#16 - #18: Pidgey, Pidgeotto & Pidgeot

Fan art of Pidgey.

Ah, yes. Pidgey. This docile little bird was the first of many normal/flying-type bird Pokémon to come, of which two evolution lines will be discussed very soon, as they are part of the first generation of Pokémon. But when you step into the tall grass upon entering Route 1 in Red and Blue, Pidgey was one of the first two Pokémon you were able to catch, the other one being Rattata. And while Rattata evolves into Raticate quite early and Raticate is slightly stronger than Pidgeot is (although not by a landslide; Raticate's physical attack is just one base point higher than Pidgeot's), it was worth waiting until level 36, when Pidgeotto evolved into Pidgeot. Not only does Pidgeot looks cooler than Raticate, it is also more reliable due to its slightly higher defenses and its ability to learn Fly, which is always handy in a Pokémon game. Strangely enough, Ash didn't catch a Pidgey early on in the anime series, but a Pidgeotto, which would turn out to be one of his most reliable partners (although it has to be said that Ash attempted to catch a Pidgey before that, but failed miserably). However, like with Butterfree, Ash released his freshly-evolved Pidgeot, this time to protect a Pidgey flock nearby Ash's hometown Pallet Town from a flock of vicious Spearow led by the Fearow Ash encountered as a Spearow in the very first episode.

Pidgeot depicted as (Bird) Jesus from 'Twitch
Plays Pokémon'.

But don't we all remember Pidgeot from the disaster that is called 'Twitch Plays Pokémon'? Streaming service Twitch set up a digital version of Pokémon Red for everyone to play... simultaneously. Due to everybody inserting multiple commands at the same time (A, B, up, down, left, right, you name it), it soon became a mess and progress was made very slowly, and sometimes not at all. When Jay Leno the Rattata and starter Pokémon Abby the Charmeleon were released, the Pidgey caught at the beginning of the game became the team's leader and savior, sent by Lord Helix (Omanyte) to guide Red through the game. Especially after the second massacre, when eleven Pokémon were released by the Twitch Plays Pokémon crowd, Bird Jesus (as Pidgeot is so commonly referred to) bacame the mainstay of the entire team. Ingenious, making up a storyline for a Pokémon game played by tens of thousands of people at the same time. Of course, it was a 'historic' event in the eyes of many Pokémon fans, an event that many will always remember. Especially when you consider the fact that, of all Pokémon, a Pidgeot was the most important Pokémon that eventually led the team to sweet victory!

Official art of Mega Pidgeot.

However, Bird Jesus had been at an insanely high level throughout half of Twitch's playthrough. Can a regular Pidgeot lead a team to victory when a team is more balanced out? Well, when your team is more balanced out, you're likely to let your other Pokémon fight as well. That is not to say that Pidgeot wouldn't be a good addition to any team, especially as a Mega Pidgeot. That's right, it got a Mega evolution in Omega Ruby and Sapphire, and with a little patience you can just catch a Pidgeotto in the Safari Zone after beating or catching Kyogre or Groudon and evolve it into a Pidgeot after a little training. The Mega Stone necessary for Mega-evolving is obtainable long before that, anyway. But is Mega Bird Jesus good? Hell yeah! Whether it has a diverse movepool is a completely other matter, but it is fast and super strong, gaining a gigantic boost in its special attack and even some speed as well (which matches its flavor much better, as Pidgeot are capable of flying at Mach 2 speed). It also acquires the No Guard ability, meaning that both its own moves and its oponent's moves will never miss, not even when they have low accuracy. That effectively makes Hurricane, which normally has 70% accuracy, one of its staple moves.

In fact, Hurricane is its only staple move, as the rest is just for a bit of coverage. Heat Wave is almost always used in the competitive scene, while Hyper Beam can be handy for strong normal-type damage when nothing else is available to you (although it requires a turn to recharge). Defog, for getting rid of annoying entry hazards like Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock, and U-Turn, for switching out while causing chip damage, are a thing as well. I even rocked out with a Mega Pidgeot who had Twister when doing an Omega Ruby playthrough, but I don't recommend using it competitively (unless you're really desperate).

The entire Pidgey line: Pidgey (up), Pidgeotto (left), Pidgeot (right) and
Mega Pidgeot (middle).

Personally, Mega Pidgeot is my second favorite Mega evolution, just because of its awesome streamlined design. It is one of the most subtle Megas design-wise, but man, does it hit the mark! Well, that depends on how you look at it, but there is absolutely nothing that keeps it from getting a perfect rating!

Rating: 5/5