Is Pineco Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Emerald Dual Slot encounter in Eterna Forest. Bug with AbilitySturdy blocking one-hit KO moves. Forretress at 31 adds Steel. Available during the story if you have the Emerald cartridge. Forretress tanks physical hits.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Forretress resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Pineco on Route 203 (walking, Lv 5, rare). Pokémon Emerald in GBA slot.
Recommended Moves
- LV 6NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 9NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Gardenia
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Veilstone Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10Maniac Tunnel
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Lost Tower
- LV 31NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Byron
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- LV 42NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Pineco to Forretress
Pineco evolves into Forretress at Level 31. Your Pineco should hit Level 31 before you reach Fantina, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 31)
- LV 31NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Gardenia
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Veilstone Department Store
- LV 33NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Byron
- TM91SteelFlash CannonPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Prize for defeating Byron
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- LV 50NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Pineco in Diamond & Pearl
Pineco hides in honey-slathered trees and the odd patch of grass, rare across five spots from level 5 up. The bag bug favors the trees, so a fresh honey slather is your best shot at one.
5 locations to catch Pineco
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Pineco in DP
The line opens with Pineco at Lv. 5-20 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 1Pineco ✓
- 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 Diamond & Pearl Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Pineco in Diamond & Pearl
Pineco hangs in the trees of Eterna Forest and along Route 204, so a PokeRadar chain in that grass delivers its shiny. Compare Shiny Pineco odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Pineco Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is PokeRadar Chain at full boosts, about 1 in 200 on each try. Tune it below.
PokeRadar Chain: Chain shaking-grass patches without breaking the combo. The rate peaks at a chain of 40.
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 | 22-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 58-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 139-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 460-- | -- |
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 Diamond & Pearl 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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Pineco Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Pineco
 Growlithe Fire | C | |
 Chimchar Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodLake Verity Gift | ||
 Staravia Normal | C | |
 Solrock RockPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Solrock builds →Rock Throw 2x52-64% Fire Blast 2x93-110%KO | ||
 Geodude RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Geodude builds →Rock Throw 2x48-57% Fire Blast 2x67-81% | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Zubat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Surfing | ||
 Doduo Normal | C | |
 Lunatone RockPsychic | C | |
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 48 breeding partners from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Counter, Double-Edge, Flail and 6 more to offspring.
DP Pineco Best Moveset
90 Defense is sturdy for a first-stage Bug, but 15 Speed and 35 in both special stats make the moveset completely one-dimensional. Forretress does the hazard job incomparably better. Forretress handles the hazard job.
Best Build
Pineco best EVs are Defense and HP
Hazard Setter Moveset
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Pineco gets Counter and Double-Edge exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Coverage across 7 types 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. 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
31 of 32 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It looks just like a pinecone. Its shell protects it from bird Pokémon that peck it by mistake.
Pineco Diamond & Pearl Guide
In Diamond & Pearl, 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 · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List