If there’s one thing that Game Freak struggles with, it’s the concept of balancing in the Pokémon universe. Of course, when the total roster started creeping towards 1000+, balance became all but entirely impossible, but still. Mega Evolutions may have given a couple of previously ignored Pokémon a lifeline (Kangaskhan and Mawile among them), but why the heck did powerhouses like Rayquaza need them?

Still, low-profile Pokémon do catch a break on occasion. Pelipper, for instance, became quite a common sight in competitive play in the last few generations. Let’s take a look at Wingull, when it evolves and some more interesting little tidbits about this evolution line.

10 It Evolves Into Pelipper At Level 25

As fans will know, evolution is a complex process in the series, different for every species of Pokémon. Sometimes, particular items are needed, or obscure requirements need to be fulfilled. Even among the Pokémon who simply evolve by leveling up, some take much, much longer than others.

Fortunately, you won’t have to wait long to get your hands on that Pelipper: Wingull evolves at level 25. Not quite as fast as some Bug-types (Game Freak at least understood that we’d want to be saddled with Kakuna/Metapod for as short a time as humanly possible), but still darn fast.

9 Its Stats Mirror Taillow’s

The Pokémon series seems to have made a tradition of ‘Route 1 Birds,’ Flying-types we meet super early in our adventures that are just a little on the lackluster side (and remain so). Each generation has had such a Pokémon, and while some are actually darn good, like Staraptor and Talonflame (more on Talonflame later), early Flying-types have a bad rap as a result.

Wingull and Taillow aren’t Route 1 birds, technically, but they still appear early in the games and have sub-par stats. What you may not know is that the two share the exact same base stats, only with their offenses switched: Wingull has a higher Special Attack at base 55 and lower Attack at base 30, while the reverse is true for Taillow.

8 Talonflame Hunts Them

We mentioned Talonflame a little earlier in this rundown, now here comes the scourge of Generation VI again. This thing was content enough to be entirely average like its fellows, with its darn high speed and average power, before its Hidden Ability Gale Wings came along and ruined everything.

If you’ve seen Talonflame in competitive action, you’d think that its preferred prey would be any and all Fighting/Grass Pokémon, which can’t darn well move at all while it’s around thanks to priority Brave Bird. According to the Pokédex, though, it actually loves feasting on Wingull. As Bulbapedia reports, “in Alola, Wingull’s main predator is Talonflame, which attacks and catches them with powerful kicks.” For any Wingull that are reading this: watch out for these bullying birds if you take a vacation on Alola because that does not sound like a fun time.

7 They Trolled Pearl By Repeatedly Healing Themselves In The Anime

Experienced Pokémon players will know that Roost is one of the most valuable Flying-type moves, offering reliable recovery to a wide range of Flying Pokémon (and others besides). What you may not know is that a pack of pesky Wingull spammed this move to mess with Pearl in the show.

In the episode “Winning Over Wingull,” Pearl is attacked by several of the birds, which take turns to retreat and heal themselves with Roost. It’s not often that a Pokémon protagonist is stalled out by wild critters, but Pearl manages to befriend them before the situation gets really embarrassing.

6 They Hunt Wishiwashi (And Pelipper Has A Heck Of An Appetite)

As we’ve seen, rampaging Talonflame see Wingull as a tasty seaside dish. In turn, Wingull and Pelipper’s favored prey is Wishiwashi. In its Solo Form, you understand; its School Form is 26’11” and Wingull trying to take that on would be like attacking Godzilla by poking it in the toenail with a toothpick.

Of course, there’s nothing particularly surprising about this information. The shocking thing is Pelipper’s appetite. As the Pokémon Ultra Moon Pokédex states, “it scoops up Wishiwashi in its huge beak and swallows them whole. It can devour more than 30 at one go!”

5 Pelipper Is Suddenly A Competitive Force To Be Reckoned With

On paper, Pelipper doesn’t really have much to offer in terms of stats. It could make a heroic effort at any seafood buffet, as we’ve seen, but that doesn’t really mean much in terms of viability in competitive Pokémon.

Only one of its stats, Defense, reaches base 100, with the others ranging from average to meager. However, it’s actually become a common pick in the last two generations, with a little Generation VII base stat buff (Special Attack from 85 to 95) being very welcome. That wasn’t the major factor, though.

4 Pelipper Has Been Thrown A Huge Bone In The Form Of Drizzle

Weather effects have always been hugely influential on the metagame. In recent generations, auto-weather Abilities were nerfed to be strictly time-limited (five turns), as their effects could just be too powerful. Rain, for instance, is one of the simplest yet most devastating hyper offense archetypes in the series.

Which Pokémon got the super strong Drizzle Ability in Generation VII? That’s right, Pelipper. If you’ve been out of the Pokémon loop, you may not have known this. As with Ninetales, a powerful weather Ability will immediately elevate an otherwise-average Pokémon, but as we’ll see, Pelipper isn’t really a one-trick pony.

3 You Can’t Underestimate Pelipper: Human Children Can Fit In This Beastly Bird’s Beak

Let’s be entirely honest here: it’s super tough to take Pelipper seriously. Those are some woefully average stats whichever way you slice it, after all, and it can be an absolute sitting duck/pelican if it’s used carelessly.

The thing is, though, certain Pokémon have a way of hitting harder and performing better than stats would suggest, and Pelipper is one of them. Depending on its EVs, it can deal some serious rain-boosted damage, and even outside of competitive considerations, it’s not a Pokémon to mess with. As Pokémon Sun reports, “its spacious beak is large enough for a small child to fit right inside.” Now that’s an intimidating mental image.

2 In The Pokémon TCG, It’s… (Sometimes) Electric Type?

What’s notorious Poké-powerhouse Gyarados’ major flaw? That’s right, friends: its nasty 4x Electric weakness. As with Ferrothorn being horribly mauled by Fire-type attacks, it’s a weakness the player has to be constantly aware of. It’s not easy being a Water/Flying Pokémon.

Wingull and Pelipper also know Gyarados’ pain, sharing this typing too. The world of the Pokémon TCG, though, is a strange realm where typings are only loosely applied (loosely enough to drop right off and roll under the kitchen counter, if we’re honest). Of the eleven cards featuring Wingull since its first appearance, Bulbapedia reports, one isn’t Water-type, but Colorless (Celestial Storm). Much more interestingly, though, two of Pelipper’s cards feature the Delta Species Pelipper, which is Lightning (Electric)! One of them boasts the Lightning Wing attack, which regular Pelipper would surely wake up in a cold feathery sweat thinking about.

1 It Actually Does Well In A Range Of Roles

Considering the fact that Pelipper has a new lease of life now, many players might dismiss it as just an auto-rain machine. That is the major reason to use it, granted, but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that it has quite a few different assets.

You’d never think it to look at Wingull, but Pelipper has a lot of potential. It learns both Hydro Pump and Hurricane (which, like Thunder, will never miss in the rain), very strong moves that can cause some real havoc despite Pelipper’s modest Special Attack. It can have some surprising damage output if trained that way. It also has a lot of supportive utility, boasting rare and super useful moves like Wide Guard and Tailwind. There’s room to experiment with EVs, movesets and held items here.

NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Nessa Fan Art Pictures That Prove She’s The Best Water-Type Gym Leader