Is Pineco Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Headbutt trees from Ilex Forest onward. Bug-type with AbilitySturdy. Forretress at level 31 adds Steel typing and becomes one of the best defensive Pokemon available. The headbutt mechanic makes Pineco easy to miss.
Falkner's team hits Pineco's weaknesses hard.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Pineco trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Chuck's typing presses Forretress's defenses.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Forretress trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Forretress resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Forretress has the type edge here and should clean up 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 Sabrina's team.
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 trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Pineco in New Bark Town (Headbutt, Lv 2-3, limited).
Recommended Moves
- LV 6NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 9BugBug BitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- LV 34NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 45NormalDouble-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 Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 31)
- LV 31SteelMirror ShotPower 98Accuracy 85%PP 10
- LV 31BugBug BitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 31NormalSelf-DestructPower 200Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- LV 38NormalExplosionPower 250Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 55NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Pineco in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Pineco only drops out of Headbutt trees, never from grass, so it shows up almost everywhere a tree stands across both regions. Thump enough trunks and you will turn one up before long, since the spread is enormous.
34 locations to catch Pineco
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Pineco in HGSS
Pineco is where the line starts, caught through headbutt encounters at Lv. 2-29. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
- Step 1Pineco ✓Cherrygrove CityLv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%New Bark TownLv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 29Lv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 30Lv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Pallet TownLv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 1Lv.2-3Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 31Lv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Pewter CityLv.3-5Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 2 - NorthLv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 2 - SouthLv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 22Lv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Viridian CityLv.3-4Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 32Lv.4-5Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 36Lv.4-5Headbutting treesRate 30%Ilex ForestLv.6-8Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 3Lv.6-7Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 34Lv.9-10Headbutting treesRate 30%National ParkLv.10-12Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 35Lv.10-11Headbutting treesRate 30%Violet CityLv.10Headbutting treesRate 30%Cerulean CityLv.11-13Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 5Lv.11-13Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 6Lv.11-13Headbutting treesRate 30%Ecruteak CityLv.12-14Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 37Lv.12-14Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 38Lv.13-14Headbutting treesRate 30%Lake of RageLv.14-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 39Lv.14-15Headbutting treesRate 30%Safari Zone GateLv.14-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 43Lv.15-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 47Lv.15-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 48Lv.15-16Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 8Lv.16-17Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 26Lv.28-29Headbutting treesRate 30%Route 27Lv.28-29Headbutting treesRate 30%
- Step 2Evolve into Forretress
Bring the right balls: check Pineco catch odds in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Pineco in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Pineco drops from headbutt trees near Pewter City, but a shiny comes faster from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Pineco odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Pineco Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
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 | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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 HeartGold & SoulSilver 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
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
 Scyther Bug | C | |
 Magmar Fire | C | |
 Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Golbat Poison | C | |
 Quilava Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Noctowl Normal | C | |
 Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
 Numel FireGround | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Numel builds →Fire Blast 2x170-201%KO Rock Tomb 2x25-30% | ||
 Slugma Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodViolet City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pineco View Slugma builds →Fire Blast 2x178-210%KO Rock Tomb 2x19-24% | ||
 Chatot Normal | C | |
 Fearow Normal | C | |
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter | ||
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 7 more to offspring.
HGSS Pineco Best Moveset
90 Defense with AbilitySturdy surviving any single hit from full HP. Sets MoveStealth Rock and MoveSpikes before going down. 65 Attack and 15 Speed provide no offensive threat. Forretress does everything better.
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 Bug Bite and 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 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It likes to make its shell thicker by adding layers of tree bark. The additional weight doesn’t bother it.
It hangs and waits for flying insect prey to come near. It does not move about much on its own.
Pineco HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- How do I catch Pineco in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Pineco in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
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 HeartGold & SoulSilver, 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
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