Moveset e set competitivi di Pineco

Moves Set up Stealth Rock to break Focus Sashes and to threaten Flying-types which are immune to Spikes. Spikes deal big damage to grounded Pokemon every time they switch in. Rapid Spin is for removing entry hazards set by opposing Pokemon. Explosion can do a large amount of damage while blocking Rapid Spin and Defog, but generally, Pineco is too slow to take advantage of it. Payback can be preferred in order to hit Ghost-Types. Set Details The Sturdy + Berry Juice combination allows Pineco to survive at least one hit and set up one entry hazard, if it doesn't get its item Knocked Off. 236 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature are preferred in order to deal a good amount of damage, 236 Speed EVs help set up more entry hazards against slower Pokemon, and 36 Defense EVs are a helpful filler. Usage Tips Pineco has to be used as a lead, because if it is switched into an attack, its Sturdy could be lost. Stealth Rock is usually the first move to use, while Spikes is used to hurt less offensive teams more. Rapid Spin is used against the other common leads such as Dwebble or Tirtouga to remove entry hazards and break Sturdy. Explosion is used in order to prevent the majority of the setup sweepers from boosting their stats after you've set up at least one layer of Spikes or Stealth Rock. Team Options Like every entry hazard lead, Pineco needs a spinblocker as a switch-in for Rapid Spin. Pumpkaboo, Phantump and Frillish are the best choices for this role. Cottonee with Encore could be a nice teammate in order to deter opposing Pokemon from setting up on Pineco and sweeping. Pawniard deters Defoggers because it gets an Attack bonus from the move thanks to Defiant.

This set takes advantage of Pineco's great physical bulk and support movepool. Pineco can easily switch in on a physical attack, and then proceed to set up entry hazards or spin them away. Stealth Rock is the primary choice of hazard because it strips common Rock-weak Pokemon, such as Snover and Ponyta, of 25% of their HP. Spikes can be used instead of Stealth Rock, as Stealth Rock is a common move and can probably be set up by another member of your team. Rapid Spin is a valuable asset to Pineco's movepool as it gets rid of entry hazards the opponent has set up, which is useful for supporting the aforementioned Rock-weak Pokemon should you carry them on your own team. Payback hits Ghost-type Pokemon, such as Gastly, for super effective damage, and prevents them from completely walling Pineco. Protect is an option for scouting the opponent's attacks, and can potentially thwart attempts to Trick it a Choice item. It is also useful for gaining an additional turn of damage from hail, sandstorm, or poison. However, be wary of Pokemon with access to setup moves, as they can take advantage of Protect. Finally, Bug Bite steals Oran Berries, which are commonly used in Little Cup; by doing so, Pineco can replenish its HP and continue to support the team. Keep in mind that with the advent of Eviolite, Oran Berries are not as common as they once were. Sturdy acts like a Focus Sash, and ensures that Pineco has at least one turn to set up entry hazards or use Rapid Spin. The EVs and Eviolite ensure that Pineco is as bulky as possible, and the remainder are invested in Attack to add some power. Toxic Spikes is an option that can poison all grounded Pokemon; it can be used in conjunction with Protect to increase the amount of poison damage that the opposing Pokemon takes. Sweepers who appreciate opponents weakened by entry hazards, such as Misdreavus, make good partners for Pineco. Fire-type Pokemon such as Ponyta, Litwick, and Houndour can absorb Fire-type attacks aimed at Pineco, and appreciate the Rapid Spin support that Pineco provides. Litwick can additionally act as a spinblocker for Pineco. Houndour, in addition to possessing Flash Fire, can also take out the Ghost-types that block Rapid Spin. However, it cannot switch in against Frillish due to the threat of Surf. Stunky is a good teammate as well because of its ability to trap and kill Ghost-types; its lack of weaknesses to Water and Fighting gives it distinct advantages over Houndour as a trapper. Pineco's rather poor Special Defense means that special walls such as Munchlax deserve a mention; they can take the special attacks aimed at Pineco, while Pineco can take the physical attacks aimed at them in return.

This set's purpose is solely to set up Stealth Rock and multiple layers of Spikes, then fire off a life-threatening Explosion. This moveset utilizes two forms of entry hazards, Stealth Rock and Spikes, in order to rack up as much passive damage as possible on the enemy team. Bug Bite can net Pineco extra healing outside of its own Oran Berry, as well as stripping its opponents of theirs. This moveset can be considered to be Pineco's trademark, since Pineco is the only Pokemon in the Little Cup metagame with access to Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Explosion together. Oran Berry is essential to increase Pineco's staying power, so it can set up as many entry hazards as possible. The EVs, in conjunction with an Impish nature, maximize Pineco's physical bulk, while the extra point in Attack increases the power of Pineco's Explosion. Good teammates for this set are Pokemon that enjoy having weakened opponents, due to entry hazards turning 3HKOs into 2HKOs and 2HKOs into OHKOs. A good example of this would be Carvanha. Carvanha can sponge a Fire-type attack aimed at Pineco, and with its deadly attacking capabilities, inflict a lot of damage to a weakened team. In addition, with three layers of Spikes, a Naughty Carvanha has a 33% chance to OHKO standard Munchlax with Crunch, with that number increased to 83% with Stealth Rock also in play. Also, pseudo-hazers make great partners to this set; unfortunately, Pokemon with Roar and Whirlwind are uncommon in Little Cup.

The main function of this set is to support the team using Pineco's entry hazards while acting as a physical tank in combination with Pineco's high Defense stat. Generally the most successful strategy is to switch Pineco into a resisted attack, such as a Choice-locked Earthquake, and spin away the opponent's entry hazards or set up its own. The moves on this set are quite simple. Spikes is the primary choice for entry hazards, because fewer Pokemon have access to it, but Stealth Rock can also be used if it benefits your team more. Rapid Spin is a valuable weapon in Pineco's arsenal, allowing your Pokemon that are weak to Stealth Rock, such as Mantyke and Houndour, to switch in without losing one-quarter (or more) of their health. Bug Bite eats Oran Berries commonly seen on defensive Pokemon, such as Munchlax and Bronzor, which allows Pineco to restore its HP and continue its job. The last moveslot is a matter of personal preference. Payback is the recommended attack in order to prevent Gastly and other Ghost-types from endlessly walling Pineco. Protect can be used to scout your opponent's attacks--namely Trick and Choiced attacks--and potentially rack up another turn of sandstorm or hail damage. Oran Berry is the recommended item for this moveset to increase Pineco's longevity. The EVs, in conjunction with an Impish nature, maximize Pineco's physical bulk, with the rest thrown into Attack for an extra bite behind Pineco's attacks. Pineco does not need to invest much in its Attack stat simply because its goal isn't to deal direct damage to the other team. Instead, it attempts to passively weaken the opponent with residual damage from Spikes, Stealth Rock, or sandstorm/hail damage in conjunction with Protect. Toxic Spikes can be used with Protect on this set, which allows it to stall and rack up residual poison damage. This puts an effective timer on sweepers that use set-up moves, such as Totodile and Chinchou. Good teammates for this set include Pokemon that have high Speed and enjoy having entry hazards weakening the opponent. For example, Choice Scarf sweepers such as Machop, Mankey, and Wailmer all enjoy having weakened opponents. Also, set-up Pokemon, such as Totodile and Chinchou, enjoy having entry hazards on the opponent's side of the field to turn 3HKOs into 2HKOs and 2HKOs into OHKOs.

Pineco is the premier Spikes setter in GSC NU, a massively game changing asset that defines the ability to make progress and punish switches. While running Pineco may feel like playing 5 Pokemon against 6 at times, the advantage that Spikes brings is unparalleled and makes Pineco a Pokemon highly recommended for use on most teams, and this impact is typically lessened by the presence of Pineco on both sides. Pineco has the ability to compress Rapid Spin support into its own movepool. This should not be Pineco's priority in most matches compared to setting up Spikes, but is an option it can use if given a free turn. Explosion is a fantastic tool that lets Pineco apply pressure when given a free opportunity, prevent itself from being set up fodder to Substitute users like Dugtrio and Primeape, and threaten weakened Curse sweepers like Wigglytuff. Toxic is the go to 4th move on Pineco to put pressure on opposing Pineco and stop it from switching in and either forcing a mutually negative draw or an Explosion speed tie attempt, and also lets Pineco apply meaningful pressure to a range of switch-ins still like Xatu and Rapidash to force them to use Rest later. Reflect is an option to instead ease switch-ins against aforementioned Pokemon such as Dugtrio and Primeape without having to use Explosion. Hidden Powater Water is another option to make Pineco harder to spinblock for Graveler, although it will still be forced out in the short term and Pineco struggles to find more set up opportunities often. Pineco's item choice depends on its position in a team. Leftovers is the standard item to give it more longevity and lets it switch into Pokemon like Stantler slightly easier. Miracle Berry is a solid option in the lead slot, however, as it lets Pineco avoid being slept by lead Stantler and Persian carying Hypnosis, so that it can easily set up Spikes and threaten an Explosion. When not run in the lead slot, Pineco finds its opportunities to switch in typically against Pokemon such as Dugtrio, Stantler, and Wigglytuff, as well as the more uncommon passive Pokemon such as Porygon and Gloom. Pineco must be careful about getting too greedy with trying to Rapid Spin against Wigglytuff too if not paired with a counter such as Sudowoodo, however, as it will give it enough Curse boosts to easily negate Explosion, the same can happen when Pineco gets Paralysed trying to switch into Body Slam. Pineco is a near mandatory fit on all non-stall teams due to the influence Spikes have over GSC NU. Pineco intrinsically pairs best with offensive Pokemon that appreciate having their switch-ins worn down. Xatu and Fearow are a prime example of this, as their checks such as Chinchou, Octillery, Dewgong, and Weezing find it harder to reliably switch in constantly. Other Pokemon such as Fearow and Octillery also appreciate having checks such as Dewgong and Chinchou worn down more. Dugtrio also appreciates Spikes wearing down Octillery and Dewgong and can set up on Rapidash and Ninetales that try to take Pineco out. More defensively orientated offensive threats such as Dewgong, Rapidash, and Magnemite can still make full use of Spikes to become less easily answered by Pokemon such as Octillery and Dugtrio, and can find lots of opportunities to wear down these Pokemon with their ability to check POkemon such as Xatu. Graveler is a unique teammate that can pair very well with Pineco on specific teams, as it ensures that one team has an enormous advantage in the hazards matchup by removing Spikes on Graveler's side while ensuring Spikes on the other. This is a potent advantage but Graveler can force more specific team structures in the process by stacking weaknesses to Pokemon like Xatu and Octillery, but in return provides one of the best Fearow answers. Sweepers such as Stantler and Wigglytuff appreciate the Spikes support to better break through checks like Weezing and Octillery.