Well where to begin?
Introduction
After using Heracross in every game since gold and silver i thought it was time for change. Something original, something i hadn't used before. Whilst looking for Heracross alternatives Pinsir caught my eye.
Most see Pinsir as sort of a miniture Heracross. Though it is always brushed aside in favour of Heracross. Iv'e typed this up to stop this as i think Pinsir in the right hands can be as effective or even more so than Hera.
Points to consider
Stats wise Pinsir runs the same base Atk and Spd as Heracross. It out does it in Def ans SpAtk but loses in HP and SpDef.
Disadvantages to Hera
It lacks the STAB close combat that Heracross does too which is a downside. It is able to obtain CC though but it is inferior to Hera's.
It also lacks megahorn which is a big downside. But it has x- scissor which has 100 accuracy whilst megahorn has 85 accuracy.
Advantages over Hera
However a Big thing that Pinsir can do which Hera cant is hit ghosts with EQ. Mold breaker allows you to get past levitate which the majority of Ghosts have. Plus it also allows you to hit Weezing thus shutting down the once perfect phsyical wall. These are things Hera could never hope to do.
His Bug type STAB move is more reliable than Hera's
So after much pondering these are the movesets and ev spreads i came up with.
Moveset/Ev's/Nature
Set1
Pinser@ Salac berry
Ability: Mold breaker
Nature: Adament
EVs: 122 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spd
X- scissor
Earthquake/ focus punch
Stone edge
Swords dance
Set 2
Pinsir@ choice scarf
Ability: Moldbreaker
Nature adamant
EVs: 122 HP/ 252 Atk/ 136 Spd
X-scissor
Earthquake
Rockslide/stone edge
Close combat/Brick break
Breakdown of ms and ev's
Set 1
For this set the evs allow it to outrun anything with 70 base speed or below. The berry helps it get out of tight spots and deliver one last blow before it goes or allow it to continue sweeping. The general strategy is to swordsdance then procede to sweep. X- scissor is essential here because of STAB.
Earth quake and focus punch kinda split me. Earthquake is a nice all round attack which is helpful against many a pokemon. Plus with mold breaker it can hit ghosts and the ever popular bronzong and weezing. But Focus punch is Pinser's strongest attack and can deal nice damage to lax and blissey.
Stone edge helps Pinsir protect itself from flying enemies. But without the boost from the salac berry i doubt he will be out speeding many of em.
Swords dance is another must for this set. For pretty obvious reasons.
The strategy is just a basic swords dance then sweep one. Simple.
Set2
The 2nd set is a choice scarf set. Alternativly you could use a choice band but i tough Pinsir would need the extra speed.
The moveset is basically the same as Set1. With the exception that focus punch is no longer an option but sword dances removal opens up the possibility for another attack.
X-scissor is there as your general STAB move same as before.
Earthquake work brillantly with mold brekaer and allows you to attack enemies such as gengar and hit em hard. Same as before basically.
This time i see rockslide as a more adequete substitute for stone edge. It is slighlty more accurate than stone edge which i think is needed in a hit and run set such as this. But stone edge is still a viable option.
The final attack is what really differs this set from the 1st one. Close combat is now an option cause you wont be staying in long enough for the reduced defense to take effect. But brick break is still there if you think CC is too risky.
The strategy for this set is to just switch in cause as much damage as possible then get outta there. As Pinsir isnt going to able to take much hits anyways.
Conclusion
So i hope this helps you appreciate the wonders of Pinsir. Now maybe ill start seeing alot more Pinsirs online.
This was my first analyses on Smogon ill try to post alot more of em soon but one a day seems okay.
Introduction
After using Heracross in every game since gold and silver i thought it was time for change. Something original, something i hadn't used before. Whilst looking for Heracross alternatives Pinsir caught my eye.
Most see Pinsir as sort of a miniture Heracross. Though it is always brushed aside in favour of Heracross. Iv'e typed this up to stop this as i think Pinsir in the right hands can be as effective or even more so than Hera.
Points to consider
Stats wise Pinsir runs the same base Atk and Spd as Heracross. It out does it in Def ans SpAtk but loses in HP and SpDef.
Disadvantages to Hera
It lacks the STAB close combat that Heracross does too which is a downside. It is able to obtain CC though but it is inferior to Hera's.
It also lacks megahorn which is a big downside. But it has x- scissor which has 100 accuracy whilst megahorn has 85 accuracy.
Advantages over Hera
However a Big thing that Pinsir can do which Hera cant is hit ghosts with EQ. Mold breaker allows you to get past levitate which the majority of Ghosts have. Plus it also allows you to hit Weezing thus shutting down the once perfect phsyical wall. These are things Hera could never hope to do.
His Bug type STAB move is more reliable than Hera's
So after much pondering these are the movesets and ev spreads i came up with.
Moveset/Ev's/Nature
Set1
Pinser@ Salac berry
Ability: Mold breaker
Nature: Adament
EVs: 122 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spd
X- scissor
Earthquake/ focus punch
Stone edge
Swords dance
Set 2
Pinsir@ choice scarf
Ability: Moldbreaker
Nature adamant
EVs: 122 HP/ 252 Atk/ 136 Spd
X-scissor
Earthquake
Rockslide/stone edge
Close combat/Brick break
Breakdown of ms and ev's
Set 1
For this set the evs allow it to outrun anything with 70 base speed or below. The berry helps it get out of tight spots and deliver one last blow before it goes or allow it to continue sweeping. The general strategy is to swordsdance then procede to sweep. X- scissor is essential here because of STAB.
Earth quake and focus punch kinda split me. Earthquake is a nice all round attack which is helpful against many a pokemon. Plus with mold breaker it can hit ghosts and the ever popular bronzong and weezing. But Focus punch is Pinser's strongest attack and can deal nice damage to lax and blissey.
Stone edge helps Pinsir protect itself from flying enemies. But without the boost from the salac berry i doubt he will be out speeding many of em.
Swords dance is another must for this set. For pretty obvious reasons.
The strategy is just a basic swords dance then sweep one. Simple.
Set2
The 2nd set is a choice scarf set. Alternativly you could use a choice band but i tough Pinsir would need the extra speed.
The moveset is basically the same as Set1. With the exception that focus punch is no longer an option but sword dances removal opens up the possibility for another attack.
X-scissor is there as your general STAB move same as before.
Earthquake work brillantly with mold brekaer and allows you to attack enemies such as gengar and hit em hard. Same as before basically.
This time i see rockslide as a more adequete substitute for stone edge. It is slighlty more accurate than stone edge which i think is needed in a hit and run set such as this. But stone edge is still a viable option.
The final attack is what really differs this set from the 1st one. Close combat is now an option cause you wont be staying in long enough for the reduced defense to take effect. But brick break is still there if you think CC is too risky.
The strategy for this set is to just switch in cause as much damage as possible then get outta there. As Pinsir isnt going to able to take much hits anyways.
Conclusion
So i hope this helps you appreciate the wonders of Pinsir. Now maybe ill start seeing alot more Pinsirs online.
This was my first analyses on Smogon ill try to post alot more of em soon but one a day seems okay.
