Mega Pinsir

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This analysis was written by User:lmni and formatted by User:charizard8888

Pinsir is a great physical attacker in the 1v1 metagame as it has a great pre-mega ability in Hyper Cutter which prevents its attack stat from being lowered by Intimidate which is a very strong ability in 1v1, it also has Mold Breaker which is useful for KOing Magnezone and others Sturdy Pokemon. It is also been graced with a wide movepool thus giving it much more option such as Bulk Up, Swords Dance, Close Combat, Rock tomb, and Substitute. Furthermore, upon mega evolving it gets +20 speed which lets it outspeed Mimikyu and Charizard both of which are common in the current meta, it also receives a fantastic ability in Aerilate which then gives it a strong physical Flying-type move in Giga Impact or Flail, which coupled by its high base 155 attack stat allows you to OHKO almost anything neutral. Pinsir is also able to tank a plethora of physical hits thanks to its 120 base defense and Bulk Up but, Pinsir doesnt do well on the special side because of its lackluster special defense making it very weak to Pokemon like Greninja, Tapu Koko and Porygon Z. It also struggles with most of the Sturdy Pokemon such as Donphan, Crustle, and Golem as these Pokemon take any of Pinsir's hits and retaliate with counter or a super effective Z-move. Its typing is also very vunerable to common offensive types including Electric and Fire, Pokemon like Tapu Koko, Magnezone, Heatran and Bulky Charizard X are able to OHKO it with their STAB moves. Upon Mega Evolution it gains a 4x weakness to Rock which can then be exploited by Pokemon carrying Rock-type coverage such as Durant and Mega Aggron. Even with all of these setbacks Pinsir still find itself performing well in 1v1 thanks to its vast movepool, great speed, and a fantastic set of abilities.

Substitute + Bulk Up[edit | edit source]

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Giga Impact
- Rock Tomb
- Substitute
- Bulk Up

Set Comments[edit | edit source]

Moves[edit | edit source]

Giga Impact is Pinsir's main STAB upon mega evolving as it is powered up by Aerilate, it is able to deal massive damage or OHKO on anything neutral. Rock Tomb acts as a speed control move so that you will be able to outspeed Pokemon like Choice Scarfed Kyurem-Black after one Rock Tomb. Substitute is used to block recharge moves and Z-Moves, this may also be used on the turn you predict the opponent to set up so then you now have one free turn to take advantage of. Bulk Up is used to enable Pinsir to enhance its already powerful offensive capabilities while patching up its lacking defensive capabilities, with +1 it is able to tank any of Kyurem Black's hits.

Set Details[edit | edit source]

Maximum attack investment allows Pinsir to hit as hard as possible. 216 speed with jolly nature ensures that we outspeed all base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Charizard, Mimikyu, and Medicham. 40 hp investment allows Pinsir to take any Choice Scarf Kyurem-B attack in non mega form and put in a substitute which then allows you to get a free turn. Hypercutter is used as the Pre-Mega ability so its attack stat can not be lowered by Intimidate, Charm, and Baby Doll Eyes which would otherwise hinder its offensive potential. Aerilate is the ability Pinsir gets upon Mega-Evolving which allows it to turn Giga Impact into a 180BP Flying-type STAB which allows it to win most matches.

Usage Tips[edit | edit source]

In many matchups Pinsir should always click Giga Impact as it has enough power to KO in most matchups. Against Kyurem-Black Pinsir must always start by using Substitute as this gives it the best possible chance at winning, once the Substitute has been set up you follow up with the appropriate move; if You notice its Choice Scarf then you follow up with rock tomb so you then outspeed it while also getting a good chunk of damage off so you score the KO with Giga Impact, if its Icium-Z you then Bulk Up so you will be able to survive almost any hit and retaliate with a +1 Giga Impact. If faced with a Charizard it would also be your best option to use Substitute as this will then allow you to scout what Charizard your opponent is using. Once you know what your opponents Charizard is you then act accordingly; if its a Charizard X you then spam Substitute to increase the amount of recoil the Charizard takes to then KO with Giga Impact and if they use Dragon Dance at any point in the match Mega Pinsir would use Rock Tomb and guarantee the win, Pinsir also should be able to KO most variants of Charizard Y with Giga Impact. When faced with more bulky opponents such as Mega Gyarados you then Bulk Up to give you the best possible chance at surviving the next hit and then retaliate with a +1 Giga Impact.

Team Options[edit | edit source]

Pokemon such as Kyurem-Black and Mega Gyarados make good partners for Pinsir as they handle Sturdy Pokemon which Pinsir struggles to deal with, in return Pinsir beats Charizard Y which threatens both Kyurem-Black and Mega Gyarados. Ground type Pokemon such as Donphan and Landorus-T threaten Electric-, Rock-, and Steel-types such as Tapu Koko, Golem, Metagross, and Aegislash which heavily pressure Pinsir, while Mega Pinsir also gets rid of Mimikyu, Venusaur, Mega Gyarados, and Medicham both of which heavily pressure these Pokemon. Choice Scarf Porygon Z can also take care of faster threats like Greninja, Kartana, Tapu Koko, and Mega Lopunny, Pinsir is also able to give Porygon Z great support by beating bulky Charizard Y, Mega Venisaur, Meloetta, and Bulky Mega Heracross.

Strategy Comments[edit | edit source]

Other Options[edit | edit source]

Quick Attack may be used as reliable priority to pick off weak foes. Mold Braker in combination with Earthquake or Close Combat allows non mega Pinsir to beat standard Magnezone, Close Combat also lets Pinsir's matchup versus Kyurem-Black in favor of Pinsir. Swords Dance could be used over Bulk Up to get more immediate power but then you lose the +1 defense boost which could be crucial in many matches. X-scissor could also be used as your other stab option to hit Psychic- and Dark-types Such as Hoopa-U, and Alakazam but Giga Impact is a more effective STAB option thanks to the Aerilate boost, you would only use X-scissor as your STAB if you predict the opponent to go for Substitute to block your Giga Impact. Flail would be a better altenative STAB option as this gives you a better chance of beating bulky Charizard X and Snorlax but doesnt do well against scarf attackers and Multi-Hit moves such as Rock Blast.

Checks and Counters[edit | edit source]

  • Sturdy Pokemon: Donphan, Crustle, Golem, and Magnezone are all capable of surviving at least one hit from Pinsir and are able to retaliate with counter or a strong Z-Move.
  • Steel Type Pokemon: Both Magearna and Metagross are capable of soaking up Pinsir's attacks and hitting it with a strong STAB move
  • Electric Type Pokemon: Pokemon like Tapu Koko are generally faster than Pinsir and are able to OHKO with their stab moves
  • Fast Attackers: Mega Pinsir gets outpaced by some hard hitters such as Mega Lucario, Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Mega Lopunny and Choice Scarf users like Porygon Z which are able to KO it.
  • Physically Bulky Pokemon: Mega Slowbro and Mega Aggron are able to easily sponge any of Pinsirs hits and proceed to stall or KO with their own moves
  • Rock Type Coverage: Pokemon like Mega Aggron and Durant that carry Rock-type coverage are able to exploit Pinsir's 4x weakness to Rock and KO it with the coverage Move.