Aipom's high Speed and Attack make it a potent wallbreaker with Choice Band and Double-Edge. Brick Break targets Rock-types such as Corsola and Rhyhorn, as well as hitting Magnemite. Baton Pass lets Aipom pivot out, easing prediction against foes likely to switch out against it. Return provides a powerful hit without costing Aipom's HP, but its lower power matters in some matchups, such as it failing to 2HKO physically bulky variants of Gloom and Koffing. Both of Aipom's abilities are useless; it does not matter which is chosen.

Aipom best fits on offensive and balance teams looking for a potent wallbreaker, something helped by the lack of viable Pokemon that resist Normal-type moves. The ability to remove physical and special walls and tanks such as Koffing, Noctowl, and Flaaffy makes it a great partner for offensive teammates such as Elekid, Ponyta, and Gloom. Calm Mind Corsola is Aipom's hardest counter, taking minimal damage from Double-Edge and failing to be 2HKOed by Brick Break. Grass-types such as Tropius and Gloom can break through Corsola before it accumulates too many boosts, though they must watch out for Ice Beam. Powerful wallbreakers such as Clamperl and Cubone can break through Aipom's defensive checks like Corsola, Rhyhorn, and Lileep, while it in return provides them with the means to switch in with Baton Pass. Toxic users such as Porygon can also cripple these foes, limiting their ability to check Aipom. Aipom struggles with faster Pokemon such as Ponyta and Abra, making bulky Pokemon such as Mightyena and Tropius good teammates. Choice Band Aipom can be used as a lead, providing instant power against opposing leads and the ability to pivot out of bad matchups and predicted switches using Baton Pass.

Aipom's Normal-type STAB moves and Fighting-type coverage moves are virtually perfect coverage against all of the ADV ZU metagame besides the rare Shuppet, and its high Speed enables it to easily revenge kill foes like Quilava, Doduo, and Meditite and clean up weakened teams. Brick Break lacks Double-Edge's recoil as a coverage move for Pokemon that resist Normal like Lileep, Magnemite, and Rhyhorn, though Double-Edge is still stronger against most of them, including Anorith. Return trades Double-Edge's recoil drawback for lower power, though this is helpful to Aipom given its lack of defensive utility and longevity. Focus Punch can catch Corsola and other Pokemon weak to Fighting like Mightyena and Lileep trying to switch into Aipom, dealing way more damage than Double-Edge or Brick Break despite the riskiness of using it. Baton Pass enables Aipom to be an offensive pivot, taking advantage of switch-ins to switch to an appropriate teammate and letting Aipom escape bad matchups against defensive Pokemon such as Corsola. A Silk Scarf maximizes the power of Aipom's STAB moves and lacks the drawbacks of locking in that Choice Band inflicts.

All-out Attacker Aipom fits more offensive teams as a cleaner thanks to its high Speed, and its utility as a revenge killer is also appreciated by bulkier teams. Wallbreakers like Seaking, Quilava, and Ponyta can soften up teams for Aipom to clean up while checking opposing Ponyta. Choice Band wallbreakers such as Doduo, Volbeat, and Meditite can respectively break down physically defensive Pokemon such as Koffing, Mightyena, and Corsola for Aipom. Pokemon that can check or counter Koffing such as Tentacool, Drowzee, and Dustox are helpful teammates for Aipom due to it struggling to overcome Koffing on its own. Physically defensive Gloom and Tropius are a pain for Aipom to break without support, so it appreciates help from partners like Koffing and Fire-types like Ponyta and Quilava to neutralize them. Aipom appreciates bulkier partners that can check the few Pokemon faster than it; Castform and Wartortle can handle Ponyta, Mightyena and Porygon check Abra, and Chinchou and Delcatty answer Elekid. Aipom especially struggles to break Corsola, so it appreciates checks to it such as Flaaffy and Gloom. Other Baton Pass users such as Ariados and Delcatty synergize with Aipom by creating pivot cores and allowing it to come in more safely.