Don't Get So Worked Up
Pidgeot@Focus Sash
Timid nature
Keen Eye/Tangled Feet
252 Spd/252 Sp. Atk/4 HP
~Work Up
~Uproar
~Hurricane
~Heat Wave
Pidgeot has decidedly average stats, but it's not like it can't make use of them at all. Work Up boosts both of Pidgeot's offensive stats, though Special Attack's the only one what matters here. Uproar and Hurricane are for STAB, and Heat Wave is for additional coverage.
Item is to help ensure at least one Work Up. Ability doesn't actually matter as they all suck.
Bandeot
Pidgeot@Choice Band
Jolly nature
Keen Eye/Tangled Feet
252 Spd/252 Atk/4 HP
~Brave Bird/Aerial Ace/Wing Attack/Pluck
~Return/Double-Edge
~Pursuit
~U-Turn
Pidgeot can also work with a physical set with its superior Attack stat, though its physical movepool is a different story. Pidgeot can learn two powerful STAB moves in Brave Bird and Double-Edge, just not both at once. I'd advise going with Brave Bird, as it still has Return to fall back on as a Normal move. If it goes with Double-Edge, however, the next best options are Aerial Ace, Wing Attack, and Pluck. Yeah. Pursuit and U-Turn give it some semblance of coverage.
Item is obvious, ability, yeah, yeah.
Pidgeospecs
Pidgeot@Choice Specs
Timid nature
Keen Eye/Tangled Feet
252 Spd/252 Sp. Atk/4 HP
~Uproar
~Hurricane
~Heat Wave
~Hidden Power (Dragon)
Pidgeot can also run a specs set, which works like the Work Up set without the risky setup turn. Uproar and Hurricane are for STAB, Heat Wave and HP Dragon are for coverage resisted only by Flash Fire Heatran (which Pidgeot has no business facing in any case).
Item, ability, you know how this goes.
Other options:
*A physical Work Up set is possible, but as two of Pidgeot's best physical moves give recoil, it's very risky.
*Ominous Wind and Hidden Power Fighting provide better coverage on the Specs set, but Ominous Wind is too weak to be really reliable.
Abilities:
*Keen Eye: Pidgeot's Accuracy can't be lowered. Borderline useless, given that nobody bothers with accuracy lowering moves.
*Tangled Feet: When Pidgeot is confused, its Evasion increases one level. Pidgeot's only feasibly useful ability, and even then, nobody's really gonna be reaching for Swagger or Confuse Ray when facing a Pidgeot. If the Evasion boost remained after the confusion wore off, that might be a different story.
*Big Pecks: Pidgeot's Hidden Ability. Currently legal on Pidgeot, but probably the most useless ability it has. Pidgeot's Defense can't be lowered. Nobody bothers with the likes of Leer or Screech, and even with attacking moves that have defense-lowering as a side effect, nothing runs Crush Claw when Return is an option, and the only thing that would possibly run Razor Shell, Cloyster, has much better moves to take on a Pidgeot with.
Partners:
Wish support and Rapid Spin/Magic Bounce are crucial. Smashpassing doesn't hurt, either.
Counters:
Pretty much any super-effective move with sufficient power behind it will thrash Pidgeot into oblivion. Cloyster in particular destroys it with Icicle Spear or Rock Blast, though it really ought to watch out for STAB Hurricane, given its paltry Special Defense. Pidgeot might be easy enough to take down, but all the same, be wary of its attacks. When its attacking stats are boosted by Work Up or an item, it really can make a dent in an unprepared team.
Opinion:
It's impossible to hate on a classic, really. Pidgeot is really cool, but sadly will forever be remembered not as a menace on the battlefield, but as the thing that got us safely across the skies of Kanto.
Prediction for next week:
Minun
