[OVERVIEW]
Mega Pidgeot is able to freely launch off Hurricanes thanks to its ability No Guard giving it perfect accuracy. The majority of Pokemon that resist Flying-type attacks in OU either risk being 2HKOed by Mega Pidgeot after entry hazard damage or can be trapped and KOed by its common teammate Dugtrio. Mega Pidgeot sits at a nice Speed tier, but it is still outsped by threatening Pokemon like Greninja and Tapu Koko, as well as every relevant Choice Scarf user. Without team support, Mega Pidgeot can't break through Rock-types like Tyranitar and Nihilego. In addition, Pidgeot is quickly worn down by Stealth Rock damage, and its low bulk and few resistances limit its ability to switch in freely. Mega Pidgeot faces heavy competition from Tornadus-T for a teamslot—while they share the same Speed tier, Tornadus-T has better coverage, has longevity with Regenerator, and can choose between bulk or power with its choice of item. Mega Pidgeot only wins out on reliability, since its moves are perfectly accurate.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Heat Wave
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Roost
item: Pidgeotite
ability: Big Pecks
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Hurricane is Pidgeot's strongest STAB move and is its most spammable attack. Heat Wave allows Pidgeot to break down Steel-types such as Magearna and Mega Mawile as well as deal slightly more damage to Electric-types like Zapdos and Tapu Koko. U-turn can be used to pivot out of the Pokemon that wall Mega Pidgeot, such as Tyranitar, Nihilego, and Heatran, allowing a teammate to trap them or otherwise apply offensive pressure. Roost gives Mega Pidgeot longevity, allowing it to stay out of range of priority attacks or consistently apply pressure to defensive teams. Hidden Power Ground can be used to make Mega Pidgeot more self-sufficient versus Pokemon like Nihilego and Heatran.
Set Details
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Pidgeot lacks good abilities before it Mega Evolves. Big Pecks is the most viable and is chosen to prevent Defense drops from moves like Crunch and Liquidation. After Pidgeot Mega Evolves, No Guard gives both Mega Pidgeot and its foes perfect accuracy on all moves, enabling Mega Pidgeot to freely use high-powered moves that would otherwise be inaccurate like Hurricane. 252 Speed EVs are used with a Timid nature to take full advantage of Mega Pidgeot's Speed tier, allowing it to outspeed Pokemon like Dugtrio, Gengar, and Latios. 252 Special Attack EVs maximize Pidgeot's power, lettings its attacks hit as hard as possible.
Usage Tips
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Early-game, if the opponent has something that can wall Mega Pidgeot, such as Tyranitar, Chansey, Nihilego, or Heatran, use U-turn to try to trap these Pokemon with a teammate like Dugtrio. Hidden Power Ground can be used to weaken some of these Pokemon, but very rarely will it be able to OHKO them. If the opponent has Zapdos, do not use U-turn—Zapdos's ability Static can paralyze Pidgeot and leave it near useless. Once Mega Pidgeot's defensive answers are gone, or if Pidgeot has teammates able to easily switch in on them, spam Hurricane to wear down the opposing team. Use Heat Wave on predicted switches to Pokemon like Celesteela, but calculate damage carefully to see if two consecutive uses of Heat Wave are necessary rather than simply using Hurricane first. If the opponent has a priority user left on their team and Pidgeot has sustained damage, it may be a good idea to use Roost rather than fire off attacks. Be sure to analyze the risk of the play should the foe stay in rather than switch. Don't switch Mega Pidgeot in on Stealth Rock too often. Try to remove Stealth Rock or prevent it from being set up to keep Pidgeot healthy and out of range of priority attacks. Be wary of switching Pidgeot directly into damaging moves, as it lacks many resistances and has poor bulk. Remember that No Guard works against Pidgeot as well as for it. Inaccurate moves like Stone Edge are guaranteed to connect, so don't rely on a miss.
Team Options
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Dugtrio is a key partner for Mega Pidgeot. It has the ability to trap and remove the majority of Mega Pidgeot's counters, taking out Pokemon like Tyranitar, Chansey, Nihilego, Heatran, and potentially Mega Manectric should Dugtrio avoid Intimidate. Electric-types like Rotom-W and Tapu Koko have a tendency to bring in the Grass-types that Mega Pidgeot can exploit and can form a VoltTurn core with it. Entry hazard removers such as Latios, Mew, and Tapu Fini can remove Stealth Rock, helping Mega Pidgeot stay out of range of priority. However, do note that Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain will prevent foes from becoming confused. Mega Pidgeot appreciates entry hazards to allow it to 2HKO certain offensive Electric-types, such as Tapu Koko and offensive variants of Zapdos. Dugtrio can fit Stealth Rock on its set, while Ferrothorn can set Stealth Rock, handle most Electric-types, and lure in Grass-types for Mega Pidgeot to exploit. Wallbreakers, especially those that pressure stall such as Tapu Lele, are good partners. Mega Pidgeot needs a defensive backbone able to handle Electric-types such as Tapu Koko and Zapdos, common Choice Scarf users, and Pokemon that benefit from weather like Kingdra and Mega Swampert. Bulky Grass-types like Tangrowth, Amoonguss, and Ferrothorn can do this well. Tyranitar can pressure Zapdos and damage it with Pursuit. Tyranitar's sand can also provide useful chip damage. Other Pokemon that appreciate Dugtrio targets like Chansey, Heatran, and Tyranitar being lured and eliminated make for good partners, since the opponent will be pressured into keeping these Pokemon away from Dugtrio. Ash-Greninja is a good teammate in this regard thanks to Dugtrio being able to trap both Chansey and Toxapex.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Hyper Beam can be used as a nuke to surprise and eliminate Pokemon that otherwise wall Mega Pidgeot like Zapdos and Rotom-W, possibly opening a hole for a teammate. However, Hyper Beam leaves Pidgeot vulnerable for a turn, turning it into setup bait. A stallbreaker set with Work Up / Roost / Refresh / Hurricane can be used to break down stall while maintaining Mega Pidgeot's Speed tier, keeping its use versus offensive teams. However, this set somewhat relies on confusion from Hurricane to be effective. Defog is an option, allowing Pidgeot to remove entry hazards to support its teammates like Dugtrio. Mega Pidgeot is able to act as an effective remover of Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Sticky Web thanks to the switches it forces, but it is in general strapped for moveslots. Tailwind can be used to give Mega Pidgeot and its teammates an advantage against hyper offense teams or to pressure common Choice Scarf users.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Electric-types**: The majority of Electric-types in OU are able to switch in on Hurricane, force Mega Pidgeot out, and avoid being trapped by Dugtrio. Tapu Koko escapes most variants of Dugtrio with U-turn, while Zapdos and Rotom-W are immune to Arena Trap. Zapdos additionally can punish U-turn with Static.
**Revenge Killers**: Mega Pidgeot is outsped by all revenge killers in the OU metagame. Faster Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko, Greninja, and Weavile, have the power and coverage to cleanly OHKO Mega Pidgeot. In addition, Weavile can use Pursuit to trap and KO a weakened Pidgeot or leave it in range of priority. Choice Scarf users such as Nihilego, Garchomp, and Keldeo can all KO Mega Pidgeot after Stealth Rock damage. In addition, powerful priority like Mamoswine's Ice Shard, Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch, and Zygarde's Extreme Speed can pick off Mega Pidgeot if it has sustained prior damage.
**Chansey**: Chansey walls Mega Pidgeot and is able to set up Stealth Rock, applying pressure to Mega Pidgeot and its team. In addition, Toxic Chansey can be difficult for Dugtrio to trap, forcing it to rely on inaccurate options like Screech.
**Rock-types**: Mega Pidgeot lacks the ability to deal significant damage to most Rock-types. Hidden Power Ground has low Base Power and is usually only effective versus 4x weak Pokemon like Nihilego. Tyranitar is an excellent answer to Mega Pidgeot and additionally can Pursuit trap it. However, all relevant Rock-types in OU must be wary of being trapped by Dugtrio, a common partner for Mega Pidgeot.
**Heatran**: Heatran fully walls Mega Pidgeot and can set up Stealth Rock. However, it must be wary of being trapped by Dugtrio, a common Pidgeot teammate.
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