Pinsir (QC 2/3)

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[OVERVIEW]
  • Mega Pinsir has an impressive base 155 Attack stat, which it can boost even further with Swords Dance, allowing it to shred past many walls after a boost and act as a fearsome late-game cleaner.
  • Thanks to the switches it can force and its surprisingly decent bulk, it can find opportunities to set up rather easily.
  • Aerilate gives its Normal-type moves a power boost, as well as making them Flying-type, giving it a ridiculously powerful, drawback free move in Return to take advantage of. Also makes Quick Attack into a viable option for picking off faster foes.
  • Decent coverage options in Earthquake and Close Combat get great coverage with its Flying-type STAB moves, giving it the ability to sweep through plenty of common defensive cores in CAP.
  • Has a rather crippling Stealth Rock weakness, which drastically limits the number of times it can switch in.
  • Is heavily threatened by a multitude of other things including status ailments, faster Pokemon that can pick it off, and faster priority users, making an outright sweep rather difficult for Mega Pinsir.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Return
move 3: Earthquake / Close Combat
move 4: Quick Attack
item: Pinsirite
ability: Hyper Cutter / Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Swords Dance boosts Mega Pinsir's obscene damage output even further, allowing it to break past walls or attempt a sweep late-game.
  • With Mega Pinsir's large Attack stat and a boost from both Aerilate and STAB, Return hits incredibly hard with no drawbacks. Even some Pokemon that resist Flying will have trouble switching in.
  • Earthquake provides great coverage alongside Return, hitting Electric- and Steel-types (assuming they aren't immune to the move) such as Cyclohm, Krilowatt, Magnezone, Kitsunoh, and Heatran super effectively. If running Mold Breaker, Earthquake can also be used to lure and 2HKO bulky Rotom-W after Stealth Rock while in base form.
  • Close Combat can be used to provide stronger coverage against Tyranitar, Colossoil, and such while retaining decent coverage against most Electrics/Steels. However, running Close Combat over Earthquake makes Mega Pinsir much more susceptible to Cyclohm, which can tank a +2 Close Combat much more easily than a +2 Earthquake, and OHKO -1 Mega Pinsir with Discharge. Also allows Mega Pinsir to break past weakened Rotom-W.
  • Quick Attack is used to revenge kill faster foes and hits decently hard with the STAB + Aerilate boost. Can also be used to clean up weakened offensive teams in tandem with Swords Dance.
Set Details
========
  • Standard offensive EVs, max Atk + Speed to hit as hard and as fast as possible.
  • Jolly nature allows Mega Pinsir to make the best use of its base 105 Speed, outspeeding the crowded base 100 Speed tier and Speed tying with opposing Krilowatt.
  • All three of Pinsir's base abilities are pretty situational, but each can prove to be beneficial in the right circumstances.
  • Hyper Cutter prevents Intimidate users, such as Landorus-T, Mega Manectric, and Cawmodore from switching in and lowering Pinsir's Attack on the turn it Mega Evolves.
  • Mold Breaker allows Pinsir to lure and 2HKO bulky Rotom-W after Stealth Rock in base form.
  • Moxie could be used, as it allows Pinsir to get an Attack boost before Mega Evolving by KOing a foe in base form. However, this means that Pinsir will be forced to stay in its slower base form for an extra turn, leaving it susceptible to foes it could've otherwise outsped in Mega forme.
Usage Tips
========
  • Mega Pinsir can be used to wallbreak early- to mid-game, but it's generally most effective as a late-game cleaner once its checks and counters have been sufficiently weakened. For example, some prior damage on physically defensive Cyclohm ensures that Mega Pinsir can KO it with +2 Earthquake.
  • If Mega Pinsir is brought in while its checks and counters are still healthy, it's quite likely that your opponent will switch to them. You can use this opportunity to double switch to a teammate that will have an advantage over their Zapdos/Skarmory/whatever. Alternatively, you can set up Swords Dance as they switch in and heavily weaken them with a +2 Return or coverage move, allowing a teammate like Talonflame to come in and finish them off.
  • Try not to switch directly into Mega Pinsir too much, especially if Stealth Rock is up, as its longevity isn't that great, and it should ideally be kept healthy so that it can set up Swords Dance more easily.

Team Options
========
  • Other offensive Flying-types, such as Talonflame, Life Orb Tomohawk, and Cawmodore make for good teammates, as they can wear down each other's similar checks and counters so that one may eventually sweep.
  • Tomohawk and Latias can provide Healing Wish support, giving Mega Pinsir a second shot at setting up and sweeping if it has been heavily weakened already.
  • Rapid Spin or Defog support is crucial due to Mega Pinsir's Stealth Rock weakness, as it will have trouble coming in and setting up consistently otherwise. Colossoil is especially notable as a Rapid Spin user, as it can tank attacks from the faster Electric-types that Mega Pinsir fears, such as Mega Manectric and Thundurus. Latias, Latios, and Kitsunoh, all make for good offensive Defog users.
  • Bulky Ground-types such as Tank Chomp, Hippowdon, and bulky Landorus-T can tank Electric moves for Mega Pinsir as well as check Talonflame, and can provide useful Stealth Rock support to help weaken the opposing team.
  • Magnezone or Magneton can be used to trap and remove Skarmory, which Mega Pinsir struggles to get past on its own.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • +2 Stone Edge lures and demolishes Zapdos, which otherwise walls Mega Pinsir. Mega Pinsir has trouble finding a moveslot for it however.
  • Feint could be used in place of Quick Attack to pick off heavily weakened Talonflame. The power drop makes it less than ideal, however.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Thundurus, Krilowatt, Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Cyclohm can serve as answers to Mega Pinsir thanks to their resistance to Flying and their ability to threaten with their STAB moves. Thundurus resists or is immune to all of Mega Pinsir's common moves and can outspeed and OHKO with Thunderbolt. Krilowatt can also OHKO Mega Pinsir with Thunderbolt, but it only Speed ties with Mega Pinsir and risks taking a hefty chunk from Earthquake. Physically defensive Zapdos hard walls Mega Pinsir courtesy of its typing, heals off the damage with Roost, and threatens back with Electric STAB. Rotom-W and Cyclohm can check Mega Pinsir if they're healthy enough, but they take a hefty chunk of damage from +2 Close Combat and +2 Earthquake, respectively.

**Physical Walls**: Physical walls such as Skarmory and Hippowdon can phaze Mega Pinsir or in Hippowdon's case, KO it with Stone Edge. Skarmory's typing lets it wall Mega Pinsir quite easily, but Hippowdon takes considerable damage from +2 Return, so it must be healthy in order to switch in safely.

**Rock-types**: Rock-types such as Mega Diancie and Stratagem outspeed and OHKO Mega Pinsir with their Rock STAB. Mega Diancie can't switch into Earthquake, however, and Stratagem should generally stick to revenge killing it, as its frailty makes it an unreliable switch-in (even a resisted Return does over 50%). Levitate Stratagem is a bit more reliable than Technician Stratagem in this sense, as it does boast an immunity to Earthquake, but it fears Close Combat all the same.

**Talonflame**: Talonflame can't switch in very safely, but it can safely revenge kill Mega Pinsir thanks to Gale Wings, allowing it to strike with Brave Bird or Acrobatics before Mega Pinsir can use Quick Attack.

**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock cuts Pinsir's health by 25% and Mega Pinsir's health by 50%, putting a serious damper on its longevity and limits its setup opportunities.
 
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