[OVERVIEW]
Thanks to its naturally high Attack, access to Swords Dance, and great ability in Aerilate, Mega Pinsir can act as a dangerous wallbreaker in the metagame. Aerilate-boosted priority in Quick Attack lets Mega Pinsir function as a pretty effective revenge killer that is able to pick off threats like Volcarona and weakened Serperior. Also, Mega Pinsir's Speed tier gives it an edge over other, slower wallbreakers like Mega Medicham, Mega Mawile, and Mega Heracross. Unfortunately, Mega Pinsir's defensive typing is terrible, giving it a 4x weakness to Stealth Rock. The omnipresence of Zapdos, Rotom-W, Tapu Koko, and Celesteela makes Mega Pinsir further struggle in the metagame not only because they take advantage of Mega Pinsir's typing but also because Mega Pinsir can't run all the coverage moves necessary to hit them super effectively. Additionally, while Mega Pinsir's Speed tier isn't bad, it leaves Mega Pinsir outpaced by common threats like Tornadus-T and Greninja. Because of these factors, Mega Pinsir requires a lot of support to function properly and is heavily outclassed by other wallbreakers like Mega Mawile, Garchomp, and Mega Medicham.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Return
move 3: Quick Attack
move 4: Close Combat
item: Pinsirite
ability: Hyper Cutter
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance enables Mega Pinsir to pose a threat to opposing defensive backbones and clean up weakened slower teams. Quick Attack lets Mega Pinsir be a revenge killer and eases its matchup against faster teams, dealing with threats like Mega Alakazam and Mega Lopunny at +2. Close Combat means that Steel- and Rock-types like Celesteela, Heatran, Magearna, and Tyranitar as well as Rotom-W aren't untouchable for Mega Pinsir.
Set Details
========
Hyper Cutter is the pre-Mega ability of choice because it allows Mega Pinsir to bypass Intimidate on the turn it Mega Evolves. A Jolly nature is preferred to Adamant because outpacing the likes of Garchomp and Tapu Lele is more valuable than additional firepower.
Usage Tips
========
Mega Pinsir's primary task is to soften up opposing defensive backbones early- to mid-game. Early-game, just attacking with Mega Pinsir without setting up may be useful to chip down its defensive answers like Rotom-W and Celesteela into range of Mega Pinsir's boosted attacks. If Pokemon that are faster than Mega Pinsir are weakened enough to be in range of boosted Quick Attack, be mindful of scenarios where Mega Pinsir can pick up a Swords Dance boost and clean up the opposing team. Don't set up with Mega Pinsir if there are Pokemon on the opposing team that pose an immediate threat to it, such as Zapdos and Tapu Koko. You should play aggressively against opposing Stealth Rock setters in order to keep said entry hazard off your side of the field for Mega Pinsir. Note that Mega Pinsir is very vulnerable to getting chipped down because of its horrible defensive typing, so try to bring it in through aggressive double switches, via Volt Switch and U-turn, or on Pokemon that are easy to take advantage of, such as Tangrowth and Kartana locked on Leaf Blade.
Team Options
========
Due to its nature, Mega Pinsir fits best on fast offensive teams that enjoy its wallbreaking capabilities and can give it proper support. Entry hazard removal from Pokemon such as Rotom-W, Tapu Fini, and Landorus-T is mandatory alongside Mega Pinsir due to its weakness to Stealth Rock. Moreover, two Defog users are frequently seen on Mega Pinsir builds. Mega Pinsir appreciates teammates such as Rockium Z Garchomp and Rockium Z Landorus-T that can break its answers like Zapdos and Celesteela down. Landorus-T can also run Defog to further help Mega Pinsir. Magnezone is a great partner to Mega Pinsir because it traps and eliminates Celesteela and Ferrothorn, getting off some pressure from Mega Pinsir. Additionally, Magnezone can draw in bulky Grass-types, which Mega Pinsir easily takes advantage of. Other Pokemon that tend to invite in bulky Grass-types, such as the aforementioned Rotom-W and Tapu Fini as well as Ash-Greninja, make for good partners to Mega Pinsir too. Mega Pinsir can also fit on hyper offensive teams, especially Sticky Web-based ones. As such, suicide leads like Excadrill, Greninja, Ribombee, and Araquanid are good teammates for Mega Pinsir on this archetype, as they set up hazards that help Mega Pinsir do its job more effectively. Excadrill is an especially notable suicide lead to pair with Mega Pinsir because it provides hazard control in the form of Rapid Spin.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Earthquake can be used over Close Combat to hit Steel-types like Magearna and Jirachi harder as well as KO Tapu Koko on the switch. However, being unable to hit Rotom-W and Celesteela is undesirable. Feint has merit over Quick Attack in outprioritizing Ash-Greninja's Water Shuriken, but Feint's damage output is worse, making Mega Pinsir a less effective revenge killer.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types**: Pokemon like Tapu Koko and Rotom-W are capable of eating Mega Pinsir's STAB moves and scare it off with their super effective STAB moves. However, the former can be chipped down by repeated Close Combats, while the latter must be wary of Earthquake on the switch. Zapdos is an especially notable counter to Mega Pinsir because it threatens Mega Pinsir with a possible paralysis from Static and fears only the rare Stone Edge.
**Steel-types**: The likes of Celesteela, Magearna, and Jirachi resist Mega Pinsir's STAB moves but don't enjoy taking a Close Combat or, if not named Celesteela, Earthquake.
**Faster Threats**: Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Greninja outpace Mega Pinsir and can deal heavy damage to it, though they can't switch into Mega Pinsir directly. Also, Mega Pinsir inflicts much damage on them with a boosted Quick Attack.
**Psychic Terrain**: Offensive teams featuring Tapu Lele are very troublesome for Mega Pinsir, as Psychic Terrain prevents it from using Quick Attack against grounded targets.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Egor, 439341]]
- Earlier versions by: [[Niadev, 282732]]
- Quality checked by: [[Leo, 328915], [GMars, 273636], [Jordy, 395754]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Fireflame479, 231476], [Rabia, 336073]]
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