Not a brave bird - Fearow Discussion.

KevlarX290

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-dp/022.shtml

Fearow, possibly the worst of the physical Normal/Flying birds (barring Farfetch'd). It doesn't look like it has changed much, but lets see what few things D/P has brought it.


Base Stats
HP: 65
Attack: 90
Defense: 65
Sp.Attack: 61
Sp.Defense: 61
Speed: 100
(Total: 442)

Ability
Keen Eye - Prevents Accuracy loss.


Physical Movepool (STAB in italics):
Drill Peck
Pluck
Sky Attack
Assurance
Faint Attack
Return
Double-edge (FR/LG/E Move Tutor)
Pursuit
U-Turn
Steel Wing
Quick Attack

Unlike Staraptor, Pidgeot, Swellow, or Dodrio, this thing doesn't get Brave Bird. It also lost physical Hidden Power.

Special Movepool (STAB in italics):
Tri-Attack
Hidden Power

Support Movepool:
Agility
Roost
Whirlwind
Substitute
Protect
Toxic
Rest
Sleep Talk
Captivate
Endure
Swagger


Here's a moveset I would give Fearow:

Fearow @ Choice Band
Adamant (252 Atk, 252 Spd, 6 HP)
- Return / Double-edge
- Drill Peck
- Steel Wing
- Quick Attack / U-Turn

Drill Peck and Return/Double-edge is for STAB, Steel Wing is for Rock types, and Quick Attack is for Reversalers/Flailers, or you can put U-Turn in there instead to get out of sticky situations.

So...discuss Fearow.
 
The only thing Fearow gets that other birds don't is Assurance, which only works well for Fearow if it forces a switch... which will only happen in UU.

Hate to say it, but Fearow is now even moreso an inferior Dodrio. It doesn't even have a 1-Up on Pidgeot anymore.
 
Actually, Fearow gets one more thing that Pidgeot, Dordio, and Staraptor can't easily get: Sky Attack.

If the game and Serebii can be believed, it is not only a 140-power, 90-accuracy physical Flying attack, it also has a high crit rate and a 30% flinch chance. Of course, to make it useful you need to have Power Herb. So Sky Attack is a one-shot move, but how long is Fearow really going to live anyway?

Note: I think Sky Attack is an XD tutor move, so it's likely that many other Flying-types can learn it. Unfortunately, I haven't found a list of which Pokémon learn XD tutor moves.
 
Sky Attack is not a high-crit move. XD tutor moves, which do include Sky Attack, can be taught to any third generation Pokemon that you trade to XD. Besides, two Drill Pecks is still more powerful... Don't anyone dare say Powerful Herb.
 
Yeah, Sky Attack is given a high CH rate on Netbattle, but according to some reliable sources (I don't remember who, exactly), it's supposed to just have the 30% flinch rate. It's interesting as a "Focus Punch" type move, but as said, Drill Peck twice will do more, meaning you'd have to rely on that 30% flinch to kick in to make it worth it, which I really don't like to do, especially not on something as frail as Fearow.
 
Great Sage said:
Sky Attack is not a high-crit move. XD tutor moves, which do include Sky Attack, can be taught to any third generation Pokemon that you trade to XD. Besides, two Drill Pecks is still more powerful... Don't anyone dare say Powerful Herb.
Click to expand...

Ingame description of Sky Attack: "A second-turn attack move with a high critical-hit ratio. It may also make the target flinch."

Now, this isn't necessarily true; Zoom Lens's ingame description is wrong. My question for you is this: Did you or someone else actually test Sky Attack for a high crit ratio, or are you just assuming it doesn't have one because you didn't know about it?

Secondly, when you say that Sky Attack can be taught to any third generation Pokémon, do you actually mean any Pokémon, or just bird-like ones?

Finally, I already mentioned Power Herb, so your last comment confuses me a bit. Even if two Drill Pecks are better than one Sky Attack (which is debatable, and probably depends on whether Sky Attack has a higher crit rate) and assuming that Fearow lives after the first hit it takes (also questionable), one Power Herb Sky Attack and one Drill Peck are better than two Drill Pecks. It's not as it Fearow's moveslots are all that precious.
 
Two Choice Banded Drill Pecks will do more damage than a Power Herb Sky Attack, followed by a Drill Peck. It's about a 5% difference in damage.
 
Phuquoph said:
Two Choice Banded Drill Pecks will do more damage than a Power Herb Sky Attack, followed by a Drill Peck. It's about a 5% difference in damage.
Click to expand...

Touché. So the comparison (assuming no high crit rate) is between 5% more damage and a 30% flinch rate. At that point it depends whether what you're fighting can be flinched and whether or not you want to be locked into Drill Peck (I like to be able to U-turn out after my Sky Attack, for instance).

Again, this is all assuming that Fearow suvives its opponent's first attack.
 
Does Pluck "throw away" your Berry?

If not...
Fearow @ Nanab Berry (Nanab so he won't use it)
Pluck
Return/Double Edge
U-Turn
Substitute

IMO, Return is better for something fragile like him. But anyway, just Pluck everything while Substitute to scout some Stone Edges (which may miss and leave you untouched for one more turn), U-Turn to save this guy.
 
Pluck deals extra damage when the opponent has an extra berry. The idea is that the birdy pokemon is plucking the berry away from its opponent and thus dealing more damage as it is doing so.

at least that's what i got from its description...
 
Serebii's description of Pluck is wrong. It works like Bug Bite and eats the foe's berry, gaining its effects. As far as I can tell, no additional damage is done. I assume that whether or not Fearow carries a berry is also irrelevant to Pluck's power, but I haven't tested that.

Another tidbit about pluck: If you attack an opponent holding a Coba (Flying-resist) Berry by using Pluck, the target eats the berry before you can.

I appreciate Serebii.net, but getting information out first is their forte. Correcting faulty information afterward can take them forever. There are still errors in some of their 3rd-gen pages.
 
Looks like we'll have to use Drill Peck like always...
I don't even know what Pluck means lol... so I haven't thought twice about how it works.

My error, I' sorry.
 
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