Choosing a team that can handle any challenge Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen throws at the player is crucial to success. An unspoken rule of just about any Pokemon game is to diversify a team’s type composition to ensure it has a wide range of both offensive and defensive types covered. The Flying Type is often useful for Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen teams, especially in the early game when players will face many Bug and Grass types, but most players lock themselves into the wrong Flying type early and miss out on a far better option.
The other major reason why a Flying Type is crucial to the best Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen teams is due to the presence of HMs in Gen 3, specifically HM02 Fly. Having Fly allows players to fast-travel back to any city they’ve previously visited, which is helpful for some of the Kanto Region’s required backtracking segments. However, adding a Flyer to the team requires more consideration than just catching the first available Flying Type, which is a trap many Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen players unintentionally fall into.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s Rare Exclusives Are Not Equal (And One Version is Much Better Than The Other)
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen have two rare exclusives that are supposed to be balanced, but one is more accessible and powerful.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s Fearow is the Superior Flying Type to Pidgeot
Arguably, the most iconic Flying Type in the Kanto Pokedex is Pidgeot, with its early availability as a Pidgey that can be found starting on Route 1, and its evolution progression that mirrors the player’s starter Pokemon. Pidgeot is also used by the player’s rival in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, so they are bound to face it in battle on more than one occasion. Despite the prevalence of Pidgeot within the Kanto Region and its use by the Elite Four Champion, Fearow is the far better Flying Type for a FireRed and LeafGreen playthrough, but often gets overlooked due to the early availability of Pidgey.
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Pidgeot’s Stats Vs. Fearow’s Stats
- Pidgeot — Normal/Flying
|
HP |
83 |
|
Attack |
80 |
|
Defense |
75 |
|
Special Attack |
70 |
|
Special Defense |
70 |
|
Speed |
91 |
|
Total |
469 |
|
HP |
65 |
|
Attack |
90 |
|
Defense |
65 |
|
Special Attack |
61 |
|
Special Defense |
61 |
|
Speed |
100 |
|
Total |
442 |
At a glance, Pidgeot’s stats make it look like the superior Flying-Type Pokemon compared to Fearow. Pidgeot has a higher Base Stat Total at 469 compared to Fearow’s 442, and it also has a more balanced stat spread, giving it higher HP, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense than Fearow as well. However, this stat comparison doesn’t reveal the full picture, which paints Fearow in a far more positive light when considering factors beyond pure stat analysis.
What Makes Fearow the Best Choice for a Flying Type in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen
Despite being weaker than Pidgeot overall, Fearow has much more going for it than Pidgey’s final evolution, which makes it worth waiting to catch a Spearow before locking in a Flying-type team member. Looking at Fearow’s stat spread and move pool reveals that it has more weapons available to it than Pidgeot. Players also have to consider the point at which Fearow becomes accessible, evolving from Spearow at Level 20 and reaching its fully-evolved stat spread far before Pidgeot, which evolved from Pidgeotto at Level 36.
Spearow can be caught in FireRed and LeafGreen as early as Route 22, just to the west of Viridian City.
Fearow Has the Optimal Stat Spread for a Flying Type in Gen 3
What Fearow lacks in defensive stats, it makes up for in both Speed and Attack stats, both of which are higher than Pidgeot’s. Realistically, these are the only two stats that matter on Fearow, since a Pokemon that is fast enough and can deal enough damage can KO their opponent before defense even becomes a concern. In Gen 3, which comes before the Physical/Special Damage split, all Flying and Normal-Type attacks are Physical in nature, meaning Pidgeot’s higher Special Attack is irrelevant and actually makes it worse offensively as a suboptimal attacker.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen: What You Should Use the Master Ball on Depends Entirely on Which Starter You Picked
The Pokemon that FireRed and LeafGreen players should use their Master Ball on depends on which starter they choose at the start of the game.
Fearow Has a Better Move Pool than Pidgeot
The other major advantage Fearow has over Pidgeot is the moves it has access to via its level-up and TM/HM move pools. Pidgeot’s best STAB Flying-Type move is Fly, with a base power of only 70. The second-best Flying-Type attack that Pidgeot has access to in FireRed and LeafGreen is a tie between Wing Attack and Aerial Ace, both with base powers of 60. Pidgeot learns Wing Attack as a Pidgeotto at Level 27 and then can learn Fly once players get the HM02 from the house near the Cycling Road.
Comparatively, Fearow’s move pool looks a bit shallower at first glance, but is far better with some patience. Unless players wait to evolve their Spearow until level 25 when it learns Aerial Ace, the strongest move Fearow will have access to for a while is Peck, with a measly 35 base power. However, players can teach Fearow the TM for Aerial Ace if they find it while exploring Route 9. The major advantage Fearow’s move pool gets over Pidgeot’s is Drill Peck, an 80 base power Flying-Type move that it learns at level 40. Drill Peck is more powerful than any Flying-Type move that Pidgeot can learn, and it’s made even stronger with Fearow’s higher Attack stat.
Fearow often feels like the forgotten sibling of Pidgeot, who tends to get all the attention from Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen players. However, from a team optimization standpoint, Fearow is a much stronger Pokemon and can go toe-to-toe with many of the mid-game challenges players will face, such as Erika’s Grass-Type Gym, Saffron City’s Fighting-Type Dojo, and Elite Four Bruno’s Fighting Types. As such, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen players should do themselves a favor and catch a Fearow instead of sleeping on it.
- Released
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September 7, 2004
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Mild Fantasy Violence, Simulated Gambling
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
