Is Pineco Good in Crystal Playthrough?
Headbutt trees in Johto. Forretress evolves at 31 with Bug/Steel typing that resists almost everything except Fire. Crystal's late-game content gives defensive Pokemon more runway. Getting one from the trees is the hard part.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's typing presses Pineco's defenses.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Clair's typing presses Forretress's defenses.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Sabrina's typing presses Forretress's defenses.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with 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 Misty's team.
Forretress resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
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 has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Pineco on Route 29 (Headbutt (rare), Lv 10, common).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 10)
- LV 10NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 15NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- LV 36NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 27
- After Lt. Surge
- TM19GrassGiga DrainPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 5Prize for defeating Erika
- LV 50NormalDouble-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 Jasmine, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 31)
- LV 31NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 31NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- LV 39NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 27
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner prize (7500 coins)
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Janine
- LV 59NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Pineco in Crystal
Pineco is a Headbutt-only catch, common in trees across 15 Johto and Kanto routes. Nothing in the grass gives it, so every Pineco comes from shaking the right tree.
15 locations to catch Pineco
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Pineco in C
Pineco is the chain's first catch. You'll find headbutt encounters from Lv. 10 across 15 total spots in the chain.
- Step 1Pineco ✓Ilex ForestLv.10Headbutting treesRate 30%Lake of RageLv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 29Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 30Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 31Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 32Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 34Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 35Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 36Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 37Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 38Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 39Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 43Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 26Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%Route 27Lv.10Headbutting special treesRate 30%
- Step 2Evolve into ForretressBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Pineco egg.
Bring the right balls: check Pineco catch odds in the Crystal Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Pineco in Crystal
Pineco clings to trees instead of grass, so use Headbutt in Ilex Forest and along the early routes; it drops down at level 10 as a common knock. Compare Shiny Pineco odds across every game
Crystal Shiny Pineco Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Pineco in the Crystal Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Flying, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Ground |
- 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
What is Pineco Weak Against
Avg
Pineco Evolutions
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 take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 175 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
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.
C Pineco Best Moveset
One of the few Pokemon with MoveSpikes, the format's most impactful entry hazard. MoveExplosion adds a parting shot after setup. Stats limit competitive play beyond the hazard role, but that role alone provides enormous value. Forretress does everything better.
Best Build
Screens Setter Moveset
- Reflect
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Rapid Spin
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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.
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.
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
17 of 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It spits out a fluid that it uses to glue tree bark to its body. The fluid hardens when it touches air.
Pineco Crystal Guide
In Crystal, 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.
Game Availability
Pineco first appeared in Gold & Silver and has been available in 16 games across 8 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.
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 Pineco.
Keep playing · CrystalCrystal Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Crystal Tier List