Pinsir
Rexluctationus balthus familiaris
Overview
Pinsir, alongside scyther and heracross, is one of the three Japanese battling bugs that have been introduced to much of the world. Pinsir are not native to Japan and instead hail from Central America. Upon their introduction in 1880, it became popular to settle disputes in duels between large bugs. The bugs were difficult to obtain and often expensive, making them a status symbol. Risking a rare or imported bug's health was also a more serious affair than a standard pokémon battle. If a trainer was unwilling to risk one in a duel, they were clearly not particularly committed to their cause.
The bug duels were also popular because all three species are extraordinarily powerful. Pinsir was the slowest and bulkiest of the three, able to withstand multiple slashes or horn attacks without serious injury. They were very common on their early competitive circuits before fading as better tanks became available.
Today, pinsir are a problematic invasive species on Alola. They are prone to leeling trees to create more open forests. Adult males will also try to kill vikavolt that enter their territory during breeding season as they see the beetles as a threat.
Pinsir are a good choice for trainers who want a powerful physical threat without complicated husbandry requirements. Just be aware that they aren't particularly social creatures. Their trainer is tolerated more than loved and even temporary lapses in amenities can cause irreparable rifts with wild born specimens.
Physiology
Pinsir are classified as pure bug-types. There has been a campaign for over a century to add a secondary fighting-type. Pinsir can learn many fighting-type moves, are exceptionally strong, and rely upon grapples and other technique based attacks in combat. However, they have no particular weakness to fairy or psychic attacks. Wild populations are often pacifists with strength contests during mating season. Their battle instincts mostly stem from a century of selective breeding.
Pinsir are large beetles with a brown carapace and two horns. The horns can move independently and can squeeze together with enough force to snap trees and spines. There are a variety of sharp, thorn-like protrusions on the horns that dig into anything gripped by them. The weight of pinsir's carapace armor prevents them from flying with the wings on their back, although they can be used for intimidation or to slow falls.
Contrary to popular belief, pinsir do not have a gigantic vertical slit for a mouth lined with sharp teeth. Pinsir do not have teeth at all and instead rely on ridges in the mandible. The apparent mouth is simply a black marking on the chest with teeth patterns to intimidate away would be-predators.
Pinsir can grow to heights of seventy inches, or fifty-five inches excluding the horns. Captive male specimens routinely weigh nearly 200 pounds, although wild specimens rarely clear 120 pounds. Females are about 20% smaller than males on average. Wild lifespans are approximately five to six years. The average lifespan of captive specimens is closer to three years, although some specimens can live as long as ten years.
Behavior
Pinsir are almost exclusively herbivorous. They will eat tree sap, nuts, roots, tubers, leaves, and fruits. Pinsir will fell entire trees to reach higher foods or make the forest easier to maneuver. Their horns can also be used to pierce the bark and access tree sap, which pinsir will lap up. Their mouth can form a reliable seal around a piercing to drink the sap. Pinsir will also dig into the ground to access roots and tubers. They are versatile pokémon that can adapt to a wide range of foods and habitats.
At night adult pinsir will return to their burrows. Pinsir prefer to drive off other large burrowers and steal their home, but can and will dig their own as needed. Juveniles prefer to sleep in tree cavities, safe from non-arboreal predators. Former toucannon nests are popular dwellings. Juvenile pinsir are not territorial and will share largest cavities. Up to fifty hatchlings will share a hollow.
Adults are less territorial than their reputation suggests. They are unwilling to share their burrow but will tolerate pinsir living just three feet from their burrow's entrance. Some pinsir have even intentionally caved in parts of larger tunnels to segment them into multiple burrows, each with their own occupant. Pinsir will forage side by side as long as there is enough food for all individuals. They will even band together to deal with larger threats.
Competitive behavior can be observed around the mating season. Even this is more for show than violence. Pinsir engage in ritualized contests of strength where two males will try to overpower the other and lift them with their horns. Losers are almost never seriously injured. The winner is more likely to attract a mate.
Pinsir can tolerate most insects in their range and are even known to socialize with heracross. For reasons unknown they despise vikavolt. The two species will attack each other on sight.
Husbandry
Despite being large exotic insects, pinsir are relatively easy to care for. The core of their diet can be fed fruits, root vegetables, and leafy greens. They are particularly fond of coconuts. Ensure that all vegetation provided has not been treated with insecticides. Tree sap is somewhat more cumbersome to obtain but can still be purchased from many grass-type specialty stores. Pinsir do not need to drink water and can get all necessary fluids through their diet.
The key problem with pinsir care is that they are large creatures that can eat up to ten pounds of plant matter a day. Trainers keeping them on the trail for an extended trip will need a pack pokémon or frequent stops to resupply. Pinsir can be destructive in their feeding habits and are rarely allowed to forage along trails.
Some pinsir are more ball tolerant than others. On one extreme, about 15% of captive pinsir are fine being in their ball constantly outside of battle and feedings. On the other, roughly 10% of pinsir will become enraged if the ball is used for nearly any reason. Most are in the middle. They are most tolerant of their pokéball at night when they would ordinarily be resting. Stationary trainers that can provide their pinsir with a burrow should do so as most specimens find this more comfortable than their pokéball.
Pinsir do not require a great deal of enrichment. Battle and training for it will usually suffice. Non-battling specimens should receive challenges with some food items that require them to use their horns in novel ways to get their meal.
While they have relatively few wants, be aware that pinsir are not above using violence if they believe their needs are not being met. Having a translator on hand can help deal with problems before they arise. Otherwise, pay careful attention to the pokémon's moods and try to anticipate potential issues.
Pinsir are too large for most predators to attack. They are also herbivores that pose little risk to teammates, some grass-types aside. They fit onto most teams without issue. Do not put them on the same team as vikavolt.
Illness
Pinsir are hardy creatures that rarely get sick. When they do their diseases can be difficult to treat with conventional medicine. Many medicines are lethal to insects. Blissey eggs and other elemental healing options are usually better.
The most common pinsir ailment worldwide is hypothermia. Pinsir prefer to hibernate when temperatures drop below fifty degrees Fahrenheit. If they are not able to do so they may die from exposure to the cold. Alolan pinsir do not usually hibernate. Prolonged cold temperatures can be fatal. This is rarely a problem outside of Mauna Lanakila. Trainers climbing to the League should refrain from using their pinsir in battle whenever possible.
Molting can be used to recover from damage to the carapace. Pinsir are loathe to do so and will only molt if the carapace has sustained severe damage. Smaller wounds, even in great numbers, will not trigger molting. Pinsir even seem to take pride in minor damage to their exoskeleton. This may explain part of their reluctance to molt. The rest can be attributed to vulnerability and increased caloric requirements. Pinsir must simultaneously eat more and avoid all combat during the molting process. This makes them extremely vulnerable to predation. Other pinsir will often help a molting individual in the wild.
Larval pinsir are far more prone to illness than adults. They should be inspected at least every three days for signs of disease and infected individuals should be quarantined as quickly as possible.
Evolution
Larval and juvenile pinsir are similar to adults, just with a somewhat darker color and a much smaller size. Larvae will typically live in the soil or inside of a rotting tree. Their horns are used to dig. Juveniles, specimens more than eight inches long, move into tree cavities. Adults have no particular loyalty to their own offspring. They will still step into defend any juveniles they see being preyed upon.
Pinsir reach their final size in about five years and forty molts. No separate evolutionary stages are recognized.
Pinsir can mega evolve. The process primarily enhances their wings, allowing them to fly at speeds of up to twenty miles per hour and use them to launch out blades of air. In the hours after mega evolution pinsir will be irritable and prone to lashing out. Long term physiological damage is rare. Psychological distress has been observed related to the sudden loss of flight after gaining it. Some pinsir become obsessed with battle and mega evolution for the chance to properly fly again.
Battle
Pinsir used to be very common on the global competitive circuits, especially in Latin America and Asia. They're durable, strong, and reasonably easy to train. Many bug-type specialists still use them. However, pinsir have some major flaws holding them back in the present metagame.
To start with, many fighting-types such as machamp are only slightly less durable while being much stronger and more highly skilled. Tanks such as rhydon, swampert, hippowdon, and aggron can take more damage and hit even harder. None of these are particularly difficult for a professional trainer to obtain. Almost all of them also have better coverage and utility options than pinsir, which is often forced to rely upon their grappling and a few coverage attacks.
Mega pinsir are more useful as they are a flying tank that hits harder than corviknight and skarmory, while not being quite as durable as either. In practice they are similar to weaker dragons that can take a few hits while dealing a great deal of damage. Their flight speed of twenty miles per hour is only okay. They are also not very maneuverable in the air. Most natural fliers can outfly and ground them easily enough. Mega pinsir are still not a competitive mainstay but they see some usage.
Pinsir is a reliable option on the island challenge. They are strong enough to take down all but the most durable of foes while still being reasonably bulky themselves. Pinsir mostly know how to fight but can appreciate training on specialized techniques and updates on field conditions they may have missed. In trials pinsir are especially prone to focusing too much on one opponent that they don't notice what the others are doing.
Pinsir's main drawback as their need to molt to heal injuries. It can be inconvenient to stop the island challenge and wait in place for a week after major battles.
Acquisition
Pinsir have established populations in the rainforests on Akala, Poni, and Exeggutor Island. Alternatively, many specialist breeders exist for pinsir, scyther, and heracross. Most are located in Heahea and Malie. A few can be found in and around Hau'oli City. Going rates vary based on a specimen's age, training, and lineage. Pokémon bred for companionship are usually cheaper than those bred for battle or display. Top-tier breeders will sometimes sell specimens that do not meet the standards for a battling or show pinsir at a steep discount. Shelters will occasionally hold individuals that need rehomed but are not up to the standards of the average breeder. Even generalist shelters will often agree to hold pinsir due to their fairly low care requirements. Pinsir can be captured, adopted, or purchased with a Class II license.
Breeding
Pinsir engage in mating displays in September and October until every adult male in an area has publicly fought every other adult male. The strongest specimens will get the opportunity to mate with the most females. The female will lay her eggs in a rotting tree so the larvae will have a guaranteed source of food. If there is no rotting tree available as the mating season approaches, pinsir will deliberately kill multiple trees. This is the end of either parent's involvement in their children's lives.
Captive breeding is relatively easy. It requires a male and one or more females, as well as a rotting tree for eggs to be deposited in. The eggs can be removed after deposition and moved to a rearing area. Neither parent will object to the removal of the eggs or having their offspring sold to other trainers. Cross-breeding with heracross, orbeetle, pteralas, and rabsca is common. It is easiest to mate a male pinsir with a female of another species. Male heracross or pteralas and female pinsir mixes are also viable as pinsir are impressed by the other beetle's strength. Do not attempt to mate pinsir with vikavolt. While theoretically possible, interspecies aggression makes it highly likely at least one pokémon dies in the attempt.
Relatives
Domesticated pinsir are larger and more aggressive than their wild counterparts. Wild pinsir live in the old growth humid forests of South and Central America. They spend most of their time on the forest floor. Their strength and armor are used to deter most attackers as the risk of a lethal counterattack is unacceptably high. Pinsir move backwards into their burrow at night so that anything following them in will be confronted with their horns. Despite these adaptations, harpyre and pantherma still routinely prey upon them. Many insectivores target their larvae. The loss of old-growth forest and collection for export has left the wild population vulnerable. Exports have been effectively banned in the Amazon Federation since 1998, although poaching remains a problem.
