassVine WhipgrassSeed Bomb+	4,093	11:55	2.59	5.1	42.5%
4	Primal Kyogrewater	waterWaterfallwaterOrigin Pulse	5,902	11:58	2.60	6.0	42.3%
5	Mega Mewtwo Ypsychic	psychicPsycho CutpsychicFuture Sight+	6,428	12:20	2.68	6.0	41.1%
6	Kyurem (White)dragonice	iceIce FangiceIce Burn	4,605	12:38	2.75	6.0	40.1%
7	Mega Sceptilegrassdragon	bugFury CuttergrassFrenzy Plant	4,056	12:45	2.77	6.0	39.7%
8	Mega Swampertwaterground	waterWater GunwaterHydro Cannon	4,401	13:06	2.85	5.6	38.7%
9	Mega Mewtwo Xpsychicfighting	psychicPsycho CutfightingDynamic Punch+	6,112	13:16	2.88	5.6	38.2%
10	Shadow Kyogrewater	waterWaterfallwaterOrigin Pulse	4,115	13:21	2.90	6.0	38.0%
11	Kyurem (Black)dragonice	dragonDragon TailiceFreeze Shock	4,605	14:06	3.07	6.0	35.9%
12	Mega Rayquazadragonflying	dragonDragon TailflyingDragon Ascent	5,713	14:24	3.13	5.1	35.2%
13	Shadow Chesnaughtgrassfighting	grassVine WhipgrassFrenzy Plant	2,954	14:40	3.19	6.0	34.6%
14	Shaymin (Sky)grassflying	grassMagical LeafgrassGrass Knot	3,592	14:52	3.23	4.5	34.1%
15	Kartanagrasssteel	grassRazor LeafgrassLeaf Blade	3,677	14:57	3.25	6.0	33.9%

Ordered by Estimator alone, fewest trainers needed first. . The place badge names each row's Overall place on hover.

Times are one trainer with six copies of that attacker, level 40 at 15/15/15, no weather, no friendship, no dodging, Shadow / Mega / Legendary attackers hidden — the same defaults pokebattler.com's own counter pages open with. Open the full counter tool to change any of them. "Details" opens the per-move damage, breakpoints and energy cycle against Sandslash.

Estimator is how many trainers of this strength the fight needs. Power is the share of Sandslash's HP that six of that attacker remove inside one raid timer, so over 100% means they finish it with time to spare. Faints is how many of the six go down inside that timer.

Hardest movesets to raid against

The same boss is a different fight depending on what it knows. Each row re-simulates the top 6 counters above against one specific moveset; the list is ordered hardest first, and clicking a row filters the whole page to that moveset — the ranking, the estimator and the share link all follow.

Boss moveset	Win % (3)	Overall	Power	Time to win	Faints	Estimator
Random (any moveset)showing	93%	53%	37.9%	13:22	5.7	2.91
Mud Shot / Earthquake	85%	48%	36.5%	13:53	5.8	3.02
Sand Attack / Earthquake	85%	48%	36.5%	13:53	5.8	3.02
Metal Claw / Earthquake	89%	46%	36.7%	13:50	5.9	3.00
Metal Claw / Scorching Sands	99%	56%	38.1%	13:18	5.7	2.89
Metal Claw / Rock Tomb	83%	56%	38.3%	13:15	6.0	2.88
Mud Shot / Scorching Sands	100%	61%	38.3%	13:14	5.6	2.88
Sand Attack / Scorching Sands	100%	61%	38.3%	13:14	5.6	2.88
Sand Attack / Rock Tomb	83%	59%	38.5%	13:09	6.0	2.86
Mud Shot / Rock Tomb	83%	59%	38.5%	13:09	6.0	2.86
Metal Claw / Bulldoze	100%	65%	38.6%	13:09	5.6	2.86
Mud Shot / Bulldoze	100%	72%	38.7%	13:06	5.5	2.85
Sand Attack / Bulldoze	100%	72%	38.7%	13:06	5.5	2.85

Measured over the top 6 attackers on the list above rather than by re-ranking the whole roster once per moveset — the ordering is what the table is for, and a full re-rank per moveset would cost ten times the page's whole simulation budget. Win % is the share of runs 3 trainers of those attackers finish inside the raid timer. Overall is Pokebattler's published blend on its own absolute scale (higher is easier), not a percentage of the best row the way the ranked table's Overall column is — which is why an easy boss reads well above 100% here.

Simulating each boss moveset…

Sandslash weaknesses and resistances

Every one of the 18 attacking types against this boss's typing. GO multipliers: 1.6x super effective, 2.56x doubly, 0.625x resisted, 0.39x doubly resisted.

water1.6x grass1.6x ice1.6x normal1x fighting1x flying1x ground1x bug1x ghost1x steel1x fire1x psychic1x dragon1x dark1x fairy1x poison0.63x rock0.63x electric0.39x

Weak (3)
Neutral (12)
Resists (3)

It resists electric0.39xpoison0.625xrock0.625x— bringing one of those is throwing damage away.

What Sandslash throws at you

Its standard movepool, with the damage window a dodge has to beat.

Fast moves

Move	Power	Energy	Duration	Hits at
steelMetal Claw	6	+5	0.5s	0.23s
groundMud ShotSTAB	4	+6	0.5s	0.25s
groundSand AttackSTAB	4	+7	0.5s	0.30s

Charged moves

Move	Power	Energy	Duration	Hits at
groundEarthquakeSTAB	140	-100	3.5s	2.60s
groundScorching SandsSTAB	90	-50	3.0s	1.40s
groundBulldozeSTAB	80	-50	3.5s	2.60s
rockRock Tomb	65	-50	3.0s	2.05s

Catch CP

What the encounter after the fight can hand you.

IV spread	CP at L20	CP at L25 (weather boosted)
10/10/10floor	1,288	1,610
11/11/11	1,301	1,627
12/12/12	1,315	1,644
13/13/13	1,329	1,661
14/14/14	1,342	1,678
15/15/15hundo	1,356	1,696

Caught CP range 1,288 - 1,356, or 1,610 - 1,696 when the weather boosts it.

A raid encounter is level 20 (level 25 weather boosted) and cannot roll an IV below 10/10/10. Anything outside the first range is not this raid's reward.

When it is in raids

From the raid schedule, refreshed daily.

Sandslash is not on the raid schedule right now. The simulation above is still exact for the tier chosen — any boss can be simulated, current or not.

All settings

Elite: 20,000 HP, 5:00 timer, boss Attack 194 / Defense 187 (15/15/15 at tier CPM 0.985).

Raid bossAttacker levelAttacker IVsWeatherFriendshipDodgingTrainers in the lobbyMega in the lobbyParty Play trainersBoss fast moveBoss charged moveSort by

Attackers allowed

ShadowMega and PrimalLegendary, Mythical, Ultra BeastLegacy and Elite TM moves

Share these exact settings

Every column, and pokebattler.com's own rank

On a phone the list shows estimator, time to win and faints. Overall, Power, win chance, CP, DPS and TDO appear on a wider screen.

#	Attacker	Moveset	Overall	Power	Est.Estimator	TimeTime to win	Faints	Win % (3)	CP	DPS	TDO
1	Mega Greninja waterdarkmega Water Shuriken / Surf+	Water Shuriken / Surf++17 more movesets	100%	47.4%	2.32	10:41	25.5	100%	3,784	33.0	757
2	Mega Starmie waterpsychicmega Psywave / Liquidation+	Psywave / Liquidation++44 more movesets	90%	42.7%	2.58	11:52	25.6	100%	3,701	29.6	742
3	Mega Chesnaught grassfightingmega Vine Whip / Seed Bomb+	Vine Whip / Seed Bomb++20 more movesets	96%	42.5%	2.59	11:55	13.2	100%	4,093	28.7	1444
4	Primal Kyogre watermega Waterfall / Origin Pulse	Waterfall / Origin Pulse+5 more movesets	92%	42.3%	2.60	11:58	20.1	100%	5,902	28.9	975
5	Mega Mewtwo Y psychicmega Psycho Cut / Future Sight+	Psycho Cut / Future Sight++26 more movesets	88%	41.1%	2.68	12:20	21.4	100%	6,428	28.1	892
6	Kyurem (White) dragonice Ice Fang / Ice Burn	Ice Fang / Ice Burn+17 more movesets	83%	40.1%	2.75	12:38	29.6	100%	4,605	27.8	664
7	Mega Sceptile grassdragonmega Fury Cutter / Frenzy Plant	Fury Cutter / Frenzy Plant+11 more movesets	84%	39.7%	2.77	12:45	24.3	100%	4,056	27.3	774
8	Mega Swampert watergroundmega Water Gun / Hydro Cannon	Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+11 more movesets	83%	38.7%	2.85	13:06	22.6	100%	4,401	26.5	925
9	Mega Mewtwo X psychicfightingmega Psycho Cut / Dynamic Punch+	Psycho Cut / Dynamic Punch++26 more movesets	82%	38.2%	2.88	13:16	22.4	100%	6,112	26.1	928
10	Shadow Kyogre watershadow Waterfall / Origin Pulse	Waterfall / Origin Pulse+5 more movesets	78%	38.0%	2.90	13:21	32.1	100%	4,115	26.4	627
11	Kyurem (Black) dragonice Dragon Tail / Freeze Shock	Dragon Tail / Freeze Shock+11 more movesets	74%	35.9%	3.07	14:06	32.2	78%	4,605	25.0	610
12	Mega Rayquaza dragonflyingmega Dragon Tail / Dragon Ascent	Dragon Tail / Dragon Ascent+11 more movesets	77%	35.2%	3.13	14:24	17.5	100%	5,713	23.8	1149
13	Shadow Chesnaught grassfightingshadow Vine Whip / Frenzy Plant	Vine Whip / Frenzy Plant+17 more movesets	73%	34.6%	3.19	14:40	25.4	100%	2,954	23.6	763
14	Shaymin (Sky) grassflying Magical Leaf / Grass Knot	Magical Leaf / Grass Knot+11 more movesets	74%	34.1%	3.23	14:52	18.4	74%	3,592	23.0	1304
15	Kartana grasssteel Razor Leaf / Leaf Blade	Razor Leaf / Leaf Blade+14 more movesets	67%	33.9%	3.25	14:57	44.1	30%	3,677	23.9	490
16	Shadow Swampert watergroundshadow Water Gun / Hydro Cannon	Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+11 more movesets	69%	33.6%	3.28	15:04	34.6	70%	2,974	23.3	603
17	Mega Blastoise watermega Water Gun / Hydro Cannon	Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+14 more movesets	69%	33.5%	3.29	15:08	33.4	50%	3,941	23.2	614
18	Shadow Sceptile grassshadow Fury Cutter / Frenzy Plant	Fury Cutter / Frenzy Plant+11 more movesets	67%	33.3%	3.30	15:12	38.5	32%	2,757	23.3	499
19	Mega Venusaur grasspoisonmega Vine Whip / Frenzy Plant	Vine Whip / Frenzy Plant+9 more movesets	68%	33.3%	3.31	15:13	32.4	50%	3,698	23.0	637
20	Shadow Samurott watershadow Fury Cutter / Hydro Cannon	Fury Cutter / Hydro Cannon+11 more movesets	66%	33.2%	3.32	15:17	44.0	48%	2,826	23.3	452
21	Shadow Tangrowth grassshadow Vine Whip / Power Whip	Vine Whip / Power Whip+9 more movesets	69%	33.1%	3.33	15:18	28.6	0%	3,030	22.7	659
22	Shadow Mamoswine icegroundshadow Powder Snow / Avalanche	Powder Snow / Avalanche+11 more movesets	66%	33.0%	3.34	15:22	43.0	36%	3,328	23.2	463
23	Shadow Venusaur grasspoisonshadow Vine Whip / Frenzy Plant	Vine Whip / Frenzy Plant+9 more movesets	66%	32.9%	3.35	15:24	40.9	22%	2,720	23.0	481
24	Shadow Feraligatr watershadow Water Gun / Hydro Cannon	Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+19 more movesets	66%	32.8%	3.35	15:26	39.4	10%	2,857	22.9	495
25	Zarude darkgrass Vine Whip / Power Whip	Vine Whip / Power Whip+5 more movesets	70%	32.7%	3.36	15:29	21.4	0%	3,833	22.2	877
26	Mega Gyarados waterdarkmega Waterfall / Hydro Pump	Waterfall / Hydro Pump+23 more movesets	68%	32.4%	3.40	15:39	27.6	8%	4,717	22.2	712
27	Shadow Torterra grassgroundshadow Razor Leaf / Frenzy Plant	Razor Leaf / Frenzy Plant+14 more movesets	67%	32.1%	3.44	15:49	27.5	0%	2,934	21.9	705
28	Quaquaval waterfighting Water Gun / Hydro Cannon	Water Gun / Hydro Cannon+17 more movesets	64%	31.8%	3.46	15:57	37.5	0%	3,018	22.1	558
29	Rillaboom grass Razor Leaf / Frenzy Plant	Razor Leaf / Frenzy Plant+9 more movesets	66%	31.6%	3.48	16:02	28.2	0%	3,324	21.6	674
30	Shadow Gyarados waterflyingshadow Waterfall / Hydro Pump	Waterfall / Hydro Pump+23 more movesets	66%	31.4%	3.51	16:09	26.3	0%	3,391	21.4	787

How accurate is this? Same top pick as pokebattler.com on 26 of 27 lists checked, 90% of its top tens shared; weakest on Mewtwo's default list (7 of 10).

Ranking. Our full ranking against the page pokebattler.com serves for the same boss and settings, on 27 boss and filter combinations read live (2026-10-04): 242 of 270 top-ten places shared, the same #1 on 26. On the six fixed reference bosses (read 2026-10-03): 85% top-ten overlap with its default filters, 83% with Shadow, Mega and Legendary on. A close top three is shown as a tie because the order inside it is below what we can measure.

Time to win. Graded with Pokebattler's own movesets against every boss moveset, average per boss: Tier 1 and 3 +0.1% to +1.2%; Tier 5 −2.9% to +1.3%; Mega −1.1% to +2.6%; Shadow Tier 5 −1.8% to +0.3%. One attacker can be off by more: median 1.6%, worst 15%, RMS per boss moveset 2.05%.

Known weak spots.

Mewtwo (Tier 5, default filters) shares 7 of Pokebattler's top 10: Absol, Incineroar and Salamence sit just outside ours, Polteageist, Cursola and Hisuian Typhlosion just inside.
Groudon (Tier 5, default filters) shares 7 of 10; its Grass and Water counters run 2-6% fast here.
Tier 5 times run about 2-3% fast for attackers that faint often, and 2-3% slow on Mega Charizard Y and Mega Beedrill, whose counters resist the boss.
Tier 1 lists are the least checked: Combee (Tier 1) shares only 3 of Pokebattler's top 10, with Gigalith first here where Pokebattler puts Rhyperior.

This boss on pokebattler.com. Boss-by-boss accuracy report.

Ranked 30 attackers in 1.8 s (50 Monte Carlo runs each, seed 1). Same boss on pokebattler.com. The same ranking as JSON: /api/raids/rank.