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Flying

 

Hey! Wait a minute! Who’s this Darth David guy? Wasn’t there something at Azure Heights about that guy…well, if you don’t know me from Azure or the fanfiction forum here, or anywhere like that, you might know me under the name of Forge, which I use in the Marble Palace Chat Room, indeed, all mIRC rooms. Why? ‘S the name of the Alakazam that got me here. I found Azure Heights after the Edinburgh regional Pokémon Championship, and then Marble Palace, which I infinitely prefer. So, here’s my guide to the flying element!

 

Don't Be A Branners! Click here to read the intro! Its important!

 

Flying attacks power depend on the attack stat, and are defended with the defence stat.

 

Flying types in general are pretty mixed stat wise, and I wouldn’t like to deceive you by picking out common characteristics. This variety in each makes it a great element for your team: No matter what your bound to find one that fits in nicely! And that invulnerability to ground is quite nice. The first person to mention Rock Slide gets eaten. They are effective against Bug, Fighting and Grass and ineffective against Electric, Rock and Steel. They are weak to electricity, ice and rock.

 

Sigh. The bit I hate, here they come stat wise.

 

Name

HP

Attack

Defence

Speed

Special

Total

Dragonite

385

366

288

258

298

 1595

Moltres

383

298

278

278

348

 1585

Zapdos

383

278

268

298

348

 1575

Articuno

383

268

298

268

348

 1565

Gyarados

393

348

256

260

298

 1555

Aerodactyl

363

308

228

358

218

 1475

Charizard

359

266

254

298

268

1445

Scyther

343

318

258

308

208

 1435

Dodrio

323

318

238

318

218

 1415

Pidgeot

369

258

248

280

238

 1393

Golbat

353

258

238

278

248

 1375

Fearow

333

278

228

298

220

 1357

Butterfree

323

188

198

238

258

 1205

Farfetch’d

307

228

208

218

214

 1175

 

You’ll notice those totals are total Max stats, and that seems to be unusual. Well, unless anyone can tell me some divine reason why base totals are better, that’s the way my mind works. So. We’ll do them in that order, simply because I’m loathing Farfetch’d.

 

Sigh. Guess I should do the moves first.

 

Power

Accuracy

PP

Description

Drill Peck

80

100%

20

Easily the best Flying Move available

Fly

70 (2trn)

94%

15

Good ol’ HM02 maybe isn’t as good as Drill Peck, but its more common

Mirror Move

Reproduces opponents attack

-

20

Nearly the best and nearly the worst depending on what it dupe’s. I wouldn’t bother with it.

Peck

35

100%

35

Listen, I’m not laughing!

Sky Attack

140 (2trn)

89%

5

The only TM, number 43. Twice the power of Fly, but less than two Drill Pecks, as its two turns that’s what it comes down to.

Wing Attack

35

100%

35

Everyone’s a comedian

 

 

Mostly I will assume all Pokémon to be ‘offensive’ i.e., not include status ailments (toxic, thunder wave) this is deliberate, and is meant so you can tailor the moveset for your particular team. I am also avoiding Double Rest, and similar combos because I’d be wasting my time and yours if I didn’t; nearly anything learns it, nearly anything can use it. I’ve only featured it when it’s the only option. Quite often…

 

Dragonite

385

366

288

258

298

1595

Okay. I used to have one of these. Dragonite is a Dragon/Flying type, which makes use of neither. It has no useful Dragon or Flying attacks, yet. * hints at g/s *

That is one of the main reasons not to use it, but there are plenty for…look at the attack. Just look at it, I’ll wait right here. Wow huh? That’s the highest in the game unless I’ve grossly miscalculated. Now look at its HP. Back already? Take a peek at its Special stat (Dragonite has something like the second highest total stats in the game). That’s what I thought. The special stat isn’t as great as it seems when you take into account most Special attacks are ice type, which Dragonite is very weak to. And Draggy’s not having STAB on anything physical means that a Body Slam from it isn’t necessarily better than one from say, a Dodrio. If you’re choosing this for your team, then make sure you don’t have a problem with Ice Attacks and you don’t already have enough physical hitters (though Dragonite makes an excellent special platform also). Did I mention it can learn Swift?

 

Nickname: Guardian, Spaghetti

 

Moveset: Body Slam/Double Edge, Agility, Blizzard, Thunderbolt

 

Oh come on! Just look at those stats one more time!

Dragonite

385

366

288

258

298

1595

Their practically crying out for Agility to make them perfect! Ice and Electric is the best special stat combo in the game (notice I didn’t say ‘best combo’ ^_^) and Body Slam wastes low HP/defence critters. You could have Substitute over Agility, but a) I wouldn’t recommend it and b) you’d be a spoil sport

 

Moltres

383

298

278

278

348

1585

I confess when I volunteered for this task I wasn’t entirely sure how to make a paragraph about ol’ chicken butt. * remembers e-mail Dragonite21 sent him with a reference to Moltres culinary potential * Weeeeelll….lets see…HP good, Attack good, Defence good * people start looking at Darth as if he’s daring to defy Moltres sucks * uh…well…Specials great….ahem. It gets STAB on Fly, and fire attacks like Fire Spin and Fire Blast and what have you. Lets look at its TM compatibility. Hmm. Not great. And it learns, what, five moves? So variety isn’t Moltres teapot. Its weak to Rock, Water, Electric, Ice (!) and…that’s it. Still, cough, you’ve got some pretty common moves there, personally my team runs high, always has and always will, on ice and electricity. But, * sigh * similarly to Charizard, Moltres can, unfortunately, down pure grounds as they have low special and no stab on Rock Slide. Lets see what we can do…

 

Nickname: UncleBens, Phoenix

 

Moveset: Fly, Fire Blast, Double Team and Rest

 

Sorry, but I just can’t see this working any other way. Double Team is all the rage these days (grr…) and the bird learns Swift but, sorry. Double Edge is a possibility, but I think it stands better survival chance like this. Fly can really hurt highly Specialised Pokes, if its behind a few DT’s, otherwise Moltres is KFC. Sky Attack is also optional.

 

Zapdos

383

278

268

298

348

1575

And I don’t know what to say. What hasn’t been said?

Zapdos is the most common flying type. Its probably the most common electric type, which is where its other heritage lies. Why? Two words: Thunderbolt and Drill Peck.

Atma: Actually, that’s not two words

Okay! Fine! I can’t count! Anyway, being of the same type as these attacks Zappy gets a 50% boost on the damage it’d be dealing anyways. And Drill Peck is the best Flying attack hands down. I said HANDS DOWN! Thank you. The stats on this thing rock, in my humble opinion. The only other Flyers to learn Drill Peck are Fearow and Dodrio. Firstly, Fearow isn’t worth mentioning. So if you’re choosing a flyer, and you want Drill Peck, all you have to ask yourself is which suits best? Zapdos is only weak to what its flying type is weak too, and that’s Electric, Ice and Rock. Sorry! Sorry! That’s Ice and Rock! Phew. Its not weak to electricity no matter what the GB tells you, Euan. If you’re looking for an electric type in your team, this probably fits the bill best, unless you’re looking for speed. And if you are, there's more to life than drugs. Uh…As flying types go, (they ran out just a few minutes ago) its between this and Dodrio, because at the end of the day, a flying type craves Drill Peck. That’s not to say you shouldn’t keep reading! If you’re looking for an Ice/Flying Articuno’s your choice! It just depends on your team *whispers* I’m only repeating Dodrio cause GK would kill me if I didn’t!

 

Nickname: Storm, Prodigy

 

Moveset: Thunderbolt, Drill Peck (that was easy!), Light Screen, Reflect

 

Can you say ‘wall’? I’m a fan of the phrase ‘lure out the ground type first’ which I made just there. Grounds invariably boast Rock Slide, which ruins Zappidy, but I like the concept of Light Screen and Reflect. A hard mans Double Rest. You don’t have to do that though…putting * forgets * * remembers * Thunder Wave or even Agility over Reflect works also though.

Articuno

383

268

298

268

348

1565

I used to have one of these too ^_^. The two winners at the Edinburgh regional Pokémon Championships were myself and good friend affectionately referred to as Markai. He had an Articuno there, no psychic type, and only three other real members in his team. He still did it, hats off to the man. Branners uses Articuno. Its beginning to look quite decent no? I used Articuno a long time ago. * everyone runs from Articuno * Hey, c’m' back! Everyone has used it at some point…lets get started. Its Ice/Flying, and can achieve STAB on both. Its got an awful weakness to Rock which even that meaty defence isn’t going to be able to hold back. However anyone using Rock Slide that’s a rock type better hide behind a substitute sharpish, or Articuno’s Ice Attacks will waste it. The fact it doesn’t learn Drill Peck is a bit of a cheek if you ask me, if it did, this thing would be sitting pretty next to my Snorlax in the physical/elemental department. Okay, so the Attack isn’t all that, but repeat after me: I love Drill Peck.

I knew you’d understand. Hey, stop repeating! Stop it! *shoots you*

 

Oh, and before you die, Mist apparently shields the user from moves like Screech and such, which lower stats. Not, Toxic or Thunder Wave. At least I’m 99.6% sure it doesn’t…has anyone ever actually used it? * Markai raises hand *

 

Nicknames: Cerberus (Don’t ask, Markai’s Articuno’s nick), Glacius (mine!)

 

Moveset: Ice Beam, Drill Peck (I can dream can’t I?) Fly, Water Gun, Rest

 

Okay, I’m kidding around with Water Gun. Have you ever seen an Articuno use Water Gun? I haven’t. What does it look like? Stupid? Phone 01703 623 200.

Cool? 01703 652222. Aw bless ‘im he tries his best? Insert ONM’s number here. Those other numbers…are probably out of date now ^_^. Anyway: Double Team should go over Water Gun. I don’t favour Agility in this case, but its up to you. Why am I even writing this then? ‘S part of my master plan to take over a big Pokémon site and gain respect from my peers.

 

Gyarados

393

348

256

260

298

1555

Phew. This takes longer than I thought it would. I probably shouldn’t ramble on so much. Hit ‘em hard and fast with the raw facts…equally affective but shorter, the Hitmonrich method * has just read the guide to electric types *. Well, that’s practically shot now, look at what I’ve written already. Gyarados then. Forgot all about you mate. That HP is really something, its Attack, great, and its Special also good. Defence and Speed aren’t decided whether they’re good or bad, preferring to sit on average. Gyarados is Water/Flying, elicting great joy in those using Thunderbolt against it. Also, it itself is one of the few (Starmie, Lapras, being the others) Water types that learn Thunderbolt. It tends to be replaced by these two waters in teams because, while the attack is great, its survivability isn’t the stuff of legend. It loses a weakness to grass but gains vulnerability to Ice.

 

Nicknames: GyaraDOS (Sorry), Goldy, Poseidon, Scampy, Jaws

 

Moveset: Surf, Thunderbolt, Hyper Beam, Agility

 

* GB only *. Don’t try this on Stadium. Gyarados can do a lot of damage with Hyper Beam and Surf, and Agility as with an awful lot of flyers so far is a class filler. If your on Stadium…

 

Surf, Thunderbolt, Blizzard, Agility/Substitute/Body Slam

 

You may look at the stats and think Gyarados should be physical, but I don’t think its necessary. Surf is there for the STAB mainly, if you wanted to go physical with this brute that’s probably the best thing to replace. Despite what I’ve said.

Aerodactyl

363

308

228

358

218

1475

"I’ll beat you! My three Aerodactyls will beat you! Much better than your smelly Snorlax!" – Gillian, friends sister and trainer at my gym

 

I’ve yet to battle her, as these three Aerodactyls turned out to be ‘in training’ i.e. didn’t exist. Needless to say, I was quite prepared to face her three Aerodactyls with just my Snorlax, because, as I said on TV and will say again: Snorlax is my favourite. I’m getting side tracked here. Aerodactyl is good. I love that Speed right there, and with a high Attack stat its gonna come in handy. I also have this recurring nightmare of Aerodactyl smashing some team I had in Stadium with Hyper Beam. I can’t for the life of me remember why I didn’t get it on the recharge. I wish it learnt Explosion…Go physical with this…btw its second type is rock. This seems to be upstaged by Dodrio frequently.

 

Nicknames: Hail, Gillian, Sentence (K, so I’m getting worse)

 

Moveset: Fly, Hyper Beam, Double Edge, Double Team

 

Firstly, I know well the problem with Hyper Beam in Stadium (it still needs recharge if you faint the opponent), its only to be used when Aerodactyls about to snuff it. You can imagine it as its Explosion. * dreams * ahhhh…Double Edge should be your standard physical move unless you’re on GB or need the power. Fly will hurt. Double Team should be used as soon as possible, just because.

 

Charizard

359

266

254

298

268

1445

 

*stares blankly at monitor for some time*

This is cruelty this, expecting me to say something remotely balanced about Mr Brand Newbie himself.

Can't I just put two good things about Farfetch'd? No? Oh well…* sigh *

Earthquake rocks, and its…I feel safe in guessing it’s the only flyer that learns that ground attack. Note, I'm being careful as I've already had to redraft this once ^_^. Char can down a pure ground because of its speed, try it, (Thank you Atma!) like Moltres…uh…it gets STAB on Fire Blast and in yellow, Fly. I'm going to leave Fly alone here, Char can be more useful than that.

Those stats don't do much for me to be honest, though I'm not saying their bad. No. That'd be actually saying something, defeating the purpose of writing paragraph upon paragraph stating the bleeding obvious. Charizard is in my view, too weak to too many things, to be mainstream in more experienced circles. Fire in a team is there for resistance to Ice, usually. This thing is weak to Ice! Mon the wee take one of fires strongest points, resistance to one of the top two common elements, and throw it out the window, hoping its flying type will catch it before it gets splattered on the pavement, but nada. I'm sorry Euan! I'm not going to be nice to it! If you're going for a starter Pokémon, this is your second best choice; Venusaur, or Bulbasaur even, is quicker to grow, it can down a Toby in one hit with Razor Leaf (Criticals burst Amnesia) and wields a Status Changer we all know and love. Or hate or…Charizard may be the ultimate fashion accessory, but puh-lease, I don't wanna go through this at the next championships like I did last time;

X: I hope you're better than the last lot! They didn't even have L100s!

DD: You're not joking…all mine were level 100 but, Charizard…I mean Charizard for fish sake!

* Battle begins *

DD: Oh. You…use…a…Charizard… * dies of embarrassment *

 

Nicknames: Ashes, Red, SimplyRed

Movesets: Fire Blast Earthquake Swift Swords Dance

 

Really, I would recommend this for being downright useful. Swords Dance is good for Earthquake as well as the ever accurate Swift, however Charizards endurance is an issue.

 

And I'm sorry, but that’s it for 'zard, I don't want to think about it any more!

 

Scyther

343

318

258

308

208

1435

My computer is pratting up. I just spent the last half hour finishing this guide, and its disappeared so I have to start again. * officially blames Lugia as he took a break to read Lugia’s fanfiction *. Well, I’m not typing out all those EXTREMLEY FUNNY Scyther jokes again. This thing only works physically, and Hyper Beam should stay. It learns Focus Energy but if you’re on GB don’t use it, and even if you’re not it won’t be terribly useful, except as a replacement to swords dance if you want this thing to swift dance, as it will no way survive the swords dancing. Hard enough focusing its energy. Don’t swift dance. Don’t…swift energy. Use Slash. And use Hyper Beam. And Double Team is there to help the lil Bug/Flying have a chance. It doesn’t anyway but…if you’re going for physical go for Dodrio or Aerodactyl instead.

 

Names: Rain, Scott

 

Moveset: Slash, Hyper Beam, Double Team, Rest

 

*mumbles* stupid comp…

 

Dodrio

343

 

318

 

238

 

318

 

218

1435

Okay, maybe it wasn’t half an hour…I know I was about to do Pidgey. Oh yeah, cos I was asking myself which was better; this or Aero. That depends the day of the weak for me, because I change my mind. Right now I think Dodrio, because it has the edge in attack and has STAB on Drill Peck and Normal moves. On the other hand; Aerodactyl is faster, has better HP and Defence and is great at countering Mew’s according to another guide at Pokémon Daily. Drill Peck behind that attack, is going to hurt as is Hyper Beam or Double Edge or Body Slam or probably even Splash if it was physical! Okay, I’m losing it. This thing is fast and can get in with a quick physical attack backed up with high attack stats, and great against generally low defence and HP Specialised creatures. Of course, those special pokes in turn will have something anti Dodrio up their sleeves, in which case, be faster. Definitely one of the better flying choices.

 

Nicknames: GK, Drei, Dritte, Fury, Drewette *Can they get any worse?*

 

Moveset: Drill Peck, Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Agility

 

Its Golem Kongs moveset, and nearly the only one that works. Minor tweaking is possible, but this works best, with Hyper Beam being a last ditch strike in Stadium.

 

Pidgeot

369

258

248

280

238

1393

Not to shabby, or hard to catch, if you’re looking to perfect those DVS. * sighs * Who’m I kidding, with so many people sharking * sob *…Pidgeot tries to be both Aerodactyl and Dodrio rolled into one, but doesn’t nearly make it. Its stats are a little too average, which is a shame, because, well, Pidgeot just looks so cool. Sorry, I couldn’t think of any other way to finish that sentence. Its not great, but it is certainly not bad, its kinda lukewarm.

 

Nicknames: Cem, SAPL (In fond memory of a Pidgeot battle at the Strathaven Academy Pokémon League),

 

Moveset: Double Edge, Fly, Agility, Hyper Beam

 

The idea is you use Agility at some point, and then you can use Hyper Beam as a last ditch strike when you know you’re going down. I’m getting a feeling of déjà vu here, most birds seem to have the same kinda moves available.

 

Golbat

353

258

238

278

248

1375

If you’re reading this, its probably because of Haze. Zubat, Vaporeon and Koffing are the only series that learn it. Unfortunately, they don’t have a lot else going for them to be honest. This has Confuse Ray which is nice, but still, don’t use it unless you need it as a Hazer. I can’t picture myself fighting with it…

 

Nicknames: Seth, VampireForge (doesn’t fit but what the fish), ReVamp, Dagger

 

Fearow

333

278

228

298

220

1357

Dodrio

323

318

238

318

218

1357

 

Nintendo HQ, just before Pokémon was released.

A desk, among desks, in an office, of offices. Chained to this, we find a Japanese gentleman sporting a straight jacket, with a crayon in his mouth drawing possible Pokémon. Carol Vordemon presses a button and its stats are randomly generated. All this is collated and given life, sent to Markais house for games testing. Markai sends back a reply like "Allright, but needs a little salt" which was actually for something totally different, and bang Fearow gets Drill Peck. Anyway, this is merely an alternative to Dodrio, offering little new. Once again, I’ve repeated Dodrios stats to show you how the compare. Fearow has the edge in HP and Special, but Dodrio is a better platform for Drill Peck and whatever normal attack you fancy. I’d hold with Dodrio myself, its got the stats and the moves and that’s all it needs.

 

Nicknames: Markai, Dfrancis, Spectre

 

Moveset: Drill Peck, Agility, Double Edge, Hyper Beam

 

Same as Dodrio ^_^

 

Butterfree

323

188

198

238

258

1357

 

Maybe it’s the Baltic temperatures of post morning blues, or maybe its that I just got whipped in age of the empires, but Butterfree scares me. People I respect in the Pokémon world have used one. Why? Dunno. Couldn’t tell you. Insanity. Or something more. I can see it now, the Edinburgh finals 2001 Darth David Vs Hoddy, and Hoddy brings out a Butterfree, it uses Red Hot Armageddon and my pokes faint. Well, I don’t know. There must be some reason. Its HP is low, its attack below average, same with defence its speed average and Special the top end of average. So why? Why? WHY? TELL ME! Because of its STAB? Oh, that’s right, IT DOESN’T GET ANY!!! Sorry about that. Well, Psychics are a popular choice in R/B/Y and bugs are supposed to be the defence to them, but fail miserably. Sigh. I’m supposed to say something good about it too. Hmm. Well, its got fair tms, some nice moves, its cute, its got the best nickname in the game (see below). That’s it, and I’m too tired to write any more about it! Yawn…

 

Nicknames: Macaroni (Drumroll, fanfare, best nick in the game equal with Forge for Alakazam) Buttery (not me), Uiru (someone's RE gym has a Uiruian Butterfree rather appropriate if you ask me)

 

Moveset: Where's my tm chart…* plays Protect My Child by Larry Norman to pass time in him looking for the chart * Sleep Powder, Double Team, Supersonic, Psychic – GB

 

A standard moveset…if you want to be really scary unexpected and original you can replace Psychic with Solar Beam…yes, I know your better with Psychic but this poke’s all about style anyway ^_^. Okay, take all that back. Sleep Powder first, then Double Team up. Psychic will lower the opponents special to something as average as your own, and punch harder till it faints. Be wary of PP here. Supersonic is not something to rely upon given that its…unreliable…but it’s an option for asleep or switched Pokémon.  

Psychic, Toxic, Double Team, Rest – Stadium

 

Will never work, but there you go (gotta have something you can slag me for in the chat). Plan – Toxic forces a switch usually, or the opponent kills you in one turn. (Toxic faints in six turns, but sixteen if switched. Opponent likely to switch unless he/she thinks they can down you in one turn, before Toxic takes affect). On the switch, get a Double Team in. One more Double Team and the odds of evasion are in your favour. Your priority is double teaming up while your opponent deals with Toxic, then and only when finished and healed with Rest will I allow you to take blood with Psychic. If it works, it’ll be quite good, but note the ‘if’. This is original and fast approaching dangerous at the same time, so you won’t be predictable.

 "I will speak my liberty"

Darth swung round, quite the achievement in the claustrophobic surroundings of an abandoned jeffreys tube. Forge stood at the door, truth burning brightly on his icey gaze.

"This is my guide. Get back in the box"

Forge lunged for Darth, who was only beginning to stand. They fell to the ground, and fought each other bitterly. Forge held Darth down as best he could and typed: OKAY I LOVE THE LITTLE BUG, however NX appeared, and everything got to boring to continue writing.

 

 

Farfetch’d

307

228

208

218

214

1357

I don’t know where to look with this one. It can swift dance *grins sheepishly. Don’t think we’ll pay much attention to that…its stats are the definition of below average. You really don’t want to use this. Even if you…got in six double teams, three swords dances, agility, reflect and were behind a substitute (obviously you can’t be all those things) you can still do it better with other Poke’s. One spiky fiend comes straight to mind. Farfetch’d is the funniest thing on wings, its nearly useless. Lets see what we can do. (hey, I'm trying to be optimistic)

 

Nicknames: Trojan (well it might scare someone into setting up instead of knocking you down!)

 

Moveset: Double Team, Rest, Hyper Beam, Swords Dance

 

Don’t ask…just don’t…Body Slam in Stadium perhaps. I’m gonna tell you right now you will never beat a competent trainer with this. If you do, tell me.

 

Swift, Swords Dance, Double Team, Rest

 

No comment

 

Fly, Body Slam, Double Team, Reflect

 

I’m not even bothering to think anymore. Leave me alone!

 

 

 

*Reads over entire guide and dies* Sorry about that folks ^_^. Give me a day or so and I’ll be regretting it even more ^_^. Well, hopefully that was of some use to some people, somewhere. Cya in the chat…catch you in the fic forum…

 

Darth David@knighthammer.fsnet.co.uk

http://pdq.to/ddff

 

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