Is Piplup Good in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Playthrough?
Island Scan Water-type. Empoleon's Water/Steel typing is unique and defensive. The scan effort is reasonable if you want a Water-type with Steel resistance to pair alongside.
Piplup trades roughly evenly with Ilima's team.
Piplup trades roughly evenly with Hala's team.
Lana's team hits Piplup's weaknesses hard.
ElectricSteelReceived as a Totem-sized gift Pokemon by collecting enou... (Ultra Moon only)
BugElectricReceived as a Totem-sized gift Pokemon by collecting enou... (Ultra Sun only)
GrassReceived as a Totem-sized gift Pokemon by collecting enou... (Ultra Sun only)
GhostFairyReceived as a Totem-sized gift Pokemon by collecting enou...
Piplup has the type edge here and should clean up Kiawe's team.
Mallow's team hits Piplup's weaknesses hard.
Piplup has the type edge here and should clean up Olivia's team.
Piplup trades roughly evenly with Sophocles's team.
Piplup trades roughly evenly with Acerola's team.
Piplup trades roughly evenly with Nanu's team.
Mina's team hits Piplup's weaknesses hard.
Piplup has the type edge here and should clean up Hapu's team.
Piplup trades roughly evenly with Molayne's team.
Piplup has the type edge here and should clean up Olivia's team.
Piplup trades roughly evenly with Acerola's team.
Piplup trades roughly evenly with Kahili's team.
Kukui's team hits Piplup's weaknesses hard.
Piplup cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
How to Get Piplup in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
No wild encounters for Piplup. The 3-stage chain runs through Piplup, which you can catch in the wild from the locations below. Evolve at level 36 once you've got the levels.
Piplup Weakness
Electric and Grass moves hit Piplup for super-effective damage. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Only 2 weaknesses makes it relatively easy to build around defensively.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
What is Piplup Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Piplup
In Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, Raikou's Thunderbolt hits Piplup for 73-86%.
 Raikou Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityInnerfocus ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Piplup View Raikou builds →Thunderbolt 2x73-86% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTechnician ItemFocus Sash NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Piplup View Breloom builds →Mach Punch19-22% Bullet Seed 2x24-28% | ||
C | ||
Recommended Build AbilitySturdy ItemBerryjuice NatureHardy Moves View Onix builds →
| ||
D | ||
Recommended Build AbilityContrary ItemSitrus Berry NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Piplup View Snivy builds →Leaf Storm 2x40-48% | ||
Piplup Evolutions
Piplup is the start of a three-stage chain. It evolves into Prinplup first, then eventually reaches Empoleon. For breeding, average hatch time with a massive partner pool via two egg groups. The evolved forms gain up to 216 total stats over Piplup. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Piplup easily with 218 breeding partners from the Ground and Water1 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Agility, Aqua Ring, Bide and 11 more to offspring.
USUM Piplup Best Moveset
Water at 61 Sp. Atk with AbilityTorrent and AbilityCompetitive raising Sp. Atk when stats drop as a hidden ability. The moveset at pre-evolution power does nothing. Empoleon two evolutions away earns A-tier through Water/Steel typing.
Best Build
Piplup best EVs are HP and Defense
Bulky Support Moveset
- Defog
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Protect
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Don't skip the egg moves. Piplup picks up Agility and Aqua Ring only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Hydro Pump and Surf while coverage across 9 types adds range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Piplup Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Guide
In Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, Piplup does the job early-game if you need a Water type on your team. Evolve it into Prinplup before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Piplup first appeared in Diamond & Pearl and has been available in 12 games across 7 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves