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What's your favourite Bird Pokemon?

What is your favourite? (Apologies for the large amount of choices!!!)


  • Total voters
    50
@Vulpix037 You forgot Rufflet, Braviary, Vullaby, and Mandibuzz. You could probably also include Archen and Archeops, as they're technically birds (protobirds, to be exact), even though they're fossil Mons.

Anyway, to answer your question, my top favorite Bird is Braviary. It's just on so many levels of cool in terms of design and origin, it's powerful and learns a lot of good moves (many of which are unusual for bird Mons, like Rock Slide), and it's just a blast to use. I use one in all my White/White 2 runs, as it makes for a great member of the team, even if it's only a Normal/Flying-type, like most other birds in the Poke-world. So Braviary wins this for me.

Second place goes to Pidgeotto, as it's been a long-time favorite of mine, stemming from Ash's Pidgeotto.
 
It's a weird tie between Staraptor, Honchkrow, and both Unfezant genders here. I like all four about the same.
The others are... ehh, while Talonflame is one of my least favourite Pokémon of its generation for how prolific they were in competitive play once. I had a few ways around it, but good grief did it become grating to see that bird so often. Thank heavens for GF utterly clipping its wings...
 
@Vulpix037 You forgot Rufflet, Braviary, Vullaby, and Mandibuzz. You could probably also include Archen and Archeops, as they're technically birds (protobirds, to be exact), even though they're fossil Mons.

Anyway, to answer your question, my top favorite Bird is Braviary. It's just on so many levels of cool in terms of design and origin, it's powerful and learns a lot of good moves (many of which are unusual for bird Mons, like Rock Slide), and it's just a blast to use. I use one in all my White/White 2 runs, as it makes for a great member of the team, even if it's only a Normal/Flying-type, like most other birds in the Poke-world. So Braviary wins this for me.

Second place goes to Pidgeotto, as it's been a long-time favorite of mine, stemming from Ash's Pidgeotto.
My favorite is Chatot, but it's not on this list :(.

Of the list options, Hawlucha.
I've added them onto the list.
 
bird pokemon tend not to be my favorite usually, for some reason. I do somewhat like archeops, murkrow, lugia, dodrio, ghost oricorio, toucannon, decidueye, and maybe pelipper. The others are all sort of eh.
 
Xatu, my favorite, is not included on the list.
Other birds I like are: all the owls (Hoothoot, Noctowl...), Altaria, Swanna, Talonflame and Pidgeot.
 
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Ones that I think are missing from the options: Ho-Oh (maybe Lugia too, although it's more ambiguous - personally, I think that it looks far more draconic, although the games have specifically described it as a cross between a bird and a dragon before), the Torchic line (just because they're flightless birds doesn't mean...), the Natu line, the Swablu line (while it's not entirely clear what exactly they're based on, they're definitely in the general vicinity of birds), Sigilyph (a more abstract one for sure, but it is based on the hummingbird Nazca line, so still a bird via transitive property), Tornadus Therian Forme, Yveltal, and then arguably Spritzee (although Aromatisse doesn't seem to carry it over), the Togepi line (moreso for Togekiss, but Togepi has the whole eggshell thing going on which can be linked to birds), and Tapu Koko (definitely a more disputable candidate, but it does draw a lot of inspiration from roosters even though it may not be a bird itself).

But man... this is an extremely tough decision for me. In real life, I am a massive bird enthusiast, and that interest does translate into Pokémon. There are so many bird Pokémon that score very favorably with me, so I'll talk about the ones that first jump to mind (spoiler-wrapped for size reasons):

Pidgey line: About as solid as a regional early bird line can get. The evolutionary progression feels very natural, but doesn't quite fall afowl (sorry... wait no I'm not) of Gen 1's dull "make it bigger" trend. Pidgeotto and Pidgeot both feel distinct from Pidgey and from one another, since Pidgeotto has the alternating tail feather colors and the shorter hair, while Pidgeot's tail goes all-red and its hair grows into a lusciously long mane. This also goes for Mega Pidgeot, who sprouts a distinctive, extra-long, scarf-like lock out of its hair and gains some lovely blue accents on its wing and tail feather tips.

Doduo: Incredibly cute, although it gets kind of uglier upon evolving into Dodrio, so that's why I'm only noting the base stage here. Anyway, I've always liked ostriches, and although this is a bit of an odd way to go about making a Pokémon based on one, it still wins me over (weirdness is more likely to attract me to a design than to repel me, anyway). What I will say for Dodrio, though, is that it has been pretty reliable every time I have used one.

Articuno: A classic. Such a beautiful icy blue color with that long tail trailing behind it. Far superior to its elemental counterparts, Scribblebird and Plucked Chicken. Truly feels legendary when looking at it.

Natu and Xatu: Iconic. I think lots of people would agree on how unique these two feel; they fit right in at the Ruins of Alph with their unusual type and their thoroughly mystical, but still subtle, designs. They're also quite a bit more colorful than most of the birds that had been introduced by this point.

Murkrow: A delightfully gothic, sullen, grave looking creature for our first Dark/Flying type. I'm less a fan of Honchkrow because it reframes the line to have more of a mafia theme, and its tail looks slightly awkward to me.

Skarmory: Like Xatu, it's another timeless design. Skarmory is always cool. I mean, it's got blade feathers that work like folding fans! I never would have expected a bird to be one of their first targets for a the newly-introduced Steel type.

Taillow and Swellow: Something about these two just feels really well-rounded and satisfying to me. I think they left an impression on me in part because it was really nice to see this calm mix of navy, white, and red colors after having two generations of birds that were mostly neutral colors or browns, or very striking neon colors in the case of Natu/Xatu.

Swablu and Altaria: Another line that just feels inherently solid to me. They're a little more abstract in that they're more cartoonish/fictional-looking than other bird Pokémon by the time of Gen 3, but that's refreshing to see. The Dragon typing on Altaria was pleasantly unexpected, as well, and it flouts another general trend by being a more defensively oriented dragon. Mega Altaria is a little over-the-top for my tastes, although it is certainly a logical conclusion.

Chatot: A cute little self-contained design packaged with a remarkably strange (and technically troubled) gimmick. I really like its default cry, but I can't quite discern what Game Freak's hope was in regards to its signature voice-recording mechanic. At any rate, I think the clef-head and the metronome tail are amusing conceits that still retain a birdlike shape, and I greatly enjoyed Chatot and Wigglytuff's dynamic in Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.

Unfezant (Male and Female): Both designs look fantastic, and it's cool to see the sexual dimorphism of birds reflected in-game. I've even got a Shiny Female Unfezant from an early-game random encounter in Black. :D

Sigilyph: Xatu 2.0 for me. I have always thought the Nazca lines were interesting, and Sigilyph looks so bizarre. When I first saw the designs of all of the Gen 5 Pokémon, this was one of the ones that most stood out to me. It is also quite usable, or at least it has been on the occasions that I have had one on my team. Its connection to the Relic Castle makes me like it even more, since I'm a big fan of Unova's lore and history.

Archen and Archeops: Another one that strikes at a particular personal interest. Archeopteryx were always one of my favorite prehistoric creatures. Defeatist has also never been much of a problem for me when using one, it learns a good array of moves for playing through BW, and I like how it struggles to stay in flight in its animation.

Swanna: It's a really graceful design, and like Sigilyph, has served me fairly well in-game. I love its cry as well.

Braviary: Basically, Unova pretty much knocks out of the park with the birds, in my opinion. There's just no denying how cool Braviary looks, and the one with its Hidden Ability that you can find in White 2 is an absolute monster. On the downside, it takes a tediously long time to get one by straightforwardly evolving a Rufflet.

Tornadus (Therian Forme): Yet more Unova! The Therian Formes came as a huge surprise, and Therian Tornadus has such an eye-pleasing color palette. Its silhouette is so striking, and the cloud accents on its body look very cool. Also, it's the only pure Flying type! (Or at least, the only one that matters.)

Spritzee: It's a simple design, but it's cute, which I find interesting considering that it takes elements of its appearance from plague doctors. It gives it a quietly dark undertone, which is good for a Fairy type. I love Aromatisse a lot too, but I don't think of it as birdlike enough to really count for this.

Yveltal: I suppose its odd that I didn't mention Mandibuzz amid my ravings for Unova's bird Pokémon. Even moreso considering that it's a far more faithful recreation of a vulture (my favorite kind of bird) than Yveltal. I can't really explain why that doesn't win it more points with me. Don't get me wrong, I do like Mandibuzz, but between it and Yveltal, it's a no-contest. Yveltal wins by a profound distance. The colors, the thematically appropriate signature move, that amazing cry and battle music, that huge wingspan (I specifically love condors the most out of all vultures because of their huge wings)... its ragged, ominous, deathly silhouette... definitely one of my favorite bird Pokémon.

Decidueye: Being a Grass/Ghost type was a nice surprise (and in some situational regards for myself, not nice, but I'm willing to forgive). I mentioned in the Favorite Starters thread that one of the reasons I like the Rowlet line is because I liked seeing a continued break from the habit of using reptiles as the basis for the Grass Starter, which finally ended after Snivy. We then got a mammal (Chespin) and, after that, a bird, which naturally, I was excited for. So I guess this is the crossover point between that thread and this one. :p Anyway, perhaps my favorite thing about Decidueye, aside from its cry and its excellent signature move, is exactly how it launches its arrows, by folding its wing into a bow shape and clutching the "string" of its hood with the upturned hand. It's a lovely functional detail.

Oricorio: All four designs pop with individual color and character. They're all great designs, and it is overall a brilliant concept for the Alola region. My favorite of the four is probably Baile Style, although Pom-Pom Style isn't far behind.

All in all... I don't really know who I should choose for the poll. I suppose I'll have to sit on it for a while and try to narrow this list down.
 
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My favorite is Pidgeot. It's so noble looking. I love the long feathers on its head and the black 'make-up' around its eyes.

Close seconds are Pidgeotto and Articuno.

I also really like Oricorio's fire and electric forms. Btw I think it's different forms should count as separate Pokemon in this poll.
 
The ones I voted for are:
Articuno
Noctowl
Honchkrow
Staraptor
Swanna (really love it's design the most)
Decidueye
Toucannon
Braviary (second favorite design of the group)
Oricorio
Xatu
Lugia
Altaria

Though I like all of them anyway so it was a hard choice (aside from Swanna and Braviary). But out of the whole group I like these ones the most.
 
I'm not gonna include legendaries :p

Gen I: Dodrio - Used it in Blue version on 3DS and it was so damn good. Though I also love Fearow and Pidgeot.
Gen II: Skarmory - Steel is one of my favorite types. I wish Skarmory could evolve and take advantage of Eviolite ;)
Gen III: Wingull - one of my first few Pokemon ever (his name was Captain <3), and one of my favorite bird Pokemon to this day. I almost always manage to catch one when I'm playing a Hoenn game. Love it.
Gen IV: Staraptor - obviously, since it's pretty tough and I don't care for Chatot.
Gen V: Braviary - 'Murica. Also Mandibuzz doesn't get Foul Play by level up :/
Gen VI: Talonflame - fucking awesome fire bird. Used it on my original Gen VI team. No regrets.
Gen VII: Rowlet/Decidueye - favorite Grass type starter. They're awesome.
 
I love how this is just blowing up into a list of so many Flying types. XD
On that topic, the unlisted Togekiss beats all four of my picks. I've really fallen for its face ever since the retype.
 
For gameplay, Hawlucha, with Staraptor a close second and Altaria and Skarmory in third place.

For cuteness, Pidgey (thanks to that episode where they use Pidgeys to deliver mail, along with Swablu. Also, Articuno it looks so elegant and beautiful.
 
Fearow-I've always preferred it over Pidgeot because of its higher Attack and Speed(well, until X/Y at least). It also learns Drill Run naturally, which is cool.
Articuno-it is so elegant and majestic. Same for Moltres, which was the first legendary I've caught.
Xatu-it has Magic Bounce and mystic vibe about it. I also like the fact it looks like a totem pole.
Skarmory-it is an intimidating metal bird, what's not to love?
Lugia and Ho-oh are just majestic.I like their backstory, too.
Swellow is sleek and quick. It also has Guts and can use Facade well.
Altaria is adorable and has a great Mega.
Staraptor is quick, powerful and learns strong moves like Brave Bird and Double-Edge and Close Combat to deal with Rock and Steel Pokemon.
Braviary looks cool and gets Superpower.
Talonflame is quick and I like the fact its base form changes its primary type upon evolving.
 
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