XY OU Mega Pinsir fo life

[dothedew81]

Hey all, this is my 2nd RMT with one of my favorite megas, Mega Pinsir. This team is overall working pretty well for me, but I've had a handful of problems that I hope the great minds of the smogon message boards would help me get through.

Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor
- Earthquake

I run the designated lead set on him, and it typically works very well. Endeavor, ice shard picks off anything that tries to OHKO him, but usually I stealth rock and commit suicide by spamming EQ. If the opponent leads with Skarm though, I switch to Gothitelle and mess it up. As much as I love this big guy, he's open to change if it'd be best for the team

Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
- Return
- Earthquake

My mega. Very basic Mega Pinsir set that does what Mega Pinsir does. He's a very reliable sweeper after his checks are taken care of. After a Swords Dance I've swept a team 5v1. This dude's a beast. Swords dance is to boost him to incredible power, quick attack is to priority kill faster targets, return is to murder anything slower than him, and EQ is for coverage, but still very deadly.

Gothitelle @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Gothitelle is a trap lord. Very useful for taking out Rotom-W, Mandibuzz, Scizor and Skarm, which otherwise pose a threat to Pinsir's sweep. 0 Atk IV's to minimize Foul Play damage. Psyshock is for STAB Psychic power just incase it's needed, thunderbolt to take out the flying physical walls, energy ball to take out Rotom, and lastly the most unusual move of this set. I used to have trick on her, but never really saw myself using it, so I replaced it with HP Fire to cover Scizor better. While she takes normal Scizor like a champ, Mega Scizor can take her out if it has more than 168 Speed IV's.

Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
Very basic Conk set. Drain punch for reliable recovery and wicked power, mach punch to USUALLY laugh in Greninja's face, Knock off to get rid of items and usually a good move to use when they're on the switch into Talonflame which happens oh so much, and Ice Punch for coverage on dragons such as the Lati's and Flying types like Gliscor, Lando, and Zapdos. Iron Fist over Guts here because usually Rotom's taken care of so he usually doesn't get burned.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Rapid Spin

A fast, offensive Starmie set. Rapid spin is the main point on this set to clear the way for Pinsir, but the secondary points are very useful too. Hydro pump is literally a laser beam on the switch with analytic, and still a torpedo when he goes first with that 110 base speed. Ice beam is for any flying Genie pokemon thatdares to mess with the starfish, psyshock occasionally OHKO's Conk, but is pretty useless otherwise. I've been thinking about changing it to Thunderbolt to give it that BoltBeam combo, but I'm not sure yet. Input would greatly be appreciate on this guy.

Rotom-Wash @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest

Again, the typical Chesto-Resto Rotom. His main goal is to counter Talonflame but his overall badassery makes him useful in almost every area. Volt Switch gets him out of trouble, Hydro Pump is the obligatory STAB and annihilate's talonflame, Will-O-Wisp stops physical sweepers dead, and rest brings him back to full HP wheneer he starts feeling weary. This is the most lenient slot on my team. If anyone has any better ideas than Rotom, I'd be more than happy to listen.

So there you have it. This is my team, thanks for reading and please respond if you have any ideas on how to make this team better.

 

[etw44]

What I see in this team is a major Sash Breloom weakness. Even though Mamoswine is faster and can severely damage it with Ice Shard, you either have to choose between getting Stealth Rock up, making its Sash useless by attacking it, or switch in something to take a big hit. Everything else can't take a Bullet Seed or Rock Tomb and hates Spore as well. I suggest either having a Breloom check/counter like Mandibuzz or Skarmory over Starmie or simply putting Icicle Spear on Mamoswine in place of Endeavor. Endeavor has its uses, but Breloom makes it useless by using Bullet Seed.

252 Atk Mamoswine Icicle Spear (3 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Breloom: 306-360 (116.7 - 137.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
It requires a bit of luck to be able to kill it, but it's worth it imo.

Also for Conkeldurr, having it be able to live a Life Orb Latios's Psyshock is definitely a bonus.

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 196 Def Conkeldurr: 291-346 (82.9 - 98.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
It requires at least 196 Evs in Defense to survive at full health.

Hope this helps!

 

[ThePack]

Nice team!
Analytic Starmie seems pretty redundant given that you have 252+ speed. You could replace it with Natural Cure, as this would give your team a good status absorber, as Pinsir, Conkeldurr and Mamoswine don't appreciate it.

Hope this helps!

 

[Thirdbird]

ThePack Analytic starmie is more useful IMO than natural cure because it activates if your opponent switches out, which is helpful for hitting things that switch for more damage. Also, starmie doesn't care about burns or poison, only paralysis. But are you really going to stay in on an electric type?

To better counter status, I recommend replacing Iron Fist with Guts on Conkeldurr. Now no one can burn your Conk, or else it will get an attack raise.

 

[Nova]

Hey dothedew81

DD sweepers in general such as Zard X and Gyarados look quite annoying for your team. You really have nothing on your team that can live a hit from +1 Zard X and Gyarados can also be an issue if it plays around Conkeldurr and plays its Mega evo well. You said Rotom-W is the most lenient member of your team, I would try out a standard Thundurus over it. Thundurus is pretty much a lifesaver for offensive teams such as your's to be able to priority Thunder Wave fast sweepers and allow them to be revenge killed. This allows Zard X and Gyarados to be revenge killed and you only lost Thundurus and not your entire team. Thundurus also has a lot of damage output to wither down walls for a Pinsir sweep and also get things down so that Gothitelle can OHKO once it traps something.

I would try Life Orb Latias over Starmie. Latias provides a few advantages over Starmie while still providing hazard clearance in the form of Defog. The first advantage is a bulkier Keldeo check. Removing Rotom-W makes Keldeo a bit of an issue as you have nothing to tank Specs Hydro Pumps. The second advantage is a check to Zard Y who hits your team extremely hard with Sun boosted Fire Blasts. Every thing is at least 2HKO'ed by Fire Blast and nothing can outright OHKO back. Lastly, Latias provides Healing Wish support which I have found is amazing for teams based around Mega Pinsir. Teams may have a hard time dealing with Mega Pinsir but sometimes he gets taken low or hit by status and can't successfully sweep. Healing Wish brings him right back up to full and gives him another chance and usually teams are unable to deal with a Mega Pinsir twice. Outside of that, Healing Wish is a great utility move to bring back anything that you need during a battle.

Sets:

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish

 

[dothedew81]

Hey dothedew81

DD sweepers in general such as Zard X and Gyarados look quite annoying for your team. You really have nothing on your team that can live a hit from +1 Zard X and Gyarados can also be an issue if it plays around Conkeldurr and plays its Mega evo well. You said Rotom-W is the most lenient member of your team, I would try out a standard Thundurus over it. Thundurus is pretty much a lifesaver for offensive teams such as your's to be able to priority Thunder Wave fast sweepers and allow them to be revenge killed. This allows Zard X and Gyarados to be revenge killed and you only lost Thundurus and not your entire team. Thundurus also has a lot of damage output to wither down walls for a Pinsir sweep and also get things down so that Gothitelle can OHKO once it traps something.

I would try Life Orb Latias over Starmie. Latias provides a few advantages over Starmie while still providing hazard clearance in the form of Defog. The first advantage is a bulkier Keldeo check. Removing Rotom-W makes Keldeo a bit of an issue as you have nothing to tank Specs Hydro Pumps. The second advantage is a check to Zard Y who hits your team extremely hard with Sun boosted Fire Blasts. Every thing is at least 2HKO'ed by Fire Blast and nothing can outright OHKO back. Lastly, Latias provides Healing Wish support which I have found is amazing for teams based around Mega Pinsir. Teams may have a hard time dealing with Mega Pinsir but sometimes he gets taken low or hit by status and can't successfully sweep. Healing Wish brings him right back up to full and gives him another chance and usually teams are unable to deal with a Mega Pinsir twice. Outside of that, Healing Wish is a great utility move to bring back anything that you need during a battle.

Sets:

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Tried this. Worked remarkably well. Thank you, and thanks to all who helped on this :)

 

[WilliXL]

I have a Mega Pinsir on my team also, and I had just gotten a really cool suggestion.
Switching Return with Frustration allows Mega Pinsir to not be stopped by Scarfed Dittos. Usually Dittos will have Max Happiness, and that allows for them to hit Mega Pinsir quite hard with Return. Using Frustration instead will allow Pinsir to be the only abuser. Just trade your Pinsir around and teach it Frustration.

Otherwise I have two more suggestion to make:

First, Stealth Rocks are a HUGE threat to Mega Pinsir, it completely ruins it. So you do have Starmie as a Rapid Spinner, but making it an offensive Rapid Spinner means that it's very weak to potential Spin-Blockers, and it's Psychic typing makes it weak to Ghost type counters that a Spin Blocker can retaliate with.
So I would suggest a more Defensive Rapid Spinner for your team, because you have to ensure that Hazards clear the field on your side. You could try a Defogger, though that would render Stealth Rocks useless on Mamoswine.
If would run a Mandibuzz over Starmie in this case, since Defog can't be countered and it offers good Defenses, allowing it to stay on the field for longer.

Mandibuzz Set

Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- Toxic

And since the Mandibuzz runs Special Defense, it can act as a great Special Wall. So then I would get rid of the AV on the Conkeldurr, and make it Guts with Flame Orb. This allows Conkeldurr to be a great Status Sponge, and relieve that duty from Rotom-W so that Rotom-W can save its Chesto Berry for when it seriously needs to recover HP. And it can switch out with Mandibuzz or Rotom-W whenever it can't take anymore hits. Having Drain Punch also allows it to recover from the Residual Burn Damage.

Conkeldurr Set

Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch

Anyways, these are just some of my suggestions. I love Mega Pinsir, and I wish you luck on your team!