A warning before I start this article: I love birds. They’re my all-time favorite animal. Therefore, it could create a bias with how I critique all the bird or birdlike Pokémon in this review series.

This strong attachment extends to even the most bland of all bird Pokémon, Pidgey. Say hello to the grandaddy that brought the phrase “generic bird” to the fandom. It’s found extremely early in-game, appears practically everywhere, and isn’t particularly strong or versatile (especially when Normal-Flying is a ridiculously common type matchup).

No offense, Pidgey. I know I just said I’m a huge bird fan and all, but I’m afraid you have that title for a reason.

Anyways, Pidgey’s design follows standard bird anatomy. Nothing is really exaggerated, aside from the weird triangular “Anime” eyes (a term I can’t help but use after it was pointed out to me). Pidgey’s main colors are natural browns and tans. Overall, it’s a very safe design.

I still like Pidgey, no matter how much I can rip it apart. I enjoy the tiny crest sitting atop its head, and the thick black stripes on the sides of its face. The pointy eyes make Pidgey look like it’s trying its hardest to look threatening, which adds a silly charm to such a tiny bird.

For an early-level, early-game Pokémon that’s as common as a pigeon or sparrow, I think the “generic bird” concept works fine for Pidgey.

On a side note, I want to take a moment to applaud Pidgey’s Green/Japanese Red and Red/Blue sprites for somehow looking more generic than the generic bird of Generation I:

I’m going to shake up the usual format for my Pokémon reviews and simultaneously critique two Pokémon. Because when Pidgeotto and Pidgeot are placed side-by-side, they’re so painfully similar to each other, that I’d be writing the same review twice.

By themselves, neither Pidgeotto nor Pidgeot are bad designs. They both have crests and tails that sport extra color beside the browns and tans Pidgey had. For me, the triangular eyes fit better, as it gives them a piercing and predatory gaze – something that looks laughable on baby Pidgey. They both would be fine as a middle-stage evolution.

But when placed near each other… Pidgeot doesn’t sprout anything new aside from a longer crest. Technically, we could disprove that if we layered Pidgeotto on top, but the differences are so miniscule that it doesn’t matter. Besides the slightly different tail and crest, they share the exact same colors.

I bet if I went up to someone who didn’t know anything about Pokémon and said Pidgeot was a male Pidgeotto, they’d believe me. That’s what makes Pidgeot so disappointing as the Pidgey’s final evolution.

Pidgeot could have at least had different wings, or feet, or anything but just a longer crest. The Pokédex claims that Pidgeot has “beautifully glossy feathers,” but I wouldn’t know when it looks identical to its previous evolution.

Characters in the Anime can’t even identify Pidgeotto from Pidgeot, their designs bleed that heavily into each other.

Pidgeotto:

Pidgeot:

Well, it’s a good thing to know I can pull off my rose-tinted glasses when reviewing birds. That’s no easy feat for me, trust me.

Also: another round of applause for Pidgeot’s clunky Red/Blue sprite:

Honestly, I want to like Mega Pidgeot. I’m glad it even got a Mega Evolution.

Alas, it’s another evolution of these birds that boils down to, “Make the crest longer and throw in another color to the feathers.”

My favorite aspects of Mega Pidgeot are its impractically long crest and a chubby belly that humorously contrasts against the rest of its sleek design. That’s where the positivity ends.

I might be okay with the blue-tipped flight feathers if only more was done with it. Mega Pidgeot’s tail is the exact same design as before, just with blue added at its ends. While I dig the wild hairdo that would make the characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! jealous, it’s a shame it was used on Pidgeotto/Pidgeot #3.

Wait, no, how rude of me. Mega Pidgeot doesn’t have quite the same shade of brown as regular Pidgeot. What a difference!