[OVERVIEW]
* Drizzle is the main reason to use Pelipper, providing incredible team support for rain based teams.
* A resistance to Fighting-type moves, superior physical bulk, and access to a variety of utility moves such as U-turn, Defog, and reliable recovery in Roost give Pelipper a niche over its main competition, Politoed.
* Pelipper's Water-Flying typing and solid defensive bulk allows it to check Mega Scizor, Excadrill, and Mega Metagross lacking Thunder Punch.
* Pelipper's abysmal Speed stat allows it to get off slow U-turns and thus bring in a rain sweeper for free versus a vulnerable foe.
* Pelipper's low Special Attack stat in conjunction with its shallow movepool make it set up fodder for many threatening Pokemon such as Tail Glow Manaphy, Coil Zygarde, and Calm mind Keldeo.
* Pelipper's 4x weakness to Electric-type attacks is very exploitable as Volt Switchers such as Rotom-W and Tapu Koko can use it to generate momentum with ease.
* Pelipper's awful Special Defense stat also makes it unable to check opposing Water-type Pokemon such as Keldeo, Greninja, and Tapu Fini.
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Hurricane
move 3: Roost
move 4: U-turn / Defog
item: Damp Rock
ability: Drizzle
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Scald is reliable Water-type STAB boosted by Drizzle with a 30% chance to burn the target.
* Hurricane is 100% accurate in rain, and has excellent synergy alongside Scald, nailing Grass-types such as Tangrowth, Mega Venusaur, and Amoonguss for super effective damage.
* Roost keeps Pelipper healthy and extend a its longevity throughout a battle. This can be crucial for re-setting rain turns after they have expired.
* U-turn is very useful for generating momentum and getting Pelipper's teammates free switch ins to abuse as many turns of rain as possible.
* Defog can also be used in this slot if Pelipper's teammates are particularly weak to hazards, however using Defog wastes rain turns for Pelippers teammates.
Set Details
========
* Maximum HP and Defense investment with a Bold nature allows Pelipoer to be as physically bulky as possible.
* An alternative, faster EV spread can also be used, with 124 EVs poured into Speed allowing Pelipper to outpace minimum Speed Mega Venusaur and do significant damage with a super effective Hurricane.
* Damp Rock is the item of choice in order to maximize the number of rain turns Pelipper can set up for its teammates.
* Drizzle is the selected ability as without it Pelipper has no niche in OU.
Usage Tips
========
* Pelipper often makes for a solid lead choice as it can immediately set up rain for its teammates and has a good matchup versus common hazard setters such as defensive Landorus-T and Heatran.
* Keeping Pelipper alive until the later stages of a battle when the opposing team has been properly weakened is usually optimal, as it can set up rain and allow for a teammate to sweep.
* If the opponent has a weather setter such as Tyranitar, Hippowdon, or Mega Charizard Y it is vital to keep Pelipper alive at all costs until said weather setter has fainted.
* Use Pelippers slow U-turn to generate momentum and get rain sweepers free switch ins to wreck havoc on the opposing team.
Team Options
========
* Pelipper is used exclusively on rain teams, so Swift Swim sweepers such as Kingdra and Kabutops are excellent partners to abuse the rain it automatically sets.
* Electric-types such as Tapu Koko, Rotom-W, and Magnezone can take advantage of rain with 100% accurate Thunder's, as well as form Volt-turn cores with Pelipper.
* Magnezone is a particularly potent partner for Pelipper, as it can trap and remove Ferrothorn which resists both of Kingdra and Kabutops's STAB moves.
* Tornadus-T greatly benefits from the rain Pelipper provides, as it can spam 100% accurate Hurricanes with no drawbacks.
* Lastly, Steel-types such as Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn appreciate the weakened power of Fire-type attacks under rain and as such, make for solid teammates. Ferrothorn works especially well alongside Pelipper, as it resists any opposing rain-boosted Water-type attacks, as well as checking Tapu Koko who threatens the aforementioned Swift Swim sweepers as well as Tornadus-T.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Pelipper can opt for a more offensive route utilizing Choice Specs, however this set struggles to properly support rain teams with only 5 turns of rain, and Pelipper's lackluster Speed stat makes it difficult to wallbreak versus more offensive teams.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Tapu Koko, Magnezone, and Thundurus threaten Pelipper greatly with their 4x super effective STAB moves, and can make use of Volt Switch to either faint Pelipper or generate momentum by forcing it out.
**Opposing weather setters**: Mega Charizard Y, Tyranitar, and Hippowdon can all terminate Pelipper's rain upon entrance thanks to Drought and Sand Stream respectively, and as such make it difficult for Pelipper to consistently perform its role.
**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock are very troublesome for Pelipper, as they not only shorten its longevity but if Pelipper is below 25% of its maximum HP and switches into the battlefield with Stealth Rock up, it will faint before Drizzle can activate.
**Special Attackers**: Powerful Special Attackers such as Greninja-Ash, Latios, and Tapu Lele can all do massive damage to Pelipper due to its underwhelming Special Defense stat.
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