
Is Forretress Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Bug/Steel with AbilitySturdy and only Fire as a weakness. MoveSpikes for entry hazard damage and the defensive typing absorbs most of what RS throws at you. Trade-only in RS. Skarmory fills a similar defensive Steel role natively with better physical stats.
Roxanne's typing presses Forretress's defenses.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Winona's typing presses Forretress's defenses.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Drake's team hits Forretress's weaknesses hard.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Trade
Forretress cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 31.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 5)
- LV 5NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 15NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- After Norman
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Safari Zone
- LV 39NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 59NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Forretress in Ruby & Sapphire
Forretress is the level-31 evolution of a traded Pineco, with no wild bagworm anywhere in Hoenn.
How to Obtain Forretress in RS
Step 1Obtain PinecoCARTRIDGE TRADEfrom EmeraldAvailableCatch in Emerald via Walking · Safari Zone · Safari Zone: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari Balls, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Headbutt special · Route 35. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Headbutt special · Route 34. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Walking · Route 210 · Dual-slot: Emerald. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
Step 2Forretress ✓
How to Get Shiny Forretress in Ruby & Sapphire
Since its line can be caught only in other Generation III games, a shiny Forretress has to be traded into Ruby & Sapphire. See every game where Shiny Forretress can be hunted
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Forretress Weak Against
FortressForretress 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 37 partners from the Bug egg group. Notable egg moves include Counter, Flail, Pin Missile and 3 more.
RS Forretress Best Moveset
Steel/Bug resists nine types for safe switch-ins. AbilitySturdy blocks OHKO moves while MoveSpikes and MoveRapid Spin handle both sides of the hazard game. MoveExplosion finishes with massive damage. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. The complete hazard package with elite defensive typing.
Best Build
Forretress best EVs are HP and Sp. Def
Hazard Setter Moveset
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion
- Earthquake
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Forretress misses out on Counter and Flail. That's 6 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Pin Missile, with Normal and Ground coverage and more 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 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
FORRETRESS conceals itself inside its hardened steel shell. The shell is opened when the POKéMON is catching prey, but it does so at such a quick pace that the shell’s inside cannot be seen.
Forretress Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Forretress isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Obtain one in Emerald, then trade it to Ruby & Sapphire.
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.
