The mainline Pokémon games have a tendency to treat some of their creatures as if they were gifts from God, elevating them to a level of popularity that they otherwise might not have garnered without outside influence. This also means that some Pokémon who are deserving of more love than they get can be left behind in the staggering amount of creatures that now exist in this world.
Pincurchin is one of those Pokémon. Its design leaves little to the imagination, and bears a striking resemblance to a Pokémon from the previous generation, Pyukumuku, while being just as left behind as the strange little Water-type. Pincurchin has a few things going for it that make it much more viable and deserving of love than is seen at first glance, however, and shouldn’t be passed over just because there are far cuter Electric-type options.
10 Where To Find It
As it is only found in shaking grass encounters, it can be easy to miss Pincurchin entirely on a player’s first run, particularly due to it only having a 5% encounter rate in those shaking grass patches. It is found exclusively on Route 9 between Circhester and Spikemouth, specifically in the main area and Circhester Bay before players reach Outer Spikemouth. Strangely, it is surrounded by many Water-types, or at least Pokémon who live in and around the water, and is one of the few encounters in the area that isn’t a Water-type.
It can also be found in Raid Dens in Challenge Beach, Honeycalm Sea, Forest of Focus, and Fields of Honor.
9 Its Hidden Ability
In Pokémon Sun and Moon, the Legendary Tapus introduced the “Surge” abilities, powerful effects that change the terrain when they enter battle. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, these Pokémon didn’t make a return, though their signature abilities did carry over onto newer Pokémon. Pincurchin was one of those lucky enough to get this ability in Electric Surge, which powers up its Electric-type attacks by 30% and also prevents any Pokémon from falling asleep in battle. While there’s no argument that Tapu Koko, the original holder of Electric Surge, is far superior to Pincurchin in nearly every way, it does mean that Pincurchin gets a boost in its strongest moves that elevate it to a higher strength level than it otherwise could reach.
8 Mixed Potential
For the most part, Pokémon tend to lean towards either physical attack or special attack as their primary source of damage, though some chose neither and are more focused on support, buffing, and debuffing. Pincurchin, however, is one of the few Pokémon who is good at both physical and special attacks.
With its potential to be a mixed attacker, this makes it much harder for the opponent to guess what moves Pincurchin is likely to use and opens up its options to the player to build their particular pin cushion Pokémon however they like.
7 That Speed Stat
One of Pincurchin’s glaring weaknesses is its appalling speed stat, set at an abysmal 15. Although it’s not the slowest Pokémon, with Munchlax and Shuckle both having a speed stat of 5, it definitely qualifies as one of the slowest Pokémon in the game. This weakness can be used to its advantage, however, as this makes it one of the most viable Pokémon to use in a Trick Room centric team, as it is likely to be moving first rather than last due to its stats.
6 Poor Health
The other major weak point for Pincurchin is its base health stat, which is only 48 and means that it isn’t likely to take an attack particularly well. While its defenses are nothing to scoff at, with its defense being a respectable 95 and special defense at an above-average 85, it can hold its own when need be, though not for very long. This weakness isn’t a terrible burden for it though, as players are more likely to use it for attacking than defending due it its moves and stats.
5 Can’t Learn Many Moves
Pincurchin seems to have drawn the short straw in terms of the number of moves it can learn, as it is incompatible with the majority of both TM’s and TR’s in the game. While it does have access to the likes of Thunder, Recover, and Curse, it is particularly limited in the available options when it comes to both defense and offensive presence. Pincurchin did get a rather large boost in offensive potential with The Isle of Armor DLC in Rising Voltage, an Electric-type move that doubles in strength when used on Electric Terrain.
4 Has A Diverse Movepool
It might sound counterintuitive, but although it can’t learn very many moves, the moves that it can learn are very diverse in terms of typing, particularly for an Electric-type Pokémon.
Having access to Water-type moves in Hydro Pump, Scald, and Liquidation is a massive buff for a Pokémon that is only weak to Ground-type attacks and moves such as Poison Jab, Sucker Punch, and Reversal give it a wide variety of options to use should players want to Dynamax it.
3 Explosive Electric-Type
While not the strangest Pokémon capable of learning Self Destruct - that honor clearly goes to Snorlax or Lickilicky - it does have the unique trait of being one of the few Electric-type Pokémon to be able to learn the move. While Voltorb and Electrode may be the poster-children for the move, as it seems to be their signature move in the anime, they aren’t available in Sword and Shield, leaving the role of exploding Electric-types to Magnezone and Pincurchin, who both learn the move via TM20.
2 Strange Level Up Moves
Judging by its design, it’s easy to assume that Pincurchin will learn some moves in particular as it levels up. Attacks such as Pin Missle or Spike Cannon come to mind, but it only learns Pin Missle by TM and doesn’t learn Spike Cannon at all. What’s even stranger is that it learns Peck, Water Gun, and Bubblebeam by level up, but doesn’t learn Spikes or Toxic Spikes except via TR.
1 Stealing Zing Zap
Although Pincurchin may be under-utilized and under-appreciated, it commits an egregious crime by stealing what used to be a signature move. Togedemaru, the Pikachu clone from Pokémon Sun and Moon, had a signature move in Zing Zap, one of the few decent physical Electric-type moves that functioned almost identically to Iron Head. Come generation 8, Pincurcin decided it wanted a piece of the action and stole the move for itself as well, and was the only new Electric-type to do so.
