For Gold & Silver, we rate Forretress A-Tier: a strong pick in Gold & Silver's competitive scene. At 465 BST, it fits the hazard setter role. Spikes with Leftovers is the standard set.

What is Forretress weak to?

In Gold & Silver, watch for Arcanine (Fire) when using Forretress. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Arcanine is the most dangerous since Fire moves deal 4x damage. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about. At base 40 Speed, Forretress won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.

What role does Forretress play in battle?

Base 40 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Forretress is a physical attacker with base 90 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a hazard setter.

What counters Forretress?

For Gold & Silver, Forretress has answers, but so do you. Super-effective STAB from faster Pokemon is the simplest answer. Fire-type attackers hit hardest.

What are the best moves for Forretress?

In Gold & Silver, run Spikes, Explosion, Rapid Spin, and Toxic on Forretress. Spikes is the most common pick at 25% usage. This set covers the hazard setter role with a mix of damage and utility.

Forretress - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Hazard Setter

ATier

40Speed · Very Slow

Stats & Training

Defense leads and Speed gets almost nothing. That's Forretress's stat line in a nutshell. 2 stats sit in respectable range, but the spread is brutal. Moderately hard to find and yields 2 Defense stat exp.

Base Stats

Above

HP75

Attack90

Defense140

Sp. Atk60

Sp. Def60

Speed40

Total465

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging75 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height1.2 m

Weight125.8 kg

Base XP163

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

Sturdy

Prevents being KOed from full HP, leaving 1 HP instead. Protects against the one-hit KO moves regardless of HP.

OvercoatHA

Protects against damage from weather.

EV Yield

HPAtkDef+2SpASpDSpe

Defense training target

Pokedex Entries

Its entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside the armor is a total mystery.

Forretress Weakness

Fire moves hit Forretress for super-effective damage. Fire hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. The upside? Poison-type moves can't touch it at all. With 9 resistances, the defensive profile is strong. Forretress's physical bulk (base 140 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Forretress Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
4x (Critical)	Fire
0.5x (Resist)	Normal, Ice, Psychic, Bug, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel
0.25x (Resist)	Grass
0x (Immune)	Poison

Type ChartFortress

1Weak

9Resist

1Immune

Score+9

Gen II Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def

4xCritical

Fire

2xWeak

None

½xResist

Normal Ice Psychic Bug Ghost Dragon Dark Steel

¼xResist

Grass

0xImmune

Poison

STAB (5)

Grass Psychic Dark Ice Rock

How to Beat Forretress in Gold & Silver (Best Counters)

SnorlaxWalls special sets Normal	S
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves RestRecovery Double Edge Earthquake CurseSetup Damage vs Forretress Double Edge 18-21% Earthquake 20-24% View Snorlax builds →
SkarmoryQuad resists Bug, wears down with Toxic, sturdy guarantees survival SteelFlying	A
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Drill Peck RestRecovery CurseSetup WhirlwindUtility Damage vs Forretress Drill Peck 19-22% View Skarmory builds →
UmbreonRecovers with Moonlight, wears down with Toxic, outspeeds Dark	B
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves ToxicUtility PursuitSTAB Confuse Ray MoonlightRecovery Damage vs Forretress Pursuit 8-9% View Umbreon builds →
MiltankOutspeeds Normal	B
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves Milk Drink Heal Bell Body Slam GrowlUtility Damage vs Forretress Body Slam 10-12% View Miltank builds →
QuagsireResists Steel, ignores boosts via Unaware WaterGround	C
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves EarthquakeSTAB RestRecovery Belly Drum Hidden Power Rock Damage vs Forretress Earthquake 24-29% View Quagsire builds →

Gold & Silver Evolution

Evolved from Pineco. Forretress is the final form in this two-stage line. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Defense grew the most through evolution (+50 over Pineco), and Forretress peaks at 465 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#204Pineco

Level 31

#205Forretress

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Pineco

Bug

Forretress

BugSteel

75+25

ATK

90+25

DEF

140+50

SP.ATK

60+25

SP.DEF

60+25

SPE

40+25

BST

290C-Tier

465B-Tier+175

ROLE

Balanced

Trick Room

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Forretress to get Pineco eggs easily using 23 partners from the Bug egg group. Notable egg moves include Flail, Pin Missile, Reflect and 1 more.

Egg Groups

Bug

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

4moves

Breed With (best first)

Gold & Silver Forretress Best Moveset

Best Build

Solid pick

Support

Ability

Not in Gen 2

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Nature

Not in Gen 2

Support Moveset

SpikesHazard
ExplosionCoverage
Rapid Spin
ToxicUtility

Recommended Teammates

SnorlaxGood

TyranitarDecent

StarmieDecent

Moves

Without breeding, Forretress misses out on Flail and Pin Missile. That's 4 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Pin Missile, with Normal and Grass coverage and more rounding things out.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Protect+4

C——10Normal

Lv 1

Self-Destruct

B2001005Normal

Lv 1

Tackle

D3510035Normal

Lv 8

Self-Destruct

B2001005Normal

Lv 15

Take Down

C908520Normal

Lv 22

Rapid Spin

S5010040Normal

Lv 29

Bide+1

———10Normal

Lv 39

Explosion

S2501005Normal

Lv 49

Spikes

S——20Ground

Lv 59

Double-Edge

C12010015Normal

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM03

Curse

C——10Ghost

TM40

Defense Curl

D——40Normal

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM20

Endure+4

D——10Normal

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM19

Giga Drain

B751005Grass

TM02

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

C150905Normal

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM08

Rock Smash

—2010015Fighting

TM04

Rollout

D309020Rock

TM37

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TM35

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM13

Snore

—4010015Normal

TM22

Solar Beam

C12010010Grass

HM04

Strength

C8010015Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM34

Swagger

C—8515Normal

TM12

Sweet Scent

——10020Normal

TM06

Toxic

A—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Flail

D—10015Normal

Egg

Pin Missile

—149520Bug

Egg

Reflect

C——20Psychic

Egg

Swift

D60—20Normal

Tutor Moves

Forretress can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Forretress in Gold & Silver

You're catching Pineco first, not Forretress. Pineco appears at solid rates in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 2-stage line with evolution methods between each stage.

How to Obtain Forretress in Gold & Silver

To get Forretress, start by catching Pineco through headbutt encounters at Lv. 10+. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.

Step 1Catch Pineco
Azalea Town
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 City
30%Early
Azalea Town
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 City
30%Early
Ilex Forest
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Forest
30%Early
Ilex Forest
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Forest
30%Early
Lake of Rage
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Water
30%Early
Lake of Rage
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Water
30%Early
Route 34
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 34
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 35
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 35
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 36
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 36
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 37
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 37
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 38
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 38
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 39
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 39
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 26
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 26
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 27
GoldHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Route 27
SilverHeadbutting special trees Lv.10 Route
30%Early
Train until Level 31
Step 2Forretress ✓

Forretress Guide

For Gold & Silver, we rate Forretress A-Tier: a strong pick in Gold & Silver's competitive scene. At 465 BST, it fits the hazard setter role. Spikes with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Gold & Silver, watch for Arcanine (Fire) when using Forretress. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Arcanine is the most dangerous since Fire moves deal 4x damage. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about. At base 40 Speed, Forretress won't outrun any of these threats so switching to a resist is usually the safer play.
Base 40 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Forretress is a physical attacker with base 90 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a hazard setter.
For Gold & Silver, Forretress has answers, but so do you. Super-effective STAB from faster Pokemon is the simplest answer. Fire-type attackers hit hardest.
In Gold & Silver, run Spikes, Explosion, Rapid Spin, and Toxic on Forretress. Spikes is the most common pick at 25% usage. This set covers the hazard setter role with a mix of damage and utility.

Game Availability

Available in 16 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Forretress spans 9 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in most mainline games.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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