Forretress
Bagworm Pokémon
It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Base Stats
Type Effectiveness
Abilities
Evolution Chain
Moves
Details
Sprites
Competitive
Strategy Overview
Forretress provides excellent team support and utility with Rapid Spin and Spikes along with possessing a great Bug / Steel typing, an impressive base 140 Defense stat, and a decent base 75 HP stat. These traits allow Forretress to check some of the scariest threats in the tier, including Mamoswine and Excadrill, and be one of the few defensive checks to Choice Band Kyurem-B. Forretress's great movepool sets it apart from other Steel-types: access to both Rapid Spin and Spikes is entirely unique, Earthquake allows it to threaten the most common Rapid Spin users in Tentacruel and Excadrill, and Pain Split and Volt Switch offer Forretress longevity and pivoting, respectively.
However, its middling Special Defense stat means it can't repeatedly take Draco Meteors from Latios without running low on health, which is an important role to fill for any team. It is also a prime trapping target for Magnezone and Heatran; the former can eliminate it without much issue while being able to float over Earthquake with an Air Balloon, while the latter can force it out with Magma Storm while getting Stealth Rock up in the process. Forretress also fails to spin versus the premier spinblocker Jellicent, which can force it out with Will-O-Wisp, and it cannot repeatedly keep entry hazards off the field while being worn down by Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs and Skarmory's Rocky Helmet. Forretress is also too weak to damage Reuniclus and Volcarona, which can set up on it with ease. Similarly, other setup wallbreakers like Swords Dance Garchomp and Swords Dance Breloom can capitalize on its inability to do meaningful damage to them. Forretress also suffers from having too many options that it wants to run, which leads to it sometimes lacking certain coverage moves to hit the likes of Kyurem-B, Gliscor, and Excadrill.
Most Used Moves
Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc