Is Pinsir Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Pearl-exclusive through postgame routes. AbilityMold Breaker is new in Gen 4 and ignores abilities like Levitate and Sturdy. Bug/physical attacker with raw power. Postgame timing means Pinsir never fights a Gym Leader, but the Battle Tower appreciates Mold Breaker.
Pinsir resists most of Roark's coverage and hits back hard.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Crasher Wake's team.
Pinsir resists most of Fantina's coverage and hits back hard.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Pinsir resists most of Candice's coverage and hits back hard.
Pinsir resists most of Volkner's coverage and hits back hard.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Aaron's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Jupiter's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Pinsir on Route 229 (walking, Lv 52, rare).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 52)
- LV 52BugX-ScissorPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 52FightingSuperpowerPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 52NormalThrashPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Gardenia
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Diamond & Pearl Pinsir Locations
Pinsir is the Pearl-side counterpart to Scyther, a lone rare catch on one postgame route at level 52. Diamond players see Scyther on that same route, so the version you own decides which bug you get.
1 location to catch Pinsir
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Best Locations to Catch Pinsir in Diamond & Pearl
How to Get Shiny Pinsir in Diamond & Pearl
Pinsir clashes through the Route 229 grass in Pearl, where a PokeRadar chain drops its shiny odds to 1 in 200. Compare Shiny Pinsir odds across every game
Shiny Pinsir Evolution
Does Not EvolveDiamond & Pearl Shiny Pinsir Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is PokeRadar Chain at full boosts, about 1 in 200 on each try. Tune it below.
PokeRadar Chain: Chain shaking-grass patches without breaking the combo. The rate peaks at a chain of 40.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 22-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 58-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 139-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 460-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in Diamond & Pearl with Pinsir preloaded.
Pinsir Weakness
Pinsir's Bug typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire, Flying, and Rock. Pinsir's physical bulk (base 100 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Flying, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Ground |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Pinsir Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Pinsir
 Heatran FireSteel | S | |
Obtain MethodStark Mountain Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Heatran builds →Overheat 2x189-222%KO Ancient Power 2x55-65% | ||
 Infernape FireFighting | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chimchar (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Infernape builds →Overheat 2x156-184%KO Stone Edge 2x56-67% Aerial Ace 2x34-41% | ||
 Skarmory Steel | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Skarmory builds →Fly 2x61-72% Rock Slide 2x34-41% | ||
 Staraptor Normal | B | |
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Camerupt builds →Eruption 2x168-198%KO Stone Edge 2x55-65% | ||
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x102-120%KO Fire Blast 2x47-55% | ||
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Arcanine builds →Overheat 2x151-178%KO Aerial Ace 2x36-43% | ||
 Honchkrow Dark | B | |
 Drifblim Ghost | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Drifloon (Valley Windworks Interact Encounter) | ||
 Armaldo RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Oreburgh City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Armaldo builds →Stone Edge 2x98-116%KO Aerial Ace 2x40-47% | ||
 Rapidash Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Rapidash builds →Flare Blitz 2x98-116%KO Bounce 2x47-55% | ||
 Magmar Fire | C | |
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Oreburgh City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Kabutops builds →Stone Edge 2x91-108%KO Aerial Ace 2x37-44% | ||
Pinsir Evolutions
Pinsir is what you get. No evolutions, but it breeds through one egg group with a decent partner pool. Its eggs take an average time to hatch. It's got 7 egg moves worth looking into. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Pinsir easily with 48 breeding partners from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Close Combat, False Swipe, Feint and 4 more to offspring.
DP Pinsir Best Moveset
125 Attack is enormous for a Bug type, and AbilityMold Breaker is new this generation, ignoring defensive abilities like AbilityLevitate and AbilitySturdy when attacking. MoveX-Scissor is now physical and actually works with that Attack stat. The moveset hits hard but 85 Speed often isn't quite fast enough.
Best Build
Pinsir best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset
- X Scissor
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Close Combat and False Swipe from the egg pool give Pinsir something extra. Pair those with X-Scissor for STAB and Normal and Fighting coverage and more for reach, and the kit fills out nicely.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
37 of 39 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It grips prey with its pincers until the prey is torn in half. What it can’t tear, it tosses far.
Pinsir Diamond & Pearl Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in Diamond & Pearl, but Pinsir does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Pinsir hits 600 BST.
In Diamond & Pearl, use Pinsir as a wallbreaker. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,
For Diamond & Pearl, build your team around Victreebel, Kecleon, and Rapidash. These have the highest co-usage rates with Pinsir in competitive formats. They cover each other's weaknesses.
For Diamond & Pearl, run Jolly on Pinsir. +Speed is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the wallbreaker role.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Red & Blue, Pinsir has appeared in 20 titles over 9 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 6, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORASMega
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Pinsir.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List