Pokémon Spotlight Hour will feature a different Pokémon and special bonus for one hour at 6:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday during the month of February. Sandshrew Spotlight Hour takes place on February 27th, 2024, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm local time, with 2× Transfer Candy bonus and increased chance of Candy XL on transfer.
We would advise not transferring anything rare, regional or Legendary that you catch during Sinnoh Tour until this Spotlight Hour due to the increased transfer candy and that chance at extra Candy XL!
This Spotlight Hour is the third and final February 2024 Pokémon spotlight, and it is especially interesting as both Sandshrew and its Alolan form will be spawning. Both forms of Sandshrew can be shiny and you will get 2x Candy on transfer! In other words, it’s a great time to have a clear out of your Pokémon storage.
Trainers who plan to participate should be prepared with a Mega Pokémon to maximise candy gains per Sandshrew caught. Here’s everything you need to know!
If you started the Glimmers of Gratitude Masterwork Research during the Road to Sinnoh event and need a boost on stage 1, catching Sandshrew will help you with the ‘Catch 492 Pokémon from the Kanto Region’ task.
We also identified that today’s Spotlight hour bonus information on our website was incorrect. Trainers will gain more Candy XL, not Rare Candy XL when transferring Pokémon. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) February 27, 2024
Initially this Spotlight Hour was reported as an increased chance of Rare Candy XL, but once APAC completed their Spotlight Hour and reported no Rare Candy XL, NianticHelp shared the above on social media…
Sandshrew Spotlight Hour
Bonuses
-
You will get 2x Candy for transferring Pokémon
-
+% Transfer Candy XL
-
Shiny Sandshrew and its evolution is available in Pokémon GO
Note on Transfer Bonus – Sinnoh Tour Special
This is a great opportunity to clean out your bag post-Sinnoh Tour, getting extra Candy for the regionals and Legendaries you’ve caught over the weekend! If you can’t keep hold of everything you caught, try to make sure you don’t transfer any Legendaries, regionals, or other rare Pokémon you need extra candies for. Double candy for Legendaries during these transfer candy bonus Spotlight Hours is always a great bonus, and with the chance for Candy XL, this is an amazing opportunity! If you can keep your Pokémon storage basically full until this Spotlight Hour happens, and transfer everything you caught during Sinnoh Tour, there is potential for massive rewards.
If you do not want to catch the featured Pokémon, you can make use of the 2x Transfer Candy bonus by transferring any saved Scatterbug, or opening a Mystery Box or Coin Bag! This is a great opportunity to clear out your storage, transfer Legendary Pokémon you have been clinging onto, and rare Pokémon you need more candy for. If you need help managing your Pokémon storage, check out our full guide here.
Sandshrew
Sandshrew has a Max CP of 1426 in Pokémon GO, it is weather boosted by Sunny weather, and it was originally found in the Kanto region. Shiny Sandshrew is available in Pokémon GO. Sandshrew is a Ground-type Pokémon. Sandshrew is weak to Grass, Ice, and Water-type moves. It takes reduced damage from Poison, Rock, and Electric-type moves.
|
Sandshrew
|
50 Sandshrew Candy |
Sandslash
|
Sandshrew (Alolan)
Alolan Sandshrew has a Max CP of 1462 in Pokémon GO, it is weather boosted by Snow weather, and it was originally found in the Kanto region. Shiny Alolan Sandshrew is available in Pokémon GO. Alolan Sandshrew is a Ice and Steel-type Pokémon. Alolan Sandshrew is weak to Fighting, Fire, and Ground-type moves. It takes reduced damage from Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Normal, Psychic, Ice, and Poison-type moves.
|
Sandshrew (Alolan)
|
50 Sandshrew Candy |
Sandslash (Alolan)
|
| Regular Sprite | Shiny Sprite | |
| Sandshrew |  |
 |
| Sandslash |  |
 |
| Alolan Sandshrew |  |
 |
| Alolan Sandslash |  |
 |
Sandshrew
| LVL | CP | LVL | CP | LVL | CP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 CP | 2 | 55 CP | 3 | 94 CP |
| 4 | 132 CP | 5 | 170 CP | 6 | 208 CP |
| 7 | 246 CP | 8 | 284 CP | 9 | 322 CP |
| 10 | 360 CP | 11 | 396 CP | 12 | 432 CP |
| 13 | 468 CP | 14 | 504 CP | 15 | 540 CP |
| 16 | 576 CP | 17 | 612 CP | 18 | 648 CP |
| 19 | 684 CP | 20 | 720 CP | 21 | 756 CP |
| 22 | 792 CP | 23 | 828 CP | 24 | 865 CP |
| 25 | 901 CP | 26 | 937 CP | 27 | 973 CP |
| 28 | 1009 CP | 29 | 1045 CP | 30 | 1081 CP |
| 31 | 1099 CP | 32 | 1117 CP | 33 | 1135 CP |
| 34 | 1153 CP | 35 | 1171 CP | 36 | 1189 CP |
| 37 | 1207 CP | 38 | 1225 CP | 39 | 1243 CP |
| 40 | 1261 CP | 41 | 1277 CP | 42 | 1293 CP |
| 43 | 1309 CP | 44 | 1326 CP | 45 | 1342 CP |
| 46 | 1359 CP | 47 | 1375 CP | 48 | 1392 CP |
| 49 | 1409 CP | 50 | 1426 CP |
Alolan Sandshrew
| LVL | CP | LVL | CP | LVL | CP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 CP | 2 | 57 CP | 3 | 96 CP |
| 4 | 135 CP | 5 | 174 CP | 6 | 213 CP |
| 7 | 252 CP | 8 | 291 CP | 9 | 330 CP |
| 10 | 369 CP | 11 | 406 CP | 12 | 443 CP |
| 13 | 480 CP | 14 | 517 CP | 15 | 554 CP |
| 16 | 591 CP | 17 | 628 CP | 18 | 665 CP |
| 19 | 702 CP | 20 | 739 CP | 21 | 776 CP |
| 22 | 813 CP | 23 | 850 CP | 24 | 887 CP |
| 25 | 924 CP | 26 | 961 CP | 27 | 997 CP |
| 28 | 1034 CP | 29 | 1071 CP | 30 | 1108 CP |
| 31 | 1127 CP | 32 | 1145 CP | 33 | 1164 CP |
| 34 | 1182 CP | 35 | 1201 CP | 36 | 1219 CP |
| 37 | 1238 CP | 38 | 1256 CP | 39 | 1275 CP |
| 40 | 1293 CP | 41 | 1310 CP | 42 | 1326 CP |
| 43 | 1343 CP | 44 | 1359 CP | 45 | 1376 CP |
| 46 | 1393 CP | 47 | 1410 CP | 48 | 1427 CP |
| 49 | 1445 CP | 50 | 1462 CP |
The following Pokémon will grant you extra bonuses when catching BOTH FORMS of Sandshrew if they are Mega evolved. This is the only Pokémon that will grant Mega Catch bonus for both Sandshrew and its Alolan counterpart.
Here is a table showing the Pokémon that will grant you extra bonuses when catching a specific form of Sandshrew if they are Mega/Primal evolved.
| Sandshrew | Alolan Sandshrew |
Steelix (Mega)
|
Steelix (Mega)
|
Swampert (Mega)
|
Scizor (Mega)
|
Groudon (Primal)
|
Aggron (Mega)
|
Garchomp (Mega)
|
Glalie (Mega)
|
Abomasnow (Mega)
|
A Note on Mega Catch Bonus
While a Pokémon is Mega-Evolved, additional XP and Candy is granted when catching a Pokémon that shares a type with it, or for any raid boss caught. These do not stack with each other. Additionally, High and Max Level Mega-Evolved Pokémon grant an increased chance to obtain Candy XL when catching a Pokémon that shares a type with it.
Overall, Alolan Sandlash way outperforms its Kantonian form in the meta so if you were only able to evolve and build one – go for the Alolan form.
- Alolan Sandslash is already a standout in Cup metas, and Shadow Claw isn’t a drastic improvement, but it IS generally a tad better, or a very viable sidegrade at worst, trading some Flyers and Normals and a couple other wins for wins against notable Ghosts, Psychics, and things that resist Powder Snow (like Steels, Waters, and opposing Ice types) instead. Worth grinding for a good one for Great League and potentially Ultra League as well!
- In many ways, Night Slash is everything we could have wished for with Kanto Sandslash, but while it does improve its performance, I think it remains more of a spice option than anything. Might be worth it for certain GL Cups, unlikely to be worth it for UL. (Existing move Rock Tomb actually looks slightly better in UL anyway.)
- Don’t forget Little League! Sub-500 Alolan Sandslash is pretty good there too, and little Alolan Sandshrew is a true star in Little League, and better than mere spice in Great League also! If you land a 15-15-15 A-Shrew, I’d keep it as a Shrew and seriously considering throwing your XL Candy at it instead of either Slash, TBH!
For further reading check out this in depth exploration of Sandslash written by JRE47
