[OVERVIEW]
Pinsir sits in an odd place in RBY NU. It hits absurdly hard with Slash and threatens a Swords Dance sweep, tearing through foes much more effectively than Charizard thanks to its significantly higher Attack while still outspeeding competitors like Kingler and Kabutops as well as threats like Clefable and Blastoise. +2 Hyper Beam outright KOes foes like Mr. Mime and Venomoth, and it even KOes bulkier targets like Blastoise after a little bit of chip damage from Bind; for comparison, Charizard struggles to find KOs at +2, only rarely OHKOing Mr. Mime and falling short against all other targets. Pinsir Speed ties Nidoking and Seadra as well, making it moderately effective at duking it out with these foes, and it also resists Nidoking's otherwise brutal STAB Earthquake. All of this makes it incredibly threatening against teams that allow their Charizard to take paralysis, as once other fast targets are paralyzed, Pinsir threatens an easy sweep. However, Pinsir has a number of flaws that stop it from seeing as much use as other Swords Dance users. Its typing confers only one practical resistance, Ground, but foes with Ground-type attacks invariably have Fire- or Rock-type moves as well; only Nidoking lacks a STAB option, relying on a relatively weak Rock Slide. This gives it less defensive utility than Pokemon like Kingler, which can switch into Water- and Fire-type moves and retaliate. Pinsir's Speed is just a hair short of being great, but it's outsped by all Fire-types as well as Mr. Mime and Venomoth, making it extremely difficult to truly break through without taking status or losing momentum to Charizard. Venomoth makes it tricky to use Pinsir's excellent Slash early, as Venomoth easily inflicts sleep on it after it lands a KO. Bind is unreliable, so at +2 Pinsir has a chance to simply fail to sweep from a single miss against paralysis-inflicting foes like Clefable, and its limited movepool ensures that it is vulnerable to Counter from foes like Blastoise and Charizard, which can absorb +2 Hyper Beam and OHKO in return. Charizard also threatens to use Counter as Pinsir switches out after using Slash, inflicting immense damage on teammates like Blastoise that would otherwise check Charizard.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Slash / Submission
move 4: Bind / Submission
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance sets up Pinsir to sweep once faster threats are removed, allowing it to OHKO foes like Mr. Mime, Venomoth, Electrode, and Raticate with +2 Hyper Beam. It also reapplies the Speed drop from paralysis, allowing Pinsir to boost in front of paralyzed foes like Mr. Mime and Clefable and still outspeed them. Slash is the usual third move of choice, allowing Pinsir to deal immense up-front damage if faster threats like Charizard have not been removed; it also 2HKOes Mr. Mime and is a roll to 2HKO Venomoth. Submission allows Pinsir to 3HKO Rock-types like Golem and Kabutops, so this is mostly useful once boosted with Swords Dance. Bind lets Pinsir clean up teams once fast Pokemon are paralyzed or KOed, as many foes are just out of range of +2 Hyper Beam but quickly fall into range after 2 or 3 hits from Bind. Body Slam can be used over Slash as a move that benefits from Swords Dance and can paralyze switch-ins like Charizard, but its lower immediate damage output is often not worth it.
Pinsir generally seeks to enter the field late-game against foes lacking reliable paralysis moves, such as Blastoise, then set up with Swords Dance. After this, it can use Bind and Hyper Beam to clear through the opposing team—Bind accuracy notwithstanding—as faster threats like Mr. Mime should be paralyzed or removed by now. Pinsir can also be used earlier to break holes in the enemy team with either Slash or Hyper Beam; trading Pinsir for Mr. Mime is often valuable, and Pinsir is incredibly difficult to switch into for teams lacking a Rock-type, allowing it to tag foes like Charizard for decent damage then switch out. Pinsir values teammates that can paralyze and remove faster Pokemon, like Mr. Mime, Clefable, and Venomoth. Pinsir's weakness to Fire-types also means Fire- and Water-type allies, like Charizard, Blastoise, and Seadra, can help to shore up its weaknesses; Water-types also help to check Rock-types and enable Pinsir to sweep. Pokemon like Mr. Mime and Electrode can benefit from Pinsir removing bulky foes mid-game instead of waiting for late-game, opening routes for allies to clean; Pinsir can also switch into Nidoking's Earthquake for them and effectively trade hits with it.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
Grammar checked by:
Pinsir sits in an odd place in RBY NU. It hits absurdly hard with Slash and threatens a Swords Dance sweep, tearing through foes much more effectively than Charizard thanks to its significantly higher Attack while still outspeeding competitors like Kingler and Kabutops as well as threats like Clefable and Blastoise. +2 Hyper Beam outright KOes foes like Mr. Mime and Venomoth, and it even KOes bulkier targets like Blastoise after a little bit of chip damage from Bind; for comparison, Charizard struggles to find KOs at +2, only rarely OHKOing Mr. Mime and falling short against all other targets. Pinsir Speed ties Nidoking and Seadra as well, making it moderately effective at duking it out with these foes, and it also resists Nidoking's otherwise brutal STAB Earthquake. All of this makes it incredibly threatening against teams that allow their Charizard to take paralysis, as once other fast targets are paralyzed, Pinsir threatens an easy sweep. However, Pinsir has a number of flaws that stop it from seeing as much use as other Swords Dance users. Its typing confers only one practical resistance, Ground, but foes with Ground-type attacks invariably have Fire- or Rock-type moves as well; only Nidoking lacks a STAB option, relying on a relatively weak Rock Slide. This gives it less defensive utility than Pokemon like Kingler, which can switch into Water- and Fire-type moves and retaliate. Pinsir's Speed is just a hair short of being great, but it's outsped by all Fire-types as well as Mr. Mime and Venomoth, making it extremely difficult to truly break through without taking status or losing momentum to Charizard. Venomoth makes it tricky to use Pinsir's excellent Slash early, as Venomoth easily inflicts sleep on it after it lands a KO. Bind is unreliable, so at +2 Pinsir has a chance to simply fail to sweep from a single miss against paralysis-inflicting foes like Clefable, and its limited movepool ensures that it is vulnerable to Counter from foes like Blastoise and Charizard, which can absorb +2 Hyper Beam and OHKO in return. Charizard also threatens to use Counter as Pinsir switches out after using Slash, inflicting immense damage on teammates like Blastoise that would otherwise check Charizard.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Slash / Submission
move 4: Bind / Submission
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance sets up Pinsir to sweep once faster threats are removed, allowing it to OHKO foes like Mr. Mime, Venomoth, Electrode, and Raticate with +2 Hyper Beam. It also reapplies the Speed drop from paralysis, allowing Pinsir to boost in front of paralyzed foes like Mr. Mime and Clefable and still outspeed them. Slash is the usual third move of choice, allowing Pinsir to deal immense up-front damage if faster threats like Charizard have not been removed; it also 2HKOes Mr. Mime and is a roll to 2HKO Venomoth. Submission allows Pinsir to 3HKO Rock-types like Golem and Kabutops, so this is mostly useful once boosted with Swords Dance. Bind lets Pinsir clean up teams once fast Pokemon are paralyzed or KOed, as many foes are just out of range of +2 Hyper Beam but quickly fall into range after 2 or 3 hits from Bind. Body Slam can be used over Slash as a move that benefits from Swords Dance and can paralyze switch-ins like Charizard, but its lower immediate damage output is often not worth it.
Pinsir generally seeks to enter the field late-game against foes lacking reliable paralysis moves, such as Blastoise, then set up with Swords Dance. After this, it can use Bind and Hyper Beam to clear through the opposing team—Bind accuracy notwithstanding—as faster threats like Mr. Mime should be paralyzed or removed by now. Pinsir can also be used earlier to break holes in the enemy team with either Slash or Hyper Beam; trading Pinsir for Mr. Mime is often valuable, and Pinsir is incredibly difficult to switch into for teams lacking a Rock-type, allowing it to tag foes like Charizard for decent damage then switch out. Pinsir values teammates that can paralyze and remove faster Pokemon, like Mr. Mime, Clefable, and Venomoth. Pinsir's weakness to Fire-types also means Fire- and Water-type allies, like Charizard, Blastoise, and Seadra, can help to shore up its weaknesses; Water-types also help to check Rock-types and enable Pinsir to sweep. Pokemon like Mr. Mime and Electrode can benefit from Pinsir removing bulky foes mid-game instead of waiting for late-game, opening routes for allies to clean; Pinsir can also switch into Nidoking's Earthquake for them and effectively trade hits with it.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mrsoup.375193/
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
