Sinistcha Movesets and Best Builds

This is a guide to movesets and best builds for using Sinistcha in competitive play for the games Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, Tera Type, and Held Items to use with Sinistcha, as well as its strengths and weakness.

Sinistcha - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Moveset for Ranked Battle	Tera Raid Build

Sinistcha Base Stats, Type, Ability and Weakness

Kitakami #77		Type
Sinistcha
		Abilities
		Hospitality Heatproof (Hidden)
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
Immune to:	(0x)

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

Best Nature for Sinistcha

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Sinistcha

Bulky Special Attacker Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EV Spread	HP 100 / Def 148 / Sp. Atk 252 / Sp. Def 4 / Spe 4
Final Stat Values	HP 159 / Def 159 / Sp. Atk 173 / Sp. Def 101 / Spe 91
Ability	Heatproof
Tera Type
Held Item	Leftovers
Moveset	・ Matcha Gotcha ・ Scald ・ Shadow Ball ・ Strength Sap

Summary

Strong Special Attacking Grass-type. A lot of healing options between Leftovers, Matcha Gotcha, and Strength Sap. Excellent coverage moves.

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Heatproof	Leftovers

Sinistcha's best Ability is Heatproof, which reduces the damage of Fire-type attacks and burn damage by half.

Equipping it with Leftovers ensures that it has passive healing, making it survive even longer than normal.

Moves Breakdown

Matcha Gotcha, Sinistcha's signature Grass-type move. It is both Giga Drain and Scald in one move.

Scald is a strong Water-type move that has a 30% cahnce to apply burn on the target.

Shadow Ball is its most consistent Ghost-type move. It also has a small chance of reducting the target's Special Defense by one stage.

Strength Sap allows Sinistcha to recover health equal to the target's Attack stat. This is especially useful given the amount of physical attackers in the meta.

Best Tera Type: Water

Water Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)

Water is the best Tera Type for this build as it removes Sinistcha's weaknesses while also being a generally good defensive type.

Best Water Type Pokemon

EV Spread and Nature

Full 252 EVs are put into Sinistcha's HP and Special Attack, while the remaining 4 EVs are put into Speed, so that Sinistcha can better take neutral physical hits.

A Bold nature is preferred to increase Sinistcha's already great Defense stat.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

Damage Dealt by Sinistcha
55 HP｜135 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 Sp. Def	Shadow Ball 102-122 (78.4 - 93.8%) Guaranteed 2HKO
113 HP｜65 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 188 HP	Matcha Gotcha 186-218 (87.7 - 102.8%) 18.8% Chance to OHKO
55 HP｜120 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 Sp. Def	Scald 114-134 (87.6 - 103%) 18.8% Chance to OHKO
Damage Received by Sinistcha
120 Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Atk	Ivy Cudgel 150-176 (94.3 - 110.6%) 56.3% Chance to OHKO
130 Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Atk	Surging Strikes 45-54 (28.3 - 33.9%) Approx. 88% Chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

Assault Vest Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
EV Spread	252 HP / 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Spe
Final Stat Values	178 HP / 58 Atk / 126 Def / 190 Sp. Atk / 100 Sp. Def / 91 Spe
Ability	Heatproof
Tera Type
Held Item	Assault Vest
Moveset	・ Matcha Gotcha ・ Scald ・ Hex ・ Tera Blast

Summary

Strong Special Attacking Grass-type. Strong signature move in Matcha Gotcha. Deceptively bulky with Assault Vest. Excellent coverage moves.

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Heatproof	Assault Vest

Sinistcha's best Ability is Heatproof, which reduces the damage of Fire-type attacks and burn damage by half.

Equipping it with Assault Vest ensures that it can survive super effective special attacks from Pokemon like Flutter Mane and Heatran.

Moves Breakdown

Matcha Gotcha, Sinistcha's signature Grass-type move. It is both Giga Drain and Scald in one move.

Scald is a strong Water-type move that has a 30% cahnce to apply burn on the target.

Hex is a powerful Ghost-type STAB move, that gives Sinistcha a single-target option that is resisted by only a few types.

Tera Blast is a great move that gives Sinistcha the ability to deal with opposing Fairy/Poison-types.

Best Tera Type:Steel

Steel Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)
Immune to:	(0x)

Steel is the best Tera Type for this build as it can further increase Sinistcha's resistances. Fire-type attacks also now hit for neutral thanks to the ability Heatproof reducing the damage by half.

Best Fire Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle

EV Spread and Nature

Full 252 EVs are put into Sinistcha's HP and Special Attack, while the remaining 4 EVs are put into Speed, so that Sinistcha can better take neutral physical hits.

A Modest Nature is preferred so that Sinistcha can consistently score KOs on Pokemon like Flutter Mane and Rapid-Strike Urshifu.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

Damage Dealt by Sinistcha
55 HP｜135 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 Sp. Def	Hex with status 180 ~ 212 (138.4 ~ 163%) Guaranteed OHKO
100 HP｜60 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 HP	Matcha Gotcha 216 ~ 254 (123.4 ~ 145.1%) Guaranteed OHKO
Damage Received by Sinistcha
135 Sp. Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Sp. Atk	Shadow Ball 150 ~ 176 (84.2 ~ 98.8%) Guaranteed 2-HIt KO
130 Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Atk	Surging Strikes 54 ~ 66 (30.3 ~ 37%) Approx. 81.4% Chance to 3-Hit KO

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

Doubles Movesets for Sinistcha

Bulky Special Attacker Moveset & Best Build

Nature	Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
EV Spread	252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Sp. Atk
Final Stat Values	178 HP / 127 Def / 190 Sp. Atk / 100 Sp. Def / 90 Spe
Ability	Hospitality
Tera Type
Held Item	Life Orb
Moveset	・ Matcha Gotcha ・ Shadow Ball ・ Trick Room ・ Protect

Summary

Strong Special Attacking Grass-type. Strong signature move in Matcha Gotcha. Trick Room Setter that is immune to Spore and Fake Out. Excellent options in movepool.

Ability and Held Item

Ability	Held Item
Hospitality	Life Orb

Sinistcha's best Ability is Hospitality, which heals 25% of a teammate's HP when Sinistcha enters the field. This allows it to fulfill a supportive role simply by entering the battle.

Equipping it with Life Orb ensures that it can get decisive KOs on uninvested meta threats, such as Flutter Mane and Rapid-Strike Urshifu if it gets the chance.

Moves Breakdown

Matcha Gotcha, Sinistcha's signature Move, is both Giga Drain and Scald in one move, and also does spread damage.

Shadow Ball is a powerful and consistent STAB move, that gives Sinistcha a single-target option that is resisted by only a few types.

Trick Room can reverse turn order, which is useful for when the opponent has a Speed advantage over your side of the field.

Protect is useful for scouting moves from the opponent. A good application of Protect would be using it in front of an opposing Flutter Mane to see if it commits to Shadow Ball, which can inform your decisions on following turns. Well-timed use of Protect and using it to gather information can allow for better choices later in the match, such as when to use or preserve your Tera, or anticipating a switch.

Best Tera Type: Grass

Grass Tera Type Matchup
Weak to:
	(2x)
Damaged Normally By:	(1x)
Resists:	(0.5x)

Grass is the best Tera Type for this build as it can remove Sinistcha's weaknesses from its Ghost typing, and further boost the power of Matcha Gotcha.

Best Grass Type Pokemon for Ranked Battle

EV Spread and Nature

Full 252 EVs are put into Sinistcha's HP and Special Attack, while the remaining 4 EVs are put into Defense, so that Sinistcha can better take neutral physical hits.

A Modest Nature is preferred so that Sinistcha can consistently score KOs on Flutter Mane and Rapid-Strike Urshifu.

Other Viable Moves

Key Damage Calculations

Damage Dealt by Sinistcha
55 HP｜135 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 Sp. Def	Shadow Ball 143 ~ 172 (110 ~ 132.3%) Guaranteed OHKO
100 HP｜60 Sp. Def Defensive EV Investment: 4 HP	Shadow Ball 281 ~ 330 (159.6 ~ 187.5%) Guaranteed OHKO
Damage Received by Sinistcha
135 Sp. Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Sp. Atk	Shadow Ball 168 ~ 200 (94,3 ~ 112.3%) 68.8% Chance to OHKO
135 Sp. Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Sp. Atk	Shadow Ball Tera Type: 84 ~ 100 (47.1 ~ 56.1%) 80.9% Chance to 2-Hit KO
130 Atk Offensive EV Investment: 252 Sp. Atk	Surging Strikes 54 ~ 66 (30.3 ~ 37%) Approx. 81.4% Chance to 3-Hit KO

Game8's Competitive Damage Calculator

How to Use Sinistcha Effectively

For Singles

With an amazing Sp. Atk stat and the ability to heal itself with Matcha Gotcha, Sinistcha can be used on offensive teams to knock out opponents quickly.

For Doubles

Sinistcha can be slotted into Balance Teams with common strong Pokemon like Rapid Strike Urshifu and Ogerpon (Hearthflame Mask), and form a Grass-Fire-Water Core, with either of the three being decent Tera options. Sinistcha can come in later in a match and heal its teammates with Hospitality.

It can be put into teams as an alternative to Amoonguss, having access to Rage Powder, with Sinistcha being different from it as it is able to contribute more to a match offensively.

How to Build a Team with Sinistcha

Sample Singles Team

Toxic Spike Lead	Special Attacker	Physical Attacker
Glimmora	Sinistcha	Urshifu Single-Strike Style

Pair Sinistcha with a Toxic Spike setter like Glimmora to make maximum use of Hex's damage boost. Also having a strong Physical Attacker, like Urshifu Single-Strike, will help compliment Sinistcha's offensive capibilities.

Sample Doubles Team

Support / Special Attacker	Physical Attacker
Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)	Ogerpon (Hearthflame Mask)
Physical Attacker	Special Attacker
Urshifu Rapid-Strike Style	Sinistcha

Tornadus can support its team with Tailwind and Weather control, being able to set either Rain for Urshifu, or Sun for Ogerpon. With no Speed EV investment, Sinistcha can outspeed Base 100 Speed Pokemon or slower, notably opposing Rapid-Strike Urshifu.

Sinistcha works as a solid secondary Grass-type Attacker, getting cheeky KOs on the likes of Flutter Mane and Rapid-Strike Urshifu if positioned well. It can enter the match mid to late game to heal some HP from its teammates with Hospitality.

Counters for Sinistcha

Take Advantage of Sinistcha's Many Weaknesses

Sinistcha has many weaknesses, that can be capitalized on by many meta-relevant Pokemon.

And while Sinistcha is a decent Tera option, it can be outclassed by other powerful Tera options that most teams may have. Sinistcha Terastallizing means that your opponent is expending a resource, which you can plan and play around.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon	Description
Flutter Mane	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can easily outspeed and threaten with Shadow Ball. ▶️Flutter Mane Best Movesets
Ogerpon (Hearthflame Mask)	Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Can KO Sinistcha with a powerful Ivy Cudgel. ・Takes negligible damage from Sinistcha's offensive options. ・Mold Breaker ignore Heatproof. ▶️Ogerpon Best Movesets
Tornadus (Incarnate Forme)	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Can outspeed and deal good damage with Bleakwind Storm. ▶️Tornadus Mane Best Movesets
Chi-Yu	Ranking: ★★★★ ・Can easily outspeed and threaten with its STAB Moves with Beads of Ruin. ・Forces Sinistcha to Tera or it will get KO'd ▶️Chi-Yu Best Movesets

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