Biology
Ekans is a purple, serpentine Pokémon. Its eyes, underbelly, the thick stripe around its neck, and rattle are yellow. Ekans has three pairs of black lines encircling its body, as well as another line that connects to each slit-pupiled eye and curves toward its nose. Its large mouth has a round, pink tongue and no visible teeth. While painful, a newborn Ekans's bite is not venomous. This Pokémon grows longer with age.
Ekans lives in grassy savannas and plains, where it moves stealthily through grass. It can also be found in forests and desolate wastelands, where it preys on Eggs from Pidgey and Spearow nests, but will strike other prey from behind. By flicking its tongue out, it is able to detect danger and the scent of prey. Its jaw can detach to swallow large prey, but such a meal can make Ekans too heavy to move or become stuck and cause it to faint. It wraps itself around tree branches at night to rest. If not in a tree, it will coil itself up—a position in which it can defend itself from all directions. In the second movie, it is revealed to possess some swimming abilities. In Generation I, Glare was its signature move.
In the anime
Main series
Major appearances
Jessie received an Ekans as a chūgen gift (a birthday gift in the dub) prior to the start of the anime. It debuted in Pokémon Emergency!, which also marked the species' debut. It was extremely loyal to her and eventually evolved into an Arbok in Dig Those Diglett! just to make her happy.
Ekans was part of Team Meanies in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!. Gengar commanded the Poisonous Snake Pokémon to eat all of the Berries Team Go-Getters had collected. At one point, Ekans was incorrectly referred to as Arbok by Gengar. While this was an intentional error that Ekans rebuked in the original version (due to the similarities between the Japanese names), this came across as a general mistake in the dub and was corrected in reruns of the episode.
Other
In A Poached Ego!, multiple Ekans were captured by Rico. Jessie released her Arbok along with James's Weezing so they could protect these Ekans and a group of captured Koffing.
In Turning Heads and Training Hard!, a Team Skull Grunt's Ekans was quickly defeated by Ilima and his Eevee. In Battle Royal 151!, it competed in the Manalo Conference, only to be defeated by Ilima's Eevee again.
In Dreams Are Made of These!, Goh caught an Ekans during a Pokémon Orienteering competition. It has since made further appearances in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
Minor appearances
In Mewtwo Strikes Back, a Trainer's Ekans was defeated by Mewtwo while it was serving Giovanni.
In Pikachu's Vacation, an Ekans was at the Pokémon Theme Park.
In The Power of One, multiple Ekans sensed the disturbance caused by Lawrence III.
An Ekans appeared in the Japanese credits of Pikachu's Rescue Adventure.
In Carrying On!, a sick Ekans was in Way Away Island's Pokémon Center.
In Different Strokes for Different Blokes, an Ekans was a resident of Bewilder Forest.
An Ekans appeared in a fantasy in A Dancing Debut!.
In The Power of Us, Ash caught an Ekans in a special blue Poké Ball for the Pokémon Catch Race.
In Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, a Trainer's Ekans was at Old Shore Wharf.
In a flashback in Enter Pikachu!, an Ekans attacked Pichu, only to be scared off when Pichu retaliated.
An Ekans appeared in Trade, Borrow, and Steal!.
A Trainer's Ekans appeared in Crowning the Chow Crusher!.
A Trainer's Ekans got stuck in Gulpin's giant ball in A Rollicking Roll….
Pokémon Origins
In File 1: Red, an Ekans was one of the Pokémon seen in Professor Oak's introduction.
An Ekans appeared in File 3: Giovanni.
In the mangaIn the TCGIn the TFG
One Ekans figure has been released.
Game data
NPC appearances
Pokédex entries
Generation I
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Kanto #023
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Red(ENG)
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Moves silently and stealthily. Eats the eggs of birds, such as Pidgey and Spearow, whole.
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Blue
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Yellow
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The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
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Stadium
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Slithers silently through grass, searching for its favorite food—Pidgey and Spearow eggs.
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Generation II
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Johto #050
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Gold
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It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move, however.
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Silver
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It always hides in grass. When first born, it has no poison, so its bite is painful, but harmless.
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Crystal
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It flutters the tip of its tongue to seek out the scent of prey, then swallows the prey whole.
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Stadium 2
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It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move, however.
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Generation III
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Hoenn #—
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Kanto #023
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Ruby
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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.
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Sapphire
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Emerald
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An Ekans curls itself up in a spiral while it rests. This position allows it to quickly respond to an enemy from any direction with a threat from its upraised head.
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FireRed
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A very common sight in grassland, etc. It flicks its tongue in and out to sense danger in its surroundings.
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LeafGreen
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Moving silently and stealthily, it eats the eggs of birds, such as Pidgey and Spearow, whole.
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Generation IV
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Sinnoh #—
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Johto #050
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Diamond
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It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.
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Pearl
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Platinum
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HeartGold
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It can freely detach its jaw to swallow large prey whole. It can become too heavy to move, however.
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SoulSilver
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It always hides in grass. When first born, it has no poison, so its bite is painful, but harmless.
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Generation V
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Unova #—
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Black
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It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.
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White
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Black 2
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It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.
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White 2
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Generation VI
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Kalos Mountain #037
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Hoenn #—
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X
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The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
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Y
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Moving silently and stealthily, it eats the eggs of birds, such as Pidgey and Spearow, whole.
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Omega Ruby
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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.
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Alpha Sapphire
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Generation VII
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Alola USUM: #061
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Kanto #023
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This Pokémon has no Pokédex entries in Sun and Moon.
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Ultra Sun
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By dislocating its jaw, it can swallow prey larger than itself. After a meal, it curls up and rests.
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Ultra Moon
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The eggs of bird Pokémon are its favorite food. It swallows eggs whole, so sometimes an egg gets stuck, and Ekans faints.
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Let's Go Pikachu
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The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.
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Let's Go Eevee
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Game locations
In side games
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Generation II
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This Pokémon is unavailable in Generation II side games.
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In events
Held items
Stats
Base stats
Stat
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Range
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At Lv. 50
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At Lv. 100
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35
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95 - 142
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180 - 274
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60
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58 - 123
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112 - 240
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44
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44 - 105
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83 - 205
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40
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40 - 101
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76 - 196
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54
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53 - 116
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101 - 227
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55
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54 - 117
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103 - 229
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Total: 288
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Other Pokémon with this total
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- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
- This Pokémon's Special base stat in Generation I was 40.
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Pokéathlon stats
Type effectiveness
Under normal battle conditions in Generation IX, this Pokémon is:
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Learnset
Ekans is available in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Ekans
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Ekans
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see level-up moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Ekans
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Ekans
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations
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- Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Ekans in Generation VIII
- Moves marked with a double dagger (‡) can only be bred from a Pokémon who learned the move in an earlier generation.
- Moves marked with a superscript game abbreviation can only be bred onto Ekans in that game.
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Ekans
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Ekans
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Ekans
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Ekans
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Move Tutor moves from other generations
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Side game data
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Pokémon Ranger
Group:
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Poké Assist:
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Field move:
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None
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Loops: 5
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Min. exp.: 28
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Max. exp.: 42
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Browser entry R-151
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If it spots a Capture Disc, Ekans will slither straight toward it.
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Pokémon Rumble Rush
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Walking Speed: 2.33 seconds
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Base HP: 43
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Base Attack: 67
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Base Defense: 48
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Base Speed: 60
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Evolution
Sprites
Trivia
- In the Pokémon Red and Blue beta, Ekans was originally known as "Arbo", its romanized Japanese name.
- In early official art of Ekans, all of the bands on its body were colored yellow instead of just the one on its "neck". This was changed in later art.
- An Ekans was originally going to be featured in Pokémon Snap, as shown in an early test shot of an environment that was never featured in the final product. This is also true of its evolution, Arbok.
- Ekans is one of fourteen Pokémon that one can collect foreign Pokédex entries for in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.
- Ekans has never been scanned with a Pokédex in the anime, despite debuting in the second episode of the original series. As such, this makes it the Pokémon with the most episodes aired after its debut without it getting a Pokédex entry.
Origin
Ekans seems to be based on various snakes. Its venomous bite and tail rattle are similar to a rattlesnake, while its lack of visible teeth and diet of eggs are similar to an egg-eating snake. The single yellow stripe around its neck is reminiscent of the ring-necked snake, and the line connecting its eyes is reminiscent of the marking on the back of the Indian cobra's hood. The fact that it is in the Dragon Egg Group and its ability to learn Glare may be a reference to the legendary basilisk, a venomous, serpentine dragon said to be able to kill people with its stare.
Name origin
Ekans may be derived from the backwards spelling of snake.
Arbo may be derived from cobra or ボア boa spelled backwards.
In other languagesRelated articlesExternal links
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This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
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