Quantum Tesseract
Lazy Fuck
May I reserve Pinsir-Mega?
E: [QC 3/3] GP [2/2]
Overview
Mega Pinsir's excellent ability in Aerilate turns Normal-type moves into Flying-type ones, allowing it to use Extreme Speed to clean up weakened teams. It has a high base 155 Attack stat that it can further boost with Swords Dance, which, alongside good coverage moves, allows it to pick and choose what counters it. A solid Speed stat allows it to pick off most foes with coverage before they can move, but it falls short of several top-tier threats such as Mega Metagross and Tapu Koko, allowing them to outpace and KO Mega Pinsir. Only decent bulk limits Mega Pinsir's setup opportunities, which is further hampered by its 4x weakness to Stealth Rock.
Aerilate Cleaner
Pinsirite @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Return / Earthquake
- Close Combat / Earthquake
Set Comments
Moves
Swords Dance doubles the power of Mega Pinsir's attacks and allows it to clean weakened teams and prevents stall from readily walling it. Extreme Speed is the Sketch move of choice to allow Mega Pinsir to hit faster Pokemon such as Greninja and Kartana with a powerful Aerilate-boosted priority attack. Return is a second, more powerful STAB option that allows Mega Pinsir to wear down bulkier targets such as Slowbro and Suicune. Close Combat hits most Pokemon that resist Flying-type attacks for solid damage, while Earthquake is another option to do more damage to Mega Metagross, Jirachi, and Doublade. Substitute may be used to allow easier setup against defensive teams by blocking status and weak attacks but comes at the cost of valuable coverage.
Set Details
Hyper Cutter negates Intimidate, allowing Pinsir to set up to +2 if the foe switches in Landorus-T or Gyarados, preventing them from easily absorbing Pinsir's attacks. 252 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature are chosen to maximize Mega Pinsir's Speed, allowing it to tie with other Mega Pinsir as well as outspeed the crowded base 100 Speed tier. 252 Attack EVs maximize Mega Pinsir's damage output, and the remaining EVs are placed in Defense instead of HP to allow Pinsir to switch into Stealth Rock an extra time. An Adamant nature is an option over Jolly to OHKO defensive Landorus at +1 with Return and deal more damage to all targets, but even with priority, Mega Pinsir's Speed tier is important.
Usage Tips
Use Pinsir freely to pick off frail or weakened threats such as Greninja and Mega Alakazam. Keep Stealth Rock off the field whenever possible to keep Mega Pinsir healthy. Don't use Swords Dance until checks such as Jirachi have been weakened, as most answers can take it on even after boosting. Attempt to keep Mega Pinsir healthy to sweep late-game, but should Mega Pinsir not do well against the opposing team, it can be used to break open holes for teammates such as Tapu Koko to take advantage of.
Team Options
Mega Pinsir needs entry hazard support to keep Stealth Rock off the field, so hazard clearers such as Tapu Fini, Zapdos, and Excadrill make for good partners. Pokemon with similar answers such as Aerodactyl, Landorus-T, and Jirachi are good teammates to wear down shared checks and counters. Trappers such as Magnezone and Dugtrio can remove troublesome Pokemon such as Mega Metagross, Celesteela, and Choice Scarf Xurkitree for Mega Pinsir. Ground-type Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Garchomp pair well with Pinsir, as they can take Electric- and Rock-type attacks for it. Water-type Pokemon such as Keldeo and Greninja are also handy to take on Fire-, Rock-, and Ice-type Pokemon for Pinsir, while Mega Pinsir can take on the Grass-type Pokemon such as Tangrowth that trouble them.
Strategy Comments
Other Options
Mold Breaker may be run alongside Earthquake to hit Levitate Pokemon such as Rotom-W, but these are rare in the Sketchmons metagame; in a similar vein, Moxie may be used to gain a boost while picking off weakened or frail Pokemon. Stone Edge allows Mega Pinsir to bypass Zapdos but hits almost nothing else harder than Return. Other sketch moves such as V-create and Thousand Arrows may be tempting to lure a particular answer, but most leave Mega Pinsir inferior to other available Pokemon due to the lack of Extreme Speed. Knock Off may be used to cripple walls that rely on Eviolite such as Doublade for teammates, but Pinsir would almost always prefer to boost up to KO them instead.
Checks and Counters
Celesteela and Zapdos: Celesteela and Zapdos are particularly annoying for Pinsir, as they resist Flying, are not weak to Mega Pinsir's coverage, and are bulky enough to switch in multiple times throughout the match. They also deal heavy damage in return with Flamethrower and Volt Switch, so Mega Pinsir cannot boost on them to break past.
Bulky Flying-resistant Pokemon: Bulky Flying-resistant Pokemon, such as Rotom-W, Jirachi, and Doublade, can take Mega Pinsir's attacks. While they can be overwhelmed by the appropriate boosted coverage after chip damage, they can Sketch recovery moves and take on Pinsir multiple times per match.
Faster Extreme Speed Answers: Faster Pokemon that can take Extreme Speed such as Mega Metagross, Tapu Koko, Aerodactyl, and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele are major threats to Mega Pinsir's sweep, as they can OHKO Mega Pinsir. Tapu Lele in particular is annoying, as it comes freely in on Close Combat, Extreme Speed, and Swords Dance while also shielding its team from Mega Pinsir with Psychic Terrain.
Stealth Rock: Stealth Rock is a major threat to Mega Pinsir, as it greatly reduces Mega Pinsir's setup chances and prevents it from forcing out threats reliably.
Status: Mega Pinsir abhors status of all sorts, as all status conditions can cripple it. Burns halve Mega Pinsir's Attack, allowing many Pokemon to easily take its attacks, sleep prevents it from moving, and Toxic prevents it from sweeping. Even paralysis is a major threat, as Mega Pinsir still needs its Speed tier for any attack other than Extreme Speed.
E: [QC 3/3] GP [2/2]
Overview
Mega Pinsir's excellent ability in Aerilate turns Normal-type moves into Flying-type ones, allowing it to use Extreme Speed to clean up weakened teams. It has a high base 155 Attack stat that it can further boost with Swords Dance, which, alongside good coverage moves, allows it to pick and choose what counters it. A solid Speed stat allows it to pick off most foes with coverage before they can move, but it falls short of several top-tier threats such as Mega Metagross and Tapu Koko, allowing them to outpace and KO Mega Pinsir. Only decent bulk limits Mega Pinsir's setup opportunities, which is further hampered by its 4x weakness to Stealth Rock.
Aerilate Cleaner
Pinsirite @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Return / Earthquake
- Close Combat / Earthquake
Set Comments
Moves
Swords Dance doubles the power of Mega Pinsir's attacks and allows it to clean weakened teams and prevents stall from readily walling it. Extreme Speed is the Sketch move of choice to allow Mega Pinsir to hit faster Pokemon such as Greninja and Kartana with a powerful Aerilate-boosted priority attack. Return is a second, more powerful STAB option that allows Mega Pinsir to wear down bulkier targets such as Slowbro and Suicune. Close Combat hits most Pokemon that resist Flying-type attacks for solid damage, while Earthquake is another option to do more damage to Mega Metagross, Jirachi, and Doublade. Substitute may be used to allow easier setup against defensive teams by blocking status and weak attacks but comes at the cost of valuable coverage.
Set Details
Hyper Cutter negates Intimidate, allowing Pinsir to set up to +2 if the foe switches in Landorus-T or Gyarados, preventing them from easily absorbing Pinsir's attacks. 252 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature are chosen to maximize Mega Pinsir's Speed, allowing it to tie with other Mega Pinsir as well as outspeed the crowded base 100 Speed tier. 252 Attack EVs maximize Mega Pinsir's damage output, and the remaining EVs are placed in Defense instead of HP to allow Pinsir to switch into Stealth Rock an extra time. An Adamant nature is an option over Jolly to OHKO defensive Landorus at +1 with Return and deal more damage to all targets, but even with priority, Mega Pinsir's Speed tier is important.
Usage Tips
Use Pinsir freely to pick off frail or weakened threats such as Greninja and Mega Alakazam. Keep Stealth Rock off the field whenever possible to keep Mega Pinsir healthy. Don't use Swords Dance until checks such as Jirachi have been weakened, as most answers can take it on even after boosting. Attempt to keep Mega Pinsir healthy to sweep late-game, but should Mega Pinsir not do well against the opposing team, it can be used to break open holes for teammates such as Tapu Koko to take advantage of.
Team Options
Mega Pinsir needs entry hazard support to keep Stealth Rock off the field, so hazard clearers such as Tapu Fini, Zapdos, and Excadrill make for good partners. Pokemon with similar answers such as Aerodactyl, Landorus-T, and Jirachi are good teammates to wear down shared checks and counters. Trappers such as Magnezone and Dugtrio can remove troublesome Pokemon such as Mega Metagross, Celesteela, and Choice Scarf Xurkitree for Mega Pinsir. Ground-type Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Garchomp pair well with Pinsir, as they can take Electric- and Rock-type attacks for it. Water-type Pokemon such as Keldeo and Greninja are also handy to take on Fire-, Rock-, and Ice-type Pokemon for Pinsir, while Mega Pinsir can take on the Grass-type Pokemon such as Tangrowth that trouble them.
Strategy Comments
Other Options
Mold Breaker may be run alongside Earthquake to hit Levitate Pokemon such as Rotom-W, but these are rare in the Sketchmons metagame; in a similar vein, Moxie may be used to gain a boost while picking off weakened or frail Pokemon. Stone Edge allows Mega Pinsir to bypass Zapdos but hits almost nothing else harder than Return. Other sketch moves such as V-create and Thousand Arrows may be tempting to lure a particular answer, but most leave Mega Pinsir inferior to other available Pokemon due to the lack of Extreme Speed. Knock Off may be used to cripple walls that rely on Eviolite such as Doublade for teammates, but Pinsir would almost always prefer to boost up to KO them instead.
Checks and Counters
Celesteela and Zapdos: Celesteela and Zapdos are particularly annoying for Pinsir, as they resist Flying, are not weak to Mega Pinsir's coverage, and are bulky enough to switch in multiple times throughout the match. They also deal heavy damage in return with Flamethrower and Volt Switch, so Mega Pinsir cannot boost on them to break past.
Bulky Flying-resistant Pokemon: Bulky Flying-resistant Pokemon, such as Rotom-W, Jirachi, and Doublade, can take Mega Pinsir's attacks. While they can be overwhelmed by the appropriate boosted coverage after chip damage, they can Sketch recovery moves and take on Pinsir multiple times per match.
Faster Extreme Speed Answers: Faster Pokemon that can take Extreme Speed such as Mega Metagross, Tapu Koko, Aerodactyl, and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele are major threats to Mega Pinsir's sweep, as they can OHKO Mega Pinsir. Tapu Lele in particular is annoying, as it comes freely in on Close Combat, Extreme Speed, and Swords Dance while also shielding its team from Mega Pinsir with Psychic Terrain.
Stealth Rock: Stealth Rock is a major threat to Mega Pinsir, as it greatly reduces Mega Pinsir's setup chances and prevents it from forcing out threats reliably.
Status: Mega Pinsir abhors status of all sorts, as all status conditions can cripple it. Burns halve Mega Pinsir's Attack, allowing many Pokemon to easily take its attacks, sleep prevents it from moving, and Toxic prevents it from sweeping. Even paralysis is a major threat, as Mega Pinsir still needs its Speed tier for any attack other than Extreme Speed.
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