Is Swinub Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Ice Path encounter right before Blackthorn. Ice/Ground with AbilityOblivious preventing infatuation. HGSS gives the line a Gen 4 evolution into Mamoswine by leveling Piloswine with Ancient Power. Ice/Ground handles Clair and Lance. Available exactly when Ice coverage matters most.
Swinub has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Swinub has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Swinub has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Morty's typing presses Swinub's defenses.
Chuck's team hits Swinub's weaknesses hard.
Swinub has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Swinub trades roughly evenly with Pryce's team.
Piloswine trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Mamoswine resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Mamoswine resists most of Lt. Surge's coverage and hits back hard.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Mamoswine has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Swinub in Ice Path (walking, Lv 21-23, common).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 21)
- LV 21GroundMud BombPower 98Accuracy 85%PP 10
- After Bugsy
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- LV 25IceIcy WindPower 83Accuracy 95%PP 15
- LV 32NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- LV 37GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 44IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
Evolve Swinub to Piloswine
Swinub evolves into Piloswine at Level 33. Your Swinub should hit Level 33 before you reach Clair, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 33)
- LV 33IceIce FangPower 98Accuracy 95%PP 15
- LV 33GroundMud BombPower 98Accuracy 85%PP 10
- After Bugsy
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Pryce
- TM72IceAvalanchePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Ice Path
- LV 40GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 56IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
Evolve Piloswine to Mamoswine
Usually ready to evolve before you reach Brock, at typical party pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 41)
- LV 41GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 41IceIce FangPower 98Accuracy 95%PP 15
- LV 41GroundMud BombPower 98Accuracy 85%PP 10
- After Bugsy
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM28GroundDigPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Pryce
- TM72IceAvalanchePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Ice Path
- LV 56IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
How to Get Swinub in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Swinub packs into the Ice Path, common at every step of the climb in both games. It is one of the most reliable catches in this batch, so the only question is which floor you stop on.
1 location to catch Swinub
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 7Where To Catch Swinub in HGSS
Swinub is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 21-24. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver for Swinub.
How to Get Shiny Swinub in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Swinub roots around the Ice Path, but breeding it Masuda-style is the quicker route to a shiny. Compare Shiny Swinub odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Swinub 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.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds for Swinub.
Swinub Weakness
Swinub is weak to Fire, Water, Grass, Fighting, and Steel. On the flip side, it's immune to Electric-type moves entirely.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Water, Grass, Fighting, Steel |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Poison |
| 0x (Immune) | Electric |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Swinub Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Swinub
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Hariyama builds →Focus Punch 2x311-366%KO Surf 2x68-81% | ||
 Tangrowth Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Tangrowth builds →Solar Beam 2x274-323%KO Focus Blast 2x183-215%KO | ||
 Feraligatr Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Totodile (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Feraligatr builds →Focus Punch 2x185-217%KO Waterfall 2x149-176%KO Iron Tail 2x124-146%KO | ||
 Hitmonlee Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrogue (Mt Mortar Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Hitmonlee builds →Focus Punch 2x311-366%KO Blaze Kick 2x117-138%KO | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Cacturne builds →Solar Beam 2x287-338%KO Focus Punch 2x199-235%KO | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Primeape Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Primeape builds →Focus Punch 2x277-326%KO Iron Tail 2x124-146%KO | ||
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Vileplume builds →Solar Beam 2x274-323%KO Drain Punch 2x60-71% | ||
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Ludicolo builds →Solar Beam 2x233-274%KO Surf 2x186-219%KO Focus Punch 2x136-160%KO | ||
 Bronzong SteelPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Bronzong builds →Solar Beam 2x140-165%KO Flash Cannon 2x141-167%KO Rock Smash 2x43-52% | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Machoke builds →Focus Punch 2x264-312%KO Fire Blast 2x99-117%KO | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Shiftry builds →Solar Beam 2x233-274%KO Focus Blast 2x155-183%KO | ||
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Meganium builds →Solar Beam 2x217-257%KO Iron Tail 2x101-119%KO Rock Smash 2x42-50% | ||
 Suicune Water | A | |
Obtain MethodBurned Tower Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Suicune builds →Surf 2x186-219%KO Iron Tail 2x94-112%KO Rock Smash 2x38-46% | ||
Swinub Evolutions
Three stages ahead. Swinub grows into Piloswine, then pushes on to Mamoswine. Check the evolution methods below. For breeding, average hatch time with a massive partner pool via one egg group. Evolving adds up to 280 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Swinub easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Ancient Power, Bite, Body Slam and 7 more to offspring.
HGSS Swinub Best Moveset
Ice/Ground with stats around 40-50 and AbilityOblivious preventing infatuation. The moveset has no competitive function at these numbers. Two evolutions from Mamoswine's devastating Ice and Ground attacks.
Best Build
Swinub best EVs are Defense and Attack
Hazard Setter Moveset
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor
- Stealth Rock
- Hail
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Swinub gets Ancient Power and Bite exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Normal and Fighting coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Blizzard and Earthquake.
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 24 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It rubs its snout on the ground to find and dig up food. It sometimes discovers hot springs.
If it smells something enticing, it dashes off headlong to find the source of the aroma.
Swinub HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, you can run Swinub through the first few routes without issues. 250 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Piloswine as fast as you can.
Game Availability
Available in 18 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Swinub spans 8 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through catching or hatching as a base form in most mainline games.
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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