Is Pinsir Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Caught in the Safari Zone, Blue version only. Pinsir has incredible Attack and solid Defense, but Bug moves in Gen 1 are terrible. All that power goes toward Normal-type physical moves instead. Similar problem to Scyther: the stats look great but the typing holds it back.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Pinsir has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Agatha's team hits Pinsir's weaknesses hard.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Purchase
Pinsir can be purchased in Celadon City at Lv 20. 2,500 Coins. Purchase from the Celadon Game Corner prize counter. Coins can be bought at the counter or won at the slot machines.
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- TM17FightingSubmissionPower 80Accuracy 80%PP 25Celadon Department Store
- After Erika
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Fuchsia City
- LV 49NormalSlashPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 54NormalSwords DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 30
Catch Pinsir
Catch Pinsir in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 23, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- TM17FightingSubmissionPower 80Accuracy 80%PP 25Celadon Department Store
- After Erika
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Fuchsia City
- LV 49NormalSlashPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 54NormalSwords DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 30
Red & Blue Pinsir Locations
Buy Pinsir for 2,500 Game Corner coins or catch it rare on two Safari Zone spots. It is Blue-exclusive, the counterpart to Red's Scyther, so Red trainers trade across for the beetle.
2 locations to catch Pinsir
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6Best Locations to Catch Pinsir in Red & Blue
Pinsir isn't a quick catch. 3 walking and gift encounters from Lv. 20-28 with slim rates across the board. Commit to one spot instead of jumping between areas.
Pinsir Weakness
Pinsir's Bug typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire, Poison, 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, Poison, Flying, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Ground |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Pinsir Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Pinsir
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Fearow Normal | C | |
 Flareon Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidoran♂ (male) (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Nidoking builds →Rock Slide 2x44-52% Poison Sting 2x18-21% | ||
 Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidoran♀ (female) (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Nidoqueen builds →Rock Slide 2x40-47% Poison Sting 2x14-18% | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Pidgeotto Normal | C | |
 Golbat Poison | C | |
 Weedle BugPoison | D | |
Pinsir Evolutions
Pinsir is a standalone Bug type at 485 total. It can't breed, which makes catching one the only real option. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Pinsir Best Moveset
125 Attack wasted on terrible Bug moves. The best offensive option is MoveSwords Dance into MoveHyper Beam or MoveBody Slam, ignoring Bug TermStab entirely. Massive physical power with no type moves to channel it through.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Swords Dance
- Hyper Beam
- Submission
- Bind
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 Bug STAB into something with actual range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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 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 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 16 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
If it fails to crush the victim in its pincers, it will swing it around and toss it hard.
Pinsir Red & Blue Guide
- Where in the Red & Blue Safari Zone can I find Pinsir?
See the Locations section above for where to find Pinsir in Red & Blue.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Pinsir from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Pinsir easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Mega Evolution isn't available in Red & Blue, but Pinsir does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Pinsir hits 585 BST.
Pinsir costs 2,500 Coins in Blue. Earn coins by playing the slot machines on the Game Corner floor or buying them at the counter (1,000 coins for ₽10,000).
In Red & Blue, 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 · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List