Utility
Balanced
250Low
30Very Slow
DTier

Almost nobody uses Spinarak in battle. It exists to evolve into Ariados, which is a completely different story. Get it there and you won't regret it. Only weak to Fire, Flying, Psychic, and Rock. Known as the String Spit Pokemon.

Nothing fancy in Spinarak's spread. It leans mixed with Attack out front. And you'll get 1 Attack EV per KO for it. Follows a fast 800K XP curve.

Base Stats
250Below
HP40
D
Attack60
C
Defense40
D
Sp. Atk40
D
Sp. Def40
D
Speed30
F
Total250
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Spinarak yields +1 Atk
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch255Guaranteed•Fast800,000 XP•0.5m / 1'08"•8.5kg / 18.7 lbs•50Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It sets a trap by spinning a web with thin but strong thread. It waits motionlessly for prey to arrive.

Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl

Spinarak Weakness

Avg

Spinarak's Bug/Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire, Flying, Psychic, and Rock moves. The Bug/Poison typing picks up 5 resistances to work with.

4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
FireFlyingPsychicRock
½xResisti
PoisonBugFairy
¼xResisti
GrassFighting
0xImmunei
None
STAB (4)i
GrassPsychicDarkFairy
4Weak
5Resist
0Immune
Scorei-1
Stealth Rock25% on switch
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesAbsorbs on switch
Abilities
SwarmStrengthens bug moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less.
InsomniaPrevents sleep.
SniperHAStrengthens critical hits to inflict 3× damage rather than 2×.

Spinarak is the base form in a two-stage line leading to Ariados. Check the evolution method below. No compatible partners for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are quick to hatch. The evolved forms gain up to 150 total stats over Spinarak.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Spinarak
#167Spinarak
22
Level 22
Ariados
#168Ariados
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Spinarak
BugPoison
Ariados
BugPoison
HP
40
70+30
ATK
60
90+30
DEF
40
70+30
SP.ATK
40
60+20
SP.DEF
40
70+30
SPE
30
40+10
BST
250D-Tier
400C-Tier+150
ROLE
Balanced
Trick Room
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed Spinarak easily from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Baton Pass, Disable, Lunge and 5 more to offspring.

Egg Groups
Bug
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
15 cycles·3,855 steps
Quick~4 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
8moves

Toxic Spikes is the priority every time Spinarak comes in. Careful nature and max HP and Sp. Def EVs keep it alive long enough to get layers down, while Eviolite provides a bulk boost that only works before full evolution. Swarm rounds it out.

Best Build

Hazard Setter
Ability
Swarm
Item
EvioliteBULK
Nature
Careful+SPD
EVs

Best Spinarak Moveset

  • Sticky WebSTAB
  • Toxic SpikesSTAB
  • Leech LifeSTAB
  • ProtectFAST +4

Recommended Teammates

Dragonair
DragonairExcellent

The natural movepool does the job, but Baton Pass and Disable from the egg pool give Spinarak something extra.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Poison Sting
1510035Poison
Lv 1
String Shot
—9540Bug
Lv 5
Absorb
2010025Grass
Lv 8
Infestation
2010020Bug
Lv 12
Scary Face
—10010Normal
Lv 15
Night Shade
—10015Ghost
Lv 19
Shadow Sneak+1
4010030Ghost
Lv 22
Fury Swipes
188015Normal
Lv 26
Sucker Punch+1
701005Dark
Lv 29
Leech Life
8010010Bug
Lv 33
Agility
——30Psychic
Lv 36
Pin Missile
259520Bug
Lv 40
Psychic
9010010Psychic
Lv 43
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
Lv 47
Cross Poison
7010020Poison
Lv 50
Sticky Web
——20Bug
Lv 54
Toxic Thread
—10020Poison

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM62
Bug Buzz
9010010Bug
TM28
Dig
8010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM58
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM70
Flash
—10020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
7510010Grass
TM84
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM29
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM82
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM90
Substitute
——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM81
X-Scissor
8010015Bug

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Baton Pass
——40Normal
Egg
Disable
—10020Normal
Egg
Lunge
8010015Bug
Egg
Megahorn
1208510Bug
Egg
Night Slash
7010015Dark
Egg
Psybeam
6510020Psychic
Egg
Rage Powder+2
——20Bug
Egg
Toxic Spikes
——20Poison

Tutor Moves

Spinarak can't learn any Tutor moves

No wild encounters for Spinarak in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. It's available in Gold, Crystal, or HeartGold and can be transferred over. The details below show where to find it.

Spinarak is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Also found in:

GoldCrystalEmeraldFireRedHeartGold

  • At 250 BST, Spinarak is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Ariados before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Watch for Arcanine (Fire), Dodrio (Flying), and Starmie (Psychic) when using Spinarak. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Rock-type attackers are also a problem. At base 30 Speed, Spinarak won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.

  • Spinarak evolves into Ariados at level 22. Spinarak is the base form of this evolutionary line.

  • Swarm strengthens bug moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less — that's the one you want on Spinarak. Sniper is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses. Insomnia works too if your team needs something different.

  • Spinarak is leaning toward the physical side (base 60 Attack). Fragile — can't afford to take many hits, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 30 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go.

  • Spinarak appears in 17 games, including Gold & Silver, Crystal, and Ruby & Sapphire.

Debuting in Gold & Silver, Spinarak appears in 17 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in most mainline games, typically found through catching or hatching as a base form.