In the wild, Ambipom are a pokemon which rely frequently on deception. For instance, they will clasp together their tails and arrange their tail-fingers in such a way that from a distance, it looks like there are two Ambipom. If this deception is exposed, they will menace their opponents with said enormous tails by making fists and swinging them wildly, diverting their foe's attention for the real attack from their arms. Wild Ambipom do not flee from stronger foes like Abra; once the advantage of surprise is lost and the damage done, they continue to do battle. They are fiercely territorial and will battle one another from between the tallest trees in the tropics, confident that their tails will protect them from a deadly plunge even if they are defeated.
And yet Ambipom are often reviled as the cowards of the pokemon world. This is because their attacks rely tremendously on the element of surprise, and because one man's cowardice is another's tactical acumen. It is humans who must teach Ambipom the techniques which make cowardice a viable battle strategy; trained Ambipom, not their wild counterparts, are the ones who hassle pokemon by launching surprise attacks and then making a u-turn back into their pokeball. Many trainers revile battling trained Ambipom because of their frequent retreats, and it is these trainers who have branded the species with the label of cowardice.
The saying "live to fight another day" was once said to be wisdom translated from the mouth of an Ambipom by a wise man who could talk to pokemon. In reality it was a complete fabrication. The phrase is composed of human words, for a human attitude which was taught to domestic Ambipom in the hopes of bringing their trainers victory.