Special
Trick Room
400Average
40Very Slow
CTier

Under Trick Room, Ariados's terrible Speed becomes its best asset — it 'outspeeds' nearly everything when turns are reversed. Only weak to Fire, Flying, Psychic, and Rock. Known as the Long Leg Pokemon. Built to hit on the physical side.

Ariados's spread isn't flashy. Attack leads, Speed trails, 1 stats clear the bar. Moderately hard to find and worth 2 Attack EVs, on a fast 800K XP curve.

Base Stats
400Above
HP70
C
Attack90
B
Defense70
C
Sp. Atk60
C
Sp. Def70
C
Speed40
D
Total400
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Ariados yields +2 Atk
HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch90ChallengingFast800,000 XP1.1m / 3'07"33.5kg / 73.9 lbs140Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It spins string not only from its rear but also from its mouth. It is hard to tell which end is which.

Gold

A single strand of a special string is endlessly spun out of its rear. The string leads back to its nest.

Silver

Ariados Weakness

Avg

Ariados is weak to Fire, Flying, Psychic, and Rock-type moves. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. 4 weaknesses is about average, nothing too hard to play around.

Gen II Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
  • Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
4xCriticali
None
½xResisti
¼xResisti
0xImmunei
None
4Weak
4Resist
0Immune
Scorei-2
Stealth Rock25% on switch
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesAbsorbs on switch
Abilities
SwarmStrengthens bug moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less.
InsomniaPrevents sleep.
SniperHAStrengthens critical hits to inflict 3× damage rather than 2×.

Ariados is the evolved form of Spinarak. Breeding produces Spinarak eggs, and they're quick to hatch. Evolving from Spinarak gave Ariados the biggest boost in HP (+30), bringing the total to 400 stats.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Spinarak
BugPoison
Ariados
BugPoison
HP
40
70+30
ATK
60
90+30
DEF
40
70+30
SP.ATK
40
60+20
SP.DEF
40
70+30
SPE
30
40+10
BST
250D-Tier
400C-Tier+150
ROLE
Balanced
Trick Room
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Ariados to get Spinarak eggs easily using 23 partners from the Bug egg group. Notable egg moves include Baton Pass, Disable, Psybeam and 2 more.

Egg Groups
Bug
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
5moves
Breed With (best first)
parasectparasshuckleforretressvenomothgligarariadosbutterfreebeedrillledianyanmavenonat

Ariados keeps momentum with Baton Pass, switching out after dealing damage or scouting. Nothing gives it extra utility, flexible EVs EVs let it hit hard on the way out, and the remaining moves prevents dead turns.

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 2
Item
Nothing
Nature
Not in Gen 2

Best Ariados Moveset

  • Sludge BombSTAB
  • Spider WebSTAB
  • AgilitySetup
  • Baton Pass

Breeding opens up real options for Ariados. Baton Pass and Disable come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Sludge Bomb and Leech Life and Normal and Ghost coverage and more.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Constrict
1010035Normal
Lv 1
Poison Sting
1510035Poison
Lv 1
Scary Face
9010Normal
Lv 1
String Shot
9540Bug
Lv 6
Scary Face
9010Normal
Lv 11
Constrict
1010035Normal
Lv 17
Night Shade
10015Ghost
Lv 25
Leech Life
2010010Bug
Lv 34
Fury Swipes
188015Normal
Lv 43
Spider Web
10Bug
Lv 53
Screech
8540Normal
Lv 63
Psychic
9010010Psychic

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM03
Curse
10Ghost
TM28
Dig
6010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM20
Endure+4
10Normal
HM05
Flash
7020Normal
TM21
Frustration
10020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
751005Grass
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM29
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM27
Return
10020Normal
TM35
Sleep Talk
10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM13
Snore
4010015Normal
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM11
Sunny Day
5Fire
TM34
Swagger
8515Normal
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM06
Toxic
8510Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Baton Pass
40Normal
Egg
Disable
5520Normal
Egg
Psybeam
6510020Psychic
Egg
Pursuit
4010020Dark
Egg
Sonic Boom
9020Normal

Tutor Moves

Ariados can't learn any Tutor moves

Ariados tops out at moderate rates across 1 locations in early-game routes. The encounters below are sorted by rate so you can see exactly what you're working with.

Where To Catch Ariados in Gold & Silver

To get Ariados, start by catching Spinarak through walking encounters at Lv. 3-15. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Spinarak
    Step 1Catch Spinarak
    Route 30
    GrassLv.3CommonEarlyRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 2
    GrassLv.3CommonEarlyRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 31
    GrassLv.4CommonEarlyRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 37
    GrassLv.13-15CommonEarlyRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
  2. Ariados
    Step 2Ariados
    Route 2
    GrassLv.7RareEarlyRouteNight
    CHALLENGING
    or evolve from Spinarak (Step 1)
  • Ariados has a 400 base stat total and ranks as C-Tier — a situational pick that fills a niche. It works best as a trick room.

  • Ariados's biggest threats include Charizard (Fire), Aerodactyl (Flying), and Espeon (Psychic), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Rock-type attackers are also a problem. At base 40 Speed, Ariados won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.

  • Spinarak evolves into Ariados at level 22. Ariados is the fully evolved form. It sits at 400 BST in its evolved form.

  • Ariados fills the trick room role. It's a special attacker with base 60 Sp. Atk. Base 40 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.

  • Ariados appears in 17 games, including Gold & Silver, Crystal, and Ruby & Sapphire.

Ariados first appeared in Gold & Silver and has been available in 17 games across 8 generations. Obtainable through wild encounters in most titles where it appears.