As a kid, I always liked Spearow more than I did Pidgey. I think it's because it not only has a higher attack stat, making it "stronger" in my kid mind, but because it looked scruffier and angrier- something that I've always liked in Pokemon designs. I also liked that it reached its final evolution earlier than Pidgey did, which I used to think made it more useful.


Despite all that, Fearow never made it onto my final team in LeafGreen as a kid. Granted I never made it far in that game anyway, but Fearow never made the journey with me. To me it's always looked a little weird, going from small and scruffy to very... long. It always struck me as a weird evolution, though I've gotten used to it over time.

So how does it hold up in battle?

Unsurprisingly, not very well. In RBY, it had some use, but as time has gone on and better and better Pokemon have been introduced, Fearow has no real room to grow or be useful. Its attack and speed are just too low for it to be any kind of useful sweeper, while its defensive stats don't allow it to survive in any meaningful way.

Final Thoughts

I loved Spearow as a kid, but found Fearow weird enough to never use. It has no real place in battle thanks to its middling stats and the abundance of Pokemon that share its typing, and it's an oft-forgotten Pokemon that's outclassed by both Pidgeot and Dodrio in its generation. I still love Spearow's cuteness though, even if Fearow freaks me out a little.