Introduced in generation five, with the Pokemon Black and White games, Excadrill is a dual type ground and steel Pokemon. It is the final evolution of Drilbur, with it a part of a two stage evolution. The Pokedex classifies Excadrill as the “Subterrene Pokemon” to indicate its proficiency in digging. This guide will showcase Excadrill’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime and other general facts about Excadrill.
About Excadrill
As a generation five Pokemon, Excadrill first appeared in the Black and White season of the anime with the episode The Bloom is on Axew!. It received a fair share of screen time as it was part of Iris’s team as well as the gym leader Clay’s team. Excadrill will evolve from Drilbur from level 31 onwards. Given its mole-like appearance, it is capable of digging far below the surface to make subterranean nests. The Pokedex mentions its capabilities to damage subways in the Pokemon universe as well as being able to help construction.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Black and White The Bloom is on Axew! |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Black and White |
| Region | Unova |
| Evolution | Evolves from Drilbur |
| 1st Evo level | 31 |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | More than 300 feet below the surface, they build mazelike nests. Their activity can be destructive to subway tunnels. |
Excadrill Base Stats
| HP | 110 |
| ATTACK | 135 |
| DEFENCE | 60 |
| SP. ATTACK | 50 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 65 |
| SPEED | 88 |
| TOTAL | 508 |
Appearance
Excadrill appears to be a giant mole with sharp pointed claws and a horn on top of its head while most of Excadrill’s body is black with some splotches of red. The drills on its hand and on its head are white and it stands on two legs. It has a small white face with a pointed snout that is tipped by a pink nose and is fairly short at only 2 feet and 4 inches, or 0.7 meters, tall.
Behavior
Excadrill is shown to be a strong headed Pokemon and it often does not listen to its trainer with a proud attitude on display. Excadrill is capable in battle and cares deeply about winning fights with it often not reacting well after losing. The Pokedex mentions its capabilities to help tunnel construction with its drill being strong enough to drill into iron plates. However, wild Excadrill can also be destructive to infrastructure within the Pokemon universe.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Excadrill excels in battle with a high health, physical attack, and an okay speed stat. This speed stat becomes doubled with the Sand Rush ability in sandstorms which makes it a force to be reckoned with in competitive battles. As a ground and steel type Pokemon, Excadrill is weak to fighting, ground, fire, and water type moves. It has very good defensive typing and resists normal, flying, rock, bug, steel, psychic, dragon, and fairy type moves.
Best Moveset
Since Excadrill’s inclusion into the game, it has remained near the top of competitive bracket play. It has been in OU (Over Used) since its introduction and its impressive statline plus the doubled speed from Sand Rush contribute to this greatly. To succeed with Excadrill consider running a Life Orb or Leftovers, as a held item, to complement its high stats. For a moveset, Earthquake, Iron Head, Rapid Spin, and Swords Dance/Rock Slide will function well as an all around set. Earthquake and Iron Head benefit from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) and function as Excadrill’s primary damaging moves, Rapid Spin can remove any hazards from your side of the field and Swords Dance can set up Excadrill’s sweeping capabilities, while Rock Slide can function as type coverage.
| Earthquake | Iron Head |
| Rapid Spin | Swords Dance/Rock Slide |
How to Catch Excadrill in Pokemon Go
To obtain an Excadrill in Pokemon Go, the easiest way to go about it would be to obtain enough Drilburs to eventually evolve into Excadrill. As a two stage evolution, it only requires 50 Drilbur candies in order to reach the final stage. Since Drilbur is a ground type Pokemon, you’ll need to search near parks, farmland, quarries, parking lots, parking buildings, and other rocky areas to find Drilbur more frequently. If you want to skip ahead, you can find Excadrill in tier four raid battles in Pokemon Gyms but tier four raid battles are quite difficult so you will want to gather a good group of trainers for your best possible chance at obtaining Excadrill.
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Trivia
- Excadrill is one of the only Pokemon that is capable of learning more than one, one-hit KO move naturally through leveling: Horn Drill and Fissure.
- The inspiration for Excadrill likely comes from real life moles as well as a roadheader, a mining vehicle used to create tunnels underground.
- The name Excadrill is likely a combination of the words excavate and drill.
FAQ
Why is Excadrill so good?
Excadrill has exceptional statlines along with a powerful ability in the form of Sand Rush. That ability makes its somewhat weak speed stat into a powerful sweeping potential. Combine that with decent resistances and a good typing to make it resilient against many types of Pokemon, Excadrill is quite powerful in both casual and competitive play.
Who is better, Excadrill or Krookodile?
While Krookodile has some decent power to it, Excadrill is one of the strongest ground type Pokemon in the game. Excadrill’s health and physical attack stats are also higher than Krookodile and thus it makes it a better sweeper. Plus with access to moves like Swords Dance and the ability Sand Rush, that doubles Excadrill’s speed, Krookodile is nowhere close.
What does Excadrill evolve into?
There is no Pokemon beyond Excadrill. Drilbur and Excadrill make up a two stage evolution and there is no Pokemon before Drilbur and thus no evolution beyond Excadrill. While it may be fun to fantasize about a more powerful version of Excadrill, it is strong enough and does not warrant a power increase.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Subterrene Pokemon”. Excadrill has made an impressive impact on competitive play ever since its introduction in generation five. Even three generations later and it has remained a powerhouse of a Pokemon. While its screen time is relatively limited, Excadrill has likely become a favorite of many fans of the generation five games.
