Hello all!
I've recently gotten really into competitive, and over a few weeks I've built a team around my personal favorite core, Mega Pinsir and Magnezone!
The problem was, however, that I really didn't want to use anything that shows up on every standard OU team. I'd gotten really tired of trying to find resources for a
Mega Pinsir-focused team without one member being Pinsir itself and the rest of them being a full list of Lando-T, three Tapus and some Ultra Beasts. That was just boring for me. So I set off to build a team without any of those legendary showoffs, and I think I've got something good going here! So, without further ado, here's the team.
Mega Pinsir
Pinsir-Mega (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
Everyone knows this Pinsir set, I'd be shocked if they didn't. This is the boy himself, the poster child of arthropod mayhem, the bug that
keeps Chansey awake at night. Mega Pinsir was where the whole team started. I chose him not because of his wallbreaking capabilities, but just
out of my love for those weird Gen 1 bugs nobody uses. He takes one turn at most to set up, hits like a truck even without any boosts and is really,
really hard to stop once he gets going. He does what he does best, breaking holes into the enemy's team for his buddies to set up and wreak havoc. I use him mainly early-game, making sure that those big threats and walls like Excadrill, Toxapex, Clefable, Gliscor, Heatran and others aren't around
when other teammates need to set up.
But Mega Pinsir alone isn't unstoppable! He's got lots of things that can stop him dead in his tracks, those pesky Ferrothorns and Celesteelas.
So I decided to give him a friend to play with, a friend by the name of...
Magnezone
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 116 HP / 252 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Discharge
Magnezone and Pinsir are, in my opinion, the best core in the entire game. They seem like they were built to demolish
each other's weaknesses. Whenever Pinsir runs into something he just can't tackle, like Ferrothorn or Scizor, Magnezone is always there to back
him up. Magnezone traps and eliminates steel-type threats that Pinsir just cannot handle. Likewise, Pinsir loves to back Magnezone up against ground-type threats, grass-type walls that even Magnezone can't punish like Tangrowth and other nasty things that just adore switching n to punish Magnezone's attempt to Magnet Pull the opponents into oblivion. Volt Switch helps keep the momentum up, especially against Skarmory, who detests a Discharge to the face and can't hit Magnezone back unless he uses Whirlwind, which is a free switch anyway. HP Fire is fantastic against things like Ferrothorn who don't take nearly any damage from any of Magnezone's other moves. Overall, Magnezone is a great tanky trapper and semi-pivot that keeps things going and keeps Pinsir out of trouble.
But then I had another problem: These two really, really do not like fire.
So I thought about what could help against Fire-types and also help Pinsir with his Electric-type problems if Magnezone wasn't around to do it.
And then I thought about Garchomp.
Garchomp
Garchomp (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Toxic
Mixed defensive Garchomp is fantastic. When I first discovered this set, I was downright
baffled. Garchomp has a gigantic Attack stat, why would you not only not use it but split it into physical and special?
But when I used this particular Garchomp set, and saw how well it worked with Pinsir and Magnezone as a defensive backbone to keep them
safe, I never went back to sweeper 'Chomp again. This thing is a beast. It's so good at what it does, so adept at forcing switches and getting hazards up, so
specialized in being there to sponge hits and punish them with its Rocky Helmet/Rough Skin combo, so defensively rigid without surrendering itself to be passive setup fodder. Lando-T hates defensive Garchomp, especially with a switch-in to HP Ice to help it stay healthy. It punishes VoltTurn teams well, with Rocky Helmet essentially being a free Fire Blast if U-Turn hits and Volt Switch just not working against it. It also works wonders against Steel-types that go in against it, especially those that are neutral to Ground but in turn have a 4x weakness to Fire Blast. Sacrificing Garchomp against a physical move in a pinch isn't even a bad idea; it should not be something done often, but against a physically inclined opponent at low health who thinks they can get a free KO on Pinsir or Zone it's a great way to open up chances for momentum yet again. Thanks, Garchomp.
Still, there were lots of problems popping up. Lando-T himself was covered, but what about his hazards? What about
those stupid sneaky little pebbles and webs that make Mega Pinsir cry? I needed a spinner, and my obvious choice was...
Starmie
Starmie @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
Expecting Excadrill? Too bad! Starmie time!
In all seriousness, Starmie works with the team very well. His Ice resistance is a nice thing to compliment him as a spinner,
especially with Garchomp being scared to death of the entire typing as a whole. Colbur Berry over Life Orb is great, especially against Knock Off-spamming
Weavile and Greninja with his Dark Pulse. He resists Stealth Rock really well and Sticky Web still fails to put him in a bad speed tier, with Rapid Spin raising his
speed even higher. He's my favorite thing to use as, weirdly, a Greninja check, because when Greninja's Dark Pulse does neutral damage and doesn't kill against Starmie, who raises his speed with Rapid Spin on the same turn, things don't turn out well for Greninja, no matter how well he resists what Starmie's got planned for him. Starmie is so fast that he can blow holes into fast attackers for Pinsir's Aerilate Quick Attack to get that coveted boost it needs to keep momentum flowing and quite possibly save the game. Although he very rarely survives to see the outcome of his efforts, Starmie is a pivotal companion to the rest of the team and can do many things very well. On the rare occasions he sticks around for the rest of the game, he's a force to be reckoned with even without any boosts. Lando-T hates Ice Beam more than anything, and Heatran doesn't exactly enjoy a Hydro Pump to the face either.
With all of that said, I still lacked something important-I had no sweeper!
The solution to that was simple, at least for me.
Porygon-Z
Porygon-Z @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Conversion
You can say whatever you want about Porygon-Z. You can insult how he gets his boosts, how he essentially can't be switched out
once he gets them, and how I could be using anything but this silly little corrupted computer-duck. Porygon-Z doesn't care. Porygon-Z is
living evidence that BoltBeam still works, and can still be a great wincon with all things said and done. Z-Conversion is fantastic. Porygon-Z can outspeed
nearly anything unmodified after one Z-Conversion, and Adaptability +1 Thunderbolt is insane. After Pinsir, Magnezone and the others have done what they can to pave a path for this anomaly of a teammate, he only takes one turn to get himself going. Against most unboosted threats, he's going to live anything ineffective that they send his way, and once he's got Z-Conversion on his side there's next to nothing stopping him. His Type is changed to Electric, which no priority moves are supereffective against. He gets 2x STAB on his already boosted Thunderbolt, with Ice Beam to demolish Ground-types that want to stop his reign of terror. He can and will flatten next to anything in front of him in one turn. He forces sacs or switches more often than he has any right to, and even then he still isn't my last bastion to sweep weakened teams under the rug. That would be the team's local scarfer, Zoroark.
Zoroark
Zoroark (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Trick
- Knock Off
- Memento
Zoroark is the most recent addition to the team. He's both the team's lead and revenge killer, and despite Team Preview he still works just as he should. Even
if people catch onto his illusion on the first turn, a U-Turn will help the momentum start just well enough to get his buddies rolling. He's great against leads like Excadrill, Garchomp, Landorus-T and just about anything that takes neutral to supereffective damage from his U-Turn. He helps mop up Greninja and Sableye, and if he finds himself as Porygon-Z's only support in a close match he can clean up any weakened opponents well enough with Knock Off. He can do so, so many things, and he does all of them well enough to justify his spot on the team. On top of Illusion, his stats are just good overall, giving him a nice physical attacking stat and superb speed. He forms a nice synergy with Magnezone, who has a lot of resistances and can either provide a great disguise as a lead or a great U-Turn switch-in from the first turn to get things moving. He's what helps make this be a balanced team, and helps a lot of the slower members in a pinch.
Overall, I'm really satisfied with this team. It's by no means perfect (this is my first RMT after all and it was very, very long) but I hope you
like what it presents as a jack of all trades, master of none team that can format itself to do what it needs to manipulate the structure of the match
to its will to win.
Comments and suggestions are very, very appreciated! Although I probably won't go with one that recommends cutting
half of the entire team for Greninja, two Tapus and Lando-T, feedback is what keeps things fresh! Thanks!
I've recently gotten really into competitive, and over a few weeks I've built a team around my personal favorite core, Mega Pinsir and Magnezone!
The problem was, however, that I really didn't want to use anything that shows up on every standard OU team. I'd gotten really tired of trying to find resources for a
Mega Pinsir-focused team without one member being Pinsir itself and the rest of them being a full list of Lando-T, three Tapus and some Ultra Beasts. That was just boring for me. So I set off to build a team without any of those legendary showoffs, and I think I've got something good going here! So, without further ado, here's the team.
Mega Pinsir
Pinsir-Mega (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
Everyone knows this Pinsir set, I'd be shocked if they didn't. This is the boy himself, the poster child of arthropod mayhem, the bug that
keeps Chansey awake at night. Mega Pinsir was where the whole team started. I chose him not because of his wallbreaking capabilities, but just
out of my love for those weird Gen 1 bugs nobody uses. He takes one turn at most to set up, hits like a truck even without any boosts and is really,
really hard to stop once he gets going. He does what he does best, breaking holes into the enemy's team for his buddies to set up and wreak havoc. I use him mainly early-game, making sure that those big threats and walls like Excadrill, Toxapex, Clefable, Gliscor, Heatran and others aren't around
when other teammates need to set up.
But Mega Pinsir alone isn't unstoppable! He's got lots of things that can stop him dead in his tracks, those pesky Ferrothorns and Celesteelas.
So I decided to give him a friend to play with, a friend by the name of...
Magnezone
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 116 HP / 252 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Discharge
Magnezone and Pinsir are, in my opinion, the best core in the entire game. They seem like they were built to demolish
each other's weaknesses. Whenever Pinsir runs into something he just can't tackle, like Ferrothorn or Scizor, Magnezone is always there to back
him up. Magnezone traps and eliminates steel-type threats that Pinsir just cannot handle. Likewise, Pinsir loves to back Magnezone up against ground-type threats, grass-type walls that even Magnezone can't punish like Tangrowth and other nasty things that just adore switching n to punish Magnezone's attempt to Magnet Pull the opponents into oblivion. Volt Switch helps keep the momentum up, especially against Skarmory, who detests a Discharge to the face and can't hit Magnezone back unless he uses Whirlwind, which is a free switch anyway. HP Fire is fantastic against things like Ferrothorn who don't take nearly any damage from any of Magnezone's other moves. Overall, Magnezone is a great tanky trapper and semi-pivot that keeps things going and keeps Pinsir out of trouble.
But then I had another problem: These two really, really do not like fire.
So I thought about what could help against Fire-types and also help Pinsir with his Electric-type problems if Magnezone wasn't around to do it.
And then I thought about Garchomp.
Garchomp
Garchomp (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Toxic
Mixed defensive Garchomp is fantastic. When I first discovered this set, I was downright
baffled. Garchomp has a gigantic Attack stat, why would you not only not use it but split it into physical and special?
But when I used this particular Garchomp set, and saw how well it worked with Pinsir and Magnezone as a defensive backbone to keep them
safe, I never went back to sweeper 'Chomp again. This thing is a beast. It's so good at what it does, so adept at forcing switches and getting hazards up, so
specialized in being there to sponge hits and punish them with its Rocky Helmet/Rough Skin combo, so defensively rigid without surrendering itself to be passive setup fodder. Lando-T hates defensive Garchomp, especially with a switch-in to HP Ice to help it stay healthy. It punishes VoltTurn teams well, with Rocky Helmet essentially being a free Fire Blast if U-Turn hits and Volt Switch just not working against it. It also works wonders against Steel-types that go in against it, especially those that are neutral to Ground but in turn have a 4x weakness to Fire Blast. Sacrificing Garchomp against a physical move in a pinch isn't even a bad idea; it should not be something done often, but against a physically inclined opponent at low health who thinks they can get a free KO on Pinsir or Zone it's a great way to open up chances for momentum yet again. Thanks, Garchomp.
Still, there were lots of problems popping up. Lando-T himself was covered, but what about his hazards? What about
those stupid sneaky little pebbles and webs that make Mega Pinsir cry? I needed a spinner, and my obvious choice was...
Starmie
Starmie @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
Expecting Excadrill? Too bad! Starmie time!
In all seriousness, Starmie works with the team very well. His Ice resistance is a nice thing to compliment him as a spinner,
especially with Garchomp being scared to death of the entire typing as a whole. Colbur Berry over Life Orb is great, especially against Knock Off-spamming
Weavile and Greninja with his Dark Pulse. He resists Stealth Rock really well and Sticky Web still fails to put him in a bad speed tier, with Rapid Spin raising his
speed even higher. He's my favorite thing to use as, weirdly, a Greninja check, because when Greninja's Dark Pulse does neutral damage and doesn't kill against Starmie, who raises his speed with Rapid Spin on the same turn, things don't turn out well for Greninja, no matter how well he resists what Starmie's got planned for him. Starmie is so fast that he can blow holes into fast attackers for Pinsir's Aerilate Quick Attack to get that coveted boost it needs to keep momentum flowing and quite possibly save the game. Although he very rarely survives to see the outcome of his efforts, Starmie is a pivotal companion to the rest of the team and can do many things very well. On the rare occasions he sticks around for the rest of the game, he's a force to be reckoned with even without any boosts. Lando-T hates Ice Beam more than anything, and Heatran doesn't exactly enjoy a Hydro Pump to the face either.
With all of that said, I still lacked something important-I had no sweeper!
The solution to that was simple, at least for me.
Porygon-Z
Porygon-Z @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Conversion
You can say whatever you want about Porygon-Z. You can insult how he gets his boosts, how he essentially can't be switched out
once he gets them, and how I could be using anything but this silly little corrupted computer-duck. Porygon-Z doesn't care. Porygon-Z is
living evidence that BoltBeam still works, and can still be a great wincon with all things said and done. Z-Conversion is fantastic. Porygon-Z can outspeed
nearly anything unmodified after one Z-Conversion, and Adaptability +1 Thunderbolt is insane. After Pinsir, Magnezone and the others have done what they can to pave a path for this anomaly of a teammate, he only takes one turn to get himself going. Against most unboosted threats, he's going to live anything ineffective that they send his way, and once he's got Z-Conversion on his side there's next to nothing stopping him. His Type is changed to Electric, which no priority moves are supereffective against. He gets 2x STAB on his already boosted Thunderbolt, with Ice Beam to demolish Ground-types that want to stop his reign of terror. He can and will flatten next to anything in front of him in one turn. He forces sacs or switches more often than he has any right to, and even then he still isn't my last bastion to sweep weakened teams under the rug. That would be the team's local scarfer, Zoroark.
Zoroark
Zoroark (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Trick
- Knock Off
- Memento
Zoroark is the most recent addition to the team. He's both the team's lead and revenge killer, and despite Team Preview he still works just as he should. Even
if people catch onto his illusion on the first turn, a U-Turn will help the momentum start just well enough to get his buddies rolling. He's great against leads like Excadrill, Garchomp, Landorus-T and just about anything that takes neutral to supereffective damage from his U-Turn. He helps mop up Greninja and Sableye, and if he finds himself as Porygon-Z's only support in a close match he can clean up any weakened opponents well enough with Knock Off. He can do so, so many things, and he does all of them well enough to justify his spot on the team. On top of Illusion, his stats are just good overall, giving him a nice physical attacking stat and superb speed. He forms a nice synergy with Magnezone, who has a lot of resistances and can either provide a great disguise as a lead or a great U-Turn switch-in from the first turn to get things moving. He's what helps make this be a balanced team, and helps a lot of the slower members in a pinch.
Overall, I'm really satisfied with this team. It's by no means perfect (this is my first RMT after all and it was very, very long) but I hope you
like what it presents as a jack of all trades, master of none team that can format itself to do what it needs to manipulate the structure of the match
to its will to win.
Comments and suggestions are very, very appreciated! Although I probably won't go with one that recommends cutting
half of the entire team for Greninja, two Tapus and Lando-T, feedback is what keeps things fresh! Thanks!
Pinsir-Mega (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 116 HP / 252 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Discharge
Garchomp (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Toxic
Starmie @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
Porygon-Z @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Conversion
Zoroark (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Trick
- Knock Off
- Memento
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 116 HP / 252 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Discharge
Garchomp (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Toxic
Starmie @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin
Porygon-Z @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Conversion
Zoroark (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Trick
- Knock Off
- Memento
