Is Pinsir Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Bug Catching Contest encounter in National Park. Bug-type with AbilityMold Breaker ignoring opposing abilities. Strong Attack benefits from the physical/special split giving Bug moves a physical category. Limited Bug typing keeps the matchup spread narrow.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's team hits Pinsir's weaknesses hard.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up 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 has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Janine's team.
Pinsir resists most of Sabrina's coverage and hits back hard.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Pinsir resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Pinsir in the National Park (walking, Lv 13-14, rare). Pre-National Dex.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- LV 30BugX-ScissorPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- LV 35NormalThrashPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 52FightingSuperpowerPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
HeartGold & SoulSilver Pinsir Locations
Pinsir is a one-location rare, same single spot Scyther haunts, with a wide teens-to-late-20s level spread. The two beetles share that footprint, so a Headbutt session there can turn up either one.
1 location to catch Pinsir
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3Best Locations to Catch Pinsir in HeartGold & SoulSilver
How to Get Shiny Pinsir in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Pinsir clashes through the National Park, but breeding it Masuda-style is the quicker route to a shiny. Compare Shiny Pinsir odds across every game
Shiny Pinsir Evolution
Does Not EvolveHeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Pinsir Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
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 | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
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 HeartGold & SoulSilver 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
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
 Scyther Bug | C | |
 Magmar Fire | C | |
 Flareon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Golbat Poison | C | |
 Quilava Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Noctowl Normal | C | |
 Chatot Normal | C | |
 Fearow Normal | C | |
 Farfetch'd Normal | C | |
 Slugma Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodViolet City Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Slugma builds →Fire Blast 2x101-120%KO Rock Tomb 2x17-21% | ||
 Numel FireGround | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Numel builds →Fire Blast 2x97-116%KO Rock Tomb 2x23-27% | ||
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter | ||
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.
HGSS Pinsir Best Moveset
125 Attack behind physical Bug and Fighting coverage makes the moveset one of the hardest-hitting Bug types available. AbilityMold Breaker ignores defensive abilities like Levitate and Sturdy. 85 Speed is solid. 65 HP and single Bug typing limit defensive value.
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.
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
All 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
With its pincer horns, it digs burrows to sleep in at night. In the morning, damp soil clings to its body.
It swings its long pincer horns wildly to attack. During cold periods, it hides deep in forests.
Pinsir HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in HeartGold & SoulSilver, but Pinsir does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Pinsir hits 600 BST.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Pinsir as a wallbreaker. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, 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 HeartGold & SoulSilver, 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
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