ryan
Jojo Siwa enthusiast
[Overview]
<p>Pinsir's combination of a high Attack stat, great coverage, and incredible abilities for its role makes it a premier physical sweeper in NU. For these same reasons, Pinsir is very difficult to wall, especially when considering that some of the more common physical walls, such as Musharna and Tangela, are weak to its STAB. Thanks to its Defense, which is rather high for an offensive Pokemon, Pinsir is also able to set up against some of the most common Pokemon in the tier, including Golurk, Piloswine, and Choice Scarf Primeape. In addition, Pinsir is fairly fast, allowing it to outspeed most of the important walls in the tier. Unfortunately, its Speed can also be a major detriment; while base 85 Speed allows it to outpace common walls and tanks, it's not quite enough to beat many of the tier's premier offensive threats. Pinsir also faces stiff competition as a Bug-type physical sweeper from Scolipede, which has much greater Speed and comparable power thanks to its stronger STAB move. Ultimately however, Pinsir still sets itself apart with its access to priority and two great abilities that can help it beat certain Pokemon that Scolipede struggles to defeat.</p>
[SET]
name: Sword Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Quick Attack
item: Life Orb
ability: Moxie / Mold Breaker
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Pinsir's most effective set is that of a boosting sweeper, utilizing either of its great abilities and Swords Dance to help muscle past entire teams and even some of the tier's most dominant defensive threats. After a Swords Dance boost, Pinsir's power becomes massive, hitting a whopping 766 Attack. X-Scissor is Pinsir's best STAB, and it helps defeat a variety of common physical walls, such as Musharna and Tangela, which other sweepers in the tier struggle to take down. Earthquake takes out the Steel-, Fire-, and Poison-type Pokemon that resist Pinsir's STAB. Finally, Quick Attack is used to help defeat common Choice Scarf users, such as Jynx, Primeape, and Charizard, which would all be able to otherwise easily revenge kill Pinsir.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An Adamant nature is used on this set, as the only important Pokemon that a Jolly nature allows Pinsir to outspeed are base 80 and 85 Speed Pokemon with a positive Speed nature, which are relatively rare. Life Orb is the best item for the set, as it allows Pinsir to attain OHKOs against certain Pokemon such as max HP Golurk and helps increase its immediate offensive presence. However, Lum Berry is a very viable alternative on Mold Breaker sets to lure in and defeat Misdreavus that try to use Will-O-Wisp to cripple Pinsir. The ability you use mainly depends on what you want Pinsir's role to be on your team. With Moxie, Pinsir makes a great cleaner, as once it has a Swords Dance and Moxie boost under its belt, very few Pokemon can withstand it. Slower Pokemon fall to its STAB and coverage move, while faster Pokemon are typically frail enough to take out with Quick Attack. However, with Mold Breaker, Pinsir can be used as a wallbreaker by utilizing Earthquake to take out Pokemon with Levitate, such as Misdreavus and Weezing, that wall Moxie Pinsir.</p>
<p>Pinsir greatly appreciates Stealth Rock support to help it achieve an OHKO at +2 against Swellow and Charizard with Quick Attack and against Lickilicky with X-Scissor. Stealth Rock support is also useful in wearing down the Flying-types that Pinsir struggles to beat. Regirock makes a good partner for this reason and more, as it can not only set up Stealth Rock, but it can also tank Normal-, Flying-, and Fire-type attacks and spread paralysis to give Pinsir an easier time when attempting a sweep. Spikes support is also helpful to allow Pinsir to OHKO Piloswine and defensive Seismitoad; Garbodor can set up Spikes while Pinsir can defeat the Psychic-type Pokemon that threaten it. While Alomomola is unable to wall Pinsir completely, it can survive a hit at +2 and use Toxic against it, which when combined with Life Orb recoil, greatly hampers Pinsir's ability to sweep. Because of this, strong special attackers, such as Ludicolo and Eelektross, are good partners to help take it out. Finally, because Flying-type Pokemon wall this set, offensive Electric- and Ice-type Pokemon can be used to deal with them; Rotom-A and Jynx are good examples of Pokemon that fulfill this role.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: X-Scissor
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With a Choice Scarf and Moxie, Pinsir becomes a dangerous revenge killer and late-game cleaner. Basically, if this set can revenge kill one Pokemon, it can often heavily damage or sweep the rest thanks to its effective +1 boost to both Speed and Attack. X-Scissor is used on this set for STAB, and it does a great deal of damage to Psychic- and Grass-type sweepers, such as Musharna and Serperior. Close Combat does great damage to many of the Pokemon that don't mind taking an X-Scissor, such as Piloswine and Probopass. Stone Edge hits the Flying- and Bug-type Pokemon that don't mind taking a hit from the rest of the set. Finally, Earthquake patches up Pinsir's coverage, hitting Poison-type Pokemon for super effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An Adamant nature is preferred on this set, as the only noteworthy Pokemon that a Jolly nature enables it to outspeed are +2 Modest Gorebyss and base 80 Speed Pokemon with a positive Speed nature wielding a Choice Scarf, which are generally rare. A Moxie set with Life Orb and four attacks is another viable option, as the easiest way to wall Pinsir is typically to switch into something that resists whatever move it locks itself into. Because this set is pretty easy to wall before it attains a Moxie boost, it tends to cause many switches, especially into the Flying- and Fire-types that resist its STAB. For this reason, Stealth Rock support is really helpful to aid Pinsir in wearing down its checks and counters. Offensive Stealth Rock users, such as Seismitoad and Golem, can be used in order to help keep up offensive momentum throughout the game and share good offensive synergy with Pinsir. Most physical walls in the tier also give this set troubles, so wallbreakers are great to help take care of them. Mixed Eelektross, Swords Dance Charizard, and Gothorita can all be used to help with this. Finally, Pinsir is quite vulnerable to faster Choice Scarf users that can revenge kill it, such as Primeape, Charizard, and Jynx; Kangaskhan makes a good partner, as it can defeat these Pokemon with priority attacks.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>While the above sets are the best ways to use Pinsir, it does have some other options at its disposal. First off, a powerful Choice Band set can be used to hit hard off the bat, and it can be effective thanks to Mold Breaker ignoring abilities such as Levitate and Sturdy. A Swords Dance Salac Berry set can also be used; however, such a set would be completely useless without the Salac Berry boost and thus would be easy to revenge kill. A set with Endure and Reversal is a pretty flashy idea, but in practice, it's very unreliable, especially because such a set would struggle to beat any Ghost-type Pokemon in the tier. For this same reason, a set using Substitute and Focus Punch would be difficult to use successfully. Pinsir also has access to another boosting move, Bulk Up, but Swords Dance further enhances Pinsir's immediate offensive presence and is preferred because of how much easier it is to set up. A Stealth Rock set is another neat idea as Pinsir's ability to force switches provides free opportunities to set it up, but its lead matchup against most other Stealth Rock users is bleak. Finally, Pinsir has access to Knock Off, which can be used to cripple Eviolite users, such as Misdreavus and Piloswine. It might be difficult to find a slot to run it, but if you can, Knock Off can be a very effective move.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>While Pinsir's great physical strength is unable to be ignored, some Pokemon are able to take it down and wall its attacks with relative ease. Ghost-type Pokemon, such as Misdreavus and Golurk, are typically the best ones for the job, as they resist Pinsir's STAB and are hit neutrally at best by its coverage moves. The former is able to burn Pinsir with Will-O-Wisp, crippling it for the rest of the match, while the latter can take any hit before a Swords Dance boost and threaten back with a powerful Shadow Punch. Even so, both must be wary of taking a +2 Earthquake from Mold Breaker variants, as it does a massive amount damage to Misdreavus and will KO Golurk after Stealth Rock. Alomomola can beat Choice Scarf Pinsir by stalling it out with Toxic, Wish, and Protect, though Swords Dance Pinsir can 2HKO Alomomola with +2 X-Scissor. Regirock, Armaldo, and Metang can all take a hit from Pinsir, while the first two can strike back with their super effective STAB, and Metang can take out a Pinsir that has taken some prior damage with Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. Because Pinsir is fairly slow, the easiest way to take it out is by revenge killing it. Most of the faster Pokemon that can take a +2 Quick Attack can easily take out Pinsir's Swords Dance set; Haunter is immune to Quick Attack, while Rotom-A and Tauros can both survive one. The Choice Scarf set is more difficult to revenge kill, but most faster Choice Scarf users are able to handle it. Charizard, Primeape, and Rotom-S all outspeed it with a Choice Scarf and have super effective STABs to hit it with. Kangaskhan is able to revenge kill either set, taking care of the Choice Scarf set with the combination of Fake Out and Sucker Punch and the Swords Dance set with Double Edge.</p>
Took this over from Pkn range6 with permission from Raseri.
Skeleton: http://pastebin.com/Xxk6yibZ
<p>Pinsir's combination of a high Attack stat, great coverage, and incredible abilities for its role makes it a premier physical sweeper in NU. For these same reasons, Pinsir is very difficult to wall, especially when considering that some of the more common physical walls, such as Musharna and Tangela, are weak to its STAB. Thanks to its Defense, which is rather high for an offensive Pokemon, Pinsir is also able to set up against some of the most common Pokemon in the tier, including Golurk, Piloswine, and Choice Scarf Primeape. In addition, Pinsir is fairly fast, allowing it to outspeed most of the important walls in the tier. Unfortunately, its Speed can also be a major detriment; while base 85 Speed allows it to outpace common walls and tanks, it's not quite enough to beat many of the tier's premier offensive threats. Pinsir also faces stiff competition as a Bug-type physical sweeper from Scolipede, which has much greater Speed and comparable power thanks to its stronger STAB move. Ultimately however, Pinsir still sets itself apart with its access to priority and two great abilities that can help it beat certain Pokemon that Scolipede struggles to defeat.</p>
[SET]
name: Sword Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Quick Attack
item: Life Orb
ability: Moxie / Mold Breaker
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Pinsir's most effective set is that of a boosting sweeper, utilizing either of its great abilities and Swords Dance to help muscle past entire teams and even some of the tier's most dominant defensive threats. After a Swords Dance boost, Pinsir's power becomes massive, hitting a whopping 766 Attack. X-Scissor is Pinsir's best STAB, and it helps defeat a variety of common physical walls, such as Musharna and Tangela, which other sweepers in the tier struggle to take down. Earthquake takes out the Steel-, Fire-, and Poison-type Pokemon that resist Pinsir's STAB. Finally, Quick Attack is used to help defeat common Choice Scarf users, such as Jynx, Primeape, and Charizard, which would all be able to otherwise easily revenge kill Pinsir.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An Adamant nature is used on this set, as the only important Pokemon that a Jolly nature allows Pinsir to outspeed are base 80 and 85 Speed Pokemon with a positive Speed nature, which are relatively rare. Life Orb is the best item for the set, as it allows Pinsir to attain OHKOs against certain Pokemon such as max HP Golurk and helps increase its immediate offensive presence. However, Lum Berry is a very viable alternative on Mold Breaker sets to lure in and defeat Misdreavus that try to use Will-O-Wisp to cripple Pinsir. The ability you use mainly depends on what you want Pinsir's role to be on your team. With Moxie, Pinsir makes a great cleaner, as once it has a Swords Dance and Moxie boost under its belt, very few Pokemon can withstand it. Slower Pokemon fall to its STAB and coverage move, while faster Pokemon are typically frail enough to take out with Quick Attack. However, with Mold Breaker, Pinsir can be used as a wallbreaker by utilizing Earthquake to take out Pokemon with Levitate, such as Misdreavus and Weezing, that wall Moxie Pinsir.</p>
<p>Pinsir greatly appreciates Stealth Rock support to help it achieve an OHKO at +2 against Swellow and Charizard with Quick Attack and against Lickilicky with X-Scissor. Stealth Rock support is also useful in wearing down the Flying-types that Pinsir struggles to beat. Regirock makes a good partner for this reason and more, as it can not only set up Stealth Rock, but it can also tank Normal-, Flying-, and Fire-type attacks and spread paralysis to give Pinsir an easier time when attempting a sweep. Spikes support is also helpful to allow Pinsir to OHKO Piloswine and defensive Seismitoad; Garbodor can set up Spikes while Pinsir can defeat the Psychic-type Pokemon that threaten it. While Alomomola is unable to wall Pinsir completely, it can survive a hit at +2 and use Toxic against it, which when combined with Life Orb recoil, greatly hampers Pinsir's ability to sweep. Because of this, strong special attackers, such as Ludicolo and Eelektross, are good partners to help take it out. Finally, because Flying-type Pokemon wall this set, offensive Electric- and Ice-type Pokemon can be used to deal with them; Rotom-A and Jynx are good examples of Pokemon that fulfill this role.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: X-Scissor
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With a Choice Scarf and Moxie, Pinsir becomes a dangerous revenge killer and late-game cleaner. Basically, if this set can revenge kill one Pokemon, it can often heavily damage or sweep the rest thanks to its effective +1 boost to both Speed and Attack. X-Scissor is used on this set for STAB, and it does a great deal of damage to Psychic- and Grass-type sweepers, such as Musharna and Serperior. Close Combat does great damage to many of the Pokemon that don't mind taking an X-Scissor, such as Piloswine and Probopass. Stone Edge hits the Flying- and Bug-type Pokemon that don't mind taking a hit from the rest of the set. Finally, Earthquake patches up Pinsir's coverage, hitting Poison-type Pokemon for super effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An Adamant nature is preferred on this set, as the only noteworthy Pokemon that a Jolly nature enables it to outspeed are +2 Modest Gorebyss and base 80 Speed Pokemon with a positive Speed nature wielding a Choice Scarf, which are generally rare. A Moxie set with Life Orb and four attacks is another viable option, as the easiest way to wall Pinsir is typically to switch into something that resists whatever move it locks itself into. Because this set is pretty easy to wall before it attains a Moxie boost, it tends to cause many switches, especially into the Flying- and Fire-types that resist its STAB. For this reason, Stealth Rock support is really helpful to aid Pinsir in wearing down its checks and counters. Offensive Stealth Rock users, such as Seismitoad and Golem, can be used in order to help keep up offensive momentum throughout the game and share good offensive synergy with Pinsir. Most physical walls in the tier also give this set troubles, so wallbreakers are great to help take care of them. Mixed Eelektross, Swords Dance Charizard, and Gothorita can all be used to help with this. Finally, Pinsir is quite vulnerable to faster Choice Scarf users that can revenge kill it, such as Primeape, Charizard, and Jynx; Kangaskhan makes a good partner, as it can defeat these Pokemon with priority attacks.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>While the above sets are the best ways to use Pinsir, it does have some other options at its disposal. First off, a powerful Choice Band set can be used to hit hard off the bat, and it can be effective thanks to Mold Breaker ignoring abilities such as Levitate and Sturdy. A Swords Dance Salac Berry set can also be used; however, such a set would be completely useless without the Salac Berry boost and thus would be easy to revenge kill. A set with Endure and Reversal is a pretty flashy idea, but in practice, it's very unreliable, especially because such a set would struggle to beat any Ghost-type Pokemon in the tier. For this same reason, a set using Substitute and Focus Punch would be difficult to use successfully. Pinsir also has access to another boosting move, Bulk Up, but Swords Dance further enhances Pinsir's immediate offensive presence and is preferred because of how much easier it is to set up. A Stealth Rock set is another neat idea as Pinsir's ability to force switches provides free opportunities to set it up, but its lead matchup against most other Stealth Rock users is bleak. Finally, Pinsir has access to Knock Off, which can be used to cripple Eviolite users, such as Misdreavus and Piloswine. It might be difficult to find a slot to run it, but if you can, Knock Off can be a very effective move.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>While Pinsir's great physical strength is unable to be ignored, some Pokemon are able to take it down and wall its attacks with relative ease. Ghost-type Pokemon, such as Misdreavus and Golurk, are typically the best ones for the job, as they resist Pinsir's STAB and are hit neutrally at best by its coverage moves. The former is able to burn Pinsir with Will-O-Wisp, crippling it for the rest of the match, while the latter can take any hit before a Swords Dance boost and threaten back with a powerful Shadow Punch. Even so, both must be wary of taking a +2 Earthquake from Mold Breaker variants, as it does a massive amount damage to Misdreavus and will KO Golurk after Stealth Rock. Alomomola can beat Choice Scarf Pinsir by stalling it out with Toxic, Wish, and Protect, though Swords Dance Pinsir can 2HKO Alomomola with +2 X-Scissor. Regirock, Armaldo, and Metang can all take a hit from Pinsir, while the first two can strike back with their super effective STAB, and Metang can take out a Pinsir that has taken some prior damage with Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. Because Pinsir is fairly slow, the easiest way to take it out is by revenge killing it. Most of the faster Pokemon that can take a +2 Quick Attack can easily take out Pinsir's Swords Dance set; Haunter is immune to Quick Attack, while Rotom-A and Tauros can both survive one. The Choice Scarf set is more difficult to revenge kill, but most faster Choice Scarf users are able to handle it. Charizard, Primeape, and Rotom-S all outspeed it with a Choice Scarf and have super effective STABs to hit it with. Kangaskhan is able to revenge kill either set, taking care of the Choice Scarf set with the combination of Fake Out and Sucker Punch and the Swords Dance set with Double Edge.</p>
Took this over from Pkn range6 with permission from Raseri.
Skeleton: http://pastebin.com/Xxk6yibZ
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