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Description
This competitive Pokemon entry is actually a rather special one. As the Pokemon I will be reviewing was one that I used on the team of my original Ruby game. I know I have done entries for several other members of my Ruby team as well (Manectric, Sharpedo, Claydol, especially Blaziken), but the reason why I'm saying that this particular Pokemon is such a special case is because it is quite honestly the last Pokemon I thought I'd ever do a competitive entry on. But then Sun and Moon gave it something that made it worth using in the competitive metagame!

Ah, Pelipper. How I have so many fond memories of this big-mouthed bird. Out of all the Flying-type Pokemon I've ever used, I actually think I've used Pelipper the most. This is primarily because it was a core member of my Pokemon team back in my original Ruby game. Due to it being a Water/Flying-type, Pelipper served as both my means of aerial and water transportation throughout Hoenn, so I kept it on my team a lot. But I didn't use it strictly for the role of being an HM slave, I used Pelipper in battle quite a number of times during my playthrough and it has always been able to hold its own. Pelipper was both a dependable battler as well as excellent means of transportation, so it was overall a great traveling companion.

Unfortunately, this was just the case for the main game. As much as I love Pelipper after all the fun I had using it as a kid, Pelipper did not have a lot of potential in the competitive metagame. Its stats were very sub-par; it wasn't as bulky as tanky as other Water-type Pokemon, and it wasn't as fast or could hit very hard as other Flying-type Pokemon. Speaking of typing, that was another big thing that set it back. Water/Flying is a really terrible typing, as it makes Pelipper x4 weak to Electric-type attacks (like Thunderbolt, which is a very commonly used move in the metagame primarily since a lot of Pokemon can run it). Pelipper's movepool doesn't do it much good either, it has some decent support options but not a lot of offensive moves that give it effective coverage. With its weak stats, terrible typing, and overall bad movepool, it seemed that Pelipper was forever doomed to being a Pokemon that was incapable of performing in the metagame. If you follow the competitive Pokemon community website known as Smogon, you will find Pelipper in their lower tiers (particularly in their Neverused tier). While I personally don't like how they've categorized Pokemon's competitive potential into tier lists (as I believe that any Pokemon is capable of performing well in the metagame), I do have to agree with them in some cases. There are just some Pokemon that really have little to no viability in the metagame due to problems with their typing, stats, and/or movepool, and Pelipper was unfortunately one of those Pokemon.

Now, noticed how I've been using past tense so far in my discussion. Pelipper WAS doomed to not having any chance in the competitive metagame... until Sun and Moon came along and gave it a chance to potentially rise up and shine. Gen. 7 seemed to be very kind to Pelipper as they bestowed it with the Drizzle ability, which causes it to rain for up to 5 turns when Pelipper enters the field. Until now, only Kyogre and Politoed had these abilities, hence why they were often chosen to be the core components of competitive rain teams. Now that it has Drizzle, Pelipper has now become a viable candidate for being a Rain setter as well. But now that Kyogre has a Primal Reversion with an even more OP rain ability, and because this ability can also backfire if you solely depend on it, we must now compare Pelipper with Politoed. Now while I said that Pelipper has subpar stats, a terrible typing, and not a great movepool, the same can be said with Politoed. When you look at their stats, they're actually very similar (although Politoed has a higher base stat total). Both have base 100 in a defense stat (Pelipper has it in its physical defense and Politoed has it in its special defense), and the stats in both Pokemon's special attack and speed are very close as well. So Politoed and Pelipper are very similar in terms of stat distribution (so you'll generally get the same results from both of them). Now let's look at their differences: Politoed has a larger movepool (both support and offensive) and a mono Water typing that doesn't make it x4 weak to Electric-type attacks. Pelipper has access to a couple of good moves (both offensive and support) that Politoed doesn't, and being part Flying removes its weakness to Grass-types as well as gives it an immunity to the Earthquakes that its partner Pokemon will be dishing out. So both are good at what they do in their own ways. But since I've already made an entire entry regarding Politoed's competitive viability, let's now focus entirely on Pelipper's.

Now that it has Drizzle, Pelipper has a chance to shine in the metagame by being a core component for rain teams. Granted there are a couple of things that are still setting it back a bit, but Pelipper has just enough to keep it from being completely incompetent. Just be aware of Pelipper's flaws and carefully craft the rest of the Pokemon on your rain team to help it better cover its weaknesses.

Here’s my Pelipper's summary.
Nature: Modest
Held Item: Waterium Z, Flyinium Z, or Focus Sash
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 132 HP / 252 SpAtk / 124 Spe
-Scald
-Hurricane
-Tailwind
-Protect

I've raised my Pelipper to function as both a special attacker and a support Pokemon. Scald is the ideal Water-type STAB move to run on Pelipper due to its high chance to burn (plus it is further boosted by the rain). Protect lets Pelipper scout, stall out any other field conditions, rack up chip and burn damage, and avoid taking an otherwise deadly attack. You're probably noticing that its moveset is the same as Politoed's, but this is where the similarities end. Hurricane is a powerful STAB move that Pelipper has access to that Politoed doesn't and thanks to its new ability making it instantly rain, it has 100% accuracy! Tailwind is another exclusive support move Pelipper has access to, and it gives the rest of your team excellent speed control. A majority of offensive Pokemon that are used on a rain team often run the ability Swift Swim, which doubles their speed under the and enables them to outspeed a majority of Pokemon they would normally not be able to outside of the rain. With both Swift Swim and Tailwind in effect, Pokemon on your team with Swift Swim are now able to effectively outspeed pretty much anything (its like Sand Rush Excadrill, only less broken since it requires setup)!

132 HP gives Pelipper some moderate bulk and gives it a chance to tank a hit or 2. You'll obviously want to max out its special attack stat in order for it to hit as hard as possible (even if it isn't necessarily a lot). Lastly, a 124 Speed EV's and a Modest Nature will enable Pelipper to outspeed anything with a 130 base speed stat once Tailwind is set up. You could always run a Timid Nature and max out its speed EV's, then Pelipper would be able to outspeed even more threats (including some key threats BEFORE it sets up Tailwind). Since you are not allowed to run Pokemon with the same held item, you have a couple of alternate item options to choose from. Sun and Moon introduced us to a whole new mechanic known as Z Moves. These moves are incredibly powerful moves and can only be used once per battle. Z Crystals being needed to be held by the Pokémon in order for the moves to be activated. While it may seem like a bad idea giving Pelipper a Z Crystal and a better option would to give it to a stronger more offensive Pokemon on your team, remember that Z Moves can only be used once per battle and most offensive Pokemon strongly rely on their held item in order to be truly effective. Since Pelipper probably won't deal as much damage as the other offensive Pokemon on your rain team will and since it probably won't last as long on the field, having a one-use-only item that results in a powerful move is probably the best choice for Pelipper. Waterium Z will give Pelipper access to Hydro Vortex, which can deal massive amounts of STAB damage coupled with the rain (its base power will be 180 if the Water-type move Pelipper knows is Scald). Flyinium Z gives Pelipper access to the powerful Supersonic Skystrike, which can also deal massive STAB damage and can catch Grass, Dragon, and opposing Water-types off guard (its base power will be 185 if the Flying-type move Pelipper knows is Hurricane). Though if you've already got a Pokemon on your team running a Z-Move, you can alternatively have Pelipper hold a Focus Sash, so it can at the very least set up Tailwind and ensure that none of your opponent's Pokemon can outspeed yours.

Of course Pelipper can run a variety of other moves. Here are some suggestions:
-Hydro Pump is a more powerful Water STAB option (not to mention increases the power of its Water Z-Move Hydro Vortex), but I generally don't like running it due to its low accuracy. So stick with Scald.
-Air Slash is an alternate Flying STAB option you could run instead of Hurricane, it's more accurate than Hurricane would be outside of the rain, but the power difference is very noticeable with Pelipper lacking an offensive presence (it'll also make its Flying Z move Supersonic Skystrike weaker).
-Ice Beam deals tons of damage to Grass-types such as Amoonguss and non-Mega Venusaur, Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Flying-types such as Thundurus, and Dragon-types such as Hydreigon and Latios.
-Stockpile is an excellent move that can raise both of a Pokemon's defense stats and can be used up to 3 times (Pelipper was among the few Pokemon that could learn this move in Gen. 3, even though the defense boosts were added until Gen. 4) Unfortunately, Pelipper's terrible defensive typing makes it unable to effectively utilize this move.
-U-turn allows Pelipper to gain momentum when the opponent switches out, what's more is that it can safely switch out if your opponent brings in a Pokemon that neither Pelipper or its partner can counter against.
-Soak is an interesting support move to run on Pelipper, any Pokemon that is hit by the move is immediately changed to a Water-type (this effect wears off when the Pokemon either faints or is switched out). While it may seem pointless, there are actually some benefits to this type changing move that you can use to your advantage. Having their type changed to Water means your opponent's Pokemon will lose all of their effective STAB moves (meaning they won't hit as hard), what's more is that you could run a Grass or Electric-type Pokemon alongside Pelipper that can then hit your opponent's Pokemon for super effective damage due to them now being weak to those types of moves. So Soak is definitely a support move option worth considering.
-Roost is an excellent means of restoring Pelipper's HP, not to mention removes its Flying typing for a turn. So not only does it restore HP but it lightens Pelipper's x4 weakness to Electric-type moves. So it is definitely worth considering if you want your Pelipper to run recovery.
-Wide Guard is a very good move to run on Pelipper in double battles as it helps protect both itself and its allies from moves such as Rock Slide, Muddy Water, Discharge, Explosion, and the ever common Earthquake (even though Pelipper is immune to it, Wide Guard enables it to keep its partner safe).

Do you have your own Pelipper moveset and strategy? Comment below with your moveset!

Description
This competitive Pokemon entry is actually a rather special one. As the Pokemon I will be reviewing was one that I used on the team of my original Ruby game. I know I have done entries for several other members of my Ruby team as well (Manectric, Sharpedo, Claydol, especially Blaziken), but the reason why I'm saying that this particular Pokemon is such a special case is because it is quite honestly the last Pokemon I thought I'd ever do a competitive entry on. But then Sun and Moon gave it something that made it worth using in the competitive metagame!

Ah, Pelipper. How I have so many fond memories of this big-mouthed bird. Out of all the Flying-type Pokemon I've ever used, I actually think I've used Pelipper the most. This is primarily because it was a core member of my Pokemon team back in my original Ruby game. Due to it being a Water/Flying-type, Pelipper served as both my means of aerial and water transportation throughout Hoenn, so I kept it on my team a lot. But I didn't use it strictly for the role of being an HM slave, I used Pelipper in battle quite a number of times during my playthrough and it has always been able to hold its own. Pelipper was both a dependable battler as well as excellent means of transportation, so it was overall a great traveling companion.

Unfortunately, this was just the case for the main game. As much as I love Pelipper after all the fun I had using it as a kid, Pelipper did not have a lot of potential in the competitive metagame. Its stats were very sub-par; it wasn't as bulky as tanky as other Water-type Pokemon, and it wasn't as fast or could hit very hard as other Flying-type Pokemon. Speaking of typing, that was another big thing that set it back. Water/Flying is a really terrible typing, as it makes Pelipper x4 weak to Electric-type attacks (like Thunderbolt, which is a very commonly used move in the metagame primarily since a lot of Pokemon can run it). Pelipper's movepool doesn't do it much good either, it has some decent support options but not a lot of offensive moves that give it effective coverage. With its weak stats, terrible typing, and overall bad movepool, it seemed that Pelipper was forever doomed to being a Pokemon that was incapable of performing in the metagame. If you follow the competitive Pokemon community website known as Smogon, you will find Pelipper in their lower tiers (particularly in their Neverused tier). While I personally don't like how they've categorized Pokemon's competitive potential into tier lists (as I believe that any Pokemon is capable of performing well in the metagame), I do have to agree with them in some cases. There are just some Pokemon that really have little to no viability in the metagame due to problems with their typing, stats, and/or movepool, and Pelipper was unfortunately one of those Pokemon.

Now, noticed how I've been using past tense so far in my discussion. Pelipper WAS doomed to not having any chance in the competitive metagame... until Sun and Moon came along and gave it a chance to potentially rise up and shine. Gen. 7 seemed to be very kind to Pelipper as they bestowed it with the Drizzle ability, which causes it to rain for up to 5 turns when Pelipper enters the field. Until now, only Kyogre and Politoed had these abilities, hence why they were often chosen to be the core components of competitive rain teams. Now that it has Drizzle, Pelipper has now become a viable candidate for being a Rain setter as well. But now that Kyogre has a Primal Reversion with an even more OP rain ability, and because this ability can also backfire if you solely depend on it, we must now compare Pelipper with Politoed. Now while I said that Pelipper has subpar stats, a terrible typing, and not a great movepool, the same can be said with Politoed. When you look at their stats, they're actually very similar (although Politoed has a higher base stat total). Both have base 100 in a defense stat (Pelipper has it in its physical defense and Politoed has it in its special defense), and the stats in both Pokemon's special attack and speed are very close as well. So Politoed and Pelipper are very similar in terms of stat distribution (so you'll generally get the same results from both of them). Now let's look at their differences: Politoed has a larger movepool (both support and offensive) and a mono Water typing that doesn't make it x4 weak to Electric-type attacks. Pelipper has access to a couple of good moves (both offensive and support) that Politoed doesn't, and being part Flying removes its weakness to Grass-types as well as gives it an immunity to the Earthquakes that its partner Pokemon will be dishing out. So both are good at what they do in their own ways. But since I've already made an entire entry regarding Politoed's competitive viability, let's now focus entirely on Pelipper's.

Now that it has Drizzle, Pelipper has a chance to shine in the metagame by being a core component for rain teams. Granted there are a couple of things that are still setting it back a bit, but Pelipper has just enough to keep it from being completely incompetent. Just be aware of Pelipper's flaws and carefully craft the rest of the Pokemon on your rain team to help it better cover its weaknesses.

Here’s my Pelipper's summary.
Nature: Modest
Held Item: Waterium Z, Flyinium Z, or Focus Sash
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 132 HP / 252 SpAtk / 124 Spe
-Scald
-Hurricane
-Tailwind
-Protect

I've raised my Pelipper to function as both a special attacker and a support Pokemon. Scald is the ideal Water-type STAB move to run on Pelipper due to its high chance to burn (plus it is further boosted by the rain). Protect lets Pelipper scout, stall out any other field conditions, rack up chip and burn damage, and avoid taking an otherwise deadly attack. You're probably noticing that its moveset is the same as Politoed's, but this is where the similarities end. Hurricane is a powerful STAB move that Pelipper has access to that Politoed doesn't and thanks to its new ability making it instantly rain, it has 100% accuracy! Tailwind is another exclusive support move Pelipper has access to, and it gives the rest of your team excellent speed control. A majority of offensive Pokemon that are used on a rain team often run the ability Swift Swim, which doubles their speed under the and enables them to outspeed a majority of Pokemon they would normally not be able to outside of the rain. With both Swift Swim and Tailwind in effect, Pokemon on your team with Swift Swim are now able to effectively outspeed pretty much anything (its like Sand Rush Excadrill, only less broken since it requires setup)!

132 HP gives Pelipper some moderate bulk and gives it a chance to tank a hit or 2. You'll obviously want to max out its special attack stat in order for it to hit as hard as possible (even if it isn't necessarily a lot). Lastly, a 124 Speed EV's and a Modest Nature will enable Pelipper to outspeed anything with a 130 base speed stat once Tailwind is set up. You could always run a Timid Nature and max out its speed EV's, then Pelipper would be able to outspeed even more threats (including some key threats BEFORE it sets up Tailwind). Since you are not allowed to run Pokemon with the same held item, you have a couple of alternate item options to choose from. Sun and Moon introduced us to a whole new mechanic known as Z Moves. These moves are incredibly powerful moves and can only be used once per battle. Z Crystals being needed to be held by the Pokémon in order for the moves to be activated. While it may seem like a bad idea giving Pelipper a Z Crystal and a better option would to give it to a stronger more offensive Pokemon on your team, remember that Z Moves can only be used once per battle and most offensive Pokemon strongly rely on their held item in order to be truly effective. Since Pelipper probably won't deal as much damage as the other offensive Pokemon on your rain team will and since it probably won't last as long on the field, having a one-use-only item that results in a powerful move is probably the best choice for Pelipper. Waterium Z will give Pelipper access to Hydro Vortex, which can deal massive amounts of STAB damage coupled with the rain (its base power will be 180 if the Water-type move Pelipper knows is Scald). Flyinium Z gives Pelipper access to the powerful Supersonic Skystrike, which can also deal massive STAB damage and can catch Grass, Dragon, and opposing Water-types off guard (its base power will be 185 if the Flying-type move Pelipper knows is Hurricane). Though if you've already got a Pokemon on your team running a Z-Move, you can alternatively have Pelipper hold a Focus Sash, so it can at the very least set up Tailwind and ensure that none of your opponent's Pokemon can outspeed yours.

Of course Pelipper can run a variety of other moves. Here are some suggestions:
-Hydro Pump is a more powerful Water STAB option (not to mention increases the power of its Water Z-Move Hydro Vortex), but I generally don't like running it due to its low accuracy. So stick with Scald.
-Air Slash is an alternate Flying STAB option you could run instead of Hurricane, it's more accurate than Hurricane would be outside of the rain, but the power difference is very noticeable with Pelipper lacking an offensive presence (it'll also make its Flying Z move Supersonic Skystrike weaker).
-Ice Beam deals tons of damage to Grass-types such as Amoonguss and non-Mega Venusaur, Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Flying-types such as Thundurus, and Dragon-types such as Hydreigon and Latios.
-Stockpile is an excellent move that can raise both of a Pokemon's defense stats and can be used up to 3 times (Pelipper was among the few Pokemon that could learn this move in Gen. 3, even though the defense boosts were added until Gen. 4) Unfortunately, Pelipper's terrible defensive typing makes it unable to effectively utilize this move.
-U-turn allows Pelipper to gain momentum when the opponent switches out, what's more is that it can safely switch out if your opponent brings in a Pokemon that neither Pelipper or its partner can counter against.
-Soak is an interesting support move to run on Pelipper, any Pokemon that is hit by the move is immediately changed to a Water-type (this effect wears off when the Pokemon either faints or is switched out). While it may seem pointless, there are actually some benefits to this type changing move that you can use to your advantage. Having their type changed to Water means your opponent's Pokemon will lose all of their effective STAB moves (meaning they won't hit as hard), what's more is that you could run a Grass or Electric-type Pokemon alongside Pelipper that can then hit your opponent's Pokemon for super effective damage due to them now being weak to those types of moves. So Soak is definitely a support move option worth considering.
-Roost is an excellent means of restoring Pelipper's HP, not to mention removes its Flying typing for a turn. So not only does it restore HP but it lightens Pelipper's x4 weakness to Electric-type moves. So it is definitely worth considering if you want your Pelipper to run recovery.
-Wide Guard is a very good move to run on Pelipper in double battles as it helps protect both itself and its allies from moves such as Rock Slide, Muddy Water, Discharge, Explosion, and the ever common Earthquake (even though Pelipper is immune to it, Wide Guard enables it to keep its partner safe).

Do you have your own Pelipper moveset and strategy? Comment below with your moveset!