Physical
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

There are some areas where people use the string Ariados spins for their own weaving. The resulting cloth is popular for its strength.

Sun

It spins thread from both its rear and its mouth. Then it wraps its prey up in thread and sips their bodily fluids at its leisure.

Moon

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. Notable egg moves include Baton Pass, Disable, Electroweb and 9 more.

Egg Groups
Bug
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
12moves

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

Best Build

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

Best Ariados Moveset

  • Sticky WebSTAB
  • Toxic SpikesSTAB
  • MegahornSTAB
  • Sucker Punch

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 Megahorn and Sludge Bomb and coverage across 8 types.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Absorb
4010025Grass
Lv 1
Bug Bite
6010020Bug
Lv 1
Constrict
1010035Normal
Lv 1
Fell Stinger
5010025Bug
Lv 1
Focus Energy
30Normal
Lv 1
Poison Sting
1510035Poison
Lv 1
String Shot
9540Bug
Lv 1
Swords Dance
20Normal
Lv 1
Venom Drench
10020Poison
Lv 5
Absorb
4010025Grass
Lv 8
Infestation
2010020Bug
Lv 12
Scary Face
10010Normal
Lv 15
Night Shade
10015Ghost
Lv 19
Shadow Sneak+1
4010030Ghost
Lv 23
Fury Swipes
188015Normal
Lv 28
Sucker Punch+1
701005Dark
Lv 32
Spider Web
10Bug
Lv 37
Agility
30Psychic
Lv 41
Pin Missile
259520Bug
Lv 46
Psychic
9010010Psychic
Lv 50
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
Lv 55
Cross Poison
7010020Poison
Lv 58
Sticky Web
20Bug
Lv 63
Toxic Thread
10020Poison

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM100
Confide
20Normal
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM21
Frustration
10020Normal
TM68
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM83
Infestation
2010020Bug
TM28
Leech Life
8010010Bug
TM84
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM29
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM27
Return
10020Normal
TM48
Round
6010015Normal
TM88
Sleep Talk
10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM67
Smart Strike
7010Steel
TM22
Solar Beam
20010010Grass
TM90
Substitute
10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
5Fire
TM87
Swagger
8515Normal
TM75
Swords Dance
20Normal
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM06
Toxic
9010Poison
TM09
Venoshock
6510010Poison
TM81
X-Scissor
8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Baton Pass
40Normal
Egg
Disable
10020Normal
Egg
Electroweb
559515Electric
Egg
Megahorn
1208510Bug
Egg
Night Slash
7010015Dark
Egg
Psybeam
6510020Psychic
Egg
Pursuit
4010020Dark
Egg
Rage Powder+2
20Bug
Egg
Signal Beam
7510015Bug
Egg
Sonic Boom
9020Normal
Egg
Toxic Spikes
20Poison
Egg
Twineedle
2510020Bug

Tutor Moves

Ariados can't learn any Tutor moves

Transfer Moves

Src
Gen 3
Body Slam
8510015Normal
Gen 4
Captivate
10020Normal
Gen 2
Curse
10Ghost
Gen 6
Dig
8010010Ground
Gen 3
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
Gen 4
Endure+4
10Normal
Gen 6
Flash
10020Normal
Gen 6
Hone Claws
15Dark
Gen 3
Mimic
10Normal
Gen 4
Natural Gift
10015Normal
Gen 2
Screech
8540Normal
Gen 6
Secret Power
7010020Normal
Gen 6
Struggle Bug
5010020Bug

Ariados appears at decent spawn rates across 10 spots in mid-game routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.

Where To Catch Ariados in Sun & Moon

Spinarak is your first catch on the way to Ariados. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 2-34 across 16 total spots in the chain.

  1. Spinarak
    Step 1Catch Spinarak
    Route 1 - East
    MoonGrassLv.2-320%EarlyRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 1 - East
    SunGrassLv.2-320%EarlyRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 1 - West
    SunGrassLv.3-515%EarlyRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 1 - West
    MoonGrassLv.3-515%EarlyRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 1 - South
    MoonGrassLv.10-1310%EarlyRouteNight
    MODERATE
    Route 1 - South
    SunGrassLv.10-1310%EarlyRouteNight
    MODERATE
  2. Ariados
    Step 2Ariados
    Malie Garden
    MoonGrassLv.24-2720%MidForestNight
    EASY
    Malie Garden
    SunGrassLv.24-2720%MidForestNight
    EASY
    Route 10
    MoonGrassLv.24-2720%MidRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 10
    SunGrassLv.24-2720%MidRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 11
    SunGrassLv.24-2720%MidRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 11
    MoonGrassLv.24-2720%MidRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 17 - West
    SunGrassLv.31-3420%LateRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 17 - West
    MoonGrassLv.31-3420%LateRouteNight
    EASY
    Ula'ula Meadow
    SunGrassLv.31-3420%LateNight
    EASY
    Ula'ula Meadow
    MoonGrassLv.31-3420%LateNight
    EASY
    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.

  • 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 a physical attacker with 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.