Get out your bird books, because it’s once again time for Pokemon Bird Watch. For the last few posts in this series I’ve pretty much stayed in the first two generations of the Pokemon franchise, with the exception of Honchkrow. So for this week I’ve decided to move on ahead to a pair of fairly common yet powerful birds from Generation Three. Presenting Taillow, and its magnificent evolved form, Swellow.
Of all the Pokemon that came out in the third generation, Taillow and Swellow are a couple of my favorites. Unlike the Pidgey and Spearow families I’d usually keep Swellow on my team all the way to the Elite Four. Part of this was because the Hoenn Region didn’t have any legendary birds. But even so, Taillow and Swellow are tough. Plus they’re very colorful, unlike the Pidgey and Spearow evolution lines. Of course part of that probably has to do with their native region, which is an island region. Taillow also has one of the best speed stats I’ve ever seen. If it had come out one generation sooner and was able to learn a move like Hypnosis it would’ve been an ideal Pokemon for catching the Legendary Beasts.
In the Games: Taillow aren’t quite as plentiful as Pidgey and Spearow, but they are fairly easy to find. In the Hoenn Region they can be found on Routes 104, 115, and 116, and also in the Petalburg Woods. Other than that, the only other place one can find Taillow in the wild is in Johto by head butting the trees in Cherrygrove City, but only in HeartGold and SoulSilver. Swellow can be found in the wild as well, though they’re not quite as common. In Hoenn they can be found on Route 115, and in Sinnoh they can be found on Route 213 using the Poke Radar. Depending on the version of the game, Swellow can also be found on Unova Route 13 and in the Giant Chasm.
Evolution: In their base forms, Taillow can be pretty tough. While not as powerful as their evolved forms, Taillow can be quite formidable in battle. And it doesn’t hurt that Taillow are known for having a brave attitude. They’re not quite as aggressive as Spearow, but far less timid than Pidgey. At level twenty-two though, Taillow evolves and becomes Swellow. Upon evolving, these birds not only become larger but far more powerful as well, gaining an outstanding speed stat.
Ash’s Swellow: During his trip through Hoenn, Ash had a Swellow of his own that he first captured as a Taillow. Unlike his Pidgeot and Noctowl, who were mainly used as an eye in the sky and maybe used in a gym battle every now and then, Ash’s Swellow became a central part of his team and probably one of his strongest Pokemon during the Hoenn saga. Part of this is probably due to Swellow’s never say die attitude, which might be an inherent trait with its species. One thing to note about this particular Pokemon is that when Ash first encountered it as a Taillow it insisted on fighting even after taking several of Pikachu’s electric attacks. While it’s no secret that I’m not fond of that era of the anime, I have to admit that Swellow is one of Ash’s better Pokemon from that time.
That about wraps it up for this week’s post. At the moment I don’t know which Pokemon I’ll cover for next week, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something. So until then, stay tuned.
