Piplup

Like Eiscue, Piplup looks like a penguin, but its small silhouette and blue marking above its beak make it look more like a chick than an adult. Its thick down protects it from the cold and fits its natural connection to water and icy environments. Its body looks as though it is dressed in a tailcoat, a visual trait that anticipates the more regal bearing of its evolutions.

Pokédex entries describe it as a proud creature that is not very receptive to human care. It does not appreciate being looked after, refuses to accept food from people and takes a long time to trust its Trainer. That attitude does not mean it lacks ability: it stands out for its resistance to the cold and its use of Water- and Ice-type moves as it progresses.

It occupies the first place in a three-species evolutionary line. It evolves into Prinplup upon reaching level 16, and the latter evolves into Empoleon upon reaching level 36. Its category, Penguin Pokémon, sums up its concept without embellishment.

Piplup is not a general competitive choice. In Little Cup, it finds a niche as a support Pokémon with some offensive capability, but its limits soon become apparent: it has 53 HP, 53 Defense and 56 Special Defense, while its 61 Special Attack is modest and its 40 Speed leaves it behind many threats.

Its usual Ability is Torrent, which powers up Water-type moves when it is in a tight spot. This improves the damage of Surf, Hydro Pump or Brine when its HP is low, although it means keeping it in a precarious situation. Competitive, its Hidden Ability, raises its Special Attack when an opponent lowers another stat; it can punish certain attempts at disruption, but it does not make up for its lack of Speed on its own.

The Water type lets it pressure Fire-, Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon, and gives it resistances to Fire, Ice, Steel and Water. Defensively, Electric and Grass are its main weaknesses. Ice Beam broadens its coverage against Grass-type threats, while Protect lets it gain turns and gauge the opponent’s response. Even so, it lacks the power needed to break teams, and its recovery options are limited to Rest, which costs turns and removes its status condition. It works best in the early stages of a standard battle, when it can use its resistances to switch into manageable attacks and apply pressure in return with special moves.

Piplup belongs to the Water 1 and Field Egg Groups, so it is reproductively compatible with species from both groups. The gender ratio is highly uneven: 12.5% are female. This means that getting a specific female requires more attempts than with a species that has an even ratio.

Hatching requires 20 Egg Cycles, equivalent to approximately 5355 steps using the usual conversion. That is a moderate distance for a baby Pokémon, although it becomes noticeable when looking for several specimens with a specific Nature, Ability or set of characteristics.

Notable Egg Moves include Supersonic, Yawn and Roost. Aqua Ring provides gradual recovery, while Swagger offers a Dark-type option for hitting on the physical side. Feather Dance reduces the pressure from physical attackers and rounds out a support-oriented set.

The evolution is exact: Piplup evolves into Prinplup upon reaching level 16, and Prinplup evolves into Empoleon upon reaching level 36. Its catch rate is 45, a figure associated with a difficult capture; it is not a species that goes into a Poké Ball easily. Its growth rate is Medium Slow.