Pokemon: The Regional Bird Of Each Generation, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Region-specific bird Pokemon start small and cute but evolve into cool forms.
• Each regional bird Pokemon features a unique design that helps them remain memorable.
• Unique designs like Corviknight and Talonflame stand out with special abilities, stats, and visual appeal.

Plenty of ‘mons in the Pokemon franchise can fall into specific categories, and the designers always look to fulfil these categories in a way unique to each region. One such category is the Regional Bird.

This Pokemon is typically found on Route 1 or an equivalent in a region, starting as something small and cute and eventually evolving into something large and cool. These birds often have very streamlined designs and don’t overcomplicate themselves like other bird Pokemon often can.

Updated November 30, 2024, by Ben Painter: The latest bird Pokemon in the franchise was introduced in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Starting back in Generation 1 with Pokemon Red & Blue, the trend of finding a bird Pokemon in the early game has been prevalent in every generation. In a similar vein, there is also an early-route Normal-type that gamers can pick up for their starting teams as well. For those hoping to learn more about these ‘mons, this update adds two more regional bird Pokemon that some fans consider to be part of this group.

9 Pidove/Tranquill/Unfezant

Normal/Flying

• Generation: 5
• Ability: Big Pecks or Super Luck, Rivarly (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 115 Attack
• Best Move: Sky Attack
• Level it Evolves: 21 & 32
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: Unobtainable

For the urban setting of Unova, a common pigeon was a great choice to base the regional bird on. The problem, however, is that not much is done to get any interest out of the design. Pidove looks fine, but it does nothing to stand out in a crowd of its contemporaries, and Tranquill is much the same.

Gray, white, and black can be a good color palette, and other regional birds use it to great effect, but this design falls short. Unfezant has two forms, one of which looks quite good, but the other looks as dull as the rest. Male Unfezant adds some nice color and extra elements to the design that turns it into an appealing Pokemon. The female form, however, adds virtually nothing of note.

8 Hoothoot/Noctowl

Normal/Flying

• Generation: 2
• Ability: Insomnia or Keen Eye, Tinted Lens (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 100 HP
• Best Move: Sky Attack
• Level it Evolves: 20
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: Mossfell Confluence, Fellhorn Gorge, Oni Mountain, Wistful Fields, Paradise Barrens, Kitakami Wilds, Timeless Woods

Only a two-phase evolution, Noctowl has plenty to love in its design. That said, when compared to most other regional birds, it fades into the background a bit and looks rather boring. When taken in a bubble, it adapts an owl into a great Pokemon, adding just enough elements to feel far away from the real animal.

Unlike most other regional birds, however, it’s not the kind of team member players can take all the way to the end of the game. This is partly because there are better Flying-type alternatives but also because its movepool is pitiful. Other birds have some staying power and are perfect for single-player runs, but Noctowl is an exception.

7 Pikipek/Trumbeak/Toucannon

Normal/Flying

• Generation: 7
• Ability: Keen Eye or Skill Link, Sheer Force (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 120 Attack
• Best Move: Beak Blast
• Level it Evolves: 14 & 28
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: Coastal Biome

The Alola region’s bird feels distinctly different from all the others, which has its ups and downs. For a tropical region like Alola, using a unique bird like a Toucan was an inspired choice. The only problem is that the transformation into a full Toucan comes a little out of nowhere.

Pikipek nails the cute factor, and Trumbeak is a good iteration on its design, but Toucannon feels like too much of a leap. It feels like there should be another stage in the middle. That said, in a bubble, there is plenty of love about Toucannon’s design, and it’s dripping with character.

6 Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot

Normal/Flying

• Generation: 1
• Ability: Keen Eye or Tangled Feet, Big Pecks (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 101 Speed
• Best Move: Hurricane
• Level it Evolves: 18 & 36
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: Unobtainable

Earning bonus nostalgia points for being a classic design, Pidgeot is a solid template that all the future regional birds worked from. While it doesn’t reach super far out, it doesn’t need to, and the design is still brimming with appeal.

Brown doesn’t seem like the best color, but the different shades are mixed well, and the later evolutions bring in some red and yellow highlights to stop it from getting boring. What’s amazing is that, all these years later, it still feels like a unique bird design. It may be a template, but nothing has outright copied it since.

5 Taillow/Swellow

Normal/Flying

• Generation: 3
• Ability: Guts, Scrappy (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 125 Speed
• Best Move: Brave Bird
• Level it Evolves: 22
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: Unobtainable

Swallows are beautiful birds in real life, and Swellow is a fantastic adaptation of them into a Pokemon. Swellow has a nice clean simplicity to its design that makes it feel so streamlined and appealing to look at. Where Pidove uses simple grays, Taillow and Swellow instead use simple blues and reds to create something that immediately grabs the eye.

Despite having a very simple shape, little highlights are scattered here and there to make it stand out as more than just any old bird. The forked tail of a swallow becomes an intimidating flourish on Swellow’s design, and the sharpness of the face brings it all together wonderfully.

4 Wattrel/Kilowattrel

Electric/Flying

• Generation: 9
• Ability: Wind Power or Volt Absorb, Competitive (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 125 Speed
• Best Move: Hurricane
• Level it Evolves: 25
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: South Province: Area One, Area Four, Area Five, Area Six, South Paldean Sea, East Province: Area One, Area Two, Area Three, East Paldean Sea, West Province: Area One, Area Two, West Paldean Sea, North Province: Area One, Area Three, North Paldean Sea, Casseroya Lake

Following the trend that Corviknight and Talonflame had, Wattrel and Kilowattrel are not normal/flying but electric/flying, adding a very interesting dynamic to the team and helping this one stand out. Its design is spotless and not overdone, and gamers can easily tell that this Pokemon is an electric type.

Kilowattrel has the stats to back it up as well, with a terrifying 105 special attack and 125 speed. A powerful Electro Ball (which does more damage the faster the user is compared to the target) will decimate opponents with ease.

3 Starly/Staravia/Staraptor

Normal/Flying

• Generation: 4
• Ability: Intimidate, Reckless (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 120 Attack
• Best Move: Close Combat or Brave Bird
• Level it Evolves: 14 then 34
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: South Province: Area Three, North Province: Casseroya Lake, Fellhorn Gorge, Oni Mountain, Kitakami Wilds

Staraptor shows how gray can be used effectively on a bird Pokemon. Starly is admittedly a bit derpy and isn’t much to look at, but its evolutions do all the heavy lifting it couldn’t initially. Staravia is perhaps the best middle evolution of the birds. It looks distinct from both forms on either side but still feels like the perfect connection point between the two.

Staraptor enhances all of Staravia’s best qualities and adds a dose of threat to things. It’s a bird dripping with character and attitude, balancing the white face with the gray body and giving just a little dash of color on the top of the head to round things out.

2 Rookidee/Corvisquire/Corviknight

Steel/Flying

• Generation: 8
• Ability: Pressure or Unerve, Mirror Armor (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 105 Defense
• Best Move: Brave Bird
• Level it Evolves: 18 & 38
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: Area Two (Fighting Tera Type), Area Zero

When Corviknight was first revealed, it was love at first sight for many. This fully armored bird with glowing red eyes looked like an absolute killing machine. It’s unique compared to the other birds and even has its own Gigantamax form to really kick ass.

Rookidee and Corvisquire build up to it pretty well. It would’ve been nice if some blue was retained in Corviknight’s design, but the all-black works just as well for the threatening aura this Pokemon exudes. It even has a perfectly designed shiny form, flipping the black-knight design out for pure white, like something out of Arthurian legend.

1 Fletchling/Fletchinder/Talonflame

Fire/Flying

• Generation: 6
• Ability: Flame Body, Gale Wings (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 126 Speed
• Best Move: Flare Blitz or Brave Bird
• Level it Evolves: 17 & 35
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: Area Three, Area Zero, Coastal Biome, Torchlit Labyrinth

Talonflame is perhaps the perfect bird Pokemon. The only one of these birds to ever see use in the competitive battling scene, Talonflame is a brilliant distillation of everything that makes bird Pokemon great. It has such a wonderful presence with its wide-spread wings, streamlined body, and characterful face.

The balance of color is incredible. The orange/back wings contrast with the pale blue underside, including a bunch of spots to give the eye plenty to look at. The face, beak, and back don’t overshadow it, going for a cool black with yellow highlights, tipping everything off.

(Bonus) Spearow/Fearow

• Generation: 1
• Ability: Keen Eye, Sniper (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 100 Speed
• Best Move: Take Down
• Level it Evolves: 20
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: Unobtainable

Some fans argue that this Pokemon is not a part of the ‘regional bird Pokemon’ group, but other than the fact that there is a more popular option in Kanto, there is no reason that Spearow and Fearow don’t qualify. Spearow is found early on in the Kanto region and has made its way into the later games, too.

Fearow’s design is menacing; it certainly looks like an evil version of its Kanto counterpart. This is even highlighted in the first episode of the anime when Ash is attacked by a gang of Spearow. Its movepool isn’t the best, so it is plain to see why a lot of gamers prefer to use the other bird in their Generation 1 adventure. Unfortunately for Spearow, nostalgia alone can’t carry this Pokemon to a high enough place as one of the better regional bird Pokemon.

(Bonus) Wingull/Pelipper

• Generation: 3
• Ability: Keen Eye or Drizzle, Rain Dish (Hidden Ability)
• Best Stat: 100 Defense
• Best Move: Hurricane or Hydro Pump
• Level it Evolves: 25
• Location in Scarlet & Violet: South Province: Poco Path, South Paldean Sea, West Province: West Paldean Sea, Tera Raid Battles

Another debatable Pokemon when it comes to the regional birds is Wingull and its evolution, Pelipper. Some fans consider them to be one, and others don’t. However, putting whether they are considered regional birds or not aside, Pelipper is an awesome Pokemon. Though it does not have an overly complicated design, it’s its simplicity that helps it stay memorable.

What gives the Water Bird Pokemon an edge is one of its potential abilities, Drizzle. This makes it so that there is permanent rain on the field, permanently boosting the Pokemon’s Water moves. Combining this with its 95 Special Attack, the 110-base powered Hydro Pump is a deadly move for players to have access to.