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[icon]018[/icon]Introduction This is an article discussing the issues regarding Pidgeot, the majestic bird Pokemon who has roughly the speed of Mach 2 and the ability to conjure a storm out of its mighty wings. Note that this is a revamp of an old article I was writing regarding Pidgeot, but I was rather unhappy with it because it looked disorganised and not very concise. I think cleaning it up this way makes it a lot easier to read. [icon]018[/icon]The Issue I will say this bluntly: Pidgeot sucks, in relative and absolute terms. And now here comes the objection from most people: Pidgeot is awesome! I have one in my team and it kicks the enemy trainers' butts! Sure... that's in-game but even in-game you may sometimes find its powers rather compromised in comparison to other birds you are able to get. [icon]018[/icon]Comparison With Other Birds Of course, we would like to know how well Pidgeot compares to its other avian colleagues. Very well, here is a little comparison between Pidgeot and its fearsome rival Fearow. Yes, it seems Pidgeot has the upper hand when it comes to defence and base stat total, but not by much. However, where it matters most (which is attack and speed), Fearow surpasses Pidgeot, making Pidgeot's other stats rather redundant. And mind you, Fearow is just one of the lower birds, and from that point, the other birds completely outclass it in terms of stats and abilities. [icon]018[/icon]In-Game At least Pidgey would be useful in-game, right? I suppose it has some sort of a niche by spamming Sand-Attack, but do we really need that? Pidgey appears quite early in games that have Kanto or Johto, or they plain mock it by placing Level 51 Pidgeys in areas with larger bugs like Ariados or Venomoth (Pokemon DPP). But usually whenever Pidgey is in the game, so is its rival Spearow, who is meaner and vicious. You head to the side route of Viridian City in Kanto or head north in that little gatehouse at Route 29 for Johto for the better bird. Right from the start, Spearow has the better STAB move Peck while Pidgey has the lame Tackle, which was not buffed until Black/White, where it is inconsequential anyways as Pidgey is not an early game Pokemon there. Pidgey evolves at Level 18 into Pidgeotto, who looks awesome but results will soon prove to be disappointing. Asides from additional bulk and one extra point in speed (which may be lower if Spearow's IVs/EVs are higher to begin with), Pidgeotto's stats are very similar to Spearow's! Yes, even its attack power is the same. It is understandable regarding Pidgey's and Spearow's stats due to the former's timid nature and the latter's savage nature, but the change from Pidgey to Pidgeotto is rather a radical change, as Pidgeotto assumes the predatory niche and should continue becoming more powerful, especially as Pidgeot. So it takes until Level 18 for Pidgey to even catch up to Spearow, who evolves at Level 20. Oh look, Level 17 Aerial Ace for Spearow! That gives Spearow an amazing STAB attack to work with for a long time, and to add insult to injury, Fearow learns Mirror Move at level 23, MUCH earlier than Pidgeot. It's not like the move is all that useful, but that was supposedly Pidgeot's signature attack, but Fearow gets it much earlier. Whoops. So basically, what is the use of getting a bird that needs to reach Level 36 to reach its final form that is not too great when there is already a bird that reaches its final form at Level 20, and it is better than the Level 36 one? There is a huge imbalance here... and Fearow isn't exactly the best bird out there! Oh get this. You know how some Pokemon get a new attack when they evolve? It doesn't look like Pidgeot gets one at all. What's this? Level 38 Wing Attack? LEVEL. 38. What the heck mate? So we have a Level 17 Aerial Ace from Spearow, Level 13 Wing Attack from Taillow, and Level 9 Wing Attack from Starly. And this great majestic birds learns it at level 38? Give me a break! [icon]018[/icon]A Small Analysis : One day I will be a beautiful Pidgeot! It is understandable when Gen I Pokemon were not really programmed with competitive viability in mind, but it is clear that Pidgeot lacks the specialisation the other birds get... and they did NOTHING to improve this. I feel when they did the Special stat split in Gen II, Pidgeot's Special Attack should have been buffed so it would at least have some sort of a role. Back then, a special attacking Normal/Flying bird was non-existent except for Noctowl or Togetic, none of which were not too powerful anyways. It would have been horrid until Gen IV with the addition of special Flying attacks, and more moves would have been added to its movepool. Now why do I say this? It is because it appears that Pidgeot's specialty based on its movepool and Pokedex is blowing strong gusts of wind. It is not the savage tear-em-apart type of birds most of the other birds are; this one is more like a noblesse and prides in its plumage and majestic wings. In fact, Gen V supports this by giving the relatively exclusive attack Hurricane to Pidgeot, which is truly awesome. Okay, so it is supposed to go on Mach-2 speed, which is faster than Garchomp, but Pidgeot is slower than Gliscor! Something like 110 Special Attack would have been enough to suffice. However, since base stats are pretty much permanent, I don't think there is much they can do. They did do the unthinkable by adding a new ability in Gen V via Dream World, but Pidgeot's ability was not too helpful in helping create a specialisation. Then what? I suppose the only thing they can do is give Pidgeot the Marowak treatment. You know, a unique hold item that can at least compensate for its relatively low stats? Since trainers all enjoy the bright plumage that Pidgeot possesses, it would not be such a bad idea by giving it a hold item that can double its Special Attack, similar to Marowak's Thick Club. And I don't believe it is broken either, since Pidgeot's special movepool is rather barren, consisting of Hurricane, Air Slash, Heat Wave... and not much else. In fact, I think this would be one of the most efficient ways to give Pidgeot some sort of a specialisation. A final form bird that has no other ways to give itself a meaning would have to find any way to salvage itself. And Pidgeot is not the only victim of lack of specialisation or not fulfilling its intended purpose properly. There are many other Pokemon out there (particularly some from Gen I) that need some sort of fixing. Pidgeot may be one of the first, but it is not by any means the last. [icon]018[/icon]Conclusion That is it for now. I made this article much more concise than its predecessor and hopefully, my thoughts are easier to read now. So what do you guys think about Pidgeot? Please discuss... Though it was luck based, I have had two instances where I had Pidgeot sweep unexpectedly. [icon]018[/icon]XY Update I was proven wrong with Gamefreak not giving Pokemon new abilities, and I was proven wrong yet again when I said base stats will never change! It looks like Gamefreak may be heading towards the right direction with adding + 10 base stats to some Pokemon who need it (although Pikachu gained + 20 base stats, as + 10 in both defences), and Pidgeot was one of them, gaining an extra + 10 Speed, beating out base 100s! Hurray for balancing! I hope I'm proven more wrong when they give it a Mega Evolution with Gale Wings or something of that sort. However, that + 10 BST change is a little too half-hearted, as nobody I know would have agreed Alakazam deserved the same stat changes as early Level 10 Bugs and the sort. A boost in Special Attack and lowering its Attack maybe would help gain a niche somewhat. Unfortunately, its movepool is also pretty much the same as the older games, which may change when new move tutors come out later. It is still heavily outclassed by another early Normal / Flying Pokemon, Talonflame (although final form is Fire/Flying), which has the Attack Power of Swellow, but slightly higher Speed, and a very dangerous niche as a revenge killer that is nigh uncounterable by the majority of OU Pokemon but ironically gets beaten by lower caste of Pokemon like Luxray or Rhyperior and the likes.