QC Checks:
Overview
########
Mega Pinsir is a very underrated threat in the VGC 2014 metagame with impressive offensive stats. It also possesses a useful ability in Aerilate, allowing it to use Normal-type attacks to deal a significant amount of damage to common Grass- and Fighting-type threats. However, Mega Pinsir has many weaknesses, including a 4x weakness to Rock-type moves, and Will-O-Wisp and Intimidate from enemies can limit its effectiveness.
Mega Attacker
########
name: Mega Attacker
move 1: Return
move 2: Close Combat / Earthquake
move 3: Feint / Swords Dance / Quick Attack
move 4: Protect
ability: Hyper Cutter
item: Pinsirite
evs: 52 HP / 188 Atk / 28 Def / 4 SpD / 236 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
Return is a strong STAB move that is great for inflicting a lot of damage to Grass-, Fighting-, and the occasional Bug-types. It even has the ability to OHKO a common VGC 2014 threat in 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard Y. Adding to Pinsir's already stellar offensive power with Return, Close Combat is great for coverage against Rock-, Dark-, and Steel-types such as Tyranitar, Hydreigon, and Bisharp. However, Earthquake is another viable option for its coverage against Fire-types and Aegislash if you like being able to hit both of the opposing Pokemon hard. Priority STAB Quick Attack is useful for finishing off weakened Pokemon, while Feint allows Pinsir to bypass Protect while also allowing your partner to hit that target; STAB Feint can also act like Quick Attack in most situations as a way to finish off a weakened foe. However, Swords Dance can also be used in the third slot to give Pinsir a scary +2 Attack boost for a potential sweep of the opponent's entire team. Protect is a staple move in any Doubles metagame to disrupt double targeting and scout the opponent, and it allows your partner to take out a specific threat to Mega Pinsir while it is being shielded.
Set Details
========
236 Speed EVs in tandem with a Jolly nature allows Pinsir to outspeed Jolly Garchomp and positive-nature base 100s. 52 HP EVs with 28 Defense EVs enable it to survive Jolly Garchomp's Rock Slide with one turn of Rough Skin damage or Adamant Mega Kangaskhan's Return. Furthermore, 52 HP / 4 SpD Pinsir survives a Fire Blast from Timid Salamence, and the remaining EVs are put into Attack for maximum offensive power.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Pinsir is useful for dealing a huge amount of damage early in the game, but it's helpful to save Pinsir for a late-game sweep, especially if there's a threat it can't take out, because it can be easily defeated by some certain Pokemon. However, if there is a threat to Pinsir present and you decide to stay in, use Protect to scout the foes while enabling your partner to deal some damage or take out that threat. Utilize Feint to break through Protect, allowing your partner to inflict damage against the Pokemon that used it.
Team Options
========
Mega Pinsir is a great partner for Rotom-W, as Pinsir can take out Grass-type threats to it such as Venusaur, while Rotom-W takes out Fire- and Flying-type threats to Pinsir such as Talonflame. Pinsir loves Safeguard users, such as Meowstic-M and Klefki, because they prevent Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave, which cripple Pinsir's effectiveness. Pinsir likes Fake Out or Rage Powder support to enable it to set up Swords Dance and decimate the opponent. Rage Powder also redirects incoming super effective attacks to allow Pinsir to attack freely without worrying about taking a significant amount of damage. Finally, Wide Guard users such as Aegislash prevent Rock Slide and Heat Wave from hitting Pinsir.
Other Options
########
Frustration can be utilized over Return when Pinsir is at 0 happiness. In the rare case that the opponent carries a Ditto that Transforms into Pinsir, Frustration will be useless for Ditto because it will most likely be at max happiness. If Pinsir gets burned, Facade is a pretty good option that can take the opponent by surprise with its doubled Base Power. Stone Edge enables Pinsir to OHKO Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame while providing some extra overall coverage in conjunction with Return. Thrash is another powerful STAB move with 120 Base Power that can be used in place of Return, but you're unable to choose the target. Giga Impact is a very powerful STAB move with 150 Base Power that can deal a significant amount of damage to the target with the boost from Aerilate. STAB X-Scissor is also a fairly viable option if you want to hit Psychic- and Dark-types super effectively. Rock Slide is a good spread move if you want to hit both targets, and it even has a 30% chance of flinching them.
Checks & Counters
########
**Flying-types**: Priority Brave Bird from Talonflame and Aerilate Return from opposing Mega Pinsir can OHKO Pinsir.
**Electric-types**: Bulky Electric-types such as Rotom-W and Zapdos give Mega Pinsir a hard time, as they resist most of its attacks while being able to heavily damage it with Thunderbolt.
**Ice-types**: Mamoswine with priority Ice Shard can deal a huge amount of damage to Mega Pinsir before it even has a chance to attack. Other Pokemon carrying Ice Beam can usually 2HKO or OHKO Pinsir easily.
**Fire-types**: Mega Charizard X and Y can deal a huge amount of damage to Pinsir with STAB Fire-type attacks and potentially OHKO, and bulky Fire-types such as Rotom-H give Pinsir a huge fit with a Flying-type resistance and a super effective Fire-type move.
**Rock-types**: Choice Scarf Tyranitar and Mega Aerodactyl can outspeed and OHKO Mega Pinsir with Rock Slide.
**Pokemon with Intimidate or Will-O-Wisp**: Pokemon with Intimidate lower Mega Pinsir's Attack stat, while Will-O-Wisp users such as Rotom-A halve Pinsir's Attack stat.
**Pokemon with Prankster**: Pinsir hates being crippled by the occasional Thunder Wave from Klefki or Meowstic-M, as its Speed advantage is taken away.
Overview
########
Mega Pinsir is a very underrated threat in the VGC 2014 metagame with impressive offensive stats. It also possesses a useful ability in Aerilate, allowing it to use Normal-type attacks to deal a significant amount of damage to common Grass- and Fighting-type threats. However, Mega Pinsir has many weaknesses, including a 4x weakness to Rock-type moves, and Will-O-Wisp and Intimidate from enemies can limit its effectiveness.
Mega Attacker
########
name: Mega Attacker
move 1: Return
move 2: Close Combat / Earthquake
move 3: Feint / Swords Dance / Quick Attack
move 4: Protect
ability: Hyper Cutter
item: Pinsirite
evs: 52 HP / 188 Atk / 28 Def / 4 SpD / 236 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
Return is a strong STAB move that is great for inflicting a lot of damage to Grass-, Fighting-, and the occasional Bug-types. It even has the ability to OHKO a common VGC 2014 threat in 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard Y. Adding to Pinsir's already stellar offensive power with Return, Close Combat is great for coverage against Rock-, Dark-, and Steel-types such as Tyranitar, Hydreigon, and Bisharp. However, Earthquake is another viable option for its coverage against Fire-types and Aegislash if you like being able to hit both of the opposing Pokemon hard. Priority STAB Quick Attack is useful for finishing off weakened Pokemon, while Feint allows Pinsir to bypass Protect while also allowing your partner to hit that target; STAB Feint can also act like Quick Attack in most situations as a way to finish off a weakened foe. However, Swords Dance can also be used in the third slot to give Pinsir a scary +2 Attack boost for a potential sweep of the opponent's entire team. Protect is a staple move in any Doubles metagame to disrupt double targeting and scout the opponent, and it allows your partner to take out a specific threat to Mega Pinsir while it is being shielded.
Set Details
========
236 Speed EVs in tandem with a Jolly nature allows Pinsir to outspeed Jolly Garchomp and positive-nature base 100s. 52 HP EVs with 28 Defense EVs enable it to survive Jolly Garchomp's Rock Slide with one turn of Rough Skin damage or Adamant Mega Kangaskhan's Return. Furthermore, 52 HP / 4 SpD Pinsir survives a Fire Blast from Timid Salamence, and the remaining EVs are put into Attack for maximum offensive power.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Pinsir is useful for dealing a huge amount of damage early in the game, but it's helpful to save Pinsir for a late-game sweep, especially if there's a threat it can't take out, because it can be easily defeated by some certain Pokemon. However, if there is a threat to Pinsir present and you decide to stay in, use Protect to scout the foes while enabling your partner to deal some damage or take out that threat. Utilize Feint to break through Protect, allowing your partner to inflict damage against the Pokemon that used it.
Team Options
========
Mega Pinsir is a great partner for Rotom-W, as Pinsir can take out Grass-type threats to it such as Venusaur, while Rotom-W takes out Fire- and Flying-type threats to Pinsir such as Talonflame. Pinsir loves Safeguard users, such as Meowstic-M and Klefki, because they prevent Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave, which cripple Pinsir's effectiveness. Pinsir likes Fake Out or Rage Powder support to enable it to set up Swords Dance and decimate the opponent. Rage Powder also redirects incoming super effective attacks to allow Pinsir to attack freely without worrying about taking a significant amount of damage. Finally, Wide Guard users such as Aegislash prevent Rock Slide and Heat Wave from hitting Pinsir.
Other Options
########
Frustration can be utilized over Return when Pinsir is at 0 happiness. In the rare case that the opponent carries a Ditto that Transforms into Pinsir, Frustration will be useless for Ditto because it will most likely be at max happiness. If Pinsir gets burned, Facade is a pretty good option that can take the opponent by surprise with its doubled Base Power. Stone Edge enables Pinsir to OHKO Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame while providing some extra overall coverage in conjunction with Return. Thrash is another powerful STAB move with 120 Base Power that can be used in place of Return, but you're unable to choose the target. Giga Impact is a very powerful STAB move with 150 Base Power that can deal a significant amount of damage to the target with the boost from Aerilate. STAB X-Scissor is also a fairly viable option if you want to hit Psychic- and Dark-types super effectively. Rock Slide is a good spread move if you want to hit both targets, and it even has a 30% chance of flinching them.
Checks & Counters
########
**Flying-types**: Priority Brave Bird from Talonflame and Aerilate Return from opposing Mega Pinsir can OHKO Pinsir.
**Electric-types**: Bulky Electric-types such as Rotom-W and Zapdos give Mega Pinsir a hard time, as they resist most of its attacks while being able to heavily damage it with Thunderbolt.
**Ice-types**: Mamoswine with priority Ice Shard can deal a huge amount of damage to Mega Pinsir before it even has a chance to attack. Other Pokemon carrying Ice Beam can usually 2HKO or OHKO Pinsir easily.
**Fire-types**: Mega Charizard X and Y can deal a huge amount of damage to Pinsir with STAB Fire-type attacks and potentially OHKO, and bulky Fire-types such as Rotom-H give Pinsir a huge fit with a Flying-type resistance and a super effective Fire-type move.
**Rock-types**: Choice Scarf Tyranitar and Mega Aerodactyl can outspeed and OHKO Mega Pinsir with Rock Slide.
**Pokemon with Intimidate or Will-O-Wisp**: Pokemon with Intimidate lower Mega Pinsir's Attack stat, while Will-O-Wisp users such as Rotom-A halve Pinsir's Attack stat.
**Pokemon with Prankster**: Pinsir hates being crippled by the occasional Thunder Wave from Klefki or Meowstic-M, as its Speed advantage is taken away.
Last edited by a moderator:
