Pansear Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Nasty Plot doubles Pansear's Special Attack and sets it up for a sweep. Fire Blast is a very powerful STAB option for Pansear and is almost essential on this set. Hidden Power Grass OHKOes a lot of common Pokemon like Omanyte and Onix, as well as 2HKOing other threats like Chinchou. Flame Charge helps Pansear set up even more and outspeed many foes, such as Diglett and common Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Chinchou and Magnemite. Substitute helps Pansear hide from status, avoid damage, and get down to Blaze's activation range. Set Details Pansear's Defense investment lets it take less than 1/2 from Mienfoo's Drain Punch and survive a lot of other physical moves easily. Pansear is given maximum Speed investment to reach a comfortable 17 Speed, which lets it outspeed much of the current metagame and Speed tie with common threats like Onix and Mienfoo. The rest goes into Special Attack along with 30 IVs to maintain Hidden Power Grass. As for items, Eviolite lets Pansear survive many more attacks, but it gives up some power, while Life Orb is used for more power at the cost of the extra bulk. Finally, Blaze is a great ability when used with Life Orb and/or Substitute because when Pansear has less than 1/3 HP, it gains an incredible Special Attack boost. Usage Tips Pansear should be used as a setup sweeper, meaning it should never be sacrificed early-game and shouldn't try to set up on big threats such as Diglett and Carvanha. On the same note, all threats should be defeated before setting up with Pansear. Setting up on weak Pokemon such as Spritzee is beneficial so Pansear doesn't get KOed before a sweep. All in all, giving up Pansear isn't a good idea unless the opponent has many counters to it. Team Options Bulky Grass-types like Ferroseed and Foongus are good against Water-types that threaten Pansear, and Porygon takes care of Carvanha and some other common threats to Pansear. Entry hazard removers and hazard setters are important for keeping Pansear from being whittled down and simultaneously whittling down foes; Drilbur is great for this role. Fast Water-types check Rock-, Ground-, and sometimes even other Water-types. Gothita traps and removes common threats like Fletchling and Timburr, preventing them from being a threat to Pansear. As Pansear can break through a lot of walls, Pokemon such as Download Porygon and Corphish appreciate its help.

Moves Recycle replenishes Pansear's Berry Juice, keeping it alive until it runs out of PP given that Pansear isn't OHKOed or your move isn't predicted. Will-O-Wisp whittles down the foe while Pansear stalls and makes Pansear a somewhat decent physical wall by halving the foe's Attack. Substitute cuts Pansear's own HP to activate Berry Juice, as well as letting it avoid status and wear down burned Pokemon. Flame Charge gives Pansear +1 Speed, letting it outspeed Diglett and common Choice Scarf users as well as giving it a good STAB move. Knock Off could work over Substitute or Will-O-Wisp to cripple bulkier foes, but it struggles for a moveslot. Set Details This EV spread gives Pansear 15 Speed so it can outspeed common Choice Scarf threats as well as the entire unboosted metagame after a Flame Charge. Its Defense and Special Defense stats also have enough investment to let it survive Fletchling's Acrobatics, Abra's Psychic, and Mienfoo's Drain Punch, and it specifically survives Chinchou's Scald and a burned Diglett's Earthquake; both of these Pokemon are big threats to Pansear. Its ability, Blaze, gives it a very good power boost at under 1/3 HP but should not be taken advantage of much, as the whole point of the set is to keep Pansear at a high HP. Berry Juice and Recycle are used in conjunction to stall the opponent out by continually restoring Pansear to full health until the foe faints or runs out of options. 132 Def / 132 SpD / 244 Spe with a Jolly nature is also a good alternate spread to run to outspeed Jolly Pawniard, but it isn't recommended. Usage Tips Never switch in Pansear to a Knock Off user due to it negating Recycle and therefore the entire set. However, if Pansear has consumed its Berry Juice and is faster than the opponent's Pokemon, then it can easily use Recycle, allowing it to take a Knock Off and not worry about losing its important item. It is also recommended to use Pansear late-game when the enemy team has taken a bit of chip damage. Furthermore, Pansear completely walls Ponyta, though it is also walled by it if neither has Toxic. Getting up a Flame Charge is always a very good idea if the opponent has Diglett. Using Substitute to activate Berry Juice and get back to full HP so Pansear can survive certain attacks such as a burned Life Orb Diglett's Earthquake is usually beneficial. Finally, Pansear can sometimes use Will-O-Wisp on the switch of a Pokemon that can OHKO it so it can stall out said Pokemon later in the game. Team Options Bulky Grass-types like Ferroseed and Foongus beat Ground- and Water- types that threaten Pansear, as do fast Water-types like Choice Scarf Chinchou. Slow U-turn or Volt Switch users also help Pansear get in the field. Furthermore, Cottonee checks are very useful, as Pansear hates being Taunted; Fletchling fills both of these roles quite well. Entry hazard removers such as Vullaby and Drilbur stop Pansear from being whittled down every time it switches in while hazards are up. Toxic Spikes users can help Pansear stall by making sure it doesn't have to waste a turn using Will-O-Wisp, although they decrease the effectiveness of Pansear as a physical tank. Pokemon that can punish big threats like Porygon, such as Pawniard and Scraggy, generally make good teammates for Pansear. Finally, Pokemon that appreciate the burning of common threats like Omanyte and other setup sweepers like the support from Pansear.

The premise of this set is simple; come in on a Pokemon Pansear can force out, set up a Nasty Plot, and attempt to sweep. Fire Blast is an insanely powerful STAB attack, while Hidden Power Electric will eliminate the bulky Water-types that may attempt to prevent a sweep. Taunt allows Pansear to disable any attempts for the opponent to use a support move, which may aid Pansear in setting up or prevent it from being crippled by status. A Life Orb enhances the damage output and allows the chances of a sweep being pulled off to greatly improve. Alternatively, Pansear can use Sunny Day to give itself a big boost in Fire Blast without Nasty Plot, while giving it access to single turn Solar Beam and a reduced Water-type weakness. Hidden Power Ground would then be the superior choice over Hidden Power Electric as it rounds out the coverage with Fire Blast and Solar Beam. Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast if you don't want to risk a miss. Chinchou beats Pansear sets that lack Hidden Power Ground or Solar Beam, so a teammate such as Ferroseed should be considered to check it. Ferroseed also has the bonus of being a good answer to Wooper, which can also trouble Pansear without Solar Beam. Diglett outspeeds Pansear, traps it, and OHKOes it with Earthquake, so a Choice Scarf Snover can be used to check it. Lastly, Pansear is somewhat weak to priority moves, which are common on Fighting-type Pokemon, so a Ghost-type Pokemon such as Frillish or Duskull can prove quite useful. Blaze should be used if not using Nasty Plot. However, they are not obtainable together.