Physical
Setup Sweeper
450Average
50Slow
CTier

While most trainers evolve Piloswine into Mamoswine immediately, the unevolved form has a niche with Eviolite boosting its defenses. Electric moves can't touch it, which offsets the 5 weaknesses somewhat. A longtime staple going back to Gen 2. Relies on priority moves or Scarf to keep up.

Nothing fancy in Piloswine's spread. It leans physical with HP out front. And you'll get 2 HP and Attack EVs per KO for it. Follows a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats
450Above
HP100
B
Attack100
B
Defense80
C
Sp. Atk60
C
Sp. Def60
C
Speed50
D
Total450
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Piloswine yields +1 HP, +1 Atk
HP+1Atk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch75Challenging•Slow1.25M XP•1.1m / 3'07"•55.8kg / 123 lbs•158Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Covered by a shaggy coat, it is strong against the cold. Its tusks of ice thicken when it snows.

Black / White

Piloswine Weakness

Fragile

Fire, Water, Grass, Fighting, and Steel-type moves hit Piloswine for super-effective damage. The upside? Electric-type moves can't touch it at all. Thick Fat reduces Fire/Ice damage, further improving the defensive spread.

Gen V Type Chart
  • Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
  • Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
FireWaterGrassFightingSteel
½xResisti
Poison
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
Electric
STAB (9)i
GrassGroundFlyingDragonFireElectricPoisonRockSteel
5Weak
1Resist
1Immune
Scorei-6
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
ObliviousPrevents infatuation and protects against captivate.
Snow CloakIncreases evasion to 1.25× during hail. Protects against hail damage.
Thick FatHAHalves damage from fire and ice moves.
Thick Fat reduces Fire/Ice to ½x

Piloswine connects Swinub to Mamoswine in this chain. At least one evolution here needs knowing a specific move. So far, HP got the biggest boost (+50 from Swinub). The final form adds another 80 stats on top.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Swinub
#220Swinub
33
Level 33
Piloswine
#221Piloswine
Knows Ancient Power
Mamoswine
#473Mamoswine
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Swinub
IceGround
Piloswine
IceGround
Mamoswine
IceGround
HP
50
100+50
110+10
ATK
50
100+50
130+30
DEF
40
80+40
80
SP.ATK
30
60+30
70+10
SP.DEF
30
60+30
60
SPE
50
50
80+30
BST
250D-Tier
450C-Tier+200
530B-Tier+80
ROLE
Balanced
Attacker
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Piloswine to get Swinub eggs easily using 180 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Ancient Power, Avalanche, Bite and 9 more.

Egg Groups
Ground
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
12moves
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 180·

Thickfat and Eviolite give Piloswine staying power beyond its evolution stage. Adamant nature boosts Attack, max HP and Attack EVs set the spread, and the pre-evolution bulk actually works here.

Best Build

Physical Tank
Ability
Thickfat
Item
EvioliteBULK
Nature
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Best Piloswine Moveset

  • Ice ShardSTAB
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • CurseSetup
  • Stealth Rock

Recommended Teammates

Vaporeon
VaporeonGood
Skarmory
SkarmoryGood
Rotom
RotomGood

Without breeding, Piloswine misses out on Ancient Power and Avalanche. That's 12 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Blizzard and Earthquake, with Rock and Flying coverage and more rounding things out.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Ancient Power
601005Rock
Lv 1
Mud Sport
——15Ground
Lv 1
Odor Sleuth
——40Normal
Lv 1
Peck
3510035Flying
Lv 1
Powder Snow
4010025Ice
Lv 4
Mud Sport
——15Ground
Lv 8
Powder Snow
4010025Ice
Lv 13
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
Lv 16
Endure+4
——10Normal
Lv 20
Mud Bomb
658510Ground
Lv 25
Icy Wind
559515Ice
Lv 28
Ice Fang
659515Ice
Lv 32
Take Down
908520Normal
Lv 33
Fury Attack
158520Normal
Lv 40
Earthquake
10010010Ground
Lv 48
Mist
——30Ice
Lv 56
Blizzard
120705Ice
Lv 65
Amnesia
——20Psychic

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM14
Blizzard
120705Ice
TM78
Bulldoze
6010020Ground
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM68
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM07
Hail
——10Ice
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
9510010Ice
TM16
Light Screen
——30Psychic
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
——5Water
TM33
Reflect
——20Psychic
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
—10020Normal
TM80
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM94
Rock Smash
4010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
609510Rock
TM48
Round
6010015Normal
TM37
Sandstorm
——10Rock
TM71
Stone Edge
100805Rock
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
——10Normal
TM87
Swagger
—9015Normal
TM06
Toxic
—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Ancient Power
601005Rock
Egg
Avalanche-4
6010010Ice
Egg
Bite
6010025Dark
Egg
Body Slam
8510015Normal
Egg
Curse
——10Ghost
Egg
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
Egg
Fissure
—305Ground
Egg
Icicle Crash
859010Ice
Egg
Icicle Spear
2510030Ice
Egg
Mud Shot
559515Ground
Egg
Stealth Rock
——20Rock
Egg
Take Down
908520Normal

Tutor Moves

Piloswine can't learn any Tutor moves

Reminder Moves

Src
Rem
Ice Shard+1
4010030Ice
Rem
Tackle
5010035Normal

Transfer Moves

Src
Gen 4
Captivate
—10020Normal
Gen 3
Defense Curl
——40Normal
Gen 4
Headbutt
7010015Normal
Gen 3
Horn Attack
6510025Normal
Gen 3
Mimic
——10Normal
Gen 4
Natural Gift
—10015Normal
Gen 4
Secret Power
7010020Normal

Piloswine starts showing up in endgame routes at high spawn rates across 8 encounter spots. The list below is sorted so you can pick what fits your current progress without scrolling through everything.

Where To Catch Piloswine in Black & White

Swinub is your first catch on the way to Piloswine. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 47-64 across 8 total spots in the chain.

  1. Swinub
    Step 1Obtain Swinub
  2. Piloswine
    Step 2Piloswine ✓
    Giant Chasm - Cave
    BlackGrassLv.47-49CommonPostIceAny
    EFFORTLESS
    Giant Chasm - Cave
    WhiteGrassLv.47-49CommonPostIceAny
    EFFORTLESS
    Giant Chasm - Plains
    WhiteGrassLv.52-54CommonPostIceAny
    EFFORTLESS
    Giant Chasm - Plains
    BlackGrassLv.52-54CommonPostIceAny
    EFFORTLESS
    Giant Chasm - Inner Cave
    BlackGrassLv.57-59CommonPostIceAny
    EFFORTLESS
    Giant Chasm - Inner Cave
    WhiteGrassLv.57-59CommonPostIceAny
    EFFORTLESS
    Giant Chasm - Plains
    WhiteGrassLv.62-64CommonPostIceAnyDouble grass
    EFFORTLESS
    Giant Chasm - Plains
    BlackGrassLv.62-64CommonPostIceAnyDouble grass
    EFFORTLESS
    or evolve from Swinub (Step 1)

  • At 450 BST, Piloswine is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Mamoswine before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Watch for Arcanine (Fire), Gyarados (Water), and Exeggutor (Grass) when using Piloswine. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Fighting and Steel-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

  • Swinub evolves into Piloswine at level 33. Piloswine evolves into Mamoswine after learning Ancient Power. Piloswine is a middle-stage evolution in the Swinub line.

  • Piloswine gets Thick Fat, Oblivious, and Snow Cloak. But Thick Fat is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Piloswine is a physical attacker with base 100 Attack. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. Fits the setup sweeper role.

  • Piloswine appears in 18 games, including Gold & Silver, Crystal, and Ruby & Sapphire.

Debuting in Gold & Silver, Piloswine appears in 18 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in most mainline games, typically found through catching or hatching as a base form.