Birds & Possible Bird Team - Brainstorm

What if someone came into battle with all bird-type pokemon?

It was this idea that all my friends and I came up with a pokemon tournament only using themed teams. Naturally there are going to be some better themes that can incorporate more OU pokemon, but the theme I have chosen is Birds of Paradise - or just birdbrained. Some of the themes I will be going up against for example are: all grass-type, mono-water, eeveelution, mono-normal, ash's original team, gary's original team, all bugs and about 4 other undecided themes.

I am a complete beginner when it comes to battle because I have a very very limited battle experience so I don't think I can pull off a quasi-decent bird team without your help everyone. I don't even know which are all the birds the game. I do know that I do not want to use Moltres, Zapdos & Articuno as much as possible though. I also recognize that I will have plenty of weaknesses while playing this team, but I want to make it as competitive as possible (I know that kind of contradicts the whole use the 3 birds I mentioned earlier) The only real limitations are no legendaries / ubers. I do intend to follow Item clause as well.

List of all the birds I can think of:

Doduo / Dodrio
Pidgey / Pigeoto / Pigeot
Starly / Staravia / Staraptor
Togepi / Togetic / Togekiss
Blaziken (chickens count as birds right? lol)
Spearow / Fearow
Chatot
Farfetch'D
HootHoot / Noctowl
Natu / Xatu
Honchcrow / Murkrow
Skarmory
Tailow / Swellow
Wingull / Pelipper

any other birds that I missed?

dpmfa468.png

Togekiss @ lefties
252 Sp. Attack/ 252 Sp. defense / 4 HP
~Serene Grace
(Modest Nature)
Wish / Nasty Plot
Air Slash
Aura Sphere
Baton Pass

Flincher / wish supporter.

blaziken.png

Blaziken @ Expert Belt or Muscle Band
252 Speed/ 252 Attack/ 4 HP
~Blaze
(Adamant Nature)
Flare Blitz
Sky Uppercut
Brave Bird
Baton Pass ??? or something else

Sweeper of some sort.

I think skarmory is most likely going to end up on my team but I am not sure about what kind. Any adivice / critiques would be great.

PS. Its not in RMT yet because I don't think I have a enough information to actually have a team rated yet, but i could be wrong too.
 
The Porygon family counts as birds. Also Empoleon.

You also forgot Delibird, not that it can do anything.

You could use Togekiss as a supporter/special attacker, Skarmory as a physical wall, Staraptor as a CBer, Porygon-Z as a special sweeper, Blaziken as a mixed sweeper, and Empoleon as a special wall.
 
Don't forget Psyduck/Golduck! It's going to be much more useful now that Sandstorm and other weather effects are being used more often.

By the way, awesome team idea. I'll try to come up with some more specifics later today when I have more time.

EDIT: Ludicolo has a beak. Does it count as a bird for your purposes?

Also, Swablu/Altaria.
 
I like this for Blaziken because I want it to do somethin' that Infernape can not.

blaziken.png

Blaziken @ Life Orb
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA) or Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spd
- Brick Break / Sky Uppercut
- Flamethrower / Fire Blast
- Agility
- Baton Pass

Looks original for me, haha well first on the EVs...

Max Atk so you can Sweep with your Brick Break if needed, Flamethrower rather than Flare Blitz because of recoil damage hurtin' you badly and believe it or not, 80 HP 70 DEF has its uses with your resistances (Bug, Grass, Fire, Ice, some common moves =P )

The speed is so you can outspeed Adamant Max Speed Tyranitar (CBTar) so you can have a Pseudo-Counter for it

Obviously after and Agility you will outspeed lots of Pokemon, includin' many Choice Scarf users :D

Obviously you need a hard hitter in your team so your Speed boosts become very useful, CB Staraptor is a good option, Flinch-hax Togekiss would also LOVE the +2 in Speed to pwn Garchomp and other Ground types xD
 
I'm fairly sure Psyduck and Golduck are supposed to be platypus (er, what's the plural form?).

You're certainly welcome to take your liberties with the word "bird" though.

I think the plural is platypi. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure Golduck is meant to be a duck. Other than the name, I think the tail would be flatter and broader if it were meant to be a platypus. Then again, it's hard to ignore its limbs. I'd say you could go either way. This team qualifier is limiting enough that I'd be willing to use it.

EDIT: Man, you could make a killer Double Battle team out of this. Blaziken is just begging for an Acupressure from Dodrio. Pidgeot, Pelipper or Xatu's Tailwind could help the entire team outspeed the entire opponent team. Metro Aura, are you going to make a 2v2 team with this theme, or do you only play 1v1? Would you consider making both?
 
First off, IMO, PsyDUCK and GolDUCK are both DUCKS, so birds, not Platypuses. I think maybe Ludiculo is a platypus / pineapple hybrid though.

I suppose that if the legendary birds from RBY are out, Ho-Oh and Lugia are gone too, huh?

Maybe you could use Aerodactyl on the explanation that he is a dinosaur bird? (Scientists speculate that dinosaurs evolved into birds, and that pterodactyls and specifically Archeopteryx are the link between the two and blah blah)
 
You can tell by what they're based off, so obviously Staraptor is a bird while Crobat is not.

Aerodactyl was a n ancestor of bird pokes.

Sorry, I thought you were talking about Golduck, where it's hard to determine Platypus vs. Duck without a reeeeeeeal close look to see if it has feathers. I totally agree that Aerodactyl is out. The Porygon's aren't really birds, but they are based on birds, so I'd give it a maybe. If I were making the team, I'd leave out Togekiss, too, but I wouldn't call fowl if someone used it on a bird-themed team.
 
I'd say just go mono flying... it gives you more options for the loss of what? Blaziken, Empoleon, and Golduck? You can do without them.
 
I'm sorry to continue the argument over Pokemon identity, but some things cannot be left unaddressed!

PsyDUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS and GolDUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS have claw-tipped forelimbs used for launching attacks like Scratch and Fury Swipes, as platypuses (thank you, Cooper) do. Ducks don't have those! IMO they're not ducks, but I'm not going to argue any more about this.

Aerodactyl is a pterosaur (not a dinosaur) and thus probably not a direct bird ancestor.

Lastly, to add a tiny bit of actual worth to this otherwise-meaningless post, I disagree with CasMat's suggestion above of mono-flying simply because Empoleon gives you a really nice Ice resistance, one that you would otherwise not have.
 
For the record, I'd like to make it clear that the plural of "platypus" is "platypuses", not platypi. Look it up.

A mono-Flying team would sort of go against the theme of the team. Salamence is clearly not a bird, though it is a Flying-type. Perhaps metro_aura could be more specific about the actual theme of this team?
 
Thanks to everyone who replied!

I like the idea, Empoleon would be a bird too wouldnt it, if so it would make a pretty solid choice
I google'd it to make sure, Penguins are birds that cannot fly and thus can be used in my team.

The Porygon family counts as birds. Also Empoleon. You also forgot Delibird, not that it can do anything.
The Porygon does not count as birds. I'll be damned if they are considered birds.
Porygon looks enough like a bird to me for it to count. I asked the people who are going to run the tournament and they gave me an ok. For the record I dont think its a bird, but it looks like one enough so I can say (lie) that it is.

Don't forget Psyduck/Golduck! It's going to be much more useful now that Sandstorm and other weather effects are being used more often. By the way, awesome team idea. I'll try to come up with some more specifics later today when I have more time.

EDIT: Ludicolo has a beak. Does it count as a bird for your purposes? Also, Swablu/Altaria.
Ducks are birds and thus count too. This is a 1v1 type battle. No chance for a 2v2 not yet. The "birds of paradise" will have to wait before they see their 2v2 debut.

Ludicolo does have a beak but cannot be arguably called a bird because he doesn't look like one / does not have many other distinguishable birdlike features. Plus he is ugly and does indeed look like a pineapple. nice reminder on the Swablu / Altaria too.

Psyduck & Golduck are OK
Ludicolo is NOT.

You could add Cresselia too. She's a Swan I believe?
Cresselia is a Swan and counts. I gotta find some way to incorporate her.

blaziken.png

Blaziken @ Life Orb
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA) or Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spd
- Brick Break / Sky Uppercut
- Flamethrower / Fire Blast
- Agility
- Baton Pass
Thanks for a great suggestion with the firebird!

I don't think Togekiss should count as a bird seeing as it doesn't have bird-like qualities (like a beak)
While that might be true, I think he looks enough like a bird to me for him to count. lol. I know that is such a bad reason but I really like him and I will use whatever lie i can to count him as a bird. Besides i think he does have feathers.

I suppose that if the legendary birds from RBY are out, Ho-Oh and Lugia are gone too, huh?

Maybe you could use Aerodactyl on the explanation that he is a dinosaur bird? (Scientists speculate that dinosaurs evolved into birds, and that pterodactyls and specifically Archeopteryx are the link between the two and blah blah)
Lol, I asked about that one, and the higher-ups gave denied that one. Too much of a stretch. My theme is Birds (or things that look like birds, or things that are in the bird family). Dinosaur Ancestors do not count in my theme. Thanks for that stretch though. I really did try to get him in.

I'd say just go mono flying... it gives you more options for the loss of what? Blaziken, Empoleon, and Golduck? You can do without them
I could go mono-flying but, that is such a lackluster theme. Birds of Paradise is soo much more colorful and "funner" that I am willing to sacrifice some functionality. If I do this, at has to be in style. Win or Lose. I do understand that mono-flying could open the doors for alot of better pokemon, but I really will not compromise on the whole theme. thanks for the suggestion though I really do appreciate it.
 
For the record, I'd like to make it clear that the plural of "platypus" is "platypuses", not platypi. Look it up.

A mono-Flying team would sort of go against the theme of the team. Salamence is clearly not a bird, though it is a Flying-type. Perhaps metro_aura could be more specific about the actual theme of this team?

Which dictionary are you using? Mine says that both 'platypuses' and 'platypi' are valid. I guess it doesn't really matter all that much.

I think he meant make a team where all the members were not only birds, but also of the Flying type. I disagree. I think Blaziken and Emploleon or Golduck could give the team some much-needed type variety.

Murkrow, you've convinced me. I'd still consider using a Golduck on a team like this because it's bird-like enough, but I concede that Golduck seems much more closely-related to platypuses than to ducks.
 
Clarification on the Theme of the Team

I need to help clarify on the theme of the team and some other things.

This is going to be a 6 pokemon, 1v1 style tournament. Everyone has to have a specific theme so, I don't have to worry about threats as much (then again I dont have much to offer with my team I suppose). This is an actual tourny which is on this saturday. I will EV train (and use some rare candies too) but breeding for perfect IVs is probably out of the question.

My theme is "The Birds of Paradise"

Basically any actual Bird pokemon (it has to say bird in the description) or it has to be arguably resembling a bird or within the bird family. They do not have to be flying and if possible I would like to incorporate some of the lesser used birds such as chatot and perhaps murkrow.

With this said I'll re-update the list of viable "birds" that I can use.

Doduo / Dodrio
Pidgey / Pigeoto / Pigeot
Starly / Staravia / Staraptor
Togepi / Togetic / Togekiss
Blaziken
Empoleon
Spearow / Fearow
Chatot
Farfetch'D
HootHoot / Noctowl
Natu / Xatu
Honchcrow / Murkrow
Tailow / Swellow
Wingull / Pelipper
Psyduck / Golduck
Swablu / Altaria
Delibird (lol wth is a delibird)


I think at the moment the only birds I know for sure that will be on my team for sure is Blaziken & Togekiss.

I do recognize that Cresselia is a wonderful pokemon and so is skarmory, but if possible I would like to replace them with some UU birds that can perform the same role. Therefore they are getting taken off the list.
 
Pokemon that are birds or birdlike:

Pidgeot
Fearow
Farfetch'd
Dodrio
Golduck
Porygon2/PorygonZ
Noctowl
Xatu
Honchkrow
Delibird
Skarmory
Lugia
Ho-oh
Blaziken
Swellow
Pelipper
Ludicolo
Altaria
Empoleon
Staraptor
Chatot
Togekiss
 
You should still IV breen but not go for godlike. Such as if you use Swellow go for purely as high posible attack and speed and dont wry too much about the others. Its not that difficult you just have to put some time into it :>
 
I google'd it to make sure, Penguins are birds that cannot fly and thus can be used in my team.
I sorry if this offense you but I laughed when I saw that you had to Google search penguins in order to see if they're birds or not. Penguins are birds like you said, they're just evolved for life in water.

Porygon looks enough like a bird to me for it to count. I asked the people who are going to run the tournament and they gave me an OK. For the record I don't think its a bird, but it looks like one enough so I can say (lie) that it is.
To me the Porygon family don't look like birds to me...or at least any recognizable bird in my eyes but hey I won't fight you I'' just go along with your opinion.
 
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