Soft Sands in Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen

Outside of Victory Road (FireRed)
Soft Sand
# Location Repeatable?
1 Held item (5% chance) on the following wild Pokemon:

  • Sandslash (LG)
Yes

Soft Sand can only be obtained as a held item from a wild Sandslash in Pokémon LeafGreen. Sandslash cannot be caught in the wild in Pokémon FireRed, so the only way to get Soft Sand in FireRed is by trading it over from a copy of Pokémon LeafGreen.

Wild Sandslash will have a 5% chance of carrying a Soft Sand item.

Once you capture a wild Sandslash, you can check it in your party or in your PC to see whether it is carrying a Soft Sand.

Note: Sandshrew does not carry Soft Sand, unlike its evolved form.

Getting Soft Sand

Soft Sand is only available naturally in Pokémon LeafGreen, but it can be obtained in FireRed if you have a copy of LeafGreen to trade with.

If You Have Pokémon LeafGreen

Capturing a wild Sandslash in Victory Road, trying to get Soft Sand / Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen
Capturing a wild Sandslash in Victory Road, trying to get Soft Sand

If you have Pokémon LeafGreen, all you need to do is capture (or steal from) a few Sandslash and check whether they’re holding the Soft Sand or not.

Wild Sandslash have a 5% chance of holding a Soft Sand.

Unfortunately, Wild Sandslash also have about a 5% encounter rate and are only available on Route 23 and in Victory Road.

So it will probably take you a few attempts before you actually get your held item.

If Sandslash is holding a Soft Sand, you will see the icon next to it in your party.

Sandslash holding Soft Sand in the party menu / Pokémon FRLG
Sandslash holding Soft Sand in the party menu

If Sandslash goes to your PC instead, then you can hover over it to see whether it is holding the Soft Sand.

Sandslash holding the Soft Sand in the PC / Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen
Sandslash holding the Soft Sand in the PC

I recommend keeping a few open party spots before searching for Sandslash so that you can quickly check whether you have the Soft Sand or not without needing to head to all the way to a PC.

If You Have Pokémon FireRed

The trade center on the top floor of the Pokémon Center / Pokémon FRLG
The trade center on the top floor of the Pokémon Center

If you have Pokémon FireRed, you cannot catch a Sandslash in the wild. This makes it much harder to get a Soft Sand.

You will need to catch a wild Sandslash on a LeafGreen version of the game, and get the Soft Sand from it.

Once you have the Soft Sand, you can give it to any Pokémon that you want, and trade that Pokémon over to your Pokémon FireRed game via the top floor of the Pokémon Center.

Sandslash Locations (Pokémon LeafGreen)

Inside of Victory Road 1F, looking for Sandslash / Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen
Inside of Victory Road 1F, looking for Sandslash

Sandslash only shows up later in the game, once you’re ready to head through Victory Road. This is because it’s a final evolution, and around level 45 in the wild.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to get Soft Sand early on in the game. Sandshrews do not carry Soft Sand, so you’ll just have to be patient until you can hit up one of the later routes.

SCROLL
Location Encounter Level Encounter Chance Soft Sand Chance
Route 23 44 5% 5%
Victory Road 1F 44 5% 5%
Victory Road 2F 46 5% 5%
Victory Road 3F 44 5% 5%

Remember, Sandslash will only appear in Pokémon LeafGreen. If you’re playing on FireRed, please don’t waste an hour looking for Sandslash and questioning your luck and your sanity like I did.

What is Soft Sand?

Checking the Summary of Soft Sand in the ITEMS pocket / Pokémon FRLG
Checking the Summary of Soft Sand in the ITEMS pocket

Soft Sand is an item that can be given to a Pokémon in order to boost its Ground-type attacks by 10%. It’s a very useful item for competitive Pokémon and for making your Ground-type Pokémon as strong as possible.

Most of the time, in the story, items like Soft Sand aren’t necessary.

However, for the end game once you’re taking on challenges like Trainer Tower you’ll want every advantage you can get.

If you have a Ground-type Pokémon, think about whether you want that Pokémon to be a tank or a damage dealer. If you choose the latter, then Soft Sand is the best item. It’ll make moves like Earthquake absolutely devastating for your opponents.

ReOcelot

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A jack of all trades when it comes to gaming. I can sit down for hours in a casual playthrough of Pokémon, or I can spend months trying to hit Diamond in League of Legends. I love and appreciate everything about games, and love sharing that passion with my readers.

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