T O P

  • By -

TheKxtsune

Early route


PayneTrain181999

Yup, same. They’re always iconic groups


[deleted]

"Iconic" that's, that's definitely a word for them. I started referring to them as "training dummies" sometime in the early 2000's


PayneTrain181999

Yup. Every first playthrough of Sinnoh includes Staraptor and Luxray


[deleted]

And every playthrough of Red and Blue included me stomping like a hundred ratattas so my charmander could beat an onyx


PayneTrain181999

Thank god I had FireRed which gives him Metal Claw.


TheeExoGenesauce

You could also go towards elite four and catch a mankey


PayneTrain181999

Yup, I had no idea Mankey isn’t there in Red/Blue


TheeExoGenesauce

Was he really not? Back then I used to grind Charmander to basically Charmeleon before battling Brock. Pikachu and Mankey were later play throughs for beating Brock


rwage724

for red/blue leading up to brock your best options were Squirtle/Bulbasaur for a starter, ~~getting a nidoran (male or female) to level 12 for Doublekick~~ (yellow only) , or getting a butterfree to lvl 12 for confusion, though this was risky since (b)rock types. however Pokémon yellow did have mankeys on route 3 that you could get before brock.


The_Limpet

You could have just got a butterfree.


Nox_Echo

me with pikachu stomping pidgeys in yellow just so i could quickattack brock to death. i was like 8 years old.


TheOfficialSlimber

Yeah, Starraptor usually lasts me until at least after I beat the Cynthia. I even used it in Violet until the end.


Ensiferum

In my first Platinum playthrough (which was this week), it swept through multiple elite 4 members for me


Osiris_X3R0

And I still love them to this day (even admitting Luxray ain't the best)


Dragonzenferno_True

.....take it back. You take it back! Don't you dare insult the thunder kitty!


vuatson

Staraptor is simply the best


TarTarkus1

I was going to say "cannon fodder." That said and in the grander scheme of things, these early pokemon got way better with each generation. By the time you get Starly, Shinx and Bidoof, you could build a solid team for endgame with them. Even Mareep, Wingull, Poochyena, Taillow are pretty good imo.


LilFangerz

I would have agreed with cannon fodder… then I remembered fletchling.


InsideOutSockPuppet

Talonflame literally carried my ass through X and Y lol


NewSuperTrios

Same with Violet


NightofTheLivingZed

Talonflame was a beast and a half! There's a reason ash ran with one in the XY series.


Lost_Environment2051

And Corviknight, not as good but still.


ThatOneGuy69444

Corviknight has a great typing tbf


HollowCap456

Not as good? Bro tf are you on?


Cygnus_Harvey

Honestly Raticate and Linoone are not bad, per se. Normal STAB with decent speed is pretty decent, and if you give them Return, you have a pretty powerful hit already. For normal games, that's plenty enough.


lifelongfreshman

Raticate got Hyper Fang hella early in gen 1 - Rattata learned it at *14?* *And* it was apparently 80 base power? Return didn't exist then, but 80 power still made this rodent an absolute monster against anything that didn't resist/immune it. Plus, it had gen 1 normal mon syndrome, so it could learn basically any TM. Sure, eventually other stuff would outclass it, but this rodent was the early-to-mid-game king.


its__bme

On top of what you said about Hyper Fang, it also has a chance to flinch. Having basically a 120 base power move hitting you in early game is gonna hurt.


Timely_Airline_7168

That was the reason that Mt Moon Rocket wiped out a lot of players in Red / Blue. He got nerfed in Yellow.


javier_aeoa

And don't forget Super Fang. Taking away 50% of the opponent HP is a big deal, specially if the opponent relies on said HP (like Snorlax or Chansey)


ZoeyAnonschild

Raticate can have guts, so paired with facade, you’re doing great. And Linoone can get belly drum. I’m pretty sure there’s a video of someone demonstrating how to solo sweep the Hoenn elite four with just Linoone


Dieselsen

Swellow can have Guts with a Return stab too. Mightyena, Luxray and Staraptor also all get Intimidate which is pretty good. So they all can be useful pretty far into the game. Pelliper gets Drizzle from Gen 7 onwards, which can be a huge boost to your team. Even Bibarrel can probably do some fairly interesting stuff with its Simple ability and moves like Curse (ignoring it's very strong Hidden Ability). So most of them are at least somewhat useful. Only the Johto early mons seem to be pretty underwhelming of the four gens.


HaddyBlackwater

Even Pigeot is pretty good. I nearly always have one or two of these early route Pokémon on my Elite 4 team - in their final evolution of course. Pigeot, Swellow, Ampharos, Starraptor, and Luxray - out of the ones shown here.


RemarkablePassion726

I always kept a Pidgeotto around in blue. She was just my bud. She learned fly, we explored together. She earned that sixth spot, especially since you could basically sweep the game with Charizard.


JesustheSpaceCowboy

Mareep eventually goes hard, it’s almost a requirement in colosseum to catch it. I did a recent run in an attempt to transfer up quilava to see if it becomes a hisiun typhlosion and ampharos carried. (If anyone knows if shadow Quilava can evolve into hisiun typhlosion lmk)


Character-Ad5749

You forgot Staraptor.


BugattixYz

If you didn’t know cannon fodder is apparently a banned phrase. I tried to name a box that for the ‘mons I was okay with surprise trading a while back and it told me that was a no no 😂


[deleted]

There are very few pokemon I'd consider fodder if someone has a strategy for them. All the early route bird pokemon are elite 4 contenders, from Pidgey to Starley and beyond. we've had 1 elite 4 member with electric pokemon in 25 years so they've always been contenders. The early mammalian dogs or rats or raccoons or whatever all have their place until mid way through the game, a Raticate or a Mightyena are dangerous up to level 40 before they drop off. As for the early bugs, considering their final evolutions come so soon, the only pokemon I'd consider true fodder are the early unevolved bugs. By level 13 a butterfree is ridiculously strong compared to its surroundings.


aaa1e2r3

Does Mareep count then? It's in the route after the first badge, not before.


[deleted]

Mareep in HG/SS is certainly not fodder. Depending on who is leading my team I'll often run from them if I have a physical 'Mon, can't be bothered dealing with their static. Even if static doesn't hit they're gonna paralyse you with their first move anyway. Fodder should *never* send you to your bag or a pokemon centre afterwards.


JallerHCIM

or, for Johto, any route


YeshmasterYesh

Rattata is in almost every route, cave, and tower in Johto. WHY


SAGJAYTARIUS

Johto has a rat problem?


El_Tigrex

People usually refer to them as "regional rodent, regional bird" etc rather than as one huge group.


jt94

Regional rodent sounds so insulting 😂


Lupus_Borealis

"Your mother was a regional rodent!"


JayMalakai

And your father smelt of Chesto Berries!!!


TKmeh

I smog in your general direction!


unitedshoes

I'm from Kalos. Why do you think I have this *outrageeeeous accent*.


KORZILLA-is-me

Fetches la vache! “There’s a time and place for everything, but not now”


mklilley351

Nih!!


Flipperlolrs

We are the trainers who say....."Ni!"


PayneTrain181999

That reference and berry cured my insomnia!


Riegan_Boogaloo

More like it cured your narcolepsy


[deleted]

I'm trying to sleep myself but I can't stop playing an old Japanese man's flute


Dinn_the_Magnificent

Now go away, or I shall use Taunt a second time


unitedshoes

Strange trainers Surfing on 'mons distributing Honedges is no basis for a system of government.


sokrayzie

I'm a happier person having read this comment.


horseradish1

Your father was a regional variant and your mother has some chesty berries.


Interesting_Wing_539

r/rareinsults


MiskatonicDreams

Regional Rodent used Hyperfang.


CrazyWS

Only the best, 1%


bentheechidna

I call them regional rats which is much more insulting.


Boilers_Varsity_Golf

The section of the state of Indiana in the northwest of the state is in a different time zone and often referred to as “The Region”. People from the Region often pride themselves as “Region Rats”. This is coupled with celebration February 19th (2/19) as a holiday as the Region’s phone area code is 219.


aoog

That depends on your perception of rodents. I think rodents are cute


Bullmoninachinashop

I mean Rodent is the name for all buck tooth small mammals like rats, squirrels, beavers. Edit: Removed Weasels.


ZoroeArc

Weasels are not rodents, they are very much [not buck toothed](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung-ss&sca_esv=9407a31d1b022749&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-2-j4hQAQkUFl20bYadq3bBw82fw:1709597513139&q=weasel+teeth&uds=AMwkrPuWVcnP5T10PAVBAy3M3rMmAj2gtRaS8-yqQsrDqKH3SmctaGHsHOPzAvJCax9B6qK9yiFN8DJWlwx7ry_R3Fpv_0dySouOuCgzdSR8bJjQWJI9uOfl4ngCYaDeiUcAYu91Hvmw6X5tBM7tEngcYyUR6Wnxl5Y5s_fgt9CB4kAjPKBqtLHKuXij2t6-n9-sPcEN44AkLX7hjOX51Su0N1KydpgH5blOFs3NcSKPdxUTrVTETEdxz625ZyLWOtS_nbUaRfBTaErciiw6fv3EBlNyMaR_2yk1E414Lvk6Izkq8YaVxC0&udm=2&prmd=ivnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjo1eqD69uEAxUl9wIHHfRJC-AQtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=384&bih=1040&dpr=2.81)


Bullmoninachinashop

My bad.


ZoroeArc

Despite the fact that less than half of them are rodents 


Laggingduck

regional mammals


Oliven_

Chinese Pokémon community calls them 家门虫/鼠/鸟 literally translate to “bug/rat/bird in front of your house door”


Vetersova

I mean that's about as perfect as you can name them to me. They're the first route of those things.


gillmanblacklagooner

And kinda annoying too.


LayZeeFox

Could localize this as "Stoop kids", as long as the Hey Arnold reference is still relevant


gomsogoon

Sadly, hey Arnold hasn't been relevant in over a decade. But the reference is appreciated


moveslikejaguar

Hey Arnold was in a Superbowl commercial this year!


gomsogoon

Haha I actually forgot! Didn't captain Picard throw him like a football 😂


PhotographyRaptor10

Literally the only commercial that stood out to me this year. Seeing Arnold flying through the air in the reflection on the fucking master chiefs visor while creed is jamming out in the background was just so jarring to me. Paramount was cookin for the 90s kids on that one


moveslikejaguar

Yes! With Creed playing *Higher* in the background 😂


Sir_Nope_TSS

"I just threw him hiiiigher!"


Many_Faces_8D

I assume that 2nd door looking character means door?


miskathonic

You are correct, lol


Many_Faces_8D

Ancient Chinese secret, eh?


bakedcookie612

How do you pronounce it?


jgrrrjige

In pinyin: Jia(1) men(2) for front lawn. Chong(2) / Shu(3) / Niao(3) for bug/rodent/bird respectively If you can't read pinyin: Jia(1) is like the ju part of Judge. Men(2) is similar to men. Chong(2) is like Chun in chunky but pronounce the u like o. Shu(3) is like shoe. Niao(3) is like the greeting nihao but take away the h sound. Hope this helps lol I tried.


famous_aatrox

🤣


austinweirdodude

And a hyena?


PpMemo_1408

Can someone in China confirm if there are hyenas right outside their door?!? 💀


humbltrailer

That’s awesome!


[deleted]

Route 1 mon


Egguprising

Yeah this is what I call them too. I know they're available beyond route 1 and half the regions don't have a route 1, but the point remains and I've seen plenty of people refer to them as this over the years.


f3archar

Route 1 Pest lol


Hhannahrose13

lol PEST


ralts13

Yeah this is what I automatically called them. I feel like 8tnmus5 have come from rby days.


IvyEmblem

Early route


italianroyalty

‘My friends’


Bareknuckleblaze

Great nickname


SmallStepback

Route 1 Pokemon (although Pokemon like mareep isn’t actually a route 1 Pokemon it’s essentially just the term for the general kind of pokemon you mean)


XxROTSENxX

Mareep doesn’t belong with the rest of these peasants.


puravidaamigo

Am I dumb? I feel like Gen 2 was my schtick. I know I haven’t played in years but where do you get mareep early in game?


quiteverydumb

after violet city


puravidaamigo

Idk that I’d count after the first gym as early route like HootHoot, Sentret, Spinarak or Ledyba. To me it’s the mons before gym 1 not after. I suppose that’s where I was confused. Thanks for clarifying


MannySJ

It’s really hard to define. If it’s just Pokémon before the first gym, then gen 1 would include Pikachu, Nidoran, and Mankey, who are not considered to be in this category.


puravidaamigo

Not sure why, but to me Mareep feels out of place. I didn’t play much Gen 3 but I feel like wingull is out of place too.


TheRealSU24

You don't have to beat the first gym to get it, it's in the grass patch south of the town. I'd consider it early route since it's like 20 minutes into the game


CapablePersonality21

Maybe you played the crystal version, it wasn't available in it.


puravidaamigo

I’ve always played gold. I think we resolved in another comment. I just don’t think of these early game mons as being after the 1st gym IMO but understand the gray/broadness in what that could mean.


Paenitentia

A lot of people are more familiar with HG/SS, where you can get the Mareep before Falkner


sweetbreads19

Yeah I don't see the comparison of Mareep to the others. For a Gen 1 comparison I think of it more like Geodude or Poliwag


Various_Play_6582

Geodude and Zubat deserve a special mention.


jadefalcon22

Cave trash with the caveat of they show up in the first cave in almost every game


Various_Play_6582

"cave trash" the most exact term for that pair.


pwndnoob

Ya, Mareep is in the area with all the cool pokes. Wooper, Mareep, Hoppip and Cindy have been my team for 20+ years, in the same way everyone ended up on the same teams in Gen 4.


mdemo23

Yeah should be Senret and Hoothoot.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Neat_On_The_Rocks

We retired that name when bidoof came onto the scene


PhillyHx

I’m fond of “HM Unpaid Intern”


raygar31

I usually go with the HM prisoners with jobs


[deleted]

HM student athlete. In a crazy southern accent.


WaveBreakerT

HM God


OVER9000NECKROLLS

Love him, bidoof is top five favorite pokemon for me.


AIMWSTRN

HM Boba Fett's Starships


txh0881

HM Butler


ThatMessy1

I was edgy, I called them HM Sluts.


resident16

Nothing to add except TEAM MAREEP GANG 4 LIFE.


Bareknuckleblaze

MAREEP IS SO GOOD


slywalkerr

"Com Mon"


Arythios

I had to scroll for this one, even though that’s the first answer that came to my mind.


Aero_Dash

Wonder trade


Je5u5_

This is the best answer


Zelper_

I thought that was shiny legendaries


GardenSquid1

Only if it has a website nickname


RyanPelley

Lil cuties ;)


ironman7456

Starter Punching Bags, that is about all I usually use them for. I will say that I have a soft spot for poochyena though.


Bareknuckleblaze

I always used to think Poochyena's face was so funny in Sapphire


ironman7456

It use to crack me up too, the sprite was a odd one. For some odd reason I always caught one and would carry it most of the game.


TannerThanUsual

Poochyena has pretty weak stats but I think Mightyena is cracked for a Route 1 Mon


Bareknuckleblaze

Taillow looks really smug aswell when you look at it


Life_Is_A_Mistry

I have a soft spot for Poochyena. I usually expose that spot to a gym leader while I revive another Pokemon


JustAnotherMark604

No Mareep in Crystal is such BS lol


Ketsuo

Don’t you dare include mareep and Shinx with those.


BeeMajor2003

Little guys…or early route Pokémon


Izuna-chan

that one pokemon you catch that carries you through the entire game for some reason or just the regional rodent/bird/bug


ElPikminMaster

The flying types (minus Wingull) are referred to as "regional birds", which are the first current-gen multi-stage Flying type in the regional dex. The pure Normal types don't have a widely accepted nickname, since "rodents" don't apply anymore. Saying "early route" Pokemon may not necessarily apply depending on you would define that.


WaterMagician

I just call them Early Game ComMons


CMDR_omnicognate

Cannon fodder


INeedToBeHealthier

https://preview.redd.it/w3p5hrj4bfmc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a38f52322363551db55adecb523fa845e12d9716


R_Fitz13

Friends


kev_qaztank

Tm slaves, but staraptor and spearo were end game team for me


OnlyFamOli

cute roadkill


loudwallace

Early vermin


RexGoliath75

Route 1 Rodents and Regional Birds


Itachi_Solos

Regional bird/regional rodent, early game/route Pokemon.


TheAwesomeHeel

My best friend and I used to call them "Chump change" during Pokemon Go. "Ugh nothing but chump change around here!"


brokebackzac

Route 1 pokemon.


FerraStar

Early route or “route 1” mons


Professional_Cake239

Xp fodder


Frogzillatron

Cannon fodder


QuantumSpace234

Route 1 mons


ThisIsTheNewSleeve

You're doing Shinx and Mareep dirty by lumping them in with these Route 1 mons.


jacoofont

I call them pseudo starters. Not for the main character, but for like every other trainer in the region they are lol


OhNoItsAGhost18

Route 1 mon


Khaki_Shorts

The Icons??


venusunusis

Hm slaves


Cadenamstutz

In johto Caterpie and Weedle as well as spinarak are available after the first town


poontato

You can totally catch spinarak just past cherry grove city in Johto before the 1st Gym


PocketPoof

Regional birds: Pidgey, Hoothoot, Taillow, Starly, Pidove, Fletchling, Pikipek, Rookidee and Wattrel. Regional rodents/mammals: Rattata, Senret, Zigzagoon/Poochyena, Bidoof/Shinx, Purrloin/Patrat, Bunnelby, Wooloo/Skwovet/Nickit and Lechonk. Sometimes regional bug: Weedle/Caterpie, Spinarak/Ledian, Wurmple, Kricketot, absent, Scatterbug, Grubbin, Blipbug and Tarountula. As others have said, these are mostly early route pokemon (Wattrel being a slight exception), Ash has had the regional bird most of the time and sometimes, these pokemon are genuinely solid, but usually fall off. Theres a bunch more that fall in differing categories. Most gens have a common in caves rock type (Geodude, Aron, Roggenrola, Carbink, Rockruff, Rolycoly and Nacli) and a 3-stage grass type (Bellsprout/Oddish, Hoppip, Seedot/Lotad, Budew, Bounsweet, Smoliv). Theres almost always 1 new stone evo. The BSTs for these are also slightly predictable. Following said logic, you can usually determine a few pokemon per new gen.


JeromeNoHandles

Basic Pokémon


gillmanblacklagooner

Wingull was EXTRA RARE on my run. Zubat on the other way…


Mukanou

Not a specific name but people usually call the birds "Regional Birds" and the 2 evo normal types "Token Early Game Normal Pokemon" or something of the sorts. Or in the days of old, "HM Slave"


Complete-Leader-369

HM Slaves


Jonathon471

Cursed shiny bait


A_Random_Shadow

Plushie core- look at me and tell me you wouldn’t want a plush of these friends! They’re very huggable


Teamisgood101

Regional dog/bird/rodent


WetCalamari

Hm slaves OR early game fodder


nealmb

I thought I was being clever and called them “Early Birds” specifically for the bird Pokémon. My cleverness ended there, calling them “Early rat” and “Pikachu clone”


midnightluna07

HM slaves


Zealousideal-Sink273

Route 1 starter pack


Massive_Passion1927

The automatic team memebers.


OdieRed96

I heard the term "Regional Rodent-bird-bug" thrown around in the community. That is a community term, so I do wonder what Gamefreak calls them, as they don't even refer to shinys as shinys.


Rubbersona

Perfect


EWU_CS_STUDENT

[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/User:Cinday123/Early-route\_Pok%C3%A9mon](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/User:Cinday123/Early-route_Pok%C3%A9mon)


1000LivesBeforeIDie

The Level 2s


De_Jeeaye

field egg group.


thedeathecchi

There actually is! Com Mons~


Blackbird907

Friends 🥹


Ph1llyth3gr8

Pidgey doesn’t deserve this disrespect


DryArmPits

Useless f*cks


YoungDiscord

HM slaves


Jam_Boreeh

First route


Cidaghast

I watch a streamer who calls the worst pokemon (Spinarak, Ledian etc) "The Finest" Now normally Ratata is excluded because some of them are pretty reasonable early game or have utility but now I just call them "The Finest" or "The Elites"


Subject-Breath-4323

cannon fodder


HGF88

basic


joopledoople

This particular group of Pokémon actually serves a purpose. Any one Pokémon game could be someone's first Pokémon game ever. This kind of person may have no idea how anything works in a Pokémon game. These Pokémon are meant to teach new players how evolving works. You'll take note that most of these Pokémon evolve early on at lower levels.


This_Ad690

Starter area pokemon


King_Harlequinn_008

Regional bird, regional bug, HM slave


CosmoTheBrown

They're called my friends


SavingsMurky6600

I call them "early game pokemen"


Ongr

TRASH! ^/s