Is Swinub Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Not native to Hoenn. Trade from Colosseum or FRLG. AbilityOblivious prevents attraction and AbilitySnow Cloak boosts evasion in hail. Ice/Ground coverage handles Drake's Dragons. Import-only but strong against the E4 Dragon specialist if you get one.
Swinub trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Swinub trades roughly evenly with Brawly's team.
Wattson's typing presses Swinub's defenses.
Swinub trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Norman's team hits Swinub's weaknesses hard.
Winona's team hits Swinub's weaknesses hard.
Tate & Liza's Pokemon outpace and outclass Swinub here.
Wallace's team hits Swinub's weaknesses hard.
Sidney's team hits Swinub's weaknesses hard.
Phoebe's typing presses Swinub's defenses.
Glacia's team hits Swinub's weaknesses hard.
Swinub trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Swinub trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Trade
Swinub cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- After Wattson
- TM28GroundDigPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 114
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 111
- LV 28NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20
- After Norman
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 150Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 46IceBlizzardPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5
How to Get Swinub in Ruby & Sapphire
Swinub does not roam any Hoenn route, with no snowy ground for the pig to root through. Trading one in is the only way to start the Piloswine line.
How to Obtain Swinub in RS
- Step 1Swinub ✓CARTRIDGE TRADEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenAvailableCatch in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Icefall Cave, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Walking · Ice Path. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Walking · Ice Path. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Walking · Route 217 · Swarm active. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Walking · Route 217. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Walking · Ice Path. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Sun & MoonNot TradeableAppears in Sun & Moon via Walking · Tapu Village · Island Scan; Monday. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Piloswine
How to Get Shiny Swinub in Ruby & Sapphire
Swinub never wanders Hoenn, so track a shiny through Icefall Cave in FireRed or LeafGreen and trade it over. See every game where Shiny Swinub can be hunted
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Swinub Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Swinub
 Heracross BugFighting | A | |
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Hariyama builds →Focus Punch 2x319-375%KO Surf 2x70-82% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x343-404%KO Solar Beam 2x175-207%KO Iron Tail 2x153-180%KO | ||
 Blaziken FireFighting | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Blaziken builds →Focus Punch 2x319-375%KO Overheat 2x334-393%KO | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Machoke builds →Focus Punch 2x274-323%KO Fire Blast 2x102-120%KO | ||
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Ludicolo builds →Solar Beam 2x242-284%KO Surf 2x192-226%KO Focus Punch 2x137-161%KO | ||
 Swampert WaterGround | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Mudkip (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Swampert builds →Focus Punch 2x198-233%KO Surf 2x183-216%KO Iron Tail 2x132-156%KO | ||
 Walrein IceWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Spheal (Shoal Cave Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Walrein builds →Surf 2x201-237%KO Iron Tail 2x101-119%KO Rock Smash 2x22-26% | ||
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Sceptile builds →Solar Beam 2x275-325%KO Focus Punch 2x160-188%KO Iron Tail 2x107-126%KO | ||
 Medicham FightingPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Medicham builds →Focus Punch 2x182-214%KO Fire Punch 2x73-87% | ||
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Cradily builds →Solar Beam 2x223-263%KO Rock Smash 2x22-26% | ||
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Camerupt builds →Eruption 2x343-404%KO Rock Smash 2x26-30% | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swinub View Cacturne builds →Solar Beam 2x298-351%KO Focus Punch 2x205-242%KO | ||
Swinub Evolutions
One evolution ahead. Swinub grows into Piloswine through a straightforward two-stage chain. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 200 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Swinub easily with 102 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Ancient Power, Bite, Body Slam and 5 more to offspring.
RS Swinub Best Moveset
Ice/Ground pre-evolution heading toward Piloswine. AbilityOblivious prevents attraction. No competitive stats at this stage.
Best Build
Swinub best EVs are HP and Defense
Wall Moveset
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Roar
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 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
SWINUB roots for food by rubbing its snout against the ground. Its favorite food is a mushroom that grows under the cover of dead grass. This POKéMON occasionally roots out hot springs.
Swinub Ruby & Sapphire Guide
No. Swinub isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it over.
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
Explore
Where to go next after Swinub.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List