Is Pinsir Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Available to all players in Yellow through the Safari Zone and Game Corner. Pinsir has impressive Attack and solid Defense, but Bug moves in Gen 1 are terrible. All that power goes toward Normal-type coverage. Same limitation Scyther has: the stats promise more than the typing delivers.
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 trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Pinsir trades roughly evenly with 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 30. Purchase from the Celadon Game Corner prize counter for 6,500 Coins. 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 15, 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
Yellow Pinsir Locations
Two ways to a Pinsir: a rare Safari Zone walk in the teens to twenties, or a 6,500-Coin prize at the Celadon Game Corner. The coin route skips the Safari time limit if the bug won't show.
2 locations to catch Pinsir
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 3
Badge 4Best Locations to Catch Pinsir in Yellow
Walking and gift encounters at Lv. 15-30 across 3 spots for Pinsir. Sorted by progression so you can see what's reachable at your current point in the game.
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 | |
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Vulpix (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Flareon Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Fearow Normal | C | |
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Pinsir View Nidoking builds →Rock Slide 2x43-51% Poison Sting 2x17-20% | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
 Scyther Bug | C | |
Obtain MethodCeladon City Gift | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Charmeleon Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Route 24 Gift) | ||
 Pidgeotto Normal | C | |
 Butterfree Bug | C | |
 Golbat Poison | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
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
Y Pinsir Best Moveset
MoveSwords Dance into MoveHyper Beam or MoveBody Slam is the game plan, ignoring Bug TermStab entirely because Bug moves threaten nothing in this format. 125 Attack is enormous, but the type that should channel it into damage is competitively worthless. Pure physical power aimed through Normal moves.
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
Grips its prey in its pincers and squeezes hard! It can’t move if it’s cold, so it lives in warm places.
Pinsir Yellow Guide
- Where in the Yellow Safari Zone can I find Pinsir?
See the Locations section above for where to find Pinsir in Yellow.
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 Yellow, but Pinsir does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Pinsir hits 585 BST.
Pinsir costs 6,500 Coins in Yellow. 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 Yellow, 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 · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List