Every Pokemon Generation has its Tiny Bird Pokemon: little birds that you can get before the first gym battle that stay on your team for a while, and then they evolve into bigger birds. These Tiny Birds are staples of the franchise, just like Starters are. But which one's the best, and which one's the worst? That's the question I'm answering today!
The rules are extremely simple: they must be Flying type Pokemon that look like birds, and they HAVE to be capturable BEFORE the first gym or game equivalent. Let's begin!
Worst: Spearow
Spearow is one of the more iconic Gen 1 Pokemon due to its early availability, its access to Peck at an early level (making it a beast in the Viridian Forest) and its appearance as the FIRST antagonist of the Pokemon anime. That said, gameplay wise, Spearow is less than stellar. Its move pool is VERY limited and its stats are disappointing. Spearow is a Pokemon that's dependent on doing Critical Hits, which in itself is not a reliable strategy. This little bird starts off strong, but it can't keep up the pace with your other Pokemon. It gets benched as soon as it evolves.
8-Pidove
Pidove is basically the Pidgey of its generation, but worse in every way. An unimpressive move pool combined with somewhat lackluster stats condemns this little pigeon to the bottom of the barrel. The main advantage Pidove has over Pidgey is that its one of the few post-Gen 4 Pokemon to have different designs based on its gender, and even THAT is purely aesthetic!
7 -Hoothoot
What separates Hoothoot from Spearow is that Hoothoot has a much, MUCH wider move pool. This little owl can learn moves like Confusion, Psychic, Moon Blast, and so on. That said? Its stats leave MUCH to be desired. It has good HP and Special Defense, plus its Special Attack is pretty good, but it's not good enough. Hoothoot isn't TERRIBLE per se, but it gets outclassed quite easily. Still, you can do worse than Hoothoot.
Pikipek has great Attack and evolves early, plus it has good Speed. But its limited move pool and underwhelming rest of its stats keep it from true greatness. In the Alola games, it's a nice little birdy, yes. But when you get access to the REALLY good birds, like Rufflet or Skarmory, your Pikipek's gonna be benched permanently. It has a niche, yes, but it's also horribly outclassed.
The OG itself who set the standard, Pidgey remains one of the BEST Tiny Bird/Early Game Pokemon you can catch. That said, it's also undeniable that Pidgey also set a different standard: it's the quintessential Early Game Pokemon that gets more and more outclassed the longer the game goes. Pidgey starts off good, falls behind a bit, and when you can get the GOOD Pokemon, gets permanently benched.
Taillow is pretty much a Spearow that doesn't suck. A decent Attack stat combined with FANTASTIC speed, a versatile move pool, and utility even in the metagame, Taillow is one of those Tiny Birds that just surprises you. In the Hoenn games, it's not unusual to solo Brawley with a Taillow!
At first, Fletchling looks like just another ho-hum Tiny Bird that's there to fill up space on your team, only to then get benched once you get the good stuff. Then it becomes frickin' TALONFLAME, and you've got a Pokemon that you WANT to keep on your team! With a good move pool, fantastic Speed, and decent everything else, Fletchling is a top tier Early Game Pokemon!
Rookidee is basically what you get when you combine the best parts about Spearow with the best parts about Pidgey, and then you add insanely GOOD evolutions. This little Poke's a BEAST! Great move pool, great stats, fantastic evolutions; of course it was close to the top! But...
I'm convinced that, when choosing which Pokemon to make for Generation4, someone at Game Freak legit said "hey, let's make a Pokemon like Pidgey, but it's actually GOOD!" And boom, Starly was made. GREAT Attack and Speed, very good HP, an insane move pool, utility all the way through the game and even in the metagame? BEST. TINY BIRD. EVER!!! The reason why Pidgey, not Starly, is the standard for Tiny Birds is because topping Starly is nigh impossible!
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