Where To Get Quick Claws in Pokémon HGSS

The Quick Claw NPC in the National Park (Pokémon HeartGold)

There’s a couple different ways to get Quick Claws in HeartGold/SoulSilver:

There is one Quick Claw easily accessible in the National Park, which is located at the top of Route 35. All you have to do is reach Goldenrod City, then head to the park and speak to the lady with the Persian to get your free Quick Claw.

After that, if you want additional Quick Claws, the following Pokémon have a 5% chance of holding one when they appear in the wild:

  • Sandshrew
  • Sandslash
  • Sneasel
  • Zangoose

You’ll probably need to catch a few Pokémon before you get one holding a Quick Claw. Having a Pokémon with the move Thief, or with the helpful abilities Frisk or Compound Eyes will speed things up considerably.

We’ll explain how to get extra Quick Claws in more detail below.

Any Pokémon holding a Quick Claw has a 20% chance of attacking first, no matter what its Speed stat is. This can be very useful for slow-moving Pokémon.

Method 1: The Lady In The National Park

You can easily get this Quick Claw as soon as you’ve earned your 2nd badge and reached Goldenrod City.

To find it, make your way out of Goldenrod City through the north gate onto Route 35. Follow the path all the way up until you reach the building pictured below.

The entrance to the National Park at the top of Route 35 / Pokemon HGSS
The entrance to the National Park at the top of Route 35

Go inside and then go through the door immediately in front of you.

You’ll come out in the bottom of the National Park, as pictured below.

The National Park, as entered from Route 35 / Pokemon HGSS
The National Park, as entered from Route 35

The lady who gives you the Quick Claw isn’t far away.

Simply go as far to the right as you can. You’ll see her sitting on a bench next to her Persian. Talk to her to receive the item.

Receiving the Quick Claw from the lady in the National Park / Pokemon HGSS
Receiving the Quick Claw from the lady in the National Park

Method 2: Stealing Quick Claws from Wild Pokémon

If you’ve got more than one slow team member who could benefit from a Quick Claw, you can farm them infinitely with this method.

The easiest place to do it is with Sandshrew in Union Cave.

That’s because these are the weakest wild Pokémon that hold Quick Claws, so they will be the easiest to capture/defeat.

The entrance to Union Cave on Route 33 / Pokemon HGSS
The entrance to Union Cave on Route 33

Sandshrew make up 30% of the wild encounters on the first floor of Union Cave.

Each one will have a 5% chance of carrying a Quick Claw

You can farm them by either catching each Sandshrew you encounter, or by using a Pokémon with the move Thief to directly steal their held item.

Using Thief to attempt to steal a wild Sandshrew's Quick Claw / Pokemon HGSS
Using Thief to attempt to steal a wild Sandshrew’s Quick Claw

Two Pokémon’s abilities will greatly speed up this process:

  • Pokémon with Frisk will reveal which wild Sandshrew hold a Quick Claw at the start of the battle, which will save you from wasting time on unnecessary catches or battles. Stantler and Shuppet both have this ability.
  • Pokémon with Compound Eyes double the chances of wild Pokémon appearing with a held item, as long as they are the leading Pokémon in your party at the start of the encounter. Venonat, Yanma, and Butterfree all have this ability.
A Venonat with the ability Compound Eyes / Pokemon HGSS
A Venonat with the ability Compound Eyes

Louie Neale

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Full-time freelance copywriter and long-time Pokémon trainer, currently rediscovering my childhood love for the classic games by bringing you all the info you need.

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