Is Forretress Good in FireRed & LeafGreen Playthrough?
Bug/Steel with AbilitySturdy and resistances to most types. Available postgame through evolving Pineco. Forretress absorbs hits through typing but can't deal meaningful damage back. Defensive utility in the postgame, nothing more.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Koga's typing presses Pineco's defenses.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Blaine's team hits Pineco's weaknesses hard.
Pineco has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Agatha's team hits Pineco's weaknesses hard.
Lance's team hits Pineco's weaknesses hard.
Terry's team hits Pineco's weaknesses hard.
Forretress cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. On GBA, cross-region trading unlocks post-game after Celio's Sevii Islands Ruby & Sapphire quest. The Switch re-release supports only one-way transfers out to Pokemon HOME. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 31.
- STARTING (Lv 5)
- LV 5NormalSelf-Destruct200100%5
- After Lt. Surge
- TM28GroundDig80100%10
- After Erika
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- TM22GrassSolar Beam120100%10
- LV 39NormalExplosion250100%5
- After Giovanni
- TM26GroundEarthquake100100%10
- LV 59NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody Slam85100%15
- TM42NormalFacade70100%20
How to Get Forretress in FireRed & LeafGreen
Two trade-and-grind steps deliver Forretress. Trade a Pineco from a Hoenn game, then grind it to level 31. The bagworm chain doesn't start locally at all.
How to Obtain Forretress in FRLG
Step 1Obtain PinecoCARTRIDGE TRADEfrom EmeraldAvailableCatch in Emerald via Walking · Altering Cave, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCELATER APPEARANCELATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Walking · Route 229 · Dual-slot: Emerald.LATER APPEARANCELATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Headbutt · Viridian City.HOME TRANSFERNot TradeablePokemon HOME on Switch FireRed & LeafGreen is permanently deposit-only — once it launches, Pineco can be sent from this game into HOME, but never transferred in.
Step 2Forretress ✓
Forretress Weakness
Fire moves hit Forretress for super-effective damage. Fire hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. The upside? Poison-type moves can't touch it at all. With 9 resistances, the defensive profile is strong. Forretress's physical bulk (base 140 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Fire |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Ice, Psychic, Bug, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass |
| 0x (Immune) | Poison |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Forretress Weak Against
FortressBest Pokemon Against Forretress
 Charmander Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift | ||
 Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
In FireRed & LeafGreen, Slaking deals 44-52% with Earthquake.
B | ||
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Forretress View Tauros builds →Earthquake29-34% Double Edge17-20% | ||
B | ||
Recommended Build AbilityInnerfocus ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Forretress View Crobat builds →Shadow Ball11-13% | ||
B | ||
Recommended Build AbilityTruant ItemChoice Band NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Forretress View Slaking builds →Earthquake44-52% Shadow Ball18-21% Hyper Beam33-39% | ||
C | ||
Recommended Build AbilityPoison Point ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Forretress View Qwilfish builds →Self Destruct14-17% | ||
C | ||
Recommended Build AbilityNatural Cure ItemLeftovers NatureCalm Moves View Roselia builds →
| ||
Forretress Evolutions
Evolved from Pineco. Forretress is the final form in this two-stage line. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Defense grew the most through evolution (+50 over Pineco), and Forretress peaks at 465 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
FRLG Forretress Best Moveset
140 Defense blocks physical attacks at an elite level. AbilitySturdy blocks OHKO moves. Bug/Steel resists nine types. The moveset sets MoveSpikes for TermEntry Hazards and MoveRapid Spin to clear the opponent's hazards, making Forretress the best dual hazard utility in the format. MoveExplosion finishes when the job is done.
Best Build
Forretress best EVs are HP and Sp. Def
Hazard Setter Moveset
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion
- Earthquake
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Forretress misses out on Counter and Flail. That's 6 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Pin Missile, with Normal and Electric coverage and more rounding things out.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It remains immovably rooted to its tree. It scatters pieces of its hard shell to drive its enemies away.
Its entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside the armor is a total mystery.
Forretress FireRed & LeafGreen Guide
Forretress isn't catchable in FireRed & LeafGreen. Obtain one in Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald, then trade it to FireRed & LeafGreen.
Game Availability
Available in 16 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Forretress spans 9 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in most mainline games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves