- Pinsir cements itself as one of the deadliest offensive Pokemon in ZU due to its solid Attack, unresisted coverage, two great abilities, and relative unpredictability at Team Preview.
- Because of its access to Mold Breaker, which bypasses abilities such as Unaware, Levitate, and Sturdy, alongside Swords Dance, Pinsir can easily place loads of pressure on balanced and defensive teams and effectively break through them.
- Pinsir can also use Z-Me First in tandem with Moxie to terrorize teams late-game by instantly doubling its Speed and becoming more and more difficult to wall with every KO it achieves.
- Although its Speed tier isn't the greatest, it does allow Pinsir to easily outpace every defensive Pokemon as well as some offensive Pokemon like Komala and Abomasnow.
- However, Pinsir's matchup against offensive teams is limited due to how common faster Pokemon like Floatzel, Electivire, Swanna, and Chatot are.
- Very physically bulky Pokemon like Gourgeist-XL can be difficult for Pinsir to deal with because of its moves being relatively weak unboosted, and it is more reliant on obtaining Attack boosts to reliably break than it would like to be.
- Opportunities to directly switch in and set up against opposing teams can sometimes be hard to come by due to Pinsir's weakness to Stealth Rock, mediocre defenses, few resistances, and lack of immunities.
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Lum Berry / Life Orb
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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- Earthquake prevents Pinsir from being walled by staples on bulkier teams such as Golem, Muk, Probopass, and Mareanie, and it also hits Bronzor thanks to Mold Breaker.
- Stone Edge targets Flying-types like Altaria, Swanna, and Rotom-S and gives Pinsir unresisted coverage in combination with X-Scissor and Earthquake.
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- Mold Breaker bypasses the opposing Pokemon's ability, giving Pinsir an easier time tearing through Unaware, Levitate, and Sturdy users such as Pyukumuku, Bronzor, and Golem.
- Lum Berry allows Pinsir to shrug off any status condition once, which makes for easier setup against defensive teams.
- Alternatively, Life Orb can be used to increase Pinsir's damage output without requiring it to first set up. However, the recoil damage it inflicts can limit Pinsir's ability to continuously pressure bulkier teams.
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- Pinsir should primarily switch in to revenge kill slow Grass- and Psychic-types, physically frail foes, and certain targets threatened by its coverage moves, such as Abomasnow, Beheeyem, Komala, and Probopass. The fear of being heavily damaged or KOed may cause these Pokemon to want to switch out, which may provide Pinsir with an opportunity to set up.
- Pinsir can also come in against passive Pokemon like Mareanie and Bronzor if it predicts them to recover or set entry hazards, although non-Lum Berry variants risk being statused and greatly hindered in the process.
- Try to keep Pinsir's side of the field clear of entry hazards before switching it in, as it is vulnerable to all forms of hazards and needs to be as healthy as possible to reliably set up and break through teams, especially if it is using Life Orb.
- Setting up is only important against bulkier teams or teams with a solid defensive core, as Pinsir needs to do so to break through them. Against more offensive teams, it should focus on attacking, as the constant offensive pressure being applied makes finding chances to safely set up near impossible and its attacks threaten them even unboosted.
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- Pivots such as Rotom-S, Electivire, and Silvally-Water
- teammates that fare well against offense
- bulky teammates
- removal
- cleaners and sweepers
name: Z-Me First
move 1: Me First
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Normalium Z
ability: Moxie
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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========
========
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- fits on offense and bulky offense
- wallbreakers
- spikes and toxic spikes
- removal
Other Options
=============
List some options for the Pokemon user that are plausible but not always recommended due to either being not consistent enough or too outclassed by other Pokemon in the metagame.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Insert Threat Here**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.
**Insert Threat Here**: Describe why the Pokemon is a threat.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[, ]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
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