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Moves Stealth Rock and Defog are moves that allow Piplup to employ entry hazard control. Piplup's Stealth Rock will wear down opposing Pokemon and break the Sturdy of Pokemon such as Tirtouga and Magnemite, allowing its teammates to push past foes more easily. Defog removes all entry hazards, allowing Piplup's teammates to avoid taking residual damage. Piplup's STAB Scald has a chance to burn foes, meaning it will be able to set up or remove entry hazards more easily. Ice Beam hits foes such as Fletchling and Foongus, and has good coverage with Scald; however, it fails to 2HKO most Grass-type Pokemon. Set Details A Bold nature and the EVs listed maximize Piplup's bulk and allow it to reach Eviolite numbers, letting it both withstand hits and take on most entry hazard setters. Torrent is the only ability legal with Defog, boosting Piplup's Water-type attacks when it's below one-third of its maximum health. Although it's situational, the boost in power is useful. Usage Tips Piplup is bulky enough to be switched directly in on attacks, but its lack of recovery means you should not do so unless removing or setting entry hazards is necessary; thus, Piplup should be brought in with a slow U-turn or Volt Switch wherever possible. Team Options Pokemon that are weak to Stealth Rock really appreciate having Piplup as a teammate. Fletchling, Archen, Taillow, Larvesta, Ponyta, and Sturdy users such as Magnemite and Tirtouga benefit greatly from an absence of entry hazards on the field. Piplup can't push past bulky Grass-types such as Foongus, Pumpkaboo, and Ferroseed, so it will need support from teammates such as Ponyta, Larvesta, and Fletchling in order to beat them. Incidentally, all of these Pokemon are weak to Stealth Rock and appreciate Piplup removing them through Defog. Piplup can also take care of the Ground- and Rock-type Pokemon that threaten these teammates, while they can switch into the Grass-type moves that threaten Piplup. Chinchou also makes for a good teammate; while both it and Piplup are weak to Grass-type attacks, Chinchou can come into Electric-type attacks from Magnemite and opposing Chinchou. A cleric such as Spritzee or Lickitung can pass some hefty Wishes to Piplup, enabling it to perform its role much more effectively.

With decent defenses, Piplup can pull off a support set. The main reason to use Piplup is Stealth Rock, and Piplup can find its chances to set it up; however, it can be difficult at times due to Piplup's low Speed stat. Despite being a weak move in general, Scald is the best STAB move to use on this set due to its ability to inflict burns. Icy Wind combats Grass-types, while also reducing the opponent's Speed. However, Piplup will be more susceptible to being KOed due to Icy Wind's low Base Power, making Ice Beam a viable option. Toxic helps spread poison throughout the opponent's team and makes it easier for Piplup's teammates to sweep later on in the game. The given EV spread and a Calm nature let Piplup hit 21 Defense and 24 Special Defense with Eviolite. This gives Piplup the most optimal defenses possible and lets it take hits easier. If you prefer a stronger STAB move, Scald can be replaced with Hydro Pump; however, this turns the set into a mostly offensive set, which is done better by Chinchou and Staryu. Other Water-types resist both of Piplup's attacks and can normally work around Toxic damage. This makes Electric-types, such as Chinchou and Magnemite, and Grass-types, such as Snover and Lileep, great teammates for Piplup as they can easily deal with these threats. Croagunk, while also being a partner that can defeat Water-types, is also an enemy to Piplup due to Dry Skin. Misdreavus makes an excellent teammate to dispose of Croagunk, while also acting as a spinblocker to keep Piplup's Stealth Rock on the field.

Piplup's bulk, great typing, and access to Stealth Rock make him a great candidate in the lead position. He easily defeats Ground- and Rock-type Pokemon, which gives him a multitude of occasions on which to set up Stealth Rock. Icy Wind is essential to this set. It allows Piplup to break the opponent's Focus Sash on turn one. Then, thanks to Icy Wind's secondary effect of lowering the opponent's Speed, Piplup can outrun the opposing lead and set up Stealth Rock or simply KO the opposing Pokemon. This move is invaluable against leads relying on their Speed to be effective, such as Meowth, Diglett, and Chimchar. The choice between Hidden Power Fire and Hidden Power Grass is a tough one. Hidden Power Fire gives Piplup the upper hand against Snover, who can otherwise cause some problems, but then leaves him completely helpless against other Water Pokemon, such as Chinchou, Squirtle, Buizel, and Horsea. Hidden Power Grass can also be used to assure the OHKO on Kabuto, Omanyte, and Barboach. Maximum Speed and a Timid nature may seem odd for a support-inclined lead set, but the 14 Speed mark Piplup achieves is absolutely necessary. The Speed EVs allow Piplup to outspeed every Pokemon in LC, bar Choice Scarf users, after a Speed drop from Icy Wind. Apart from those important EVs, the spread is rather simple. Special Attack is maximized to get as much power as possible, while the remaining EVs are allocated to HP and Defense to increase Piplup's survivability. The item choice depends on whether you want Piplup to have more survivability or a better match-up against faster leads who might OHKO Piplup. For example, Diglett will be able to 2HKO Piplup if he isn't holding an Oran Berry. The same goes for Gligar holding a Focus Sash. For these reasons, Oran Berry is the preferred option. With Focus Sash, however, Piplup will be able to survive attacks from faster leads, such as Voltorb and Gastly, giving him the chance to use Icy Wind or to simply use Hydro Pump right away for the KO. Piplup has problems with Snover unless he is running Hidden Power Fire and Snover is not holding a Focus Sash (which is an unlikely scenario). Therefore, it would be a great idea for you to have a good Snover counter. Fire-types, such as Ponyta and Magby, make great candidates for this role, as they can switch in on Snover's STAB attacks and retaliate with Overheat or Flare Blitz. Bronzor also comes to mind, as it can easily switch into Snover and threaten him with Gyro Ball. Since Munchlax is one of Piplup's greatest counters, Pokemon able to take him out quickly are very useful to the blue penguin. Diglett, Trapinch, and Wynaut are able to trap and KO him easily. Strong physical attackers, such as Mankey and Machop, can also defeat Munchlax with ease. Drifloon and Duskull have enough bulk to survive multiple Pursuits and can come in on a Return or Earthquake from Munchlax and burn him. Bulky Waters can also give Piplup trouble. The best example is Chinchou, who can easily come in on a Surf or Hydro Pump and threaten Piplup with Thunderbolt. Diglett can come in on a Thunderbolt and defeat Chinchou with Earthquake. Wynaut can trap opponents with his Shadow Tag ability and OHKO them with Mirror Coat.

Piplup has great bulk and a good defensive typing, which gives him a lot of opportunities to set up Stealth Rock. He also has a wide support movepool, making him a great choice for such a role in Little Cup. The primary advantage of having Piplup as a support Pokemon is that he is not only able to set up Stealth Rock, but also able to counter Rain Dance sweepers, a great threat in the Little Cup metagame. Mantyke without a Life Orb will be unable to OHKO Piplup with a rain-boosted Surf or super effective Hidden Power, and Buizel's Return will also fail to KO Piplup. Other Swift Swimmers, such as Surskit, non-Life Orb Horsea, Omanyte, Kabuto, and Goldeen, will be stopped cold by Piplup's incredible bulk. However, repeated assault from the aforementioned threats will wear Piplup down. Even though Stealth Rock isn't as important in Little Cup as it is in the OU metagame, it is still helpful in checking Little Cup's omnipresent Choice Scarf users. It reduces the lifespan of threats such as Mantyke and Snover, as well as negating the effects of Focus Sash. However, what makes Piplup such a good user of Stealth Rock is the ability to abuse it with Yawn. Yawn is extremely useful in the Little Cup metagame because it forces switches, racking up residual damage from Stealth Rock and scouting the opposing team. Surf is there for a consistent STAB attack, although its damage output is low due to the lack of Special Attack EVs on this set. In the second slot, Hidden Power Electric is preferable to handle Swift Swimmers who will otherwise easily defeat Piplup, but Ice Beam can handle Grass-types, such as Shroomish and Paras. The bulky EV spread maximizes Piplup's survivability. With the specified EVs, Piplup can survive two Rock Slides from Kabuto leads (three with an Oran Berry). The EVs also allow Piplup to easily survive unboosted super effective Hidden Powers from the likes of Mantyke, Horsea, and Surskit, as well as Omanyte's Ancient Power and Buizel's Return. Oran Berry is by far the preferable item to increase Piplup's lifespan. It also allows Piplup to transform many opponent's 2HKOs into 3HKOs, thus giving you a great advantage over the enemy. Pairing Piplup with Pokemon able to set up Spikes (Pineco and Omanyte come to mind) is a great idea to take advantage of the switches provoked by Yawn. Also, priority users, such as Croagunk, can easily take advantage of a team weakened by entry hazards. Setup sweepers, such as Dratini, Aron, and Totodile, are very useful when it is time to take advantage of a free turn provided by Yawn, and could easily spell death to the rest of the opponent's team. On a more defensive note, having a Pokemon who can easily switch into Electric and Grass attacks is really useful to Piplup. Shroomish is thus a great partner, because he complements Piplup defensively, and can set up on Electric- or Grass-type moves aimed at the miniature penguin. Grass-types, such as Bulbasaur, Lileep, Paras, Bellsprout, and Shroomish, all give Piplup a hard time. Doduo can switch in on a Sleep Powder (hoping to wake up quickly with Early Bird) or Grass-type attacks without fear and threaten with Brave Bird or Drill Peck, while Mankey can switch on sleep moves with impunity (thanks to his ability, Vital Spirit) and U-turn away to scout. As mentioned earlier, another threat to Piplup in the lead position is Snover. Without Hidden Power Fire, Piplup is helpless against him. Magnemite can abuse its resistances by taking a Blizzard or Energy Ball from Snover and retaliate with Flash Cannon. Speaking of resistances, Shieldon is a great way to stop Snover, taking little damage from almost anything the frozen tree can throw at him and striking back with Stone Edge and Iron Head. Various Fire-types, such as Magby and Houndour, can come in on his STAB attacks and retaliate with a Fire attack. Makuhita can also take a Blizzard if he runs Thick Fat and fight back with Brick Break or Cross Chop.