Early Route Pokemon That Everyone Uses

Summary

Catching early route Pokemon like Pidgey can lead to useful evolutions like Pidgeot for battling the Elite Four.
Zigzagoon in Gen 3 has the handy Pickup ability, while Bidoof in Gen 4 can learn essential HMs like Surf and Cut.
Don't overlook early game Pokemon like Wooloo, as they can evolve into formidable allies like Dubwool with strategic value.

A common trend that has existed in all Pokemon games since Generation One is the inclusion of early route Pokemon. These individual creatures are easily recognizable as the first Pokemon that the player encounters in the early parts of the game, outside their starter, and these Pokemon normally take the form of a bird, rodent, or bug. For the most part, these early route Pokemon are traditionally weak, and only serve the purpose of helping new players gain some easy early experience. Sometimes a player will add one of them to their team, but it is rare that one of these team members will make it all the way to the Elite Four.

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By Joshua Wood

However, there are some cases where these early route Pokemon have a specific purpose, or evolve into something special so that every player has used them at some point in a Pokemon game.

8 Pidgey

An Early Pokemon That Gets Strong In The Late Game

First found on Routes 1-8
Debuted in Pokemon Red and Blue

Pidgey is the first early route bird Pokemon in the entire Pokemon franchise. It is largely unassuming, and it can be found in the patches of grass on Route One to the north of Pallet Town, or in Viridian Forest. As an early route Pokemon, Pidgey has a very basic design, and is not all that strong in battle. It only learns a few moves, including Gust, Sand Attack, and Tackle, but it is one of the early route Pokemon that is worth keeping around.

Many players choose to catch this Pokemon because of its powerful final form, Pidgeot. This Normal and Flying type makes it easy for a player to decide whether to use a Pidgey on their team, as Pidgeot can be quite helpful when battling the Elite Four. However, the addition of Mega Pidgeot in Generation Six gave this bird a temporary stat boost, as well as another reason for new players to catch and train its early route form, Pidgey.

7 Zigzagoon

A Pokemon With A Useful Exploration Ability

First found on Route 101
Debuted in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire

The early route rodent in every Pokemon game normally takes the form of a Normal type, and Zigzagoon from Generation Three is no different. However, this Pokemon - and its evolution, Linoon - are not caught by players for their battle prowess.

Zigzagoon has the pickup ability, which means that a Zigzagoon that is kept in the player's party will randomly pick up items on the ground for the player to keep. Therefore, most players will catch and keep a Zigzagoon to receive random berries, potions, and even Rare Candies. Zigzagoon also got a popularity boost in Generation Eight, when it received a regional form that eventually turned into the new dark type, Obstagoon.

6 Bidoof

The Best HM Slave

First found on Route 201
Debuted in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Bidoof is an early route rodent from Generation Four that fans first fell in love with because of its unusually confused appearance. However, any player who caught this Pokemon discovered that Bidoof has a lot more to offer.

For starters, Bidoof evolves into Bibarel, which becomes a Water type to make it more useful in battle than other evolutions of early route rodents. Secondly, Bidoof is capable of learning most of the HMs needed to traverse the Sinnoh region. Having a Bidoof on the team means that players no longer have to put the moves Rock Smash, Cut, and later Rock Climb and Surf, on one of their more useful Pokemon. It may only be as a HM slave, but every player can use a Bidoof at some point in the series.

5 Shinx

One Of The Few Early-Route Electric-Types, With Great Evolutions To Boot

First found on Route 202
Debuted in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

As a rule, most early route Pokemon are weak in battle to allow the player some safe passage through this part of the game. Therefore, most of these Pokemon have less complicated types that are easy to battle, such as Normal or Bug. However, Shinx broke this trend in Generation Four by being an early route Electric type encounter.

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In its base form, Shinx is not that powerful. However, it does go on to evolve into the powerful Luxio, and then into an even mightier Luxray. As a result, many players choose to catch Shinx on the early routes for some nice type diversity for their team in the beginning stages, and so that they have a reliable Electric type throughout most of the game.

4 Starly

A Reliable Flying Type With Strong Evolutions

First found on Route 201
Debuted in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Generation Four seems to have gotten a lot of ideas right when it comes to its early route Pokemon. The early bird Pokemon that can be found in this part of the game is the Normal type Starly, and it has a huge presence in the Sinnoh region.

Players will encounter the first stage of this Pokemon a lot in the wild before the first gym. Also, its later evolutions, Staravia and Staraptor, can be found in the wild too as the games progress. As a result, it is easy for any player to add this three-stage bird Pokemon to their team. Staraptor is no slouch in battle either. With its new Flying type being added, and its Intimidate ability, it is another Pokemon available early on that players can eventually take with them to face the Elite Four.

3 Sewaddle

A Surprisingly Useful Bug Type

First found on Route 12
Debuted in Pokemon Black and White

Few Bug Pokemon that players can catch in the early routes of the games are worthwhile to keep around. The Bug type is poor in general, with it having so many type weaknesses, and the final stages of these lines rarely having stats high enough to take on later opponents in the games. Sewaddle is different.

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It may start out as a weak single form Bug, but Sewaddle also has the Grass type that makes it stand more of a chance against certain Pokemon trainers. Plus, its final stage, Leavanny, is a solid Pokemon that many players use on their team later in the game, as its final base stat total starts at 500.

2 Fletchling

A Bird With A Great Secondary Type

First found on Route 2
Debuted in Pokemon X and Y

Birds are a common sight in the early routes of Pokemon games. Almost all of these Pokemon are dismissed by players due to their Normal typing, and any of those Pokemon who do gain the Flying type when they evolve are normally outclassed by other flying types in the region. The Fletchinder line from the Kalos region does things differently, though.

Fletchling does start out as a standard Normal and Flying type in the beginning, but it swaps its Normal typing for Fire when it evolves into Fletchinder. This type swap makes this line of Pokemon viable in competitive matches, and the final stage, Talonflame, is popular because of its appearance in the anime. Therefore, many players are happy to add Fletchling to their team early on in the games.

1 Wooloo

A Pokemon That Becomes A Defensive Wall

First found on Route 1
Debuted in Pokemon Sword and Shield

The sheep Pokemon, Wooloo, was added as an early route Pokemon in Generation Eight. This new Pokemon instantly became a fan favorite choice to among players, as it was not a bird, bug, or rodent. Also, this defensive Normal type will help any player out in a tight spot during some of the early battles. Wooloo is also used on the rival's team throughout the game, so players are exposed to this new sheep early on.

Things get better for players who decide to add Wooloo to their team, though, as it will later evolve into the bulky Dubwool. This Pokemon doesn't gain an additional type when it evolves, but its defense stat does grow to a respectable 100. Therefore, Dubwool can be used as a reliable stalling Pokemon for a team looking to utilize this strategy at some point on their journey.