Competitive Information for Pinsir [Sword/Shield]


Bug
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Pinsir? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sword/Shield Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Pinsir is an outstanding Bug-typed Pokemon. It's pretty standard to see Pinsir show up as a Sword/Shield opponent. Pinsir is weak to Fire, Flying, and Rock-typed attacks.
Item: Focus Sash / Choice Band
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- X-Scissor / Bug Bite
- Close Combat / Storm Throw
- Double-Edge / Slash
- Outrage
Physical Sweeper Pinsir (Hyper Cutter)
Pinsir is a phenomenal Physical Sweeper for single battles. It attempts to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Pinsir from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Choice Band will increase the damage of Pinsir's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Hyper Cutter, prevents other pokemon from lowering Pinsir's attack stat stage.
◆ Bug Bite is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Bug-type move (Pinsir steals and eats the target's berry).
◆ Close Combat is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Pinsir's defense and special defense by 1 stage).
◆ Storm Throw is a physical 60-base power Fighting-type move (always results in a critical hit).
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Slash is a physical 70-base power Normal-type move (high critical hit ratio).
◆ Outrage is a physical 120-base power Dragon-type move (lasts 2-3 turns. Confuses your Pinsir afterwards).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is10a7f
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
EVs: 175 Hp / 175 Atk / 158 Spe
Moveset:
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
Pinsir Physical Tank (One Into Two)
Pinsir is a phenomenal Physical Tank for single battles. It's meant to take a great amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Pinsir last longer regaining it's health every turn. With Mold Breaker, Pinsir's moves and their effects ignore the abilities of other pokemon.
◆ Close Combat is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Pinsir's defense and special defense by 1 stage).
◆ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
◆ Swords Dance is a status move (raises your Pinsir's attack by 2 stages).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is11a7f
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Pinsir? These builds have been optimized for Sword/Shield Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Item: Focus Sash / Choice Band
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat / Double-Edge
- X-Scissor
Doubles Physical Sweeper Pinsir (Hyper Cutter)
Pinsir is an outstanding Physical Sweeper for double battles. This moveset attempts to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Focus Sash helps protect Pinsir from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Choice Band will increase the damage of Pinsir's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Hyper Cutter, prevents other pokemon from lowering Pinsir's attack stat stage. Close Combat was added to provide additional threat coverage.
◆ Rock Slide is a physical 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to make the foes flinch).
◆ Close Combat is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Pinsir's defense and special defense by 1 stage).
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ X-Scissor is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Bug-type move that deals a decent amount of damage.
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id10a7f
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Pinsir learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Pinsir can perform in Sword/Shield. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive SS Move and Ability Combos for Pinsir
- Moves: Endure + Flail
- Moves: Endure + Reversal
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Substitute + Reversal
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Double Hit + Item: King's Rock
- Moves with Priority: Quick Attack, Endure, Protect, Helping Hand, Feint
- Moves that Break Screens: Brick Break
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic
Moves that boost Pinsir's stats
- Bulk Up
- Curse
- Harden
- Iron Defense
- Swords Dance
Most notable and possible best moves for Pinsir
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Protect
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Pinsir in Sword and Shield
- Adamant Nature ( 0/252/0/0/0/252 )
- Modest Nature ( 0/0/0/252/0/252 )
- Optimize Pinsir's EV spread for Pokemon Sword and Shield
Related Videos
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Here are the best movesets for Pinsir. Top rated Pinsir Sword/Shield movesets. You can find Pinsir builds Sword/Shield. Pinsir movesets Sword/Shield are listed here. VGC Pinsir Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Pinsir in Sword/Shield along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution