Pokémon Pinsir

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Also you lose power on all of your other attacks, most importantly Quick Attack. If Façade had at least 80 BP, maybe it would be a decent emergency measure, but now I would just use Return.
Which would pretty much, say for instance you were burned, limit your attacking options to just facade. I guess in the end it would only end up being a very situational thing to use for a move slot.
 
There's the possibility that Pinsir could use Facade as a moveslot, but what would it have to give up? Return/Quick Attack are mandatory. You could lose Earthquake, but that's giving up Steel/Rock coverage for the stray Burn counter. Swords Dance? No way.

Yeah, Facade's not a good move.
 
I've ran matches with a Facade Pinsir set and you start missing either EQ or SD very quickly. I will give the move merit though, it provides a good niche when you actually get burned during late game. But due to my team set-up I recieved a burn very rarely.
 
Tried Mega Pinsir after reading this thread - and it's brutal. Flying is such a nice STAB to have, and having it on a high-powered priority move is so nice. The massive SR weakness is a big downer, but that aside it's a great midfielder.
 
Yeah, Pinsir hates status. You should have something ready to sponge Thunder Waves anyway, or you can run Substitute to block them all.
 
Rotom-A is a great teammate. It absorbs status moves as well as giving momentum.
Trufax. Plus it counters Skarmory and Talonflame, Pinsir's biggest problems. Skarm dgaf about Pinsir, while Talonflame checks it all day long. Getting those two out of the way in one team slot is great. With a Scarf, it outspeeds stuff like Mega Kangaskhan with Will-o-Wisp, and can then Trick the scarf onto a wall. It can Volt Switch into Pinsir, giving it the space to SD up. Good times.
 
Ok i really wanna use mega pinsir on my OU team and i'm pretty new to the entire idea of competitive battling so can anyone tell me how useful he will be? i know there are obviously pros and cons. And i don't feel like reading through 14 pages of forums so, anyone?
 
This things hits so hard its ridiculous. Standard physical walls are demolished easily. It can break through ferrothorn with an unboosted return alone, hippowdon is taking 82% minimum from a boosted return, even rotom-w only needs stealth rock and a tiny bit of prior damage to fall as well. Quick attack inst particullary strong, even after a boost (doesnt ko terrakion, garchomp etc.), but it makes it awesome lategame when everything will probably have taken at least 15% or so prior damage. Earthquake shuts down the likes of aegislash and heatran. Pretty much if you dont have a physically defensive skarmory (emphasis on physically defensive) on your team you need to play really aggressive to deny pinsir setup turns. Keeping stealth rock on the field is mandatory if you want to stand a chance against it. This is definitely one of the best setup sweepers in the tier, just get some defog/spin support and watch it demolish everything in its path.
 
2 questions. First, what NEEDS to be dealt with before Pinsir can reliably sweep? I can think of SR, pranksters, priority users (specifically Talonflame), fast electric sweepers, Starmie's ice beam (less so than the others), Infernape, and Dugtrio. Did I miss anything?

Second, who's the best rapid spin/defog partner? Excadrill doesn't look that appealing as its weak to Talonflame, Starmie, Infernape, and Dugrio too, so should I try something like Latias, or keep trying rapid spin so I can keep SR on their field?
 
Ok i really wanna use mega pinsir on my OU team and i'm pretty new to the entire idea of competitive battling so can anyone tell me how useful he will be? i know there are obviously pros and cons. And i don't feel like reading through 14 pages of forums so, anyone?
He's very good, but you need to build a team around him. He can't just be slapped on any team.

Pros:
1)Pinsir gets Moxie pre-evolution
2)Aerialate boosts Return/Double-Edge/Thrash to insane amounts of damage
3)Flying type Quick Attack is the tits
4)Excellent Attack stat
5)Respectable bulk
6)Constant threat to opponent; win-condition


Cons:
1)Requires Rapid Spin/Defog support
2)Is outsped by anything 105+
3)Low HP stat
4)Restrictive moveset (Swords Dance, Return, and Quick Attack are all necessary attacks)
5)Bad movepool
6)Countered easily by the more common physical walls.
7)Looks absolutely atrocious
 

haunter

Banned deucer.
4)Restrictive moveset (Swords Dance, Return, and Quick Attack are all necessary attacks)
5)Bad movepool
I disagree with this statement. Pinsir has everything it needs to wallbreak and clean. With access to close combat it has perfect neutral coverage granted by the flying+fighting combo.
 
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That's just four move slot syndrome, which every pokemon in the world basically has. But I still love the EQ/Return/Quick attack/SD set because of the coverage eq gives to everything that resists flying. Add in magnezone and you're golden.
 
Cons:
2)Is outsped by anything 105+
3)Low HP stat
4)Restrictive moveset (Swords Dance, Return, and Quick Attack are all necessary attacks)
5)Bad movepool
6)Countered easily by the more common physical walls.
2- Thats why he has quick attack+Swords dance in first place
3- I'm... not sure how does that even matter at all
4- False, he boasts insane power with an unboosted return alone allowing it to easily break resists while earthquake/close combat takes care of the rest. Yes the movepool is small but he doesnt really need anything more than he already has, like terrakion.
5- See above. And no, a small movepool does not equal a bad movepool.
6- Completely false. It literally has one counter. Thinking you can handle it with any other wall is a losing battle and you do nothing but make you get swept.
 
Really, the stops to mega pinsir are Zapdos/Rotom family (checks) and the counter is Skarmory. I think I posted way back some calcs we had on defensive walls like avalugg and even lunatone, but to very little avail.
 
I think the general consensus points to this being Pinsir's standard set

Pinsir @ Pinsirite (M)
Ability: Hyper Cutter/Moxie/Mold Breaker
EV's: 252 Attack/ 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
- Quick Attack
- Return
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

***

Close Combat is niche because it would only be hitting Rotom-W, Skarmory, and Bronzong for better damage. Also with CC, you're reducing Pinsir's natural physical bulkiness while amplifying his special weakness. Don't get me wrong, CC isn't bad, but it's very situational. Skarmory/Rotom Calcs are already in thread. Bronzong is below. BZ can 2shot Mega Pinsir with Rock Slide, Also he can setup reflect on the first turn if running a Dual Screens Set.

+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong: 161-189 (47.6 - 55.9%) -- 25% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Mega Pinsir Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong: 193-228 (57.1 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Mega Pinsir Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong through Reflect: 96-114 (28.4 - 33.7%) -- 0.3% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong through Reflect: 80-94 (23.6 - 27.8%) -- 89.9% chance to 4HKO
 
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Mega Pinsir has been a dedicate member of my team for a couple months now, and he literally plows through relatively everything after a swords dance (or 2). His only notable checks are: Rotom-A (barring Mow) and Zapdos. His counters are Skarmory and occasionally the odd Bronzong. And even these can all be 2HKO'd after a swords dance with return. I run adamant though because I provide paralysis support and baton pass speed boosts if I can. He is rarely outsped and against his major checks, he naturally out speeds anyways.
 
I think the general consensus points to this being Pinsir's standard set

Pinsir @ Pinsirite (M)
Ability: Hyper Cutter/Moxie/Mold Breaker
EV's: 252 Attack/ 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
- Quick Attack
- Return
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

***

Close Combat is niche because it would only be hitting Rotom-W, Skarmory, and Bronzong for better damage. Also with CC, you're reducing Pinsir's natural physical bulkiness while amplifying his special weakness. Don't get me wrong, CC isn't bad, but it's very situational. Skarmory/Rotom Calcs are already in thread. Bronzong is below. BZ can 2shot Mega Pinsir with Rock Slide, Also he can setup reflect on the first turn if running a Dual Screens Set.

+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong: 161-189 (47.6 - 55.9%) -- 25% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Mega Pinsir Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong: 193-228 (57.1 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Mega Pinsir Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong through Reflect: 96-114 (28.4 - 33.7%) -- 0.3% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong through Reflect: 80-94 (23.6 - 27.8%) -- 89.9% chance to 4HKO
What about mold brakeer eq? Regular pinsir still has a good 125 base atk. If zong switches in I think +2 eq would ko. I'm on a phone atm so can't calc.
 

haunter

Banned deucer.
Well, close combat helps a lot against Rotom. At +2 and with an adamant nature you do 74 - 87.1% to a max HP/Def bold Rotom and if you can grab a moxie boost before mega evolving, then it's a clean OHKO after SR (92.1 - 108.5%).
 
Well, close combat helps a lot against Rotom. At +2 and with an adamant nature you do 74 - 87.1% to a max HP/Def bold Rotom and if you can grab a moxie boost before mega evolving, then it's a clean OHKO after SR (92.1 - 108.5%).
Ya but would a mold break eq do more?
Force something out with pinsir-> sd on the obvious rotom switch and you can hit it with an eq. Then finally mega evolve after rotom is dead.
 
2- Thats why he has quick attack+Swords dance in first place
3- I'm... not sure how does that even matter at all
4- False, he boasts insane power with an unboosted return alone allowing it to easily break resists while earthquake/close combat takes care of the rest. Yes the movepool is small but he doesnt really need anything more than he already has, like terrakion.
5- See above. And no, a small movepool does not equal a bad movepool.
6- Completely false. It literally has one counter. Thinking you can handle it with any other wall is a losing battle and you do nothing but make you get swept.
First off, your post came off as incredibly rude. Second, he asked for a pros and cons list... I've played this game before, and used mega pinsir, I can assure you. I tried to put it in terms that someone who's new to the game could understand and should think about as they build a team archetype for mega-pinsir. Pinsir needs +2 to even touch stuff like skarmory, aegislash, etc. Earthquake hits aegislash, but makes skarmory a counter, and vice versa. Not to mention zapdos. His movepool is small, and lacks coverage. That's bad, but can be worked around.

I could have gone into more in depth, but I guess I came off as more anti-Pinsir than I meant to. The thing doesn't have many counters, and the choice between earthquake and close combat can mean a dead counter, or a deadweight move.
 
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The thing we have to remember about Mega Pinsir is that he is a setup sweeper with a huge stealth rock weakness and horrible typing. He can't switch in on many things and certainly can't set up as much as he wants to. Even then, a few things can come in and take him out if just one pokemon faints though. Some checks.

+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Jolteon: 147-173 (54.2 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (OHKO w/ Thunderbolt)

+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Heliolisk: 163-192 (61.5 - 72.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (OHKO w/ Thunderbolt)
 
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