Carvanha can be found on the Routes 118 and 119, while fishing with either the Good or the Super Rod. While the chances to fish it up with the Good Rod are rather low (20%), Carvanha's encounter rates while fishing with the Super Rod are a lot higher (60% and 100%, respectively). Sharpedo can be found on the Routes 103, 118, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133 and 134, and in Mossdeep City and Pacifidlog Town, all by fishing with the Super Rod. In all those places, Sharpedo's encounter rate is 40%, except on Route 129, where it is 35%.
The Carvanha Line never got much love in nuzlockes of the original Hoenn games, simply because there was no physical/special split, and also due to its low defensive stats. It also comes pretty late in the game. This doesn't mean the Carvanha Line is worthless, though; Sharpedo's highest attacking stat may be Attack, with a base stat of 120, its Special Attack has a base stat of 95, which isn't too bad either. And with that 95 Special Attack stat, it has the second best base Special Attack stat of all Dark-types that appear in Hoenn's regional Pokédex, only second to Cacturne. On top of all of this, Sharpedo's Speed is also the highest of all the Dark-types in Hoenn's regional Pokédex. All of these statistics contribute to a Sharpedo that is indeed able to make the difference in a nuzlocke.
Courtney/Shelly (Weather Institute): If your Carvanha knows Surf and has evolved into Sharpedo already, there's no problem. Keep Surfing. Courtney's Numel falls quickly, Shelly's Carvanha can't hit back, and both their Mightyena's only way to hit Sharpedo is through Swagger.
Rival (Route 119): Obviously the Grass-types Shroomish and Grovyle are both bad choices. If, and only if, Sharpedo knows Ice Beam, then it is able to take out Shroomish. Don't battle Grovyle, since Leaf Blade will hit hard if you fail to finish it off. Combusken and Numel aren't too troubling. Surf should OHKO, especially when rain is the weather. This very same weather makes it also possible for Sharpedo to battle the Rival's Marshtomp easily, as your Water-type moves will hit for neutral damage. Wailmer boasts Rollout, but due to the damage of Rough Skin and Crunch, it isn't a problem at all.
Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): If your Sharpedo has Ice Beam, it's time to shine. Swellow falls quickly to a super effective Ice Beam, albeit maybe after landing an Aerial Ace. Pelipper won't fall nearly as easily, you'll need multiple Crunches to take it out. Skarmory's Special Defense is really low, so Surf will 2HKO it, while it can only hit back with Aerial Ace and Sand-Attack, and will get outsped by Sharpedo. Altaria is perhaps the easiest of all, since it will be outsped by Sharpedo, and taken down by one Ice Beam.
Rival (Lilycove City): If you outsped Winona's Swellow, you'll surely outspeed this one and OHKO it with Ice Beam. Otherwise, a double Surf or Crunch will take it down as well. Combusken and Numel go down to Surf. Shroomish can't take Ice Beam, but Grovyle could, and then strike back hard with Leaf Blade. Don't battle Grovyle. Wailmer's best chance to hit Sharpedo is through Water Pulse, so Crunch takes it out in a 2- or 3HKO. Marshtomp's Mud Shot and Take Down hit semi-hard, and you don't have the rain advantage to power up Surf. Sharpedo can definitely take one hit that is critical, but two is stretching it. See if Surf 2HKOs; if it does, then take out Marshtomp, if it doesn't, then consider healing or switching.
Tabitha/Matt (Lilycove Hideout): The only one of Tabitha's Pokémon that can maybe bulk one Surf is Mightyena, and it can't do anything else than Swagger to hit back. Needless to say, this is easy for Sharpedo. Matt's Mightyena is completely the same as Tabitha's, and will fall to two Surfs. Then he has a Carvanha and Sharpedo, which both only know Rage and Bite as their attacking moves. Sharpedo takes them out with multiple Surfs, even if they're not super effective.
Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): Lunatone's attacks can't affect Sharpedo. Hypnosis could put it to sleep, though, and Light Screen could lower the power of Sharpedo's special attacks. Be careful when Solrock uses Sunny Day, the next turn it will attack with the super effective SolarBeam. Priority to take out for Sharpedo is Solrock, since Lunatone won't be able to hit it.
Courtney/Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Courtney's Camerupt goes down after one Surf. Both Admin's Mightyena can't do much but Swagger, and then go down. Shelly's Sharpedo may be too much if yours is weakened or lower leveled, since it knows both Crunch and Slash. Your own Slash or Surf if your Sharpedo is higher leveled should do the trick, though.
Maxie/Archie (Seafloor Cavern): Take out their Mightyena with Surf, then back away. Crobat's combination of Confuse Ray and Air Cutter may prove to be too much, and his Sharpedo knows Screech and Swagger alongside Slash. If the luck is not on your side, his Sharpedo will overpower yours. And you don't want your chances of losing a Pokémon to depend on luck. Maxie's Camerupt is something else, though. Surf OHKOs it.
Groudon (Cave of Origin, Ruby only): The sun lowers the power of your Water-type moves, but Ice Beam should still do solid damage. Be careful of Groudon's Earthquake, as it hits incredibly hard, especially when it already got Bulk Up boosts.
Kyogre (Cave of Origin, Sapphire only): A possibility, but not recommended. Sharpedo can hit it with Slash or Crunch, or even Surf, due to the rainstorm. However, Kyogre boasts Hydro Pump under the rain, and can boost its stats with Calm Mind. Also, Kyogre has Body Slam, which will hit hard, and may paralyze Sharpedo.
Gym #8 - Wallace (Sootopolis City, Water-type): Hopefully your Sharpedo is female, because then it has a bigger chance of taking out Wallace's Luvdisc. If not, then be prepared for the ultimate bad luck: Luvdisc knows Sweet Kiss and Attract. Sealeo can use Body Slam, but otherwise isn't too threatening for Sharpedo and its Crunch. Seaking knows Horn Drill. Everything that can't OHKO it should stay away, and that includes Sharpedo. Whiscash hits hard with Earthquake and can boost Special Defense with Amnesia, so keep Sharpedo away here. Finally, there's Milotic, who has extreme Special Defense and Recover. Your only chance for Sharpedo to take it down is with Slash crits or Crunch Special Defense drops. You still need to watch out for Milotic's Water Pulse, since it can confuse you. Take lots of healing items if you plan on Sharpedo to battle Kingdra.
Wally (Victory Road): Altaria goes down after your first Ice Beam. Delcatty doesn't like Surf and Crunch, but will hit back with Sing and Assist. Roselia is dangerous, but if you have a Sharpedo with high Special Attack for its species, then Ice Beam should take it out. Magneton can be taken out if Sharpedo has learned Earthquake. Otherwise, stay away. Finally, there's Gardevoir... who only has Psychic moves and so can't hit Sharpedo. Crunch and finish it up.
Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): Mightyena can try Roar, Take Down and Sand-Attack, but Sharpedo's Surf should take it out quickly. Shiftry and Cacturne are both dangerous, keep Sharpedo away. Sidney's own Sharpedo knows Swagger and Slash, so it's risky. Best to let your Sharpedo sit out this battle. Finally, Absol knows Slash and Swords Dance, making it a powerful set-up Pokémon. Sharpedo outspeeds, but may not be able to 2HKO due to the Sitrus Berry, so let a Fighting-type do this.
Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): There's not much Phoebe's Dusclops and Banette can do to stop Sharpedo's Crunch. Curse, Will-O-Wisp, Toxic and Confuse Ray are the most dangerous here. Oh, and Sableye's Attract if your Sharpedo is male. If it's female, then taking out Sableye is pretty easy as well.
Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Glacia's first Glalie is annoying due to Light Screen and Hail, but not threatening. Taking it out isn't too hard. Her second Glalie still can't hit Sharpedo with a move that isn't not very effective, and it doesn't know Light Screen anymore either. Watch out for the lowest leveled Sealeo, as it has Body Slam. Otherwise, shouldn't be too hard to take out with Crunch. Again, hope that your Sharpedo is female, because Glacia's highest leveled Sealeo has Attract, but otherwise no moves to hit Sharpedo. Walrein has Sheer Cold, so don't battle it ever with anything that can't OHKO it.
Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): Ice Beam everything and take your victory home. Easiest Elite Four battle for Sharpedo... but be careful if you have a Speed-lowering nature, as Sharpedo's base Speed is slightly lower than Flygon's and Salamence's. Level up higher than them in that case.
Champion Steven (Ever Grande City, Steel-type): Skarmory goes down after two Surfs, but it's recommended to send something out that can OHKO the creature, as it can set Spikes. Claydol and Aggron both are unable to take Surf. Cradily is a big no, even with Ice Beam, due to it knowing Giga Drain. Armaldo can't truly hit hard, and Surf will take it out. Metagross is dangerous, but if you have Earthquake, you can take it down. Watch out for its own Earthquake and Hyper Beam, though.
Post-Game: Sharpedo keeps at it as before. It can take down quite a lot of opponents, but there will still be some life-threatening ones for a Sharpedo.
Shelly (Weather Institute): If your Carvanha knows Surf and has evolved into Sharpedo already, there's no problem. Keep Surfing. Shelly's Carvanha can't hit back, and her Mightyena's only way to hit Sharpedo is through Swagger.
Rival (Route 119): Slugma and Combusken fall instantly to Sharpedo's Surf, especially when a rainstorm is up. Due to the same rainstorm, Marshtomp falls easily to Surf as well. Lombre's most powerful Grass-type move is Absorb, so it's nothing threatening either, if Sharpedo has Crunch. Pelipper can annoy with Supersonic and attack with Wing Attack, but Crunch will 3HKO, worst case scenario. Last up is Grovyle, which is a bad choice, even if Sharpedo has Ice Beam. Leaf Blade will hit hard.
Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): If your Sharpedo has Ice Beam, it's time to shine. Swablu, Tropius and Altaria fall quickly to a super effective Ice Beam, without having the chance to attack. Pelipper won't fall nearly as easily, you'll need multiple Crunches to take it out. Skarmory's Special Defense is really low, so Surf will 2HKO it, while it can only hit back with Aerial Ace and Sand-Attack, and will get outsped by Sharpedo.
Rival (Lilycove City): Sharpedo laughs before Ice Beaming Tropius away. Slugma and Combusken can't do anything, and get swept away by Surf. Ludicolo's strongest Grass-type move is still Absorb, so it can't hit Sharpedo hard. Crunch 2- or 3HKOs. Pelipper is still the same. It can't hit Sharpedo, and Crunch 2- or 3HKOs it. Grovyle could take an Ice Beam, and then strike back hard with Leaf Blade. Don't battle Grovyle. Marshtomp's Mud Shot and Take Down hit semi-hard, and you don't have the rain advantage to power up Surf. Sharpedo can definitely take one hit that is critical, but two is stretching it. See if Surf 2HKOs; if it does, then take out Marshtomp, if it doesn't, then consider healing or switching.
Tabitha (Jagged Pass Hideout): Numel and Camerupt fall to one Surf, Zubat can't take Ice Beam, Surf or Crunch. Mightyena's only move to hit Sharpedo with is still Swagger, so this is an easy victory for the Water/Dark-type.
Maxie (Jagged Pass Hideout): Mightyena's Take Down and Swagger are slightly problematic, but Mightyena itself falls to Surf rather easily. Crobat may be too much for Sharpedo, even with Ice Beam. Confuse Ray and Air Cutter crits are dangerous. Camerupt goes down after one Surf.
Matt (Lilycove Hideout): Mightyena literally has no attacking moves, and its only chance to damage you is through Swagger. Golbat can use Confuse Ray, which can be truly annoying after the Swagger Attack boosts, but Ice Beam takes it out easily after that.
Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): Claydol is annoying, boasting both Earthquake and Light Screen. Xatu can't hit Sharpedo, except through Confuse Ray. It can set up Sunny Day, though. Lunatone's attacks can't affect Sharpedo either. Hypnosis could put it to sleep, though, and Light Screen could lower the power of Sharpedo's special attacks. Be careful when Solrock uses Sunny Day, the next turn it will attack with the super effective SolarBeam. The first priority to take out is Claydol, then Solrock, if the sun isn't up yet. If the sun is up when Solrock switches in, change it immediately or switch out, since SolarBeam will hit hard.
Maxie and Tabitha (Mossdeep Space Center, tag battle with Steven): Tabitha's team falls rather easily to Sharpedo's Surf and Ice Beam combination, as do Maxie's Mightyena and Camerupt. But yet again, Mightyena's Swagger is annoying. You might want to switch out sometimes, especially because Maxie's Crobat may yet again be too much to take for Sharpedo.
Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Mightyena can't do much but Swagger and Take Down, and then go down. Sharpedo may be too much if yours is weakened or lower leveled, since it knows both Crunch and Slash. Your own Slash or Surf if your Sharpedo is higher leveled should do the trick, though.
Archie (Seafloor Cavern): Take out Archie's Mightyena with Surf, then back away. Crobat's combination of Confuse Ray and Air Cutter may prove to be too much, and his Sharpedo knows Screech and Swagger alongside Slash. If the luck is not on your side, his Sharpedo will overpower yours. And you don't want your chances of losing a Pokémon to depend on luck.
Gym #8 - Juan (Sootopolis City, Water-type): Hopefully your Sharpedo is female, because then it has a bigger chance of taking out Juan's Luvdisc. If not, then be prepared for the ultimate bad luck: Luvdisc knows Sweet Kiss and Attract. Sealeo can use Body Slam, but otherwise isn't too threatening for Sharpedo and its Crunch. Whiscash hits hard with Earthquake and can boost Special Defense with Amnesia, so keep Sharpedo away here. Water Pulse and Crabhammer are Crawdaunt's only moves, so Sharpedo is able to take it out thanks to Slash or Earthquake. Kingdra abuses Double Team and Rest, while also boasting the freezing Ice Beam and the confusing Water Pulse. Unless you really have nothing else, keep Sharpedo away, as all your attacks will miss. Take lots of healing items if you plan on Sharpedo to battle Kingdra.
Wally (Victory Road): Altaria goes down after your first Ice Beam. Delcatty doesn't like Surf and Crunch, but will hit back with Sing and Assist. Roselia is dangerous, but if you have a Sharpedo with high Special Attack for its species, then Ice Beam should take it out. Magneton can be taken out if Sharpedo has learned Earthquake. Otherwise, stay away. Finally, there's Gardevoir... who only has Psychic moves and so can't hit Sharpedo. Crunch and finish it up.
Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): Mightyena can try Roar, Double-Edge and Sand-Attack, but Sharpedo's Surf should take it out quickly. Shiftry and Cacturne are both dangerous, keep Sharpedo away. Crawdaunt can use Swords Dance and Slash, so keep Sharpedo away. Finally, Absol knows Slash and Swords Dance, making it a powerful set-up Pokémon. Sharpedo outspeeds, but may not be able to 2HKO due to the Sitrus Berry, so let a Fighting-type do this.
Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): There's not much Phoebe's Dusclops and Banette can do to stop Sharpedo's Crunch. Curse, Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, Grudge and Confuse Ray are the most dangerous here, as well as one of Phoebe's Banette, which knows Thunderbolt. Be careful if your Special Attack is low! Phoebe's Sableye has Double Team, but a few Crunches take it out quickly as well.
Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Glacia's first Sealeo can use Hail and Body Slam, but isn't all too threatening. Take it out with Crunch. The second Sealeo is a bad idea, since it's pretty bulky and boasts both Double-Edge and Attract. The lowest leveled Glalie can use Light Screen, but isn't threatening to Sharpedo. Watch out for the highest leveled Glalie, it can use Explosion, which will hurt Sharpedo badly. Walrein has Sheer Cold, so don't battle it ever with anything that can't OHKO it.
Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): Ice Beam everything that isn't Kingdra. The latter's Dragon Dance/Body Slam combination is dangerous, so it's best handled by another Pokémon. All the others fall to Ice Beam. Be careful if you have a Speed-lowering nature, as Sharpedo's base Speed is slightly lower than Flygon's and Salamence's. Level up higher than them in that case.
Champion Wallace (Ever Grande City, Water-type): Wailord is risky because of it knowing Double-Edge. Avoid it. Tentacruel knows Toxic and Sludge Bomb, plus has a high Special Defense, but if your Sharpedo knows Earthquake, you're fine. Ludicolo knows Giga Drain, Whiscash Amnesia and Earthquake, and Gyarados Dragon Dance, Hyper Beam and Earthquake, so stay away from this trio. Milotic can use Toxic and Recover, but if you can lower its Special Defense with Crunch or hit it hard with Slash crits, Earthquake or Return, you can take it out. Just take enough healing items.
Post-Game: Sharpedo keeps at it as before. It can take down quite a lot of opponents, but there will still be some life-threatening ones for a Sharpedo.
Moves[]
Carvanha and Sharpedo come at varying levels, from 10 to 35. When level 10, Carvanha will know Bite, Leer and Rage. The former two are learned at level 1, the latter one at 7. At level 13, Carvanha learns Focus Energy, pretty much worthless. Scary Face is learned at level 16, which is just like Focus Energy worthless. Then, at level 22, Carvanha learns Crunch, a really powerful move, and one of the Carvanha Line's best moves overall. At level 28 comes Screech, which isn't particularly useful. If you wait for evolution one level, Carvanha will learn Take Down at level 31. The move isn't really worth it, though. As a Sharpedo, the Water/Dark-type will learn Slash at level 33, which is also pretty useful, and better than Take Down. Taunt comes at level 38, but isn't worth it. At level 43, Sharpedo learns Swagger, but if the luck gods are against you, Swagger could do you more bad than good. Skull Bash comes at level 48, but yet again, not good enough, as it is mostly outclassed by Return or Slash. The last move is Agility, which comes at level 53, but is worthless due to Sharpedo outspeeding the majority of all Pokémon in Hoenn anyway.
As for the TMs. There is only a limited amount of useful TMs for the Carvanha line. The first one isn't a TM, but HM Surf. It is the best Water-type move Sharpedo gets throughout the whole game, so make sure you teach it to the Water/Dark-type. The second one is the TM Ice Beam, which is found in the Abandoned Ship. This move could also be obtained in the Mauville Game Corner. Then comes Return, which can be found in Fallarbor Town. Later, you can also get Return TMs in Pacifidlog Town. Blizzard can be bought in the Lilycove Department Store, but is inferior to Ice Beam due to the 30% miss chance. And finally, there's Earthquake, found in Seafloor Cavern. About tutor moves in Emerald, there aren't any really interesting ones, except maybe for Double-Edge, which is inferior to Return.
Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and a hindering nature, if applicable.
Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and a helpful nature, if applicable.
Sharpedo's stats[]
Stat
Range
At Lv. 50
At Lv. 100
HP:
70
130 - 177
250 - 344
Attack:
120
112 - 189
220 - 372
Defense:
40
40 - 101
76 - 196
Sp.Atk:
95
90 - 161
175 - 317
Sp.Def:
40
40 - 101
76 - 196
Speed:
95
90 - 161
175 - 317
Total:
460
Other Pokémon with this total
Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and a hindering nature, if applicable.
Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and a helpful nature, if applicable.
Carvanha Line Ratings
Availability
Matchups
Movepool
Survivability
Type Usefulness
Team Role
Offensive Utility
Defensive Utility
Tankiness
Fun Factor
Overall
What Nature do I want? Something that boosts either Attack, Speed or Special Attack and lowers Defense or Special Defense. Lonely, Naughty, Mild, Rash, Hasty or Naive would be the best.
At what point in the game should I be evolved? As soon as you catch Carvanha, you should grind to evolve it already. Sharpedo's defenses are weak, but Carvanha is literally a wet paper bag.
How good is the Carvanha line in a Nuzlocke? Well... not that great. But it can deal with certain threats. Its offensive capabilities are good, but its defenses are terribly low, so it will be hard for an inexperienced nuzlocker to keep their Sharpedo alive.
Weaknesses: Electric, Grass, Fighting, Bug
Resistances: Dark, Ghost, Water, Fire, Steel, Ice
Immunities: Psychic
Neutralities: Normal, Ground, Rock, Flying, Poison, Dragon
