#0529 · Unova · Generation 5

Drilbur

Mole Pokémon · Ground-type

Drilbur is a Ground-type Pokémon, the Mole Pokémon, number 529 (#0529) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 5 and comes from the Unova region. It is 0.3 m tall and weighs 8.5 kg.

Drilbur folds its claws together and spins like a drill, and the Pokédex says it digs at 50 km/h (30 mph), fast enough to give a car racing aboveground a good race. Farmers are less impressed, because it wrecks their vegetable crops.

How to pronounce Drilbur

Drilbur is pronounced DRIL-bur. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.

Listen to Drilbur said out loud:

In Japanese it is モグリュー (Mogurew).

Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.

Lore

Biology

Drilbur is a small mole, 0.3 m tall and 8.5 kg, with a mostly black body crossed by a jagged navy stripe, a white face and a long snout tipped with a pink nose. Its arms end in three huge claws. By straightening its body and pointing the claws forward it spins like a drill.

Behaviour

Drilbur rushes at its prey by whirling its claws at high speed, the Pokédex says. Bulbapedia notes, citing the anime and manga, that it is at ease around people and can be very friendly, but many farmers dislike it because it damages their crops.

Habitat

It tunnels through soil. In Unova it lives in caves such as Wellspring Cave and Chargestone Cave, and in Scarlet and Violet it is wild only in The Indigo Disk, in the Canyon Biome, Polar Biome and Chargestone Cavern.

Powers

Sand Rush doubles its Speed in a sandstorm and Sand Force strengthens Rock, Ground and Steel moves in one, while its Hidden Ability is Mold Breaker. It starts with Mud-Slap and Rapid Spin, then learns Metal Claw, Dig, Rock Slide, Swords Dance and Drill Run. Its base Attack is 85 but its Defense is only 40, so it is mostly a stepping stone to Excadrill.

Name origin

Drilbur may combine 'drill' with 'burrow' or 'burr'. The Japanese name is Mogurew (モグリュー), possibly from mogura (mole) and 'screw'.

Design inspiration

Drilbur is a mole, and Bulbapedia guesses that its arms echo shovels and its claws echo the teeth of burrs. These are fan readings.

Evolution notes

Evolves into Excadrill at level 31.

In the games

In Pokopia, Bulbapedia says, Drilbur are among the Pokémon you make friends with in the Withered Wasteland, where they teach Ditto the move Rototiller. It first appeared in Black and White, and in Legends: Z-A it lives in Wild Zones 8 and 14 and in the Mega Dimension DLC's Hyperspace Lumiose.

In the anime

Drilbur first appeared in flashbacks in 'Iris and Excadrill Against the Dragon Buster!' as the Pokémon that grew into Iris's Excadrill. Rocko's Drilbur, in 'A Surface to Air Tag Battle Team!', later supplied the Drill Run for a combination he invented called Bubble Drill.

Fun facts

• Bulbapedia records that Drilbur was revealed on the Japanese TV show Oha Suta on 27 June 2010.
• In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, Drilbur guard the entrance to a coal mine named after them, though the player and partner can skip past.
• In X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire there were no wild Drilbur, and Bulbapedia lists breeding an Excadrill as the way to get one.

Sources: Bulbapedia: Drilbur (Pokémon) · Serebii: Drilbur (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex)

Base stats

• HP: 60
• Attack: 85
• Defense: 40
• Sp. Atk: 30
• Sp. Def: 45
• Speed: 68

Drilbur’s base stat total is 328. Its highest stat is Attack.

Type matchups

What is Drilbur weak to?

Drilbur takes extra damage from Water (2×), Grass (2×), Ice (2×) moves.

It resists Poison (½×), Rock (½×).

It is immune to Electric moves.

Evolution

How does Drilbur evolve?

Drilbur evolves into Excadrill at level 31.

The whole family: Drilbur, Excadrill.

Abilities

• Sand Rush: Doubles Speed during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
• Sand Force: Strengthens Rock, Ground, and Steel moves to 1.3× their power during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
• Mold Breaker (hidden ability): Bypasses targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent a move.

Moves

Moves Drilbur learns by level up in Scarlet / Violet

TM moves (37)

Drilbur can learn 37 moves from TMs in Scarlet / Violet: Take Down, Mud-Slap, Protect, Facade, Aerial Ace, Bulldoze, Metal Claw, Mud Shot, Rock Tomb, Fling, Endure, Sunny Day, Sandstorm, Dig, Brick Break, Shadow Claw, Sleep Talk, Poison Jab, Stomping Tantrum, Rest, Rock Slide, Swords Dance, Substitute, Iron Defense, X-Scissor, Drill Run, Stealth Rock, Helping Hand, Earth Power, Earthquake, Tera Blast, Sand Tomb, High Horsepower, Double-Edge, Scorching Sands, Metal Sound, Curse.

Egg moves (2):Metal Sound, Slash.

Breeding & training

• Gender: 50% male, 50% female.
• Egg groups: Field.
• Egg cycles: 20 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 2,560).
• Catch rate: 120 out of 255.
• Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 50.
• Growth rate: Medium (1,000,000 experience points to reach level 100).
• Defeating it gives 1 Attack effort value.
• Base experience yield: 66.

Pokédex entries

It's a digger, using its claws to burrow through the ground. It causes damage to vegetable crops, so many farmers have little love for it. (Shield)

It brings its claws together and whirls around at high speed before rushing toward its prey. (Sword)

By spinning its body, it can dig straight through the ground at a speed of 30 mph. (Black 2, White 2, Y, Alpha Sapphire)

It makes its way swiftly through the soil by putting both claws together and rotating at high speed. (White, X, Omega Ruby)

It can dig through the ground at a speed of 30 mph. It could give a car running aboveground a good race. (Black)

Names around the world

Trivia

• Lightest Ground type in Gen 5: 8.5 kg.
• Shortest Ground type in Gen 5: 0.3 m.
• Taller than 4% of all Pokémon (0.3 m).
• Heavier than 24% of all Pokémon (8.5 kg).
• Base stat total 328, ranked #759 of 1,025.
• One of 75 Ground-type Pokémon (counting dual types).
• One of 107 gray Pokémon.
• Number 36 of 156 Pokémon introduced in Generation 5 (Unova).
• Part of an evolution family of 2 Pokémon.
• Can learn 44 different moves in Scarlet / Violet.
• Catch rate 120: about 15.7% per Poké Ball at full health.
• Appears in 5 distinct Pokédex entries.

Sources and fact-checking

• Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
• Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Drilbur (Pokémon), Serebii: Drilbur (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex).
• Pronunciation (DRIL-bur): it follows how the English anime, games or official videos say it.

Last checked: 20 October 2026. Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.

Explore

Ground-type Pokémon · Unova region guide · Sand Rush ability · Sand Force ability · Mold Breaker ability · Compare Drilbur · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves

Browse similar Pokémon

Gen 5 Ground-type Pokémon · Gen 5 Pokémon list · Gray Pokémon list · Field egg group · Pokémon that start with D

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