#0115 · Kanto · Generation 1

Kangaskhan

Parent Pokémon · Normal-type

Kangaskhan is a Normal-type Pokémon, the Parent Pokémon, number 115 (#0115) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 1 and comes from the Kanto region. It is 2.2 m tall and weighs 80 kg.

Kangaskhan is the Parent Pokémon, a mother who carries her baby in a belly pouch and will fight to the end to protect it. When she Mega Evolves, it is the baby who grows, not her.

How to pronounce Kangaskhan

Kangaskhan is pronounced KANG-guh-skan. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.

Listen to Kangaskhan said out loud:

In Japanese it is ガルーラ (Garura).

Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.

Lore

Biology

Kangaskhan is a large brown kangaroo-like Pokémon with a cream belly, large cream ears, narrow red eyes, two back fangs and a thick black plate on top of its head. It has shoulder growths like epaulettes, a row of back spikes, clawed three-digit hands and feet, and a thick tail. The baby in the pouch is light purple with smooth skin. Kangaskhan stands 2.2 m tall and weighs 80 kg, and it is female-only.

Behaviour

Kangaskhan sleeps standing up so it never crushes its baby, and only lets the baby out to play when the coast is clear. The Pokédex says the baby stays close to the pouch until it is around three years old, and the mother is heard crying wildly only when it finally leaves. She attacks anything that threatens it, keeps fighting however badly hurt, and the Pokédex records one childless Kangaskhan bringing up a lost human child.

Habitat

The Pokédex habitat list puts it in grassland, and Bulbapedia mentions savannahs, though it was nearly hunted to extinction. It is not available in Scarlet and Violet. In Legends: Z-A it lives in Wild Zones 19 and 20, including an Alpha in Wild Zone 20, and the Mega Dimension DLC adds it to Hyperspace Lumiose.

Powers

Kangaskhan has Early Bird or Scrappy, with Inner Focus hidden. It hits with Fake Out, Sucker Punch, Double Hit and Crunch, and finishes with Outrage. Using Kangaskhanite, it becomes Mega Kangaskhan: the mother looks the same, but the baby temporarily grows spiked growths and raised patches, and the Ability Parental Bond makes both strike. Bulbapedia knows of no other Pokémon that has Parental Bond as an Ability. Base HP 105 and Attack 95 (125 as a Mega) make it a tough all-rounder.

Name origin

Kangaskhan may combine 'kangaroo' with 'khan', possibly after Genghis Khan. The Japanese name is Garura (ガルーラ), perhaps 'kangaroo' plus 'ruler'.

Design inspiration

Ken Sugimori designed Kangaskhan. It seems to be a kangaroo wearing something like Mongolian laminar armour, seen in its helmet-like head plate and epaulettes. Bulbapedia also notes that its punching moves may come from the cartoon image of boxing kangaroos. These are fan readings.

In the games

In the original Generation I games it lives in the Kanto Safari Zone. In Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, Johanna, the player's mother, enters Super Contests with a Kangaskhan named Jumpy. In Legends: Z-A it is a wild Pokémon, and its Pokédex entries cover both mother and Mega-grown child.

In the anime

Kangaskhan debuted in 'The Kangaskhan Kid', where a herd watched over a wild boy named Tommy. In 'Battling Besties!', Ilima's Kangaskhan, which can Mega Evolve, faces Guzma in the Manalo Conference.

Fun facts

• Before Generation III, Dizzy Punch was Kangaskhan's signature move.
• FireRed's Pokédex entry says 'the female' raises the young, and Bulbapedia notes this could hint at male Kangaskhan, though none have ever appeared in Pokémon media.
• In Mystery Dungeon games Kangaskhan runs your item storage, and in Super Mystery Dungeon she moves on to the Café Connection shops.
• In Pokémon GO, Bulbapedia says Kangaskhan is locked to particular regions, with wild ones turning up mostly in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

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

Base stats

• HP: 105
• Attack: 95
• Defense: 80
• Sp. Atk: 40
• Sp. Def: 80
• Speed: 90

Kangaskhan’s base stat total is 490. Its highest stat is HP.

Type matchups

What is Kangaskhan weak to?

Kangaskhan takes extra damage from Fighting (2×) moves.

It is immune to Ghost moves.

Evolution

Kangaskhan does not evolve, and it does not evolve from any other Pokémon.

Forms

• Mega Kangaskhan (Mega): Normal-type, base stat total 590 (HP 105, Attack 125, Defense 100, Sp. Atk 60, Sp. Def 100, Speed 100). Ability: Parental Bond.

Abilities

• Early Bird: Makes sleep pass twice as quickly.
• Scrappy: Lets the Pokémon's Normal and Fighting moves hit Ghost Pokémon.
• Inner Focus (hidden ability): Prevents flinching.

Moves

Moves Kangaskhan learns by level up in Sword / Shield

TM moves (58)

Kangaskhan can learn 58 moves from TMs in Sword / Shield: Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Solar Beam, Dig, Safeguard, Rest, Rock Slide, Thief, Snore, Protect, Icy Wind, Attract, Sandstorm, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Hail, Whirlpool, Beat Up, Facade, Helping Hand, Brick Break, Rock Tomb, Assurance, Fling, Drain Punch, Avalanche, Shadow Claw, Round, Retaliate, Bulldoze, Body Slam, Flamethrower, Hydro Pump, Surf, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Low Kick, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Earthquake, Focus Energy, Fire Blast, Substitute, Reversal, Outrage, Endure, Sleep Talk, Iron Tail, Crunch, Shadow Ball, Uproar, Focus Blast, Work Up.

Egg moves (6):Circle Throw, Counter, Disable, Double-Edge, Endeavor, Hammer Arm.

Move tutor moves (1): Terrain Pulse.

Breeding & training

• Gender: 0% male, 100% female.
• Egg groups: Monster.
• Egg cycles: 20 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 2,560).
• Catch rate: 45 out of 255.
• Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 50.
• Growth rate: Medium (1,000,000 experience points to reach level 100).
• Defeating it gives 2 HP effort values.
• Base experience yield: 172.

Pokédex entries

There are records of a lost human child being raised by a childless Kangaskhan. (Shield)

Although it's carrying its baby in a pouch on its belly, Kangaskhan is swift on its feet. It intimidates its opponents with quick jabs. (Sword)

Raises its young in its belly pouch. Won't run from any fight to keep its young protected. (Yellow, Let’s Go, Pikachu!, Let’s Go, Eevee!)

You shouldn't get close to the child when it's playing outside its mother's pouch. Its mother is always nearby watching over it. (Ultra Moon)

Kangaskhan protects its child by keeping it in its pouch. It has zero forgiveness for those who harm its child and will beat them down. (Ultra Sun)

The child in its pouch leaves home after roughly three years. That is the only time the mother is heard to cry wildly. (Moon)

Names around the world

Trivia

• Tallest Normal type in Gen 1: 2.2 m.
• Taller than 91% of all Pokémon (2.2 m).
• Heavier than 77% of all Pokémon (80 kg).
• Base stat total 490, ranked #338 of 1,025.
• Its best stat is HP, ranked #79 of 1,025.
• One of 131 Normal-type Pokémon (counting dual types).
• One of 147 brown Pokémon.
• Number 115 of 151 Pokémon introduced in Generation 1 (Kanto).
• Can learn 75 different moves in Sword / Shield.
• Catch rate 45: about 5.9% per Poké Ball at full health.
• Has 1 alternate form.
• Appears in 16 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: Kangaskhan (Pokémon), Serebii: Kangaskhan (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex).
• Pronunciation (KANG-guh-skan): it follows how the English anime, games or official videos say it.

Last checked: 19 October 2026. Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.

Explore

Normal-type Pokémon · Kanto region guide · Early Bird ability · Scrappy ability · Inner Focus ability · Compare Kangaskhan · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves

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Gen 1 Normal-type Pokémon · Gen 1 Pokémon list · Brown Pokémon list · Monster egg group · Pokémon that start with K

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