Why is Pelipper used over Politoed?

Question

I’ve played a lot of Pokémon Showdown recently, and I realised that a lot of rain teams use Pelipper instead of Politoed, even though Politoed has a higher BST and both of them have Drizzle.
I understand that Politoed doesn’t have U-turn, but why does it need U-turn?
Pelipper and Politoed are kinda slow, so why not just switch?
So why is Pelipper used more commonly as compared to Politoed?

Comments

Which generation?

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What format/rules are you playing with? I think Politoed is used more in VGC.

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Umm, you still haven't replied. Please tell what is the format.

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Gen 5 OU

Answer 1

Pelliper is used over Politoed since it has better roles and ability. Why U-Turn? Let's say your opponent switches his opponent to a Drought/Sand Stream/Snow Warning Pokemon. Then, if you don't use U-Turn, the Drizzle would be wasted and you would be spending another turn switching to save your Pokemon. U-Turn is used so that you can bring your Pokemon while seeing what your opponent plans. Another roles. Without Drizzle, Politoed is useless. BST don't matter; it matters what moves and roles a Pokemon has access to. Pelipper also gets Roost, which is reliable recovery. Plus Hurricane with 100% accuracy in rain. Apart from that, he acts as a Defogger since he also gets Defog.
Hope this helps!

Comments

You forgot to add the most improtant thing, reliable recovery

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" Pelipper also gets Roost, which is reliable recovery." I have added. Please check more carefully.

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Oh I'm getting blind lol. My bad

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Lol. No problem.

Answer 2

In gen 5 OU, Politoed can have drizzle, but Pelipper can't. This is why Politoed is used about 32% more than Pelipper. I don't know why you've seen any teams with Pelipper in gen 5 OU.
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