We’re back for the Normal-type reviews, and today we’re going to focus on Starly, Staravia and Staraptor, starling Pokémon who could prove to be quite intimidating! If you are ready with this one, please proceed.




“With a base 55 attack and base 60 speed, I’d say Starly is one of the most powerful Pokémon you can find on any first route. Every member of the family learns useful moves at some point or another and their shiny forms are great too! Staraptor is especially good thanks to its access to Close Combat upon evolution.” ~ Shiny Staraptor



Selected Fan Art (Artist: Mr–Jack)

Sinnoh’s version of an early-game bird is one that would not only supply the player with a bird early in the game, but it is unique in that it is also a very good Pokémon to use in the game, besides the starter. The basis of this Pokémon is the starling. It is evident from their names in every language that they are named after a starling. Much like most early-game bird Pokémon, the domesticated bird is used as a basis for its evolutions, mainly the final evolution which looks like a predatory bird.
Starlings are typically gregarious birds, preferring to hang out with each other, which might result in large flocks, also known as a murmuration. Sometimes, the sight of a large flock forms a gorgeous picture. Similarly, Starly and Staravia are sociable and are barely alone, and will never be alone, at least not forever. In fact, when Staravia is not in a group, it will cry noisily. Starlings are also noisy birds, so when they sing, it could be annoying for anyone around. Starly fits this description based on its noisy and annoying singing. If there are too many of them around, the sound made could be really loud and unbearable.
The type of starling that these Pokémon are based on is the grey starling. The colouration seems to match these Pokémon quite well, with the grey down and feathers to the white face, and certainly the orange beaks with a black tip. Even Staraptor, who is based the predatory bird, retains a starling’s beak and not a sharper version found on a predatory bird like say, a hawk. Though starlings are the basis of their designs, Staravia has a curl on its head that looks similar to a Northern lapwing, while Staraptor is clearly based on any predatory bird.
There are advantages in forming groups. Strength in numbers comes into play in that they could do more than what the individual bird is capable of, even when all do the same thing together, since they function as a singular unit. For one, they could aid an ally that is in danger by attacking something bigger, or flock together to capture bug Pokémon for eating in where they live, which are the mountains and fields for Starly, and the forest and fields for Staravia. Though Starly may be small, they are able to flap their wings with great power, and when a group is involved, a forceful whirlwind is generated. Sometimes, having large groups could be a detriment. If the flock get too big, there would be some bickering going on within the group.
Because of the group-based nature of the Pokémon, there might be cases where groups of such Pokémon might meet. When that happens, there could be fierce scuffles that will break out between flocks, claiming over a certain territory in which they could roost and basically claim on any food within a territory. It is possible that they could fight other bird flocks for the territory, so having a group is in this case advantageous.
Unlike Starly and Staravia, Staraptor is different. In addition to being a more predatory bird, Staraptor stops staying in a flock that Starly and Staravia instinctually do. Instead, it becomes stronger to be able to stand up on its own, with its sturdy wings and legs, and could easily fly while gripping small Pokémon, presumably certain insect or rodent Pokémon. It’s possible that Staraptor can be a leader of a flock of Starly-related birds, for it has some qualities found on a leader. It will challenge any foe larger than it, and won’t stop even when it’s injured. It does have a hint of vanity as well, where it will fuss over the shape of the comb on its head.
Utilising its determination in charging at the opponent, Staraptor is quite powerful in battling, because its Attack is high and it has good Speed. With Reckless, it could do a lot of damage with Double-Edge and Brave Bird. It is also the only member in this family with a powerful Fighting attack (Close Combat) to overcome Rock- and Steel-types, so not even those Pokémon could stop Staraptor’s sweep, unless they have a special type combination, such as Steel/Ghost. While Intimidate doesn’t help it offensively, it helps defensively, allowing it to survive an attack, which is helpful since it takes double damage from Stealth Rock. Perhaps these qualities made Staraptor too good as an early-game Pokémon, and unlike Talonflame, it is not dependent on its Hidden Ability to be viable.
The sociable aspect of birds is one thing that makes them quite likeable. It’s not just starlings that fit this criterion, for there are a few other birds that are sociable, such as penguins and sociable weavers. Transforming a domesticated bird into a predatory bird is quite unusual because the bird looks like a powered-up domesticated bird, but it’s the norm for early-game bird Pokémon. As for Staraptor’s prowess in battle, it is possible that when Staraptor was designed for battle, the designers wanted Staraptor to be the best early-game bird Pokémon at that time. Overall, the Pokémon is sure to please casual and competitive fans.


+ Gregarious birds
+ Strength in numbers
+ Staraptor is powerful
± Staraptor is too powerful for early-game Pokémon
– Somewhat plain-looking (except Staraptor)
– Staravia looks unthreatening despite Intimidate




Starly’s TCG Card


The way Starly is illustrated, it looks very much like a model placed over a background of a sky and clouds. Even I couldn’t tell at first that this is illustrated (at least, I think it’s supposed to be).


Staravia’s TCG Card


As the PokéDex mentions, Staravia stays within a huge flock, presumably its kind like this card. However, you only see quite a few of these birds, so it’s not as huge as you might expect. This does bring up a curious question: if Staravia is meant to be intimidating (it has this ability), then what would happen when there are multiple of these Pokémon? Would another Pokémon be too scared at the sight of a flock of Staravia?


Staraptor’s TCG Card


Although Staraptor’s main design shows that its beak retains its starling-like design, in this card, it looks surprisingly sharp like a hawk much like its namesake (it’s called Mukuhawk in Japanese). The artist must have taken some liberties in order to make Staraptor look more threatening, which is OK since Staraptor looks too much of a predatory bird that its original blunt beak is incongruent in that respect.




Double Team

This move is chosen for two reasons: One, since Starly and Staravia are birds that like to flock, this move fits their style of fighting in groups; Two, Staraptor is a quick bird, so it should be able to dodge moves well by moving quickly as to appear as if it has shadow clones.
Double Team is a TM, and it happens to be accessible to pretty much any Pokémon, and yes, that includes all the slow Pokémon out there. Because evasion is a useful stat in ensuring survivability, quite a few Pokémon use this move to set up. It should be noted that since it’s only evasion that is increased and not other stats, if the Pokémon couldn’t threaten the opponent or stall them out, chances are they are delaying the inevitable. As such, not every Pokémon can use Double Team effectively.
With that said, this move is discouraged from competitive battling for its ability to stall out the opponent by making moves miss, as it is considered too much luck and not enough skill. Of course, stalling can also involve passing evasion boosts, which due to the move’s huge accessibility is not hard to find a suitable user.
Overall, Double Team’s universality makes it an easy move to fit, but not every Pokémon could effectively take advantage of the increased evasion properly.




That’s all for today’s article. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.
Thanks for reading.

Next Article: Swablu
The post Normal-type Reviews: Starly, Staravia & Staraptor appeared first on Pokémon Crossroads.


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