Is Forretress Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Bug/Steel with AbilitySturdy. If accessed through the Emerald Dual Slot, Forretress sets up MoveStealth Rock and MoveSpikes for team support. The defensive utility is real. Handles Candice's Ice through Steel resistance. Slow but durable.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Forretress resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catch Pineco
Catch Pineco on Route 203 (walking, Lv 5, rare). Pokémon Emerald in GBA slot.
Recommended Moves
- LV 6NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 9NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Gardenia
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Veilstone Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Lost Tower
- LV 31NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Byron
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- LV 42NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Pineco to Forretress
Pineco evolves into Forretress at Level 31. Your Pineco should hit Level 31 before you reach Fantina, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 31)
- LV 31NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Gardenia
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Veilstone Department Store
- LV 33NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Byron
- TM91SteelFlash CannonPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Prize for defeating Byron
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- LV 50NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Forretress in Diamond & Pearl
Since Pineco rarely shows outside honey trees, Forretress takes some patience to build toward. Slather a tree, catch the bag bug, and level it to 31, as the steel form never appears wild.
Catch Pineco at any of these 5 spots to eventually evolve into Forretress.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
- 1Catch Pineco
- 2Evolve Forretressat Lv.31
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8How to Obtain Forretress in DP
Pineco is your first catch on the way to Forretress. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 5-20 across 12 total spots in the chain.
- Step 1Catch Pineco
- Step 2Forretress ✓BREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Pineco egg.
How to Get Shiny Forretress in Diamond & Pearl
Forretress will not spawn wild, so chain a shiny Pineco in Eterna Forest at 1 in 200 and let it evolve up. Compare Shiny Forretress odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Forretress Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is PokeRadar Chain at full boosts, about 1 in 200 on each try. Tune it below.
PokeRadar Chain: Chain shaking-grass patches without breaking the combo. The rate peaks at a chain of 40.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 22-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 58-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 139-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 460-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
For time estimates and charm math, open the Diamond & Pearl shiny odds calculator with Forretress already selected.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Forretress Weak Against
Fortress
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 take an average time to hatch. 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
Breeding
Breed with Forretress to get Pineco eggs easily using 48 partners from the Bug egg group. Notable egg moves include Counter, Double-Edge, Flail and 6 more.
DP Forretress Best Moveset
Every hazard move in the game on one Pokemon: MoveStealth Rock, MoveSpikes, and MoveToxic Spikes go down while MoveRapid Spin clears the opponent's side. 140 Defense and Bug/Steel typing resist most physical attacks. The moveset is pure utility, setting hazards up and tearing the opponent's down.
Best Build
Forretress best EVs are HP and Defense
Hazard Setter Moveset
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Payback
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Forretress misses out on Counter and Double-Edge. That's 9 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Flash Cannon and Mirror Shot, with coverage across 7 types 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
35 of 36 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Forretress Diamond & Pearl Guide
In Diamond & Pearl, use Forretress as a hazard setter. Physical side carries the damage. It's slow, so Trick Room or priority moves are key.
For Diamond & Pearl, run Impish on Forretress. +Defense is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the hazard setter role.
Game Availability
Available in 16 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Forretress spans 8 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 7Let's Go
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
Explore
Where to go next after Forretress.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List