Ranking the Normal Type Common Pokemon

 Normal Type Common Pokemon: they're all Normal type, they're pretty common, and you'll be sick of seeing them by the time you hit the second Gym in whatever game you're playing. But how do they rank? Which one's the worst, which one's the best? THAT is what we're here for today! And remember: this is an OPINION piece!

To qualify for this list, we establish three rules: First, the Pokemon must be Normal type. Second, it must have an encounter rate over 35%. Thirdly, they must ALL be capable of being encountered BEFORE the first gym (or in Alola's case, the first Trial). Sorry, Audino!

Side note: the Common Flying Type rankings will be saved for a future entry.

WORST: Sentret

With piss poor stats all around, a poorer move pool, and an evolution that is low tier garbage, Sentret is easily the absolute WORST Common Normal in the series. There is literally, and I mean LITERALLY, nothing good or noteworthy about Sentret. It has no niche to fill, and it can't even be a good team filler for the early game! Nah, this Poke is bottom of the barrel!

10: Patrat

Patrat's niche is the ability to use Hypnosis on its opponent, then use Swords Dance, and then wail on whoever is unfortunate enough to be unable to stop this little prairie dog beforehand. Problem: Patrat isn't nearly fast enough to deal Hypnosis on the first turn, and that's IF it hits, considering Hypnosis' hit ratio is so low. Its evolution, Watchog, hardly fares any better, and is a clear cut case of a Pokemon existing just to fill up your team during the early game.

As if that weren't enough, Patrat gets outclassed HARD by every other Com Mon in the games it appears in. It gets outclassed by Lillipup in Black/White, and it gets outclassed by Rattata in Black2/White2! Poor, poor Patrat...

9: Yungoos

Yungoos is one of my least favorite types of Pokemon: the kind that don't get useful until you're at the point when you can get some much better Pokemon. Yungoos doesn't learn any good attacks until level 19, when it FINALLY learns Bite. Combined with its Strong Jaw ability, Yungoos is little less than an early game nuke, what with Bite having the equivalent of 90 attack power!

Buut, by the time you get your Yungoos to level 19, you've already got a strong starter, plus quite a few strong Pokemon as well. Further, although Yungoos has the Attack stat to take advantage of its Bite, it lacks the Speed required to make it attack first, as well as lacking the defensive capabilities to really survive battles against any Pokemon that isn't already decidedly weaker than it! Thus, we rule that Yungoos is low tier!

8: Zigzagoon

In Ruby/Saphire, Zigzagoon was overpowered as all heck with the Pickup ability. Imagine, finding that your little raccoon found a NUGGET before you're anywhere near the first gym! Boom, you just got 5k Pokedollars, which means TONS of money for...EVERYTHING YOU NEED! This ability was so overpowered, it was immediately nerfed come Emerald! Even then, when Pickup was limited to just Berries and smaller items, the ability was still very useful!

Battle wise, Zigzagoon was a good early game filler who hit fast, but not hard. Its move pool at the early game left much to be desired, lacking any way to deal decent amounts of damage. Yes it can learn Headbutt, but it'll lack in other offensive abilities until level 18-ish, when it learns Pin Missile. 

Thus, Zigzagoon is a Pokemon that has a niche, but is otherwise not that useful outside of it.

7: Bunnelby

Bunnelby has its niches, depending on which Ability it comes with. A Bunnelby with Pickup is basically a Zigzagoon that's slower but has access to a slightly more varied movepool. A Bunnelby with Cheek Pouch is a Pokemon that can hold off opponents better and do a little early game sweeping. But if you access its hidden Ability, Huge Power, you'll get one of the strongest Common Normals ever. Same applies to its evolution, Diggersby.

But again, this is depending on the Ability it possesses. This makes Bunnelby a very versatile Pokemon, but also one that's prone to fall on the wayside.

6: Rattata

Surprised to see the OG Common Normal rank so relatively low? Personally, I'd say it ranks quite high! Rattata is a Pokemon that has one simple idea to its design: hit fast and hard. With the Speed and the Attack needed to fill in the role of an early Glass Cannon (hits hard and fast, but can't take a hit) Rattata isn't an early game team filler, it's an early game STAPLE! 

But like most Common Normals, Rattata has one glaring weakness: it's not the BEST at what it does overall. Heck, it's not even in the top 10! Rattata might be an early game staple, but by the time you get that second badge, you'll simply not be needing it anymore. Same for Raticate, I'm afraid.

5: Alolan Rattata

Take everything I said about Rattata, copy and paste it here, and add just one small addendum. Alolan Rattata gets STAB with both the Normal type AND the Dark Type moves it learns! That Bite at level 10? Alolan Rattata turns it into a LETHAL weapon that can (and often does) one shot the Ghost-type Pokemon hanging around Alola!

4: Skwovet

This little squirrel, believe it or not, may well be one of the best tanks in the early game! Not only does it have decent Defense and good HP, but it also has access to Cheek Pouch, an ability that lets Skwover heal 33% of its HP after eating a berry. Imagine: Your Skwovet gets to reduced to 10 HP (of 55), but then it eats an Oran Berry, going back up to 20. Cheek Pouch then activates, restoring nearly 20 more HP, bringing your Skowvet back to 39 HP! This little squirrel is back and its ready for Round 2!

When I was doing a Normal-only run of Pokemon Shield, Skwovet/Greedent was more than just one of my mainstays; it was literally one of my absolute BEST Pokemon!

3: Galarian Zigzagoon

OK, so, take EVERYTHING I said about Zigzagoon, and reverse it for this beast. Galarian Zigzagoon is, in one word, amazing. A versatile move pool, the stats needed to make good use of those attacks, plus a final evolution that is just INSANE, and you've got one hell of a team player. This is, basically, one of those Pokes that you gotta give yourself a reason to bench; I promise you won't want to!

2: Bidoof

Is it the strongest Common Normal ever? No. But Bidoof has an edge over Lillipup and every other Common Normal in the franchise, and that's the fact that Bidoof/Bibarel is one hell of an HM user. In Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, a Bibarel that had Cut, Surf, Waterfall, and Rock Climb could take you almost everywhere. In fact, take two Bibarel, teach them ALL the HM moves, and there's literally nowhere you couldn't go!

Sadly, with the newer games taking out the HM mechanics, Bidoof and Bibarel's niche is simply no more. Even then, you STILL have a strong early game Pokemon that remains useful for a good, long while with its WIDE range of attacks!

BEST: Lillipup

Lillipup is, stats wise, the BEST of the Common Normals. From the early game onward, Lillipup is a tough little puppy that has the moves and the stats to earn a near permanent spot on your team! As if that weren't enough, its final evolution, Stoutland, is an AMAZINGLY powerful Pokemon that gives Normal types a good name! When you catch a Lillipup, odds are you'll be fighting to keep it on your team for the rest of the game!