Is Pinsir Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Bug Catching Contest. Pinsir's Attack is impressive but Bug moves are still weak in Gen 2. All that power goes to Normal-type coverage. Same limitation as Gen 1, slightly better Bug options don't change the outcome.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Morty's typing presses Pinsir's defenses.
Chuck's typing presses Pinsir's defenses.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Janine's team hits Pinsir's weaknesses hard.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Blaine's team hits Pinsir's weaknesses hard.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Koga's team hits Pinsir's weaknesses hard.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Lance's team hits Pinsir's weaknesses hard.
Catchable
Catch Pinsir in the National Park (walking, Lv 13-14, rare). Bug-Catching Contest only, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, once a day.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 13)
- LV 13NormalVise GripPower 55Accuracy 100%PP 30
- After Falkner
- HM01NormalCutPower 50Accuracy 95%PP 30Ilex Forest
- After Bugsy
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- LV 19FightingSeismic TossPower 50Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- LV 37FightingSubmissionPower 80Accuracy 80%PP 25
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner
Gold & Silver Pinsir Locations
Two rare encounters at one location, both in the low teens. That is every Pinsir in Gold and Silver, so expect to wade through the grass a long while before one finally shows itself.
1 location to catch Pinsir
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3Best Locations to Catch Pinsir in Gold & Silver
How to Get Shiny Pinsir in Gold & Silver
Pinsir makes its home only in the National Park's tall grass, so every battle there is your lone shot at the shine. Compare Shiny Pinsir odds across every game
Shiny Pinsir Evolution
Does Not EvolveGold & Silver Shiny Pinsir Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Breed w/ Shiny Parent, about 1 in 64 on each try.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breed w/ Shiny Parent: Eggs inherit stats from a shiny parent, so about 1 in 64 hatch shiny. A shiny Ditto helps every egg, and any other shiny parent (the red Gyarados works) helps only eggs of the opposite gender.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 7-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 19-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 45-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 147-- | -- |
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 Gold & Silver 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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
What is Pinsir Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Pinsir
 Magmar Fire | C | |
 Quilava Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Quilava builds →Fire Blast 2x112-132%KO Rollout 2x15-19% | ||
 Growlithe Fire | A | |
 Golbat Poison | B | |
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Throw 2x47-56% Fire Punch 2x27-32% | ||
 Vulpix Fire | B | |
 Fearow Normal | C | |
 Scyther Bug | B | |
 Noctowl Normal | C | |
 Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
 Pidgeotto Normal | D | |
 Geodude RockGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Geodude builds →Rock Throw 2x40-48% Fire Blast 2x40-48% | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Butterfree Bug | C | |
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 2 egg moves worth looking into. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Pinsir easily with 23 breeding partners from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Flail, Fury Attack to offspring.
GS Pinsir Best Moveset
MoveSwords Dance doubles the massive 125 Attack, and physical moves hit devastatingly hard after a single boost. Bug TermStab remains worthless offensively, so the moves lean on Normal coverage instead. Held ItemLeftovers sustains through setup. Physical force that bypasses the typing entirely.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Swords Dance
- Body Slam
- Hidden Power Ground
- Submission
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Pinsir. TMs unlock Normal and Fighting coverage and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Fury Cutter into something with actual range.
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.
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
16 of 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
With its horns, it digs burrows to sleep in at night. In the morning, damp soil clings to its body.
Swings its long antlers wildly to attack. During cold periods, it hides deep in forests.
Pinsir Gold & Silver Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in Gold & Silver, but Pinsir does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Pinsir hits 600 BST.
In Gold & Silver, use Pinsir as a wallbreaker. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,
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 · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List