Community POTW #007

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and this week we're going with another Paldea Pokémon!

It's Tinkaton!

Tinkaton #959 - Serebii.net Pokédex

Tinkaton Pokémon Serebii.net Pokédex providing all details on moves, stats, abilities, evolution data and locations for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

www.serebii.net

 

[XaelOstigian]

With the exception of maybe Clodsire, Tinkaton is hands down my favorite Pokemon released this generation. I mean come on. It's an adorable psycho hammer loli that knocks freaking Corviknight out of the sky and goes after Bisharp too just to use their scrap metal to make a stronger mallet.

Competitive-wise Tinkaton is more of a mixed bag. On one hand it has incredible typing in Fairy/Steel which is great offensively and defensively, has a versatile movepool, and has access to a signature base 160 Steel attack in Gigaton Hammer whose only drawback is that it cannot be used two turns in a row. On the other hand its stats are bizarrely distributed, possessing a surprisingly high base 94 speed yet only has a measly base 75 physical attack despite being a cute little troll with a giant hammer, and 85/77/105 defenses. GF already nerfed the sword snow leopard's attack, so I don't see why it couldn't give some of that power to Tinkaton while they were at it. Still, this magical girl hammer loli is too cute to not be put on your team, and some diehard fans have been going out of their way to make it viable in the higher tiers, so I say we do the same!

STOP! ...HAMMER TIME!
Ability: Mold Breaker
Item: Leftovers/Metal Coat
Nature: Adamant
EVs: (HP 252) (Attack 252) (Defense 4)
Tera Typing: Steel

Moves:
Gigaton Hammer
Play Rough
Knock Off
Thunder Wave

Set Details:
A bulkier tank set where everything is invested in HP but mostly attack so that Gigaton Hammer has as much power as physically possible. Play Rough is a nice secondary STAB and Fairy attacks are always welcome to counter the OP Dragon, Fighting, and Dark types. And Knock Off serves as a great utility option to remove items from your opponents in your down time in between Gigaton Hammers. Your last option goes to Thunder Wave which offers speed control and provides an option to burn a turn waiting for the next Gigaton Hammer. Item choice goes to either Leftovers to increase survivability or Metal Coat to make Gigaton Hammer hit even harder. Your Tera typing is done for the same benefit, jacking up your Steel STAB to even greater heights.

Tinkaton is far from the perfect Pokemon despite its great typing and OP signature move, but it's just so adorable and freaking metal that you just want it to succeed no matter what. And that is precisely what we will do.

 

[Divine Retribution]

I think it's funny that according to the Pokedex Tinkaton is supposed to absolutely destroy Corviknight, yet in practice it's one of Tinkaton's hardest counters...

+2 252+ Atk Mold Breaker Tinkaton Gigaton Hammer vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 138-163 (34.5 - 40.8%) -- 64.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

I gotta be honest, I was really hoping this Pokemon would be good and it... well, isn't. It's such a cool concept for a Pokemon, it's got the downright broken Steel/Fairy typing, and it's got quite a scary signature move in Gigaton Hammer, but its stats just don't make the cut. A 160 base power STAB move might sound terrifying, but it's a lot less terrifying when it comes from something with a whopping 75 base attack. How can she even hold that giant freaking hammer with 75 base attack? Why didn't she get Pure Power as a hidden ability, or maybe the hammer as a held item that doubles her Attack like Marowak's Thick Club? The world may never know.

 

[RishRaff]

Tinkaton is easily one of the most popular Pokemon to come out this generation. Referred to as some as the “pink loli with a giant hammer”, it follows in the footsteps of other popular Pokemon like Gardevoir. As such, the competitive and general community wanted this thing to be good. And initial impressions looked promising for Tinkaton to be an offensive monster with a divine Fairy/Steel typing, the hammer suggesting an enormous Attack stat, and an amazing 160 BP signature move with a very manageable drawback. Unfortunately, all the hype screeched to a halt when its stats were released…
Tinkaton has surprisingly average/balanced stats, with higher than expected defenses and lower than expected offense. Base 75 Attack is pretty terrible and killed any momentum Tinkaton had as an offensive threat. That being said, with decent bulk (85/77/105) and speed, great typing, and solid movepool, Tinkaton can really swing it as a support Pokemon in the higher tiers. If you are deadset on using Tinkaton as a sweeper or wallbreaker, Gigaton Hammer is still a ridiculous STAB and it does get Sword Dance.

Hammer Time
Ability: Own Tempo/Mold Breaker
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -Att) or Adamant (+Att, -SpA)
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Attack/ 252 Speed
Item: Life Orb
-Sword Dance
-Gigaton Hammer
-Play Rough
-Knock Off/Ice Hammer/Bulldoze/Brick Break

A fairly straightforward wallbreaker set. With its good bulk, Tinkaton has a relatively easy time setting up Swords Dance. STABs are there for obvious reasons. The coverage move really depends on what you want to hit. Knock Off is the most generally useful, and Ice Hammer has extra power behind it compared to the other options. Bulldoze and Brick Break hit Steel types but these are weak options otherwise. I prefer Own Tempo to stop Intimidate, but Mold Breaker is a great ability too. If running Ice Hammer, which lowers your Speed, Adamant might be a better nature, but otherwise Jolly is good.

 

[Mestorn]

Ok, to dispel a myth. Tinkaton do not hunt Corviknight. Their Scarlet dex Entry:
"This intelligent Pokémon has a very daring disposition. It knocks rocks into the sky with its hammer, aiming for flying Corviknight."
Admittedly they probably wouldn't mind scavenging a Corviknight's corpse/shed feathers, but in actuality, they just throw giant boulders at Corviknight because they are demented Gremlins (apt considering Gremlins first showed up in folklore to explain malfunctions in aircraft). The Corviknight themselves are fine, anyone the Corviknight was carrying, less so.

Their line explicitly hunts Pawniard and Pisharp, whose sub Dark typing and much lower defenses make it a much more even fight.

Demented Gremlin
Tinkaton
-Stealth Rock
-Thunder Wave
-Gigaton Hammer
-Knock Off
Ability: Mold Breaker
Item: Leftovers
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 DEF / 4 SDEF
Calm Nature (+SDEF, -ATK)

Tinkaton has a lot going for it as a disruptive Pokémon. Steel Fairy is fantastic defensively, Mold Breaker is an Arceus-send against Gholdengo's Good as Gold who normally stops such shenanigans. Excellent Speed for what is a normally a defensive Pokémon is crucial in getting disruption off, giving Tinkaton more favorable matchups. Gigaton Hammer ensures Tinkaton is entirely passive. Knock Off is another great boon, especially given its current limited distribution, as item disruption is at a premium currently.

However, Tinkaton's current environment is very much hostile to it. Offensive teams have rarely been stronger, giving Tinkaton few opportunities to perform its duties. Additionally, several of the strongest/most popular Pokémon in the format (Great Tusk, Chi-Yu, Ting-Lu, Skeledirge, Garchomp, Dondozo, Iron Treads, etc.) All have relatively favorable matchups against Tinkaton (yes most of them hate Play Rough, but are often faster or have the Bulk to tank one).

Lackluster offense nearly makes Attacking sets less than optimal while support sets have extremely stiff Competition with Grimmsnarl whose Prankster offers more utility against anything not named Gholdengo and item disruption is often better handled by Meowscara, who has STAB on Knock Off and access to U-Turn for a hit an run style that better suits Knock Off. Lack of reliable recovery offsets Tinkaton's good defenses and typing.

Other Options
Screens -Reflect and Light Screen are fantastic options for any supporter, but again, stiff competition with Grimmsnarl.

Edit: Also how are Tinkaton the reason Corviknight can't be used as Taxis when there are literally no wild Tinkaton?!