Pokédex · II (Johto)

Forretress#205

Its strongest point is Defense — higher than 97% of species. On the other hand, Speed — lower than 83% of species. This is the final form of its line — it does not evolve any further. In defense it has 1 weakness, 8 resistances and 1 full immunity at its disposal. Watch out for the Fire type — damage from it is quadrupled.

Shiny Forretress
Regular version
Bug Steel
Height: 1.2 m (3′11″) Weight: 125.8 kg (277.3 lbs)

Base stats

HP
75
61%
Atk
90
65%
Def
140
97%
SpA
60
41%
SpD
60
36%
Spe
40
17%
TOTAL
465
54%

Last column: what percentage of 1084 species and regional forms have a lower value. Strong point: Defense; weak point: Speed.

A nature can improve this entry further: its boost hits hardest on Defense, the stat in which this species already leads. Which nature does that — see the list of natures.

Which nature to choose

It hits physically: its Attack (90) is 30 points higher than its Sp. Atk. So the drop hits a stat the set usually does not use at all.

  • Adamant +Atk · −SpA It moves second and nothing will change that, so the whole boost goes into power.
  • Brave +Atk · −Spe The Trick Room version: with the turn order reversed, the slower the better, and Gyro Ball calculates its power from exactly this lowered Speed.
  • Hidden Power and Weather Ball still deal damage based on Sp. Atk. If either of them is going into the set, lowering Sp. Atk is no longer free.

A conclusion drawn from base stats alone — a specific moveset can reverse it. All 25 natures.

Regional numbers 5

The header shows the national number. Inside the game the Pokédex counts from the beginning — below is the number you will see in your version.

Johto #094 Gold / Silver , Crystal , HeartGold / SoulSilver
Pokémon Conquest #057 —
Alola #269 Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon
Paldea #259 Scarlet / Violet
Pokémon Champions #205 Champions

Abilities

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

How players use it

Data from 574,541 ranked battles on Smogon (Gen 9 OU, 2026-09). These are not numbers from the game — they are player habits. Gen 9 OU is the most popular format with no top-down team restrictions — everything is allowed except what was deemed too strong.

Rank 211 among 309 Pokémon in use — it is on 0.05% of teams.

Abilities Sturdy 99.2%
Tera Type Ghost 44.7% Bug 26.2% Water 15.7% Fire 8.9% Fighting 2% Normal 1%
EV spreads Relaxed · 252 Def / 240 HP / 16 SpD 15.2% Impish · 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD 11.2% Bold · 252 Def / 240 HP / 16 SpD 9.3% Calm · 252 HP / 152 SpA / 104 SpD 6.9% Timid · 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD 5.9%

Each row is a separate distribution, not a single set: the most common item and the most common move do not have to appear on the same Pokémon.

Pokédex entry

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

Habitat: Forest Egg Group: Bug Gender: 50% ♂ / 50% ♀ Catch difficulty: medium (75/255) Base friendship: 70/255 Base EXP: 163

Resistances and weaknesses

Type chart →

How much damage Forretress takes when it is hit by a move of each type. The multipliers of both its types are already combined here.

Weak to Fire ×4
Resistant to Grass ×¼ Normal ×½ Ice ×½ Psychic ×½ Bug ×½ Dragon ×½ Steel ×½ Fairy ×½
Immune to Poison ×0

How it was drawn

1999–2019

The sprites come straight from the games in which Forretress appeared — one from each release.

Gen 2 1999
Forretress in Gold
Gold
Forretress in Silver
Silver
Forretress in Crystal
Crystal
Gen 3 2002
Forretress in Ruby / Sapphire
Ruby / Sapphire
Forretress in Emerald
Emerald
Gen 4 2006
Forretress in Diamond / Pearl
Diamond / Pearl
Forretress in Platinum
Platinum
Forretress in HeartGold / SoulSilver
HeartGold / SoulSilver
Gen 5 2010
Forretress in Black / White
Black / White
Gen 6 2013
Forretress in X / Y
X / Y
Forretress in Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire
Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire
Gen 7 2016
Forretress in Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon
Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon
Gen 8 2019
Forretress in Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl
Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl

Variant gallery

The gallery shows only the appearance variants that exist for this Pokémon. Every image shows the same character and differs in source — a Pokémon HOME render or a pixel sprite — and in coloring, regular or shiny.

Forretress — large render in its regular coloring
Pokémon HOME
Forretress — large render in its shiny coloring
Pokémon HOME shiny
Forretress — small pixel sprite in its shiny coloring
Shiny pixel sprite

TCG cards (13)

All Forretress cards →

Forretress has 13 cards in 11 sets. The oldest of them are shown below.

Offspring can come from 90 species from the same Egg Groups (with opposite genders) or from Ditto. Below are the first 12 by Pokédex number.

The Egg hatches after 20 cycles, which is roughly 5,400 steps. The exact cycle length depends on the game — newer titles shortened it noticeably — so treat this number as an order of magnitude, not a countdown. Having the Flame Body Ability in your party halves the wait.

Where to catch it (4)

All locations →

The levels shown are the widest range across all game versions — in a specific release it may be narrower. The exact area, catch method and chance are on the page of each location.

Hoenn

Kalos

Orre

Below are the moves learned by leveling up. The rest (81 via TM/TR, 29 via tutor) are on the full list.

Lv. Move Type Cat. Power Acc. PP
1 Bug Bite Bug Physical 60 100% 20
1 Heavy Slam Steel Physical — 100% 10
1 Magnet Rise Electric Status — — 10
1 Protect Normal Status — — 10
1 Self Destruct Normal Physical 200 100% 5
1 Tackle Normal Physical 40 100% 35
1 Toxic Spikes Poison Status — — 20
1 Zap Cannon Electric Special 120 50% 5
12 Take Down Normal Physical 90 85% 20
17 Rapid Spin Normal Physical 50 100% 40
20 Bide Normal Physical — — 10
20 Reflect Psychic Status — — 20
20 Rollout Rock Physical 30 90% 20
23 Curse Ghost Status — — 10
23 Natural Gift Normal Physical — 100% 15
28 Spikes Ground Status — — 20
31 Mirror Shot Steel Special 65 85% 10
32 Autotomize Steel Status — — 15
32 Payback Dark Physical 50 100% 10
36 Explosion Normal Physical 250 100% 5
42 Iron Defense Steel Status — — 15
46 Gyro Ball Steel Physical — 100% 5
50 Double Edge Normal Physical 120 100% 15