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Pidgeot, despite evolving from one of the weakest Pokemon in the game, can hold its own in PvP modes.
Hopefully, even for beginner trainers, most have caught a Pidgey at some point. In both the main series and in Pokemon GO, Pidgey is an early game staple. In Generation I, Pidgeot was on Blue’s final champion team to face players after the Elite Four. Its Pokemon GO variant doesn’t have great stats (only 166 Attack and average defense), but it’s the movepool that carries it.
What are the best moves for this Normal-type and Flying-type Pokemon?
Some Pokemon fans may recall that, once Pidgey is caught in the main series games, Gust is one of the first moves that it learns. It’s a Flying-type move, but its damage is really low. It’s only perfect for damaging early game Grass-type Pokemon.
In Pokemon GO, however, the exact opposite is true; Gust is a phenomenal attack. Despite its slow animation (2000 ms), Gust drops 25 damage every time it’s used. It also charges 20 energy, which still translates to 10 EPS. Gust sacrifices a little speed for energy and damage output.
To determine which charge moves Pidgeot wants to run, the trainer must decide what they are using the Pokemon for. It should run different moves for PvP (likely Great League) and Raids/other battles.
If a trainer wants to use Pidgeot for Raids or in-game objectives, they would like to run Aerial Ace and Brave Bird. At 130 base power, Brave Bird does more damage than Hurricane. Aerial Ace is the better move with a small energy cost since Air Cutter isn’t worth the Elite TM.
In PvP, though, Pidgeot wants to be running Feather Dance. This may seem surprising since this move tickles enemies with only 35 base power. Trainers won’t be using this move for damage, though; it’s for utility.
Feather Dance, like in the main series games, puts a two-stage Attack debuff onto the enemy. This means that if Pidgeot can over-farm for two Feather Dances, it can use both and drop the opponent to -4 Attack!
This has several applications. If Pidgeot is healthy, it can likely tank any move the opponent throws at it and Brave Bird for the KO. The other potential scenario is that the trainer can make the safest swap since the opponent will have such a small Attack stat.
