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It’s hard to meet a Pokemon fan who doesn’t have a favorite species of monster. With over 800 (and counting) Pokemon to choose from, it’s hard to not find one you’re head over heels for. We’ve seen it all at this stage, from animated ice creams to towering dinosaurs, there really is something for everyone. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, which leads me to the face of this guide.
I’ve only met a small selection of people who speak so fondly of Grimer. This trash-eating, sewer-dwelling gelatinous blob isn’t a Pokemon I’d particularly want to associate myself with. But, if you look past its slimy appearance and potentially foul odor, there’s definitely a valuable Pokemon hidden.
Grimer was sent over to the Alola Region in order to clear up the mess left by inhabitants and tourists. It was trained to eat garbage rather than the sludge of Kanto, so over time it’s adopted a regional form and become a highly praised addition to the region.
I underestimated this species massively, and you may find yourself in the same boat. So let’s find a reason to give this Pokemon the recognition it deserves!
Bottom Line Up Front
It’s hard to say that Alolan Grimer is one of the cutest Pokemon, but it still comes with charms and quirks that any other species would. Unfortunately, Grimer has been one of the most grotesque Pokemon since the first Generation – so it’s only appropriate that his regional forms reflect this.
Nevertheless, I think he’s a valuable addition to the Alola Region, and there would be a lot of work to do if this slimy species hadn’t infested it! Maybe after learning about what makes this Pokemon special, you’ll feel similarly.
Here are some general facts about Alolan Grimer to get you started:
- Generation: One
- Pokedex Number: 88
- Type: Poison and Dark
- Catch Rate: 190 (35.2%)
- Gender Ratio: 50% Male and 50% Female
- Evolves into: Alolan Muk starting at Level Thirty-Eight
- Base Friendship: 70
Alolan Grimer’s Appearance
Despite taking the same gelatinous form as Kantonian Grimer, Alolan Grimer has an entirely different color palette and accompanying accents. Rather than being purple, this regional variant is a deep green, with a bright streak of yellow across its bottom lip, which circles to the back of its head.
This color change is said to have come from the diet of Kantonian Grimer changing when it reached Alola. Rather than eating sludge, it’s been consuming garbage, making it go green! This Pokemon has two blunt ‘teeth’ on its upper jaw and a bright blue tongue to aid the eating process.
But, according to the Pokedex, these teeth aren’t exactly what they seem. Rather than being a pair of teeth, they are crystallized toxins that formed once again due to the Pokemon’s diet. Surprisingly, Alolan Grimer doesn’t produce the same foul odor as Kantonian Grimer, another positive side of its eco-friendly nature.
Towards the top of the mouth are two wide eyes with tiny black pupils. The top of the eyes features a black, almost eyeshadow-like half circle. The eyes and arms of this Pokemon are the same as its Kantonian equivalent. When encountering a Grimer in the wild, its mouth is usually agape.
Alolan vs Kantonian
Compared to its previous variant, Alolan Grimer boasts a mighty build. I’d go ahead and say that Alolan Grimer is more robust than its initial form because of this.
The newly introduced dual-typing of this Pokemon allows it to be strong in Dark-type and poison-type moves, only leaving it incredibly vulnerable to ground moves. Kantonian Grimer is weak to ground and psychic, which Alolan Grimer’s dark type makes it immune to.
Aside from type, their appearance is entirely different too. While Alolan Grimer is green with a yellow stripe on its lower lip, Kantonian Grimer is purple with no definitive accents. Interestingly Alolan Grimer’s shiny is a very close purple to the Kantonian version, but you’d only be mistaken if you saw it from the back since it still has the yellow stripe.
Even though I’ve spent a lot of time alongside Kantonian Grimer, since the Alolan variant has only appeared in four games, my preference lies with Alola. I think that the new look perfectly represents everything grotesque about this species, and it has the potential to be incredibly powerful, which I will cover in more detail later on!
Abilities and Hidden Abilities
Unlike other regional forms, Alolan Grimer has different abilities from its Kantonian Form. Its hidden ability is unique to its species and evolution and is a significant advantage in battle. However, Alolan Grimer is built to take a hit, so regardless of its base stats, you may want to consider charging into conflict with one.
Abilities are worthy of notice in Pokemon, especially if you come up against a tricky gym leader. Unfortunately, I spent far too long paying no note to them, making most Pokemon games harder than needed. However, now that I know my party’s abilities, I can breeze through battle and remain undefeated. Alolan Grimers’ abilities may appear to be a gamble, but you’re onto a winner as soon as that first ability activates.
Here are Alolan Grimer’s abilities and its hidden ability:
(First Ability) Poison Touch: If this Pokemon uses a move in a battle that makes contact with an opponent, there is a 30% chance that the opposition will be poisoned.
(Second Ability) Gluttony: If the Pokemon is holding a berry, Gluttony allows the Pokemon to consume it at 50% HP or lower instead of the standard 25% or lower. However, this ability does not affect berries which apply to other HP thresholds. For example, the Pokemon will not consume an Oran Berry due to it already activating at 50% HP or less.
(Hidden Ability) Power of Alchemy: This Hidden Ability is the signature ability of both Alolan Grimer and Alolan Muk. Suppose another party member faints in battle, regardless of why and how the fainted Pokemon’s ability will replace Power of Alchemy. Additionally, Power of Alchemy cannot be copied by Role Play or Trace. If the opponent uses either of these moves, it’ll fail.
Alolan Grimers Base Stats
As I’ve already mentioned, Alolan Grimer’s stance is built to take a hit. However, looking at its base stats from a glance, it doesn’t look all too powerful. Alolan Grimer is one of nine Pokemon to rack up a total of 325, which is a little bit over halfway to the power of a legendary Pokemon. Sure, that may seem like an impressive feat, but that doesn’t mean its base stats aren’t unevenly weighted.
Take a look at Alolan Grimer’s base stats for yourself:
- HP: 80
- Attack: 80
- Defense: 50
- Sp Attack: 40
- Sp Defense: 50
- Speed: 25
While its HP is high, the speed stat is (almost) as slow as a Slowpoke. This means it’s doubtful that you will move first if this Pokemon is at the front of your party. This is one of the reasons that this species is almost required to take a hit or two. With such a low speed stat, you must make sure you hit hard when it’s your move. Otherwise, there’s no hope for this pile of sludge!
Alolan Grimers Move Set and Moves it Can Learn
If you’re familiar with Grimer outside of Alola, you’ll probably be familiar with the barrage of Poison-type moves it’ll learn as you progress in battle.
However, Alolan Grimer shakes things up a little and introduces a dual-type to the species, so it becomes Poison/Dark instead of just one. Because of this, there are a few changes in the moves that this Pokemon will learn as it levels up, and additionally opens the doors to understanding a huge variety of new actions via TM and TR.
If you’re looking to take this beauty into battle after reading about its abilities and base stats, then its moves are the following things you need to consider. While hitting hard is essential, any moves that affect the status conditions of your opponent deserve some research. Luckily for a toxin-filled Pokemon like Grimer, there is a Rolodex of moves you can apply to leave your opponent paralyzed or poisoned.
Here are the moves Alolan Grimer will learn as it levels up, followed by the levels you need to reach:
- Pound – Level One
- Poison Gas -Level One
- Harden – Level Four
- Mud-Slap – Level Seven
- Disable – Level Twelve
- Sludge – Level Fifteen
- Smog – Level Eighteen
- Minimize – Level Twenty-One
- Fling – Level Twenty-Six
- Sludge Bomb – Level Twenty-Nine
- Sludge Wave – Level Thirty-Two
- Screech – Level Thirty-Seven
- Gunk Shot – Level Forty
- Acid Armor – Level Forty-Three
- Belch – Level Forty-Six
- Memento – Level Forty-Eight
As I’ve already mentioned, there is a colossal spectrum of moves Alolan Grimer can learn via TR and TM. With a brand new dual-type, there are even more options for moves than Kantonian Grimer had available. If you need a beast for battle, I’d recommend choosing Alolan > Kantonian where possible. This Grimer, although flashy in appearance, is an absolute fiend.
I’ll admit, I struggled with the gym battles in Ultra Moon. I always leave my starter Pokemon at the front of my party, so I don’t know why I didn’t apply that tradition in Ultra Moon. I could’ve massively benefitted from having a Pokemon like Grimer to absorb the impact of an opponent while I desperately tried to heal my precious party.
If the moves it learns while leveling aren’t enough, Alolan Grimer can also learn the following moves via TM and TR:
- Sunny Day
- Taunt
- Protect
- Rain Dance
- Giga Drain
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder
- Dig
- Shadow Ball
- Double Team
- Shock Wave
- Flamethrower
- Fire Blast
- Rock Tomb
- Torment
- Facade
- Rest
- Attract
- Theif
- Explosion
- Payback
- Sleep Talk
- Swagger
- Strength
Type and Weaknesses Explored
Even though Alolan Grimer’s new dual-type is excellent in learning moves, as any dual-type Pokemon goes, it still has its vulnerabilities. For example, to coincide with my suggestion of choosing Alolan>Kantonian, Alolan Grimer is immune to psychic-type moves, whereas Kantonian Grimer is immune to nothing.
Luckily in more recent Pokemon games, if you have the Pokemon, you’re facing off against registered to your Pokedex; when selecting a move, its effect will appear underneath.
So, for example, if a move will do additional damage to the opponent, it’ll state underneath the name of the move that it’ll be ‘super effective.’ The relief I feel when I see this phrase under a move, I’m not sure about is utterly unmatched—especially when fighting Gym Leaders that won’t budge.
If you’re still not sure, Alolan Grimer is damaged normally by the following types:
- Normal
- Fighting
- Flying
- Rock
- Bug
- Steel
- Fire
- Water
- Electric
- Ice
- Dragon
- Fairy
Much like every other Pokemon, this Pokemon has its weaknesses too. Alolan Grimer is especially weak against Ground moves, but it is immune to psychic-type moves to compensate for its weakness. As I said, this is an exclusive feature to Alolan Grimer, as Kantonian Grimer isn’t immune to any move type.
Furthermore, despite it not being guaranteed, Alolan Grimer can resist the moves of these types:
- Poison
- Ghost
- Grass
- Dark
So not only are Alolan Grimer’s abilities a gamble but there is also a chance it can entirely resist the moves of particular Pokemon. This Pokemon is genuinely up against all odds, and I’ve said it once, and I’ll repeat it. I would be keen to take this risk when I revisit Pokemon Ultra Moon.
How to Prepare Alolan Grimer for Battle & its Best Move Sets
Considering its base stats, speed is not Alolan Grimer’s best skill. So you’ll need to prepare to take a hit before you can return one.
However, it has a decent HP, so given you’re not significantly under-leveled, it should be a fair battle. With a Pokemon so heavily reliant on its poisonous appearance, it hosts a lot of status-effecting moves rather than direct hits, which you can manipulate fairly easily to cause damage continuously.
Two sets of moves optimize Alolan Grimer’s abilities, but in both, the Pokemon needs to be holding an Eviolite. The Eviolite will increase Grimer’s defense, and Sp. Defense by 1.5x, since it’s a Pokemon that can evolve. Additionally, the Alolan Grimer you’re setting up needs to have the Poison Touch ability since it’ll encourage the poisoning of your opponent every time a move makes contact.
The Shadow Sneak Approach
Moves: Pursuit, Knock Off, Poison Jab, and Shadow Sneak.
The most crucial move in this set is Knock Off. Not only is it a hard-hitting dark-type move, but any move that makes contact has a 30% chance of poisoning your opponent.
Additionally, using Poison Jab, which also has a 30% chance of poisoning, will result in a higher chance of leaving your opponent with a status effect. Poison Jab is guaranteed to cause damage regardless of status effect due to having 100% accuracy.
Using the Poison Touch ability with a move like Poison Jab increases the odds of poisoning your opponent to 51% rather than just relying on the 30% and taking a gamble. Since Alolan Grimer will always move second due to its slow speed, making sure you hit hard and having a status effect in play throughout the match will rinse any competitor of their HP.
Following through with Shadow Sneak, a priority move that lets Grimer move first may be the last thing you need to knock the last bit of HP off your competition. This set of moves is incredibly powerful if played right and could have you breezing through any tough gym battles.
If you take this approach, here are Alolan Grimer’s EVs:
- HP: 36
- Attack: 196
- Defense: 196
- Special Defense: 36
The Gunk Shot Approach
Moves: Rest, Sleep Talk, Knock Off, and Gunk Shot.
Rest is the best way to heal Alolan Grimer, and it recovers any HP and relieves any potential status effects you may have received from your competition. While Grimer is resting, you can use Sleep Talk to select a move from your set randomly. Due to having full HP after resting, you’ll end up using a move that causes damage even when asleep.
I love this move, and it’s saved me a number of times when I’ve been put to sleep by another Pokemon—being able to cause damage even when unconscious has pulled me out of several sticky situations.
Once you’re awake again, Knock Off has the same effects as the Shadow Sneak approach I’ve just discussed. Again, there’s the same 51% chance of poisoning your opponent. Following this with Gunk Shot only increases your odds. Of course, Gunk Shot has lower odds of poisoning your opponent than Poison Jab, but it hits that extra bit harder, which may be helpful.
With a move like rest, you can consistently heal while dealing damage with this build. It’s my preferred approach to creating a battle-ready Grimer since you’re almost guaranteed to cause damage and consistently poison your opponents to chip away at their HP.
If you take the Gunk Shot approach, here are Alolan Grimers EVs:
- HP: 36
- Attack: 196
- Defense: 196
- Special Defense: 36
Alolan Grimer Locations
If you’re like me and considering adding this Pokemon to your party, or if you’re just on the hunt to finish your Pokedex, it can be found in several locations. It’s important to note that Alolan Grimer is unique to the Alola Region, so it can only be found in the wild in Pokemon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. Outside of these four games, it’s yet to make its wild debut.
Even though it has a Pokedex entry in Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, Alolan Grimer cannot be found spawning in the world. The only way to get ahold of this gooey critter is by trading it into Let’s Go from one of the previous four games. Once it’s in, you can add him to your party and take it for a walk around Kanto, but there’s no way of accessing it through gameplay.
So to catch an Alolan Grimer, there are three predominant locations in which it spawns—starting with the Trainer’s School, where you can see multiple trainers discussing why Alolan Grimer is lingering around so much. There are several of the species you can see in the ‘overworld,’ but any long grass in the surrounding area has a chance of spawning one.
Additionally, both Hau’oli City and Malie City are home to this species. I appreciate that Alolan Grimer only spawns in locations you assume have the most litter. The urban areas in Pokemon games always appear to be incredibly clean compared to what I’m used to seeing daily, but at least now I know why!
Alolan Grimer in the Anime
With the entire Pokemon the Series: Sun & Moon anime being based in the Alola region, you’d expect Alolan Grimer to make more than one appearance. Instead, however, Alolan Grimer makes a single debut in the series within the episode “Turning Heads and Training Hard!” This episode was the sixty-fifth addition to this series and the 1004th addition to the Pokemon anime.
Alolan Grimer first and finally appears in the series as part of a flashback under the ownership of Tupp. Since its first appearance during the flashback, nothing has been said about what happened to the Grimer. Tupp’s party in the show consists of three Salandits, and the status and moves of Grimer have been forgotten.
However, in the episodes ‘Who’s That Pokemon?’ Alolan Grimer was the lucky species to be featured. Even though these clips only last a few seconds, seeing the species have that few moments of fame was nice. Unfortunately, outside of this episode, Alolan Grimer doesn’t appear again, but its Kantonian cousin appears approximately fifteen times, which seems a little unfair if you ask me!
Alolan Grimer in the Manga
Even though it was slightly overlooked in the anime, Alolan Grimer made its debut in the manga in Pokemon Adventures. In Volume One, Chapter Four of Pokemon Adventures: Sun & Moon, – titled “The Decision and The Tournament of Six,” Alolan Grimer made its first appearance alongside three other regional variants. It can be seen in the background with a trainer during a festival in Iki Town.
Following this, Alolan Grimer also appeared in the sixth chapter of the same manga, where it is under the possession of one of the main characters, Moon. Later in the manga, this Alolan Grimer evolves into Alolan Muk – the first time this Pokemon has appeared in the manga.
Finally, in the second volume of this series and the thirteenth chapter, Alolan Grimer appears for its final chance in the spotlight. The chapter is titled “Unleashing the Incredible Z-Move,” and Alolan Grimer makes a brief appearance as one of the competitors in battle.
Alolan Grimer in the TCG
As I mentioned in its battle stats, Alolan Grimer can be a valuable addition to your party in-game; however, you may consider adding him to your deck in TCG as well. Although it doesn’t seem that powerful at first, playing with the right hand and potentially using it to evolve into Alolan Muk may have you set to win.
The Sun & Moon Pokemon series was accompanied by a base set of trading cards released in 2017. Since then, eleven main sets of Sun & Moon trading cards have been released. This doesn’t include subsets and mini-sets, which may have also been released along the way. Of all eleven sets, Alolan Grimer only appears in five.
Here’s a list of TCG collections where an Alolan Grimer card can be pulled and the number it is within the collection:
- Sun & Moon – Number 57
- Burning Shadows – Number 83
- Team Up – Number 83
- Unified Minds – Number 127
- Cosmic Eclipse – Number 130
None of these cards are considered rare. However, Alolan Grimer in the Sun & Moon expansion is the only Poison-type card out of the list. In each set, Alolan Grimer has either 70 or 80HP, which makes it relatively weak in battle and allows it to evolve, as I said.
Each card hosts different moves, so you may want to consider which moves will best suit your play style. Here are the different moves Grimer knows depending on which set the card is from:
- Sun & Moon – Super Poison Breath and Pound
- Burning Shadows – Division and Slippery Sludge
- Team Up – Chemical Breath
- Unified Minds – Collect and Sludge Bomb
- Cosmic Eclipse – Melt and Nasty Goo
If you wanted to play with more status effects rather than direct hits, I’d recommend using the card from Burning Shadows. Paired with the card from Team Up, you could cause serious damage! If you wanted to focus more on a direct attack, then the moves in Cosmic Eclipse allow you to cause damage and potentially paralyze your opponent.
FAQs
Question: Is Alolan Grimer in Pokemon Go?
Answer: Alolan Grimer is available to find in 7km eggs in Pokemon Go. Most regional variants are found in these eggs, so that would be my first point of call when it comes to tracking this guy down. Additionally, Alolan Grimer was a max raid boss in Spring 2022, so it’s more common now than ever!
When it comes to spawning in the wild, you’re more likely to come across a Kantonian Grimer than an Alolan variant. However, be sure to look closely! Alolan Grimer’s shiny version looks similar to the Kantonian version from the back!
Question: Is There a Galarian Grimer?
Answer: Unfortunately, there is no Galarian Grimer. The Alolan variant is the only regional variant of the species, and funnily enough, Grimer didn’t make the cut for the Sword and Shield Pokedex. I’d love to see this Pokemon in Sword and Shield, with or without a regional variant. You never know how good something is until it’s gone!
Question: How do You Evolve Alolan Grimer into Alolan Muk?
Answer: Alolan Grimer will evolve into Alolan Muk starting at Level Thirty-Eight. There’s no need to use any item, and there are no specific conditions to meet before this Pokemon considers evolving. I much prefer this approach to evolution – it takes the stress off having to run around an entire map searching for a tiny item!
Alolan Grimer Guide: Summary
Even though you may have come into this guide finding everything about Grimer repulsive, you can’t deny that it is an incredible addition to the Pokemon Universe.
Unfortunately, I spent a lot of my experience with the Pokemon franchise looking down on this species, mainly because it’s not as appealing as other Pokemon looks. Still, after considering everything that makes it so unique, I’d quite happily call myself an Alolan Grimer fan!
Still working on my adoration for Muk, but I think that’ll take a little bit longer.
