Introduced in generation five with the Pokemon Black and White games, Minccino is a monotype normal Pokemon. It is the base evolution of Cinccino and will evolve when a Shiny Stone is used. Minccino’s design is likely based on real life chinchillas. As a base evolution Pokemon, it is not very capable in battle but it has appeared a number of times in Pokemon media. This guide will showcase Minccino’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime and other general facts about Minccino.
About Minccino
Minccino and its evolution line was introduced in generation five with it a rather unremarkable Pokemon in battle, even after reaching its final evolution. Minccino evolves into Cinccino after a Shiny Stone is used and this is somewhat unique as most Pokemon tend to evolve after reaching a specific level threshold. It made its first debut in the anime with the first episode of the black and white season of the anime with In the Shadow of Zekrom!. The Pokedex states that they are rather social and are constantly grooming themselves.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Black and White In the Shadow of Zekrom! |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Black and White |
| Region | Unova |
| Evolution | Evolves into Cinccino when a Shiny Stone is used |
| 1st Evo level | Evolves when a Shiny Stone is used |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | They greet one another by rubbing each other with their tails, which are always kept well groomed and clean. |
Minccino Base Stats
| HP | 55 |
| ATTACK | 50 |
| DEFENCE | 40 |
| SP. ATTACK | 40 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 40 |
| SPEED | 75 |
| TOTAL | 300 |
Appearance
Minccino is a bipedal, chinchilla-like Pokemon with fur that is almost entirely gray but it has white tips on its ears and tail. Small tufts of fur can be found throughout its body and these tufts also hide its pink inner ear. It is a very small Pokemon at only 1 foot and 4 inches, or 0.4 meters tall. Minccino’s paws end in three digits and its tail is almost as long as its whole body.
Behavior
Minccinos are obsessed with cleanliness and thus are often found grooming their tails or cleaning up the areas around them. The Pokedex states that Minccinos will greet each other by rubbing their tails together. These tails are used to clean floors like a broom and are kept clean to ensure a tidy appearance. Minccinos are proud Pokemon that will often boast over others who have a less fluffier tail.
Strengths and Weaknesses
While Minccino is the base evolution, the evolution line in its entirety is not particularly powerful. Minccino has relatively mediocre stats across the board and these stats do not improve too much even after it evolves. As a normal type Pokemon it is only weak to fighting type moves and is completely immune to ghost type moves. Normal type Pokemon are not resistant to any other type and will take regular damage from all other types.
Shiny Minccino
The giveaway for a Shiny Minccino is the color of its inner ear. The inside of Shiny Minccino’s ears are yellow instead of pink while its fur is pink. Not much else changes between regular Minccino and Shiny Minccino but like all shiny Pokemon, Shiny Minccino gains a starry animation upon entering battle.
Best Moveset
While Minccino’s statline is not particularly impressive, it does have access to the ability Skill Link. This ability makes any multi-hit move always hit for the maximum number of hits. Since it is not fully evolved, you will only really be able to utilize it in the LC (Little Cup) bracket. To succeed in this bracket, in competitive battles, consider running Tail Slap, Knock Off, Seed Bomb/U-Turn, and Wake-Up Slap/U-Turn. Tail Slap benefits from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) and utilizes its Skill Link ability, Knock Off will be able to deal with your opponent’s held items, Seed Bomb is for type coverage, U-Turn can be used interchangeably to get an efficient switch out and Wake-Up Slap can be used in conjunction with another Pokemon to deal more damage.
| Tail Slap | Knock Off |
| Seed Bomb/U-Turn | Wake-Up Slap/U-Turn |
How to Catch Minccino in Pokemon Go
Despite being a normal type Pokemon, Minccino is relatively rare. In order to obtain a Minccino in Pokemon Go, you will have the best odds of finding them through hatching 2 km eggs. They can spawn in the wild and, as a normal type Pokemon, can spawn anywhere at any time. It has also appeared as a tier one raid boss in Pokemon Gyms, so keep your eyes peeled for gym raids, 2 km eggs, and normal type spawns nearby to have the best odds of obtaining a Minccino. It will take 50 Minccino candies and a Unova Stone in order to evolve it into Cinccino.
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Trivia
- The usable item Poke Toy is modeled after Minccino’s tail.
- The Minccino that appears in the intro of the Black and White games can be shiny.
- The name Minccino is a combination of the words mini and chinchilla.
FAQ
What Level does Minccino Evolve?
Minccino does not evolve through typical level threshold means. In order to evolve your Minccino you will need to use a Shiny Stone on it to have it evolve into Cinccino. You can use it as soon as you catch your Minccino or at level 100 if you want.
Is Cinccino a good Pokemon?
While its stat distribution is not the strongest, its access to the move Skill Link will ensure that multi-hitting moves will deal considerable amounts of damage consistently. Otherwise there is not much about Cinccino that puts it over other Pokemon. Luckily it is a monotype normal Pokemon which makes it fairly resilient to many other types of Pokemon.
How do you evolve Cinccino?
Cinccino is the final evolution of the line. You cannot evolve your Cinccino further and it evolves from Minccino. It is a two stage evolution with Minccino as the base and Cinccino as the final evolution. There is no other Pokemon you can evolve your Cinccino into.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this chinchilla Pokemon. While it may not have had the biggest impact on competitive battling, the potential of Minccino is much higher than other base evolutions. With a Silk Scarf held item, STAB and Skill Link, multi-hit moves will have incredible usability and its battle capabilities may surprise you. Even though it may not be the most powerful Pokemon, it has drawn in a lot of fans through its charming design.
