Is Forretress Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Pineco evolves at level 31. Bug/Steel with AbilitySturdy. Resists a long list of types and fills a defensive role through the E4. Handles Clair through Steel's Dragon resistance. The 4x Fire weakness is the one glaring hole, and Karen's Houndoom exploits it.
Falkner's team hits Pineco's weaknesses hard.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Chuck's typing presses Forretress's defenses.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Forretress resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catch Pineco
Catch Pineco in New Bark Town (Headbutt, Lv 2-3, limited).
Recommended Moves
- LV 6NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 9BugBug BitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- LV 34NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 45NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
Evolve Pineco to Forretress
Pineco evolves into Forretress at Level 31. Your Pineco should hit Level 31 before you reach Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 31)
- LV 31SteelMirror ShotPower 98Accuracy 85%PP 10
- LV 31BugBug BitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 31NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- LV 38NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 55NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Forretress in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Headbutt a tree for a Pineco and level it to 31, and you have a Forretress. None turn up on their own, so the tree-thumping for its first stage is the whole path here.
Catch Pineco at any of these 34 spots to eventually evolve into Forretress.
- 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 HGSS
To get Forretress, start by catching Pineco through headbutt encounters at Lv. 2-29. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
- Step 1Catch PinecoCherrygrove CityLv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%New Bark TownLv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 29Lv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 30Lv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Pallet TownLv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 1Lv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 31Lv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Pewter CityLv.3-5Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 2 - NorthLv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 2 - SouthLv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 22Lv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Viridian CityLv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 32Lv.4-5Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 36Lv.4-5Headbutting treesRate 30%Ilex ForestLv.6-8Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 3Lv.6-7Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 34Lv.9-10Headbutting treesRate 30%National ParkLv.10-12Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 35Lv.10-11Headbutting treesRate 30%Violet CityLv.10Headbutting treesRate 30%Cerulean CityLv.11-13Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 5Lv.11-13Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 6Lv.11-13Headbutting treesRate 30%Ecruteak CityLv.12-14Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 37Lv.12-14Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 38Lv.13-14Headbutting treesRate 30%Lake of RageLv.14-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 39Lv.14-15Headbutting treesRate 30%Safari Zone GateLv.14-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 43Lv.15-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 47Lv.15-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 48Lv.15-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 8Lv.16-17Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 26Lv.28-29Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 27Lv.28-29Headbutting treesRate 30%
- Step 2Forretress ✓
How to Get Shiny Forretress in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Forretress evolves from Pineco, so breed that headbutt-tree base form Masuda-style at 1 in 1,638 and raise it up. Compare Shiny Forretress odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Forretress Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
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 | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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 HeartGold & SoulSilver 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
FortressBest Pokemon Against Forretress
 Ho-Oh Fire | S | |
Obtain MethodBell Tower Interact Encounter | ||
 Entei Fire | B | |
 Blaziken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Silph Co Gift) Available Move Moves
Damage vs Forretress View Blaziken builds →Flare Blitz 4x158-186%KO | ||
 Charizard Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Moltres Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodMt Silver Interact Encounter | ||
 Typhlosion Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Houndoom DarkFire | C | |
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
 Torkoal Fire | C | |
 Rapidash Fire | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Forretress View Rapidash builds →Flare Blitz 4x136-160%KO | ||
 Magmar Fire | C | |
 Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
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 7 more.
HGSS Forretress Best Moveset
Hazard platform: sets MoveStealth Rock, MoveSpikes, and MoveToxic Spikes all from one team slot. 140 Defense blocks physical attacks while getting layers down. AbilitySturdy guarantees at least one setup turn. Bug/Steel typing means Fire (4x) is the single devastating weakness.
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 10 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Signal Beam 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
All 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside this shell is a total mystery.
It remains immovably rooted to its tree. It scatters pieces of its hard shell to drive its enemies away.
Forretress HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Forretress as a hazard setter. Physical side carries the damage. It's slow, so Trick Room or priority moves are key.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, 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
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