Utility
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 attaches silk to its prey and sets it free. Later, it tracks the silk to the prey and its friends.

Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl

Ariados Weakness

Avg

Ariados is weak to Fire, Flying, Psychic, and Rock-type moves. It resists 5 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. 4 weaknesses is about average, nothing too hard to play around.

4xCriticali
None
½xResisti
¼xResisti
0xImmunei
None
4Weak
5Resist
0Immune
Scorei-1
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 from the Bug egg group.

Egg Groups
Bug
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body

Focus Sash guarantees Ariados survives one hit from full HP. That's enough to get Toxic Spikes up and fire off Sticky Web before going down. Sniper and max HP and Attack EVs maximize first-turn impact.

Best Build

Physical Tank
Ability
Sniper
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Nature
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Best Ariados Moveset

  • Sticky WebSTAB
  • Leech LifeSTAB
  • Poison JabSTAB
  • Toxic SpikesSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Ariados develops a solid moveset just through leveling. Psychic and Bug Buzz show up naturally, and the progression handles both STAB and utility without leaning on TMs for the core attacks.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Focus Energy
30Normal
Lv 1
Poison Sting
1510035Poison
Lv 1
String Shot
9540Bug
Lv 5
Absorb
2010025Grass
Lv 8
Infestation
2010020Bug
Lv 12
Shadow Sneak+1
4010030Ghost
Lv 16
X-Scissor
8010015Bug
Lv 21
Screech
8540Normal
Lv 24
Sticky Web
20Bug
Lv 27
Pin Missile
259520Bug
Lv 30
Psychic
9010010Psychic
Lv 33
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
Lv 35
Bug Buzz
9010010Bug
Lv 37
Leech Life
8010010Bug
Lv 40
Lunge
8010015Bug
Lv 44
Megahorn
1208510Bug

TM Moves

Src
TM112
Acid Spray
4010020Poison
TM47
Agility
30Psychic
TM33
Body Slam
8510015Normal
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM101
Electroweb
559515Electric
TM35
Endure+4
10Normal
TM109
Facade
7010020Normal
TM122
False Swipe
4010040Normal
TM142
First Impression+2
9010010Bug
TM42
Giga Drain
7510010Grass
TM55
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM01
Headbutt
7010015Normal
TM44
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM45
Knock Off
6510020Dark
TM77
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM63
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM53
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM64
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM85
Substitute
10Normal
TM30
Swords Dance
20Normal
TM07
Toxic
9010Poison
TM89
Toxic Spikes
20Poison
TM115
Trailblaze
5010020Grass
TM81
X-Scissor
8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Ariados doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Ariados can't learn any Tutor moves

No wild encounters for Ariados in Legends: Z-A. Bring Spinarak over from Gold, Crystal, or HeartGold, then level through the stages. Each step in the chain is laid out below.

How to Obtain Ariados in Legends: Z-A

  1. Ariados
    Step 2Ariados
  • 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.

  • Swarm is the go-to ability for Ariados. It strengthens bug moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less. Its hidden ability Sniper can work in specific setups. Insomnia is the other option — pick based on what your team needs.

  • Ariados fills the trick room role. It's leaning toward the physical side (base 90 Attack). 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.