Sandshrew is a tailed, bipedal, ground-dwelling pholidote notable for its defensive capabilities. Its body is mostly covered in a dry, tough hide, which is colored to blend in with the sands of the desert. It has two sharp claws on each foot and has three small but sharp claws on its paws, which are also useful for burrowing and can sometimes be poisonous. It can curl into a tight ball about the same size as a basketball to protect its soft underbelly.
Gender differences
None.
Special abilities
Sandshrew's special abilities are extremely limited compared to other Pokémon. It has a greater control over the ground and sand than the average Pokémon, mostly derived from adaptation to its habitat.
Behavior
In the wild, Sandshrew are mostly defensive by nature. They spend much of their time hidden underground in their burrows and will kick up sand or instantly roll into a ball to escape predators. They may venture out to hunt, taking advantage of the desert sands to hide themselves.
However, with the help of a Trainer, a Sandshrew can become bolder and much more daring, and can even be trained to swim despite the fact that the water weakens them. They are still fond of curling up, though, even if not for defense. Although Sandshrew are usually bipedal, they are able to run on all fours.
Disliking water, Sandshrew are adapted to dry, arid areas. Thus, they can be commonly found in deserts and grasslands, and sometimes in river valleys or the upper levels of caves as well. For the cave varieties, they also dry up if exposed to concentrated doses of light, particularly lights strung together in the cave. Wherever they are, they live underground in deep burrows. It can be found in Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, but it is hardy enough to survive in Orre and can occasionally be found in Sinnoh as well.
Sandshrew do not require a lot of water, due to a very efficient system of staying hydrated with minimal moisture. They hunt for prey in the wild. They are hard to raise and train because of their picky eating habits.
In the anime
Sandshrew in the animeA Sandshrew Egg in the anime
Major appearances
Sandshrew was first featured in The Path to the Pokémon League. It was owned by a Pokémon Trainer named A.J.. Despite A.J.'s seemly barbaric training methods (e.g. using a whip, training in a pool), it was very loyal to him.
Mira enlisted Ash and his friends to help her retrieve her Sandshrew that was lost at the bottom of an artificial lake created by a dammed river in Sandshrew's Locker!.
Minor appearances
Ash Ketchum and Pikachu pass three Sandshrew in Pokémon, I Choose You! while being chased by a flock of wild Spearow.
An ailing Sandshrew is seen briefly near the beginning of Clefairy and the Moon Stone. It was seen lying down, which Seymour described as it "drying out" because of the significant increase of light sources inside Mt. Moon.
Sandshrew's body is configured to absorb water without waste, enabling it to survive in an arid desert. This Pokémon curls up to protect itself from its enemies.
Sandshrew has a very dry hide that is extremely tough. The Pokémon can roll into a ball that repels any attack. At night, it burrows into the desert sand to sleep.
Sandshrew and Sandslash share the same species name with Rattata, Raticate, Pikachu, and Raichu. They are all known as the Mouse Pokémon, though Rattata and Raticate have also been called Rat Pokémon.
Sandshrew is based on the pangolin, a mammal that curls up into a ball, has sharp claws, and lives in desert regions. Both Sandshrew and Sandslash are mentioned to have poisonous claws, similar to how some species of the shrew are poisonous. Sandshrew also closely resembles an armadillo.
Name origin
Sandshrew is a combination of sand and shrew (a small rodent-like mammal).
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.
Quick Claw (5%)
For other sprites and images, please see Sandshrew images on Bulbagarden Archives.
