Sinistcha, the Matcha Pokémon. It pretends to be tea, trying to fool people into drinking it so it can drain their life-force. Its ruse is generally unsuccessful. It prefers cool, dark places, such as the back of a shelf or the space beneath a home's floorboards. It wanders in search of prey after sunset. It lives inside a superb teacup that was crafted by a potter of great renown. Collectors positively adore this Pokémon. The more stirring it does with the tea whisk on its head, the more energy it builds up. It does this to prepare for battle.

Overview

One of the starring Pokémon revealed in the lead up to Kitakami and the Teal Mask DLC, Sinistcha frightened the world in a summertime ghost story. With such a startling entrance, Sinistcha somehow managed to match the hype. Part of that is due to its offensive prowess. Base 121 Special Attack and the extremely spammable Ghost STAB is a good start, meaning little can switch into Sinistcha defensively once it gets going. Adding onto this is an impressive defensive profile, with Grass’ resistances and Ghost’s immunities offering Sinistcha plenty of switch in opportunities and a solid 106 Defense stat allows Sinistcha to stick around and exercise its offense. That is not all, with Sinistcha bringing its offense and defense together in an insane signature move of Matcha Gatcha. A move that is the combination of Scald and Giga Drain is so absurd that the imperfect accuracy becomes forgivable lest it be too good. With Matcha Gatcha, Sinistcha applies extreme pressure, between the damage, recovery and burns it inflicts, greatly limiting safe switch-ins. That is not all Sinistcha brings to the table either, with access to Strength Sap, Stun Spore and Scald, Sinistcha is more than capable of leaving the opposing team a mess and easy clean up for its teammates if not itself.

There are cracks in this teacup. Grass Ghost typing also boasts numerous weaknesses that give opponents plenty of options to knock over Sinistcha. Even more so, considering Sinistcha’s unimpressive Special Defense and HP, although Sinistcha can address the former with Calm Mind. The fact of the matter doesn’t change is that Sinistcha must rely on its defenses to excel. Base 70 Speed starts running afoul of some defensive staples like Heatran, Great Tusk, and Gliscor and a wide range of offensive ones, meaning Sinistcha is frequently moving second. Most damaging is Sinistcha’s poor matchup into Dark types. While most Dark types don’t like eating a Burn or a Paralysis, Sinistcha finds Dark types, especially Grass resistant ones that Sinistcha must Terastalize or run from. Despite these flaws, Sinistcha has been largely a success story, and one cup of tea that your opponents do not want to drink.
Positives
121 Special Attack is great even before being boosted with Calm Mind and the hard to resist STAB Shadow Ball.
Matcha Gatcha is an absurd signature move, combining the best traits of Scald and Giga Drain into a single package.
Good 106 Defense and a huge list of resistances give Sinistcha plenty of opportunities to switch in and setup.

Negatives
Grass Ghost typing also provides an equal list of weaknesses that give most teams multiple answers to get past Sinistcha.
71 HP and 80 Special Defense while not bad, are far from sturdy either.
Base 70 Speed falls short of most offensive threats, further worsening Sinistcha’s defenses as it must rely on them to act.
Has few answers into Dark types, especially Grass resistant ones.

Movesets

Matcha Menace

-Calm Mind
-Strength Sap
-Shadow Ball
-Matcha Gotcha
Ability: Heatproof
Item: Leftovers
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature

Befitting the calming effects of tea, Sinistcha is one of the best Calm Mind users in the game. Calm Mind admittedly does a lot for Sinistcha, boosting its primary offensive stat while shoring up its weaker Special Defense. What truly makes Sinistcha stand out as a Calm Mind attacker is Strength Sap. Calm Mind users usually suffer from a lack of recovery and inability to directly address physical attackers. Strength Sap answers both concerns, keeping Sinistcha healthy in the face of the Pokémon expected to handle it after setup. Sinistcha can get away with this as well thanks to its STAB Shadow Ball, which provides incredibly wide neutral coverage that Sinistcha can afford to lose a move slot for coverage in favor of Strength Sap. Matcha Gotcha rounds out the set being a STAB draining move whose high Burn chance makes Sinistcha even harder to break through physically, even if the target resists it. All of this gives Sinistcha incredible longevity as a setup sweeper and can even leverage its Ghost typing and Strength Sap in the early game to cripple Rapid Spin users and create pivot opportunities for its teammates.

Tera Types:
Sinistcha is one of those odd cases where its typing is both a massive benefit and hinderance at the same time. Though given how Calm Mind Sinistcha plays the long game, defensive Tera Types to survive the setup is paramount. Tera Poison is by far the most popular option, giving Sinistcha neutrality to all its original weaknesses while its Ghost and Grass STABs readily threaten STAB users of its new Psychic and Ground weaknesses. The immunity to Toxic, another prominent method to bypass the sheer defense Sinistcha can put up is another bonus. The other Toxic immune Tera type Steel also works well, synergizing with Sinistcha’s Heatproof, giving it only two effective weaknesses, of which Ground types are again hesitant to trade blows with Sinistcha due to its Grass STAB. The many resistances Steel provides is another boon, given the sheer number of Pokémon Tera Steel Sinistcha can wall while setting up. Tera Fairy also sees considerable use given Sinistcha’s horrid matchup into Dark types while giving it a useful Dragon immunity given how such Pokémon can easily tank a Matcha Gotcha and burst Sinistcha down before it sets up.

EVs and Items:
The standard EV array for a bulky Calm Mind attacker of Max HP and Defense serves Sinistcha well here. Sinistcha’s selling point is its longevity and investing in its already high Defense and average HP only accentuates that. One would not be remiss to invest some speed, as outspeeding certain foes can mean the difference between setting up and going on to sweep or being crushed immediately. 96 Speed outruns max Speed neutral natured base 50s like Kingambit, Azumarill, and Ursaluna, as well as uninvested base 80 and under Pokémon like Mandibuzz and Heatran. As this is a popular Speed threshold to meet, investing 4 more Speed EVs on top of that may be prudent to outrun the other Pokémon sitting at that range such as Primarina, and Metagross. Leftovers is recommended as the item, giving Sinistcha healing while it sets up and can offset some hazard damage on the switch in. Otherwise, Colbur Berry is a popular option from preventing Knock Off from messing Sinistcha up too badly and allowing Sinistcha to turn the tables on such attackers without requiring Terastalization. Kee Berry also deserves a mention if going all in on the sweep as it gives Sinistcha a one-time Defense boost upon being hit with a physical attack, making Sinistcha even harder to break physically.

Partners:
: More than any other setup sweeper, Sinistcha is incredibly reliant on hazard support to be effective. The more entry hazards wear down Sinistcha’s checks, the less Sinistcha has to setup before going on the offensive. Mercifully most Ground based hazard setters like Excadrill and Ting-Lu pair well with Sinistcha. The love Sinistcha checking most Water types and Sinistcha’s Ghost typing is invaluable in preserving the hazards they worked to setup against Rapid Spin. Heatran effectively fulfils the same role, forming a Fire-Grass core with Sinistcha and absorbing errant Ice and Flying attacks rather well. Skarmory also does the job well, loving Sinistcha for its Electric resist while warding Sinistcha against Flying attacks and threatening opposing Dark types with Body Press. Answers to Dark types are heavily recommended given how much Sinistcha struggles against them. Corviknight fulfills a similar type niche to Skarmory while possessing the same wicked Body Presses. Scizor also stands out, its Bug STABs readily dispatching opposing Dark types while being able to pivot Sinistcha in safely with U-Turn. Primarina combines Water-Grass core with Dark answer all into one package, while its excellent base Special Defense complements Sinistcha’s physical and it too loves Sinistcha’s Strength Sap as an entry point for itself.

Other Options:
Scald gives Sinistcha invaluable coverage against Fire types, especially Heatran which Sinistcha struggles to hurt without multiple boosts, though it is hard giving up either of Sinistcha’s STABs or Strength Sap. Nasty Plot is an alternative to Calm Mind, allowing Sinistcha to escalate quicker, and could be used for more offensive sets. Hex is an option if running Toxic Spikes support or believing in Scald’s and Matcha Gotcha’s burn rate.

Doubles and VGC Options

Despite Sinistcha’s modest success in singles, its accolades in doubles are even more impressive. Sinistcha excels as defensive Grass typed set piece, its good base bulk and access to redirection in Rage Powder paying dividends in keeping allies healthy. Furthermore, Ghost typing has always been a strong option in Doubles for the immunity to Fake Out it grants, making such Pokémon harder to disrupt. Yet this pales in comparison to Sinistcha’s signature ability Hospitality. Healing a fourth of an ally’s HP on switch in is amazing, maintaining momentum through repositioning and making already bulky Pokémon near impossible to take out in a timely manner. Add Sinistcha’s numerous methods of healing, whether it be the reliable healing from Life Dew, that attack sapping Strength Sap or the spread Matcha Gotcha, Sinistcha is more than capable of sticking around. The fact that Sinistcha can even weaponize its mediocre speed as a Fake Out immune Trick Room setter just adds speed control to Sinistcha’s already impressive repertoire. Not to say that Sinistcha doesn’t have issues. While restricted formats have plenty of absurdly bulky partners that love Sinistcha’s Hospitality, the extreme power level leaves Sinistcha’s bulk wanting, especially for a redirection user. Poor matchups in the Calyrex Riders with their super effective spread moves rendering Rage Powder moot as well as doubles superstar Incineroar. Furthermore, the Grass typed redirector slot in VGC is intensely competitive with Amoonguss, and Ogerpon also vying for the position.

Soothing Cup of Tea

-Rage Powder
-Strength Sap
-Matcha Gotcha
-Shadow Ball
Ability: Hospitality
Item: Rocky Helmet
Tera Type: Fire
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 172 Def /84 SDef
Bold Nature

Sinistcha stands out among other redirectors thanks to its ability to have its allies stick around longer even outside of redirection support. This is in large part due to Hospitality and often why one doesn’t want to open Sinistcha to get the most of the recovery it provides. Rage Powder is still the star of the show and one of the bigger reasons to use Sinistcha, redirecting all sorts of moves like slow Incineroar’s Fake Out, Zamazenta-Crowned’s Body Press, Urshifu-Rapid’s Surging Strikes and Close Combat, Landorus’ Earth Power, Ursaluna’s STABs, and everything from Iron Hands without much issue. Strength Sap makes Sinistcha’s team bulkier, sapping the power of physical attackers and recouping damage incurred from Rage Powder, allowing Sinistcha to Rage Powder again. Matcha Gatcha is an alternative method for Sinistcha to heal, being a spread move allowing Sinistcha to recover a lot of HP if at least one of the targets is weak to it, with the Burn rider helpful in making Sinistcha and its partners even more bulky. Shadow Ball rounds out the set, a great STAB move especially in restricted VGC formats where Ghost weak restricted Pokémon like the Calyrex Riders and Lunala are everywhere, to say nothing of other Ghost weak targets like Flutter Mane, Annihilape, Cresselia, Scream Tail and Basculegion, or just the general popularity of Tera Ghost to dodge Fake Out.

Rocky Helmet pairs nicely with Rage Powder, placing further pain on physical attackers redirected into Sinistcha, especially Urshifu-Rapid and its multihit Surging Strikes. As a result, this Sinistcha invests largely into Defense to better survive the physical attacks thrown its way. With the given EV spread, Urshifu’s Surging Strikes only 3HKOs when Urshifu-Rapid Terastalizes to Water, while still only being 3HKO’d by Zamazenta’s Heavy Slam and surviving Life Orb Koraidon’s Close Combat if Sinistcha Terastalizes, after which it can recover fully with Strength Sap and place Koraidon in a tough spot. The given special bulk allows Sinistcha to survive a Specs Electro Drift or Volt Switch from Miraidon, as well as Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow’s STABs post Terastalization. Tera Fire is the most popular option for Sinistcha, giving it valuable resistances to Fire and Ice, while not being weak to the many other Grass types running around unlike Tera Water. Tera Water is still a powerful option, offering the same resistances while allowing Sinistcha to retain its niche in stifling Urshifu-Rapid completely.

Preferred Partners:
Bulky partners that lack reliable methods of healing love the Hospitality support Sinistcha provides. Terapagos is a clear standout, thanks to Hospitality easily reenabling Tera Shell is its Terastal form or simply recovery a ludicrous amount of HP in its Stellar form. Being a Ghost typed redirector is also invaluable to Terapagos, warding away lethal Fighting attacks from it at no risk to Sinistcha. Calm Mind sets also adores the Strength Sap support, making Terapagos even harder to break through. Assault Vest Miraidon also likes the support Sinistcha doles out, that special bulk standing out even more with the recovery from Hospitality. SInistcha being able to soak up Ground attacks for Miraidon makes it even better, while Sinistcha loves the Snarl support from Miraidon in turn. Calyrex-Ice Rider is another natural partner, its insane bulk pairing well with Hospitality while Sinistcha is a great back up Trick Room setter. However the shared Fire, Dark and Ghost weaknesses between the two makes the pair very Tera Hungry. Protect is the best move in Doubles, and Sinistcha is no exception, punishing double ups, scouting for moves or Terastalizations, stalling for setup, stalling out opposing field conditions, Protect is all round fantastic. As a Ghost type, Sinistcha is a fantastic Trick Room setter in its own right, being immune to the Fake Out that is common in stopping such setup, even if Sinistcha is oddly fast for a normal Trick Room user. Life Dew adds to the already impressive healing Sinistcha provides, keeping itself and its ally around even longer.

Military Matcha

-Matcha Gotcha
-Scald
-Shadow Ball
-Leaf Storm
Ability: Hospitality
Item: Assault Vest
Tera Type: Water
EVs and Nature:
236 HP / 4 Def / 68 SAtk / 156 SDef / 44 Spe
Modest Nature

A unique spin on Sinistcha for non-restricted formats, this Assault Vest set based on Lorenzo Arce’s team subverts expectations of Sinistcha’s low special bulk. Combined with the high Burn rates of Matcha Gotcha and Scald can give Sinistcha incredible staying power, allowing it to repeatedly pivot in and provide more recovery from Hospitality. Matcha Gotcha is vital for this set, being a spread draining move that allows Sinistcha to recover large amounts of HP in a single use, invaluable for any Assault Vest user. Scald as mentioned, has a burn rate that pairs well with Assault Vest and Sinistcha’s good base defense while providing invaluable coverage into many Fire and Tera Fire Pokémon, especially Incineroar. Shadow Ball is an incredible STAB move to have with its impressive neutral coverage, while the ability to hit Gholdengo, Annihilape and Dragapult should never be discounted. Leaf Storm is secondary Grass STAB that acts as a delete button, a guaranteed OHKO on threatening targets like Ursaluna, while the Special Attack drop isn’t so unfortunate as Sinistcha likes switching out so it can reuse Hospitality.

This set is meant to maximize special bulk, taking opponents by surprise when trying to target Sinistcha’s weaker Special Defense. With Assault Vest and the given EVs, Life Orb Ursaluna Bloodmoon’s Blood Moon caps out just under 80% and is unfavored to OHKO if it Terastalizes. Modest Pelipper’s Hurricane also only does 3/4s, while Timid Specs Gholdengo just fails to OHKO with Shadow Ball as well. All these moves being powerful special attacks that would drop a non-Assault Vest Sinistcha with relative ease. Tera Water is recommended, pivoting away from Fire and Ice weaknesses while boosting Scald to STAB status, great for Incineroar, Arcanine and Magmar.

Preferred Partners:
This Sinistcha set works well with the Pelipper + Archaludon core, Sinistcha forming a Grass-Water core with Pelipper, loving the Fire damage reduction from Rain, the boost to Scald and Pelipper’s good matchup into opposing Grass types, while the absurdly bulky Archaludon loves the recovery from Hospitality and Sinistcha is another partner that threatens out Ground types. Bulky Ground types like Gliscor, and Ursaluna also work well with this set, loving the recovery from Hospitality and Sinistcha threatening opposing Water types while threatening Fire and Steel types with their own STABs.

Countering Sinistcha

Sinistcha may be riddled with weaknesses and lacking truly insane bulk, but it can be a nightmare to remove once it gets going with its dizzying array of recovery and defensive options.

The best way to deal with Sinistcha is immediate power, as acting passively in front of Sinistcha is just begging to have it boost to the point of being unbreakable. Given Sinistcha's poor speed, the list of Pokémon that can do this is quite extensive. Banded Weavile, Banded Meowscarada, and Banded Lokix all naturally outspeed and are wholly capable of OHKOing Sinistcha regardless of Calm Mind boosts. Conversely, Tornadus-Therian is capable of one shotting Sinistcha even after a Calm Mind, while Salamence, Iron Jugulis, and Galarian Moltres are all capable of the same after chip damage from Stealth Rocks. Note that none of these except Meowscarada like switching into a Stun Spore and any physical attacker must be wary of Matcha Gotcha or Scald’s burns.

If unable to take out Sinistcha quickly, there are Pokémon that do readily wall Sinistcha. Clodsire immediately stands out, its Unaware ignoring any boosts Sinistcha has picked up and threatening with Toxic with even Scald doing pitiable damage that can be easily recovered off. Unaware Clefable also does well and can even beat Sinistcha at its own game with its Calm Minds. Blissey also takes nothing from even boosted Matcha Gotcha’s and has such a poor attack that Sinistcha can’t effectively heal with Strength Sap, but unless Sinistcha has Terastalized, it struggles to deal damage back. Heatran also does well, with Taunt stifling further setup and Magma Storm’s chip damage ignoring Calm Mind boosts though it abhors Scald.

Grass resistant Darks are particularly troublesome given how they resist the bulk of Sinistcha’s offense and require a truly absurd number of boosts to get through, boosts that Sinistcha doesn’t have the time to accrue. Meowscarda and Iron Jugulis as mentioned before do well here, albeit a bit on the frail side. Zarude is another excellent option, taking pittance from both STABs and Scald, immune to Stun Spore and can shrug off Burns with Jungle Healing all the while threatening with Dark STAB. Hydreigon is also nightmarish, able to outmatch Calm Minds with Nasty Plots and Dark Pulse that doesn’t weaken when Sinistcha’s item is removed.

Toxic is another way to ruin Sinistcha, with the incremental damage overwhelming any boosts and recovery Sinistcha boasts. Clodsire is by far the best setter, though Fezandipiti, Mandibuzz, and Haze Toxapex are all capable of performing the deed as well.

Anime Appearences

Sinistcha has made several appearances in the animated series. In this appearance, it was Carmine's partner Pokémon and used in a battle against Friede's Pikachu # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics 69 Roy is Crocalor, and Crocalor is Roy! I'm a Pokémon and You're Me?! Pics