What does Pineco evolve into?

Pineco evolves into Forretress at level 31. One evolution, no branching. Solid jump from 290 BST.

At what level does Pineco evolve?

Pineco evolves into Forretress at level 31. Takes some grinding. Plan your team around the mid-game wait.

In Gold & Silver, Pineco does the job early-game if you need a Bug type on your team. Evolve it into Forretress before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Where can you catch Pineco?

Pineco is catchable in Gold & Silver. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 15 other games across the series.

Pineco - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Balanced

DTier

15Speed · Very Slow

Stats & Training

Pineco's spread isn't flashy. Defense leads, Speed trails, 1 stats clear the bar. Common in the wild and worth 1 Defense stat exp, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

Below

HP50

Attack65

Defense90

Sp. Atk35

Sp. Def35

Speed15

Total290

Details

Catch Rate

Easy190 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height0.6 m

Weight7.2 kg

Base XP58

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

Sturdy

Prevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Protects against the one-hit KO moves regardless of HP.

OvercoatHA

Protects against damage from weather.

EV Yield

HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe

Defense training source

Pokedex Entries

It likes to make its shell thicker by adding layers of tree bark. The additional weight doesn’t bother it.

Pineco Weakness

Pineco is weak to Fire, Flying, and Rock. Pineco's physical bulk (base 90 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Pineco Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Fire, Flying, Rock
0.5x (Resist)	Grass, Fighting, Ground

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

3Resist

0Immune

Score-3

Gen II Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Fire Flying Rock

½xResist

Grass Fighting Ground

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (3)

Grass Psychic Dark

How to Beat Pineco in Gold & Silver (Best Counters)

Natu PsychicFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Pineco Peck 2x 26-33% View Natu builds →
Cyndaquil Fire	D
Obtain MethodNew Bark Town Gift Available Move Moves EmberLv. 12 Damage vs Pineco Ember 2x 54-65% View Cyndaquil builds →
Spearow NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Pineco Peck 2x 33-39% View Spearow builds →
Hoothoot NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 11 Damage vs Pineco Peck 2x 22-26% View Hoothoot builds →
Pidgey NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves GustLv. 9 Damage vs Pineco Gust 2x 33-39% View Pidgey builds →

Gold & Silver Evolution

Pineco evolves into Forretress. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Evolving adds up to 175 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#204Pineco

Level 31

#205Forretress

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Pineco

Bug

Forretress

BugSteel

75+25

ATK

90+25

DEF

140+50

SP.ATK

60+25

SP.DEF

60+25

SPE

40+25

BST

290C-Tier

465B-Tier+175

ROLE

Balanced

Trick Room

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Pineco easily with 23 breeding partners from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Flail, Pin Missile, Reflect and 1 more to offspring.

Egg Groups

Bug

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

4moves

Breed With (best first)

Gold & Silver Pineco Best Moveset

Best Build

Gen 2 build content has limited support (no abilities).

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

Egg moves make a real difference. Pineco gets Flail and Pin Missile exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Normal and Grass coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Pin Missile.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Protect+4

C——10Normal

Lv 1

Tackle

D3510035Normal

Lv 8

Self-Destruct

B2001005Normal

Lv 15

Take Down

D908520Normal

Lv 22

Rapid Spin

D5010040Normal

Lv 29

Bide+1

———10Normal

Lv 36

Explosion

B2501005Normal

Lv 43

Spikes

C——20Ground

Lv 50

Double-Edge

C12010015Normal

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM03

Curse

C——10Ghost

TM40

Defense Curl

D——40Normal

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM20

Endure+4

D——10Normal

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM19

Giga Drain

D751005Grass

TM02

Headbutt

D7010015Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM08

Rock Smash

—2010015Fighting

TM04

Rollout

D309020Rock

TM35

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM13

Snore

—4010015Normal

TM22

Solar Beam

D12010010Grass

HM04

Strength

D8010015Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM34

Swagger

C—8515Normal

TM12

Sweet Scent

——10020Normal

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Flail

D—10015Normal

Egg

Pin Missile

—149520Bug

Egg

Reflect

C——20Psychic

Egg

Swift

D60—20Normal

Tutor Moves

Pineco can't learn any Tutor moves

Gold & Silver Pineco Locations

Pineco's scattered across 22 spots in early-game areas with high spawn rates. Check the list below for the closest location to wherever you are in the game. This one's quick.

Best Locations to Catch Pineco in Gold & Silver

headbutt encounters for Pineco across 22 spots at Lv. 10+. The catch is that Silver and Gold don't share every location, so compare what's available in your version.

Azalea Town

SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 City

30%Early

Azalea Town

GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 City

30%Early

Ilex Forest

SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Forest

30%Early

Ilex Forest

GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Forest

30%Early

Lake of Rage

SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Water

30%Early

Lake of Rage

GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Water

30%Early

Route 34

SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route

30%Early

Route 34