Pineco [QC 3/3]
-Pineco, the bagworm Pokemon. Appears calm as it hangs sedately from tree branches, but it will self-destruct at the slightest provocation - Perhaps no dex entry summarises a pokemon's competitive traits better than Pineco's. In a nutshell, er… in a pine cone, Pineco serves a very simple yet effective role. It explodes. But it also lays spikes.
[SET]
name: Entry Hazard Setter
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Rapid Spin / Reflect / Toxic
move 4: Toxic / Protect / Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Bug
Item: Leftovers / Miracle Berry
[SET COMMENTS]
The choice of Pineco in a teamslot implies building a team around one of its major and potentially game changing assets: Spikes. Pineco is GSC NU's designated Spiker, a role it performs much more effectively than its only competition, Delibird. Though dedicating a teamslot to the green bagworm may often lead to situations of playing with five Pokemon against six, the metagame leaves plenty of room for offensive and defensive strategies that make this trade-off worthwhile.
Pineco is an excellent lead, granted that the opposing lead isn't a Fire-type or Weezing, which has a 43% chance of OHKOing it with Fire Blast. In the lead position, Miracle Berry may be preferable so Pineco won't have to worry about being put to sleep by foes such as Stantler. Leftovers grants it somewhat greater longevity to challenge opposing Pineco in the long run, though its frailty makes it tough for this scenario to happen commonly. Pineco doesn't have significant bulk and can get OHKOed or 2HKOed by numerous attacks, including most special attacks. To lay its Spikes early on, it is best to switch it in on a resisted move, such as Dugtrio's Earthquake or Primeape's Cross Chop, as their respective coverage moves fail to 2HKO it. Explosion is Pineco's best option for offense. Opponents that fail to bring a Pokemon that can withstand Explosion may be forced to sacrifice a Pokemon to Pineco, and even Pokemon that resist Normal take heavy damage from it. Additionally, it allows Pineco to threaten any unsuspecting attacker when the opponent is expecting it to use Spikes, punching a hole in the opponent's defenses and granting the rest of the team momentum. Hidden Power Grass makes Pineco somewhat less of a setup bait for Substitute Dugtrio and can punish greedy Rapid Spin Graveler for 60-70%. Rapid Spin is Pineco's second utility move. Unlike its evolved OU counterpart, situations in which it gets to lay entry hazards and remove the ones on its side of the field are quite rare due to its frailty and low Speed. Toxic will punish anything that isn't a Poison- or Steel-type, which can be helpful to put the threatening Fire-types as well as opposing Spikes users on a timer. Alternatively, a player may choose to forgo Rapid Spin and instead use Reflect for screen support, which can buy Pineco and its team extra turns to set up against physical attackers.
There are a great deal of Pokemon that threaten Pineco; Fire-types and Weezing can OHKO it with Fire Blast, Xatu can 2HKO Pineco with Psychic, and many Pokemon with STAB attacks that Pineco does not resist, such as Chinchou, Pupitar, Sudowoodo, and Magnemite, can also 2HKO it, although those that do not resist Normal must beware of an unexpected Explosion from Pineco. The teammates that benefit the most from Pineco's Spikes are fast offensive Pokemon such as Xatu, Rapidash, Magmar, Fearow, Primeape, and Dugtrio, as well as setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Kingler and Lickitung that like to see physical walls like Weezing get chipped down after repeatedly switching in. Rapidash and Xatu become much harder to wall with bulky Water-types like Dewgong and Azumarill when Spikes are up, and the same logic applies to many other defensive Pokemon. Explosion also automatically ends the turn, thus granting the opportunity for threatening sweepers like Kingler to come into battle unscathed.
Pineco itself prefers having teammates that can effectively take care of Fire-types, Rock-types, and Xatu. Chinchou makes for a defensively synergistic teammate for Pineco, as the two are able to lure in and switch in on each other's threats. Pineco can take advantage of Chinchou checks like Hitmonlee and Gloom or seize the opportunity against a Dugtrio that is trying to revenge kill it, whereas Chinchou can sponge many attacks from special attackers and start its deadly dual STAB attack and RestTalk cycle. It's also worth noting that Chinchou's Thunder threatens many threats that are immune to Spikes, whereas Spikes reduces the longevity of Ground- and Grass-types that don't mind switching into Thunder. Defensive Toxic users such as Dewgong and Ninetales can take on Fire-types and Xatu for Pineco and rack up massive residual damage with poison and Spikes. A more offensive team can utilize Sudowoodo and Pupitar to switch into Fire-types. Their unresisted SlideQuake coverage becomes even more taxing to try and switch into with the presence of Pineco's Spikes.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Makkususu, 421511]]
- Quality checked by: [[ReeceHughes, 508601], [FNH, 245982], [Earthworm, 15210]]
- Grammar checked by: [[deetah, 297659]]
-Pineco, the bagworm Pokemon. Appears calm as it hangs sedately from tree branches, but it will self-destruct at the slightest provocation - Perhaps no dex entry summarises a pokemon's competitive traits better than Pineco's. In a nutshell, er… in a pine cone, Pineco serves a very simple yet effective role. It explodes. But it also lays spikes.
[SET]
name: Entry Hazard Setter
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Rapid Spin / Reflect / Toxic
move 4: Toxic / Protect / Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Bug
Item: Leftovers / Miracle Berry
[SET COMMENTS]
The choice of Pineco in a teamslot implies building a team around one of its major and potentially game changing assets: Spikes. Pineco is GSC NU's designated Spiker, a role it performs much more effectively than its only competition, Delibird. Though dedicating a teamslot to the green bagworm may often lead to situations of playing with five Pokemon against six, the metagame leaves plenty of room for offensive and defensive strategies that make this trade-off worthwhile.
Pineco is an excellent lead, granted that the opposing lead isn't a Fire-type or Weezing, which has a 43% chance of OHKOing it with Fire Blast. In the lead position, Miracle Berry may be preferable so Pineco won't have to worry about being put to sleep by foes such as Stantler. Leftovers grants it somewhat greater longevity to challenge opposing Pineco in the long run, though its frailty makes it tough for this scenario to happen commonly. Pineco doesn't have significant bulk and can get OHKOed or 2HKOed by numerous attacks, including most special attacks. To lay its Spikes early on, it is best to switch it in on a resisted move, such as Dugtrio's Earthquake or Primeape's Cross Chop, as their respective coverage moves fail to 2HKO it. Explosion is Pineco's best option for offense. Opponents that fail to bring a Pokemon that can withstand Explosion may be forced to sacrifice a Pokemon to Pineco, and even Pokemon that resist Normal take heavy damage from it. Additionally, it allows Pineco to threaten any unsuspecting attacker when the opponent is expecting it to use Spikes, punching a hole in the opponent's defenses and granting the rest of the team momentum. Hidden Power Grass makes Pineco somewhat less of a setup bait for Substitute Dugtrio and can punish greedy Rapid Spin Graveler for 60-70%. Rapid Spin is Pineco's second utility move. Unlike its evolved OU counterpart, situations in which it gets to lay entry hazards and remove the ones on its side of the field are quite rare due to its frailty and low Speed. Toxic will punish anything that isn't a Poison- or Steel-type, which can be helpful to put the threatening Fire-types as well as opposing Spikes users on a timer. Alternatively, a player may choose to forgo Rapid Spin and instead use Reflect for screen support, which can buy Pineco and its team extra turns to set up against physical attackers.
There are a great deal of Pokemon that threaten Pineco; Fire-types and Weezing can OHKO it with Fire Blast, Xatu can 2HKO Pineco with Psychic, and many Pokemon with STAB attacks that Pineco does not resist, such as Chinchou, Pupitar, Sudowoodo, and Magnemite, can also 2HKO it, although those that do not resist Normal must beware of an unexpected Explosion from Pineco. The teammates that benefit the most from Pineco's Spikes are fast offensive Pokemon such as Xatu, Rapidash, Magmar, Fearow, Primeape, and Dugtrio, as well as setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Kingler and Lickitung that like to see physical walls like Weezing get chipped down after repeatedly switching in. Rapidash and Xatu become much harder to wall with bulky Water-types like Dewgong and Azumarill when Spikes are up, and the same logic applies to many other defensive Pokemon. Explosion also automatically ends the turn, thus granting the opportunity for threatening sweepers like Kingler to come into battle unscathed.
Pineco itself prefers having teammates that can effectively take care of Fire-types, Rock-types, and Xatu. Chinchou makes for a defensively synergistic teammate for Pineco, as the two are able to lure in and switch in on each other's threats. Pineco can take advantage of Chinchou checks like Hitmonlee and Gloom or seize the opportunity against a Dugtrio that is trying to revenge kill it, whereas Chinchou can sponge many attacks from special attackers and start its deadly dual STAB attack and RestTalk cycle. It's also worth noting that Chinchou's Thunder threatens many threats that are immune to Spikes, whereas Spikes reduces the longevity of Ground- and Grass-types that don't mind switching into Thunder. Defensive Toxic users such as Dewgong and Ninetales can take on Fire-types and Xatu for Pineco and rack up massive residual damage with poison and Spikes. A more offensive team can utilize Sudowoodo and Pupitar to switch into Fire-types. Their unresisted SlideQuake coverage becomes even more taxing to try and switch into with the presence of Pineco's Spikes.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Makkususu, 421511]]
- Quality checked by: [[ReeceHughes, 508601], [FNH, 245982], [Earthworm, 15210]]
- Grammar checked by: [[deetah, 297659]]
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