mfw no flying stab
[OVERVIEW]
Mega Pinsir is a niche yet powerful setup wallbreaker in LGPE OU. It's tied with Mega Gyarados for having the highest Attack stat in the metagame and boasts Swords Dance to further boost its damage output, enabling it to 2HKO every Pokemon in the metagame with the great coverage provided by X-Scissor, Earthquake, and Rock Slide. Mega Pinsir also sits at an above-average Speed tier that lets it outspeed Mew, Zapdos, and everything slower, giving this Pokemon a much easier time taking on the majority of the metagame. Unfortunately, Mega Pinsir lacks defensive utility thanks to a horrendous defensive typing that gives it a 4x weakness to Stealth Rock upon Mega Evolving, making it incredibly difficult to bring it in more than once. Without a boost from Swords Dance, Mega Pinsir's not strong enough to knock out some of the metagame's premier threats such as Melmetal and Zapdos from full, which can retaliate with a devastating Double Iron Bash or Thunderbolt. While Mega Pinsir's Speed stat is solid, it's still liable to being revenge killed by faster Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Alakazam, Gengar, and Alolan Dugtrio.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: X-Scissor
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Rock Slide
item: Pinsirite
nature: Jolly
ivs: 29 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Information
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Swords Dance boosts Mega Pinsir's Attack stat to frighteningly high levels, enabling it to smash through the likes of Zapdos and Melmetal without prediction. X-Scissor is Mega Pinsir's STAB attack of choice, dishing out serious pain to Pokemon such as Mega Gyarados, Mew, and Mega Alakazam, especially after a boost. Earthquake provides valuable coverage against the Pokemon that resist X-Scissor, hitting Melmetal, Mega Charizard X, Rhydon, and Nidoqueen super effectively while also being Mega Pinsir's strongest attack against Poliwrath. Rock Slide hurts the many Flying-types that threaten Mega Pinsir, including Zapdos, Dragonite, Mega Aerodactyl on the switch, and Mega Charizard Y. A Jolly nature is used to outrun Mew, Zapdos, and Mega Charizard X and Y. 29 HP IVs allow Mega Pinsir to take Stealth Rock damage twice without fainting.
Usage Tips
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Bringing Mega Pinsir in before Stealth Rock is up is generally a viable strategy whenever possible. As most Pokemon that can revenge kill Mega Pinsir are OHKOed by its attacks, the opponent will often hesitate with switching them directly in; this can provide a good opportunity to set up and then OHKO the opposing Pokemon. While it is uncommon for Mega Pinsir's revenge killers to be removed early in a battle, if this does happen, or the opponent simply lacks them entirely, Mega Pinsir can sweep with relative ease; otherwise, it is usually limited to one or two KOs. Set up with Swords Dance against Pokemon Mega Pinsir can force out, including Alolan Muk, Mew, and Mega Gyarados, but be wary of potential status moves from these Pokemon. Take advantage of the superior defensive typing of Pinsir's base forme before Mega Evolving. If a Pokemon is within range of being knocked out from an attack by base form Pinsir, don't Mega Evolve on the same turn when going for the attack. If Pinsir is forced out after knocking out an opposing Pokemon, Pinsir won't take more damage from Stealth Rock the next time it comes in.
Team Options
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Mew is an excellent partner for Mega Pinsir. It can utilize Taunt to stop Stealth Rock from going up, use U-turn to bring Mega Pinsir in safely, check common answers to Mega Pinsir such as Melmetal and Poliwrath, and threaten common Stealth Rock setters such as Nidoqueen, Rhydon, and Alolan Dugtrio with Psychic and Scald. Starmie also threatens many of the metagame's Stealth Rock setters, and it can utilize Thunder Wave to cripple faster Pokemon. Starmie can also act as a soft check to Mega Aerodactyl, especially when running a Bold nature, and can viably use dual screens to give Mega Pinsir an easier time setting up. Nidoqueen can handle any potential Rock or Electric attacks aimed at Mega Pinsir and can consistently set up Stealth Rock, helping Mega Pinsir to secure various OHKOs.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Superpower can be used over Earthquake to OHKO non-Impish Melmetal after Stealth Rock and a Swords Dance boost, but the Attack drop and loss in coverage against Poison-type Pokémon like Nidoqueen and Gengar can make wallbreaking more difficult. Pinsir can effectively utilize Bulk Up in base form as Pokemon such as Melmetal and Rhydon and come in, allowing Pinsir to take attacks from both Pokemon more comfortably and 2HKO in return. The caveat is that Bulk Up only boosts Attack one stage, which significantly hinders Mega Pinsir's immediate wallbreaking power after a single boost compared to the +2 Attack boost offered by Swords Dance.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Stealth Rock**: Pinsir loses a quarter of its health to Stealth Rock and Mega Evolving only worsens this, giving it a 4x Stealth Rock weakness. This often limits Mega Pinsir to a single wallbreaking attempt per battle.
**Physical Tanks**: Melmetal and Rhydon are physically bulky enough to stomach unboosted attacks from Mega Pinsir and return fire with Double Iron Bash and Rock Slide, respectively. Melmetal can notably survive a +2 Earthquake as well. However, both of these Pokemon lack reliable recovery and should keep an eye on their health lest they end up in range of being knocked out by Mega Pinsir's Earthquake or Superpower.
**Poliwrath**: Mega Pinsir's unboosted Earthquake is only a 3HKO against Poliwrath, which can use Scald to potentially burn Mega Pinsir or Ice Punch to dish out super effective damage in return.
**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Mega Aerodactyl, Starmie, Alolan Dugtrio, and Gengar are all capable of outspeeding and revenge killing Mega Pinsir. Mega Aerodactyl is able to come in on a predicted X-Scissor or Earthquake and OHKO back with Rock Slide, while Starmie, Alolan Dugtrio, and Gengar can pick a weakened Mega Pinsir off with supereffective coverage. Gengar can also use Will-O-Wisp to burn Mega Pinsir, and Starmie can use Thunder Wave to neuter Mega Pinsir's Speed. However, the latter three Pokemon don't switch into Mega Pinsir very well, and Mega Aerodactyl should fear a potential Rock Slide.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Vengeance417,198446]]
- Quality checked by: [[Eve, 375272], [Collette, 520031]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Lumari, 232216]
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