Shiny Sandshrew, evolution chart, 100% perfect IV stats and Sandslash best moveset in Pokémon Go

Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew's 100% perfect IV stats in Pokémon Go explained

An excellent reason to partake in March's Community Day is the opportunity to catch a perfect Sandshrew and a perfect Alolan Sandshrew in Pokémon Go.

A Sandshrew with 100% IV stats - Alolan or no - can be evolved into a Sandslash, which is a great choice for battling in raids, gyms and the Go Battle League. Which types it has an advantage over depends on whether it's a Gen 1 Sandshrew or an Alola variant.

For Gen 1 Sandshrew, the CP values which correspond to perfect 15/15/15 stats are as follows:

• Level 30 (wild CP maximum) - 1081 CP
• Level 35 (weather boosted CP maximum) - 1171 CP

For Alolan Sandshrew, the CP values which correspond to perfect 15/15/15 stats are as follows:

• Level 30 (wild CP maximum) - 1108 CP
• Level 35 (weather boosted CP maximum) - 1201 CP

The wild CP values align with your current trainer level until you reach Level 30, so, since the majority of the player base is above this level, we kept to these values for simplicity's sake. If, however, you're currently below Level 30, these values will be different.

Sandshrew evolution chart: What does Sandshrew evolve into?

Both Gen 1 Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew have one evolution - Sandslash - which requires 50 Candies.

Community Day lasts from 11am to 5pm (local time) which means you have ample time to collect Sandshrew Candy for all your evolving, powering up and move teaching needs.

If you're only able to partake in a small amount of the Community Day event, then there are ways to increase your candy yield:

• Using a Pinap Berry will double the amount of candy you receive from 3 to 6.
• Mega evolving Abomasnow will increase the amount of candy you'll earn from catching Alolan Sandshrew.
• Mega evolving Steelix will increase the amount of candy you'll earn from catching Gen 1 Sandshrew. You can also do this after the Community Day ends to gather some extra candy!
• Placing a Sandshrew as your buddy Pokémon will allow you to gather candy from walking 3km with it.

Remember to check their IV stats or simply search 3* and 4* to see which Sandshrews are worth investing in before evolving one. Sandslash's exclusive move - Night Slash - and Alolan Sandslash's exclusive move - Shadow Claw - are available till 7pm (local time) on Community Day.

If you miss the moves, you'll need to either use an Elite TM - Charged for Gen 1 Sandslash and Fast for Alolan Sandslash - or wait till the December Community Day.

What, however, is the best moveset for Sandslash?

Gen 1 Sandslash moves and best moveset recommendation explained

We recommend a moveset of Mud Shot (Fast) and Earthquake (Charged) for Sandslash in Pokémon Go.

Picking a Fast Move for Sandslash is rather hard since both Mud Shot and Metal Claw are good choices, with Metal Claw being slightly more powerful. It may be worth experimenting to see which you prefer; keeping in mind that Metal Claw - being a steel-type move - would give Sandslash an advantage when facing fairy, ice and rock-type Pokémon.

It may seem odd to ignore Night Slash - Sandslash's Community Day move - when choosing a Charged attack, but both Earthquake and Bulldoze have a higher base damage level when in PVP combat. This would be 120 for Earthquake and 80 for Bulldoze - both of which are higher than Night Slash's 50.

Still, if you have the spare Sandshrew Candy and Stardust, it may be worth unlocking Sandslash's second Charged move slot. This would allow you to have Earthquake, ensuring you have a powerful ground-type move, and Night Slash, which will allow Sandslash to deal super effective damage to ghost and psychic-type Pokémon.

The above is, of course, our opinion and Sandslash's full moveset, accessed using Fast and Charged TMs, is as follows:

Fast Attacks

• Metal Claw (Steel)
• Mud Shot (Ground)

Charged Attacks

• Bulldoze (Ground)
• Earthquake (Ground)
• Night Slash (Dark) - Community Day exclusive move
• Rock Tomb (Rock) - requires an Elite TM

The best moveset for Alolan Sandslash is rather different...

Alolan Sandslash moves and best moveset recommendation explained

We recommend a moveset of Shadow Claw (Fast), with Blizzard (Charged) and either Ice Punch (Charged) or Gyro Ball (Charged) for Alolan Sandslash in Pokémon Go.

Shadow Claw is the most powerful Fast move Alolan Sandslash can currently learn since it gives 6 base damage in PVP. Metal Claw is, however, a close contender for the top Fast move spot if you'd prefer to use a different move.

Remember - Shadow Claw is Alolan Sandslash's exclusive Community Day move, so, if you want it, you must evolve an Alolan Sandshrew before 7pm (local time) on the day of the event.

Blizzard is by far the best ice-type Charged attack Alolan Sandslash can learn, having 140 base damage compared to Ice Punch's 55 in PVP. Since it can take a while to charge though, it's a good idea to have the second move for this Pokemon unlocked, especially if you find yourself in a near death situation and want to use another Charged attack quickly.

In this case, Ice Punch is a good choice, but you may want to consider the steel-type move, Gyro Ball. Knowing this move will allow Alolan Sandslash to deal super effective damage to fairy, ice and rock-type Pokémon.

The above is our opinion and Alolan Sandslash's full movement can be accessed using Fast and Charged TMs:

Fast Attacks

• Metal Claw (Steel)
• Power Snow (Ice)
• Shadow Claw (Ghost) - Community Day exclusive move

Charged Attacks

• Blizzard (Ice)
• Bulldoze (Ground)
• Gyro Ball (Steel)
• Ice Punch (Ice)

Aside from creating a powerful Gen 1 or Alolan Sandslash, this Community Day is also the perfect time to find a shiny Sandshrew...

The Wild Area 2024: Global event is this weekend! Throughout it you can catch Pokémon during the habitat hours, use Safari Balls, catch Mighty Pokémon, battle Gigantamax Toxtricity, obtain both Toxtricity Forms and catch a Studded Jacket Snorlax. If you've purchased an event ticket, you can also complete the An Accomplished Trainer quest. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

What does shiny Sandshrew, shiny Sandslash, shiny Alolan Sandshrew and shiny Alolan Sandslash look like in Pokémon Go?

Finding a shiny form for the highlighted Pokémon is one of the biggest draws for any Community Day.

Coupled with the increased shiny rate for Community Days and how catching Pokémon of the same type naturally increases your chance of encountering shinies, it's easier to catch shiny Pokémon during these events.

When it comes to actually finding a shiny Pokémon, you first need to start a catch encounter with a Pokémon in the wild. You'll easily be able to tell if you've encountered a shiny Pokémon by its alternative colouring, the shiny icon next to its name and the sparkles which shine when the encounter starts.

We recommend using Golden Razz Berries and Ultra Balls if this is your first time encountering a Pokémon's shiny form - you don't want it to escape!

Shiny Sandshrew and Sandslash model comparison w/ Alolan forms (via Chrales) from r/TheSilphRoad

As you can see, while the shiny forms for Gen 1 Sandshrew and Sandslash look quite different to their regular forms, the Alolan variants are focused around being a darker blue.

The shiny forms for Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew were released during different events; shiny Gen 1 Sandshrew and Sandslash were released during the Japan-exclusive Tottori Festival event in December 2018, while the Alolan variants gained their shiny forms as part of the third anniversary event for Pokémon Go in June 2019.

If you want to evolve a shiny Sandshrew, we recommend waiting till the end of the Community Day. This is because you might be lucky enough to catch multiple shiny shrews and, if so, it's a good idea to check their IVs.

Doing so will add a shiny Sandslash to your collection and, if you evolve it before 7pm (local time) on Community Day, it will know the Pokémon's exclusive move - Night Slash for Gen 1 Sandslash and Shadow Claw for Alolan Sandslash.

Community Day is the perfect opportunity to find both a powerful Pokémon and, if you're lucky, a shiny Pokémon. Make sure you take the time to carefully pick and choose your Sandshrews, investing in its moveset, to make the most of this event.