Is Pineco Good in Emerald Playthrough?
Found in the Safari Zone. Pineco evolves into Forretress at 31 with AbilitySturdy. Bug/Steel defensive typing resists most attack types. Handles Tate and Liza. The Steel subtype is rare among Emerald's available roster, making Forretress uniquely durable.
Roxanne's team hits Pineco's weaknesses hard.
Pineco has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Juan'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 Wallace's team.
Catchable
Catch Pineco in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 34, rare). Safari Zone: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari Balls, 500-step limit.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 34)
- LV 34NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 34NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by the Tunnel Man in Rusturf Tunnel
- After Norman
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Safari Zone
- LV 36NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 50NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
- TUTORRockRock SlidePower 75Accuracy 90%PP 10Battle Frontier
Evolve Pineco to Forretress
Pineco evolves into Forretress at Level 31. You get it at Level 34, past Level 31, so it evolves into Forretress the next time it levels up. A lower-level Pineco evolves when it reaches Level 31.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 31)
- LV 31NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by the Tunnel Man in Rusturf 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
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
- TUTORRockRock SlidePower 75Accuracy 90%PP 10Battle Frontier
How to Get Pineco in Emerald
Pineco hangs in the Safari Zone as a rare level 34 catch. There is also an Altering Cave slot, but that was a Japan-only Wonder Spot event that never went live, so the Safari plot is your real shot.
2 locations to catch Pineco
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Pineco in E
- 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 Emerald Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Pineco in Emerald
Pineco clings rarely to the Hoenn Safari Zone, so patrol the northern extension grass and inspect every bagworm you shake loose, since only a shiny makes the slow rare-encounter grind worthwhile. Compare Shiny Pineco odds across every game
Emerald Shiny Pineco Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
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 Emerald 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
What is Pineco Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Pineco
 Blaziken FireFighting | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Blaziken builds →Overheat 2x297-350%KO Aerial Ace 2x48-57% Rock Tomb 2x39-47% | ||
 Typhlosion Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (Littleroot Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Typhlosion builds →Overheat 2x294-347%KO Aerial Ace 2x36-43% | ||
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Camerupt builds →Overheat 2x287-338%KO Rock Slide 2x51-61% | ||
 Torkoal Fire | C | |
 Skarmory Steel | A | |
 Houndoom DarkFire | B | |
 Magcargo FireRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Magcargo builds →Overheat 2x252-297%KO Rock Tomb 2x32-38% | ||
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMeteor Falls Surfing | ||
 Regirock Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 111 Interact Encounter | ||
 Altaria Dragon | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Altaria builds →Fire Blast 2x120-141%KO Fly 2x55-65% | ||
 Solrock RockPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodMeteor Falls Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Solrock builds →Rock Slide 2x75-88% Overheat 2x117-137%KO | ||
 Dodrio Normal | B | |
 Armaldo RockBug | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Armaldo builds →Ancient Power 2x75-88% Aerial Ace 2x50-59% | ||
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 37 breeding partners from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Counter, Flail, Pin Missile and 3 more to offspring.
E Pineco Best Moveset
Setting MoveSpikes is the only job worth giving Pineco before it evolves. The moveset should focus on hazards and MoveRapid Spin support for the team.
Best Build
Pineco best EVs are HP and Sp. Def
Wall Moveset
- Toxic
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Rapid Spin
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Pineco gets Counter and Flail exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Normal and Ground 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. 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 20 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
A PINECO hangs from a tree branch and waits for prey. While eating, if it is disturbed by someone shaking its tree, it falls on the ground and suddenly explodes.
Pineco Emerald Guide
- How do I catch Pineco in the Emerald Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Pineco in Emerald.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Pineco from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Pineco easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
In Emerald, 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 · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List