

qc: misaka mikoto / torkool / eien
gp: the dutch plumberjack / lotiasite
[OVERVIEW]
Normal
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Mega Pidgeot is one of the best revenge killers on Normal, sporting unrivaled Speed and excellent Special Attack. It helps immensly in the Fighting matchup by outpacing and OHKOing threats such as Infernape and Keldeo while also greatly improving the Bug and Grass matchups, heavily pressuring defensive threats on Grass like Ferrothorn and Mega Venusaur with Heat Wave and Hurricane. Mega Pidgeot also pressures staples on Bug like Volcarona with its STAB Hurricane. Its ability, No Guard, offers great utility by boosting the accuracy of all its attacks, most notably Hurricane. Unfortunately, this comes at a cost, as it also makes sure foes' inaccurate attacks such as Hydro Pump, Focus Blast, and Stone Edge won't miss. Mega Pidgeot offers great team support through U-turn, boosting the team's momentum and bringing in powerful wallbreakers like Choice Specs Meloetta and Choice Band Diggersby as well as pivoting out to Porygon2, Chansey, and Staraptor, allowing them to take hits for Mega Pidgeot and recover. Mega Pidgeot also has access to utility such as Defog to relieve pressure off Staraptor, and it can utilize Tailwind to help wallbreakers smash holes through the even faster, offensive teams. Unfortunately, Mega Pidgeot has very poor defenses and is easily revenge killed by faster threats and priority once it has been weakened. It also has a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, which limits its opportunities to switch in. Its movepool is also extremely limited, leaving it walled by Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Chansey, and Heatran. Mega Pidgeot also comes with the opportunity cost of not being able to use Mega Lopunny, which has perfect neutral STAB coverage as well as superior Speed that allows it to outpace metagame threats such as Greninja and Tapu Koko that Mega Pidgeot can't and helps out with tough matchups against types such as Dark and Steel.
[SET]
name: Sweeper (Normal)
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Heat Wave
move 3: Roost
move 4: U-turn
item: Pidgeotite
ability: Big Pecks
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Hurricane is Mega Pidgeot's strongest STAB move and most spammable attack, only being resisted by Steel-, Rock-, and Electric-types. Heat Wave is a secondary attack that nails defensive and offensive Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Bisharp, which threaten Normal teams. Roost gives Mega Pidgeot more longevity and allows it to stay in against defensive threats longer. U-turn allows Mega Pidgeot to pivot out of switch-ins such as Heatran and Tyranitar while also gaining momentum. Hidden Power Ground allows Mega Pidgeot to prevent opposing offensive Heatran from safely switching in but prevents it from using one of its more effective moves. Defog provides Normal with a secondary entry hazard remover, which is great for preventing chip damage on the team.
Set Details
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Maximum Special Attack EVs are used to maximize Mega Pidgeot's attacking power. Maximum Speed and a Timid nature are used so Mega Pidgeot can outpace offensive threats such as Mega Gallade, Latios, and Keldeo. No Guard allows Mega Pidgeot to land inaccurate attacks such as Hurricane without fail. Pidgeotite is required for Pidgeot to evolve into Mega Pidgeot, as regular Pidgeot is not viable. Big Pecks is used to prevent foes from dropping Pidgeot's Defense before it Mega Evolves.
Usage Tips
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Primarily use Mega Pidgeot as a revenge killer and cleaner, because it has very poor defenses. Therefore, only switch it in with a double switch, after one of its teammates has fainted, or through a slow U-turn. Use Roost whenever there is a possibility of a free turn to keep Mega Pidgeot healthy. Avoid switching into Stealth Rock unless necessary for an important double switch or sacrifice. Utilize U-turn on switch-ins such as Chansey, Heatran, Zapdos, and Tyranitar to allow strong wallbreakers such as Choice Band Diggersby to come in and to scout the opposing team. Keep in mind that Mega Pidgeot can heavily threaten Steel-, Bug-, and Grass-type teams, so making double switches can seriously tilt the momentum in your favor. Avoid status, mainly poison and paralysis as the former can discourage double switches especially if rocks are up as in conjunction they wear down Mega Pidgeot very quickly and the latter prevents Pidgeot from revenge killing threats. Use Hurricane freely, as it is Mega Pidgeot's most reliable attack with No Guard, and even switch-ins have a chance of being confused. However, be wary, as No Guard also works against Mega Pidgeot, allowing foes to hit it with their own inaccurate attacks. If on the set, utilize Defog whenever Mega Pidgeot has a free turn to prevent teammates such as Porygon2, Chansey, and Staraptor from being chipped by entry hazards. For example, Mega Pidgeot can gain free turns from forcing foes such as Ferrothorn out and can capitalize on the free turn with Defog.
Team Options
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Pokemon like Diggersby synergize well with Mega Pidgeot because it can give them a free switch-in with U-turn. Choice Band Diggersby helps against Electric-, Rock-, and Steel-type teams, which Mega Pidgeot struggles against. Porygon2 can take physical hits from offensive threats such as Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu for Mega Pidgeot and chip defensive threats such as Celesteela into Mega Pidgeot's KO range with Discharge or Thunderbolt. It can also badly poison defensive threats and whittle them into range for Mega Pidgeot to KO later on and paralyze Choice Scarf users with Discharge or Thunder Wave so that Mega Pidgeot can outpace them. Similarly, Chansey can assist in wearing down the opposition with Toxic stall, Stealth Rock, and Seismic Toss for Mega Pidgeot to clean more easily. Thanks to its amazing Special Defense, you can bring it in on foes that threaten Mega Pidgeot like Tapu Koko and Choice Scarf Nihilego. Finally, Chansey can freely switch into status moves with its ability Natural Cure, thus preventing Mega Pidgeot from being inflicted with status. Staraptor acts as a primary Defogger to keep Mega Pidgeot from taking Stealth Rock damage. It can also eliminate Pokemon that threaten Mega Pidgeot like Alolan Muk and bring Mega Pidgeot in freely by means of a slow U-turn. Ditto works as a secondary revenge killer to eliminate setup sweepers that outpace Mega Pidgeot. Pokemon such as Heliolisk can be utilized to form an effective VoltTurn core with Mega Pidgeot to gain momentum on more offensive teams. With Sticky Web support from Smeargle on offensive teams, Mega Pidgeot can outpace the majority of the boosted metagame. Stealth Rock also provides helpful chip damage so that Mega Pidgeot can get more KOs. Porygon-Z can help wear down the opposition with a Z-Conversion set's wallbreakering power to allow Mega Pidgeot to pick up KOs later in the game.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Normal
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Tailwind doubles the speed of powerful wallbreakers such as Choice Band Diggersby, turning them into devastating sweepers, but is useless against bulkier teams and limits Mega Pidgeot's coverage options. Substitute allows Mega Pidgeot to check a huge threat in Bisharp, mitigate prediction versus slower U-turn Pokemon, and prevent status. Substitute can also be utilized on free turns when your opponent sacrifices a slower Pokemon weak to Mega Pidgeot's coverage such as Ferrothorn or Keldeo. However, Substitute is niche and limits Mega Pidgeot's coverage.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Heatran**: Heatran counters sets lacking Hidden Power Ground and is capable of KOing Mega Pidgeot with any Fire-type STAB attack.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Rotom-W and Zapdos resist Hurricane and force Mega Pidgeot out with their Electric-type STAB attacks. Other Electric-types such as Tapu Koko and Alolan Raichu can outpace Mega Pidgeot and threaten it with their STAB moves.
**Priority**: Priority from Pokemon such as Weavile and Bisharp can KO a weakened Mega Pidgeot.
**Rock-types**: Rock-types such as Tyranitar can survive multiple hits from Mega Pidgeot and either Pursuit trap it or KO it with Stone Edge.
**Revenge Killers**: Mega Pidgeot can be outsped and OHKOed by Pokemon such as Greninja and Tapu Koko. Choice Scarf revenge killers such as Victini and Nihilego outpace and OHKO Mega Pidgeot as well.
**Special Walls**: Specially defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Cradily wall Mega Pidgeot and wear it down with their attacks or Toxic stall.
**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock wears down Mega Pidgeot so that it can be revenge killed or forced out more easily by powerful priority or by faster sweepers.
**Status**: Paralysis renders Mega Pidgeot useless and incapable of revenge killing opposing Pokemon. Toxic poison easily wears down Mega Pidgeot as well.
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