The 20 Strongest Flying Pokemon Ranked
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The 20 Strongest Flying Pokemon Ranked
Flying Pokemon is a popular typing. Some of them are among the strongest Pokemon around, so we've taken those and ranked them. Flying mixes with a lot of different other types, so it can be very versatile for those who want to make an all-Flying-type team. Flying are great because they are immune to Ground-type moves. That means Earthquake, a very common competitive move, does not touch them. A lot of them can also learn Roost, which is great for healing. However, they have to be careful of their weaknesses: Electric, Rock, and Steel-Type moves are super effective on Flying-Types. Here are some of the strongest and best Flying-Types around, ranked down from least strong to strongest. Although most of this list does not include legendaries, we've decided to include five of the strongest to represent them. Updated On September 23, 2021, By Allison Stalberg: There is more to these Pokemon than just their raw strength and type. It is good to know their base stats, evolution line, abilities, and type effectiveness. While they are all Flying-type, every Pokemon has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses depending on far more than just their type. The strongest Flying-Types are those that out-maneuver others in terms of moves, stats, abilities, and type combinations. It is good to know that these Pokemon can wow opponents with more than just not being affected by Earthquake. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY Noivern
Base Stats: Highest in Speed. Lowest in Attack. Evolution Line: Evolves from Noibat at level 48. Abilities: Frisk or Infiltrator (Hidden ability is Telepathy). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground-type. Resists Fighting, Bug, Fire, Water, and Grass. Is weak to Rock, Dragon, and Fairy. Super weak against Ice. Introduced in , Noivern is a wicked-fast bat with a lot of different movesets in its arsenal. Looking for utility? Noivern delivers Taunt or Defog along with Roost, making it a solid support. Need something that can hit hard with powerful special attacks? Noivern can do that as well, providing a wide variety of extremely potent moves. Looking to just scream it out at this uncaring world? Noivern can do that as well with its access to Boomburst, even if that's sub-optimal. Whatever the case, Noivern can deliver some impressive coverage for any roster. Togekiss
Base Stats: Highest in Special Attack. Lowest in Attack. Evolution Line: Level up a Togepi with high Friendship to evolve into Togetic and then evolve Togetic with a Shiny Stone. Abilities: Hustle or Serene Grace (Hidden ability is Super Luck). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground and Dragon-type. Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Grass, and Dark-types. Weak against Poison, Rock, Steel, Electric, and Ice. Togekiss is a Pokemon for the ultimate gambler, rolling the dice with every single move. Its two main abilities, Serene Grace and Super Luck, are all about playing to every battler's least favorite element: luck. It isn't enough that this Pokemon has access to Nasty Plot, Roost, and a number of solid special attack options to utilize its huge special attack stat; it also needs to be a slot machine in bird form. It borderline feels like hacking when using Serene Grace Togekiss, as every Air Slash seems to flinch. If Togekiss gets rolling, it can feel impossible to break down in a world without Stealth Rocks. Pelipper
Base Stats: Highest in Defense. Lowest in Attack. Evolution Line: Evolves from a Wingull at level 25. Abilities: Keen Eye or Drizzle (Hidden ability is Rain Dish). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground-type. Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Steel, Fire, and Water. Weak to Rock-types. Super weak against Electric-type. Pelipper, for the longest time, suffered as just another Route One bird Pokemon. It has underwhelming stats and typing that isn't too great, meaning it has little punch to pack. However, its strength doesn't come from itself, but from how it enables its team. Game Freak blessed the old pelican with Drizzle in Sun and Moon, making it the definitive supportive Pokemon in any rain team. It provides Defog for entry hazards, Roost to keep itself healthy, and can quickly pivot out to a sweeper with U-turn. Pelipper will never spike any Pokemon, but its ability to set is second-to-none. Hawlucha
Base Stats: Highest in Speed. Lowest in Special Defense. Evolution Line: Does not evolve into or from any Pokemon. Abilities: Limber or Unburden (Hidden ability is Mold Breaker). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground. Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Grass, and Dark-type. Weak against Flying, Electric, Psychic, Ice, and Fairy. Hawlucha is a deceptive bird Pokemon with how good it can be due to just being a single-stage fighting/flying Pokemon. However, it has been OU since its addition for a reason. It boasts incredible speed that is nearly unmatched with Unburden, and a solid attack stat that gives it plenty of room to flex its muscles. Hawlucha can restore its own health as well using Roost, making sure the sweep can't be stopped so easily once it is set up. It isn't able to break down the toughest walls without any boosts, but with them it really is incredible. With some of its counters now gone, Hawlucha is one of the kings of the squared circle. Talonflame
Base Stats: Highest in Speed. Lowest in Special Defense. Evolution Line: Fletching evolves into Fletchinder at level 17 and then turns into a Talonflame at level 35. Abilities: Flame Body (Hidden ability is Gale Wings). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground. Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Steel, Fire, Grass, and Fairy. Weak against Water and Electric. Super weak against Rock-type. The artist formerly known as "Smogonbird," Talonflame has had both crushing dominance and a period of middling success. It was untouchable in X&Y, where it cleaned house using incredible priority moves through Gale Wings. However, with plenty of checks to priority and a Gale Wings nerf in Sun and Moon, the fire-type bird Pokemon couldn't quite get going like it used to. Fortunately, with its visit to Galar and a pair of Heavy-Duty Boots, Talonflame is coming for the throne once again. Time will tell just how strong Talonflame will be in the meta, but its incredible power has shown that it was unstoppable once, and may be unstoppable again. Staraptor
Base Stats: Highest in Speed. Lowest in Special Attack and Special Defense. Evolution Line: Starly evolves to Staravia at level 14 and then turns into a Staraptor at level 34. Abilities: Intimidate (Hidden ability is Reckless). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ghost and Ground-type. Resistant to Bug and Grass. Weak against Rock, Electric, and Ice. Staraptor is a well-loved bird and flying-type Pokemon, but it is often more outclassed as new Pokemon have become part of the competitive scene. However, it can take out certain threats in competitive play with powerful and strategic moves like Brave Bird, U-Turn, Double-Edge, Close Combat, Tailwind, Defog, Pursuit, Giga Impact, Roost, Substitute, Retaliate, Quick Attack, Return, and Final Gambit. They are most useful in niche situations, so that is why they are the least strong on this list. It is recommended to have the Hidden Ability, Reckless, because that boosts Brave Bird. Altaria
Base Stats: Highest in Special Defense. Lowest in Attack and Special Attack. Mega Altaria is highest in Attack, Defense, and Special Attack. Lowest in HP. Evolution Line: Evolves from a Swablu at level 35. Abilities: Natural Cure (Hidden ability is Cloud Nine). Mega Altaria has Pixilate. Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground. Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Fire, Water, and Grass-type. Weak against Rock, Dragon, and Fairy. Super weak against Ice-type. The Mega form is immune to Dragon and resistant to Fighting, Dark, Bug, Fire, Grass, Water, and Electric-types. Mega Altaria is also weak to Poison, Steel, Ice, and Fairy. Who doesn't love this fluffy bird's design? This Dragon and Flying-Type can Mega-Evolve, but that makes it lose its Flying-Type and it gets replaced with . So we are not going to discuss its Mega-Evolution. However, we have to say that it has become a much bigger competitor on trainer teams due to its Mega-Evolution. On its own though, it already has an amazing defense. Recommendations for movesets include Draco Meteor, Dragon Dance, Air Cutter, Roost, Heal Bell, Toxic, Cotton Guard, Dragon Pulse, Safe Guard, Refresh, and Flamethrower. It's best to choose based on your particular Altaria's stats. Salamence
Base Stats: Highest in Attack. Lowest in Defense and Special Defense. Mega Salamance is highest in Attack and lowest in Special Defense. Evolution Line: Bagon evolves into Shelgon at level 30. Shelgon evolves into Salamence at level 50. Abilities: Intimidate (Hidden ability is Moxie). Mega Salamence has Aerilate. Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground. Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Fire, Water, and Grass-type. Weak to Rock, Dragon, and Fairy. Super weak against Ice. Salamence is both a Flying and Dragon-Type. That makes it super weak against . However, it is favored among competitors for being a dragon that can use Roost. It can also Mega-Evolve, which gives it a very high Speed stat. It is immune to common competitive moves such as Toxic Spikes and Spikes. It can also use Dragon Dance to slowly boost its stats. Corviknight
Base Stats: Highest in Defense. Lowest in Special Attack. Evolution Line: Corvisquire evolves to Rookidee at level 18. Then it evolves into a Corviknight at level 38. Abilities: Pressure or Unnerve (Hidden ability is Mirror Armor). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Poison and Ground-type. Resistant to Normal, Flying, Bug, Steel, Grass, Psychic, Dragon, and Fairy. Weak against Fire and Electric-type. The new bird out of Sword and Shield, Croviknight is well-received by fans, both for its cool design and its power. Like Skarmory, it is a Flying and . It has a cool ability called Mirror Armor that can bounce back any stat-lowering effects. Great moves it can learn include U-Turn, Substitute, Drill Peck, Power Trip, Bulk Up, Power Press, Roost, Taunt, Defog, and Brave Bird. Some of the best items to put on this bird would be Leftovers for healing or a Rocky Helmet for damage. Dragonite
Base Stats: Highest in Attack. Lowest in Speed. Evolution Line: Dratini evolves into Dragonair at level 30 and then it evolves into a Dragonite at level 55. Abilities: Inner Focus (Hidden ability is Multiscale). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground-type. Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Fire, Water, and Grass. Weak against Rock, Dragon, and Fairy. Super weak against Ice. Like Salamence, Dragonite is Dragon and Flying-Type. It has a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses going for it. However, its Multiscale ability makes it even better than Salamence, as the ability makes it so that most attacks that hit Dragonite while it is at full health have their damage halved. Suggested moves for Dragonite include Waterfall, Extreme Speed, Dragon Dance, Dragon Rush, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Claw, Thunder, Surf, and Hurricane. Charizard
Base Stats: Highest in Special Attack. Lowest in Defense. Mega Charizard X is highest in Attack and Special Attack and lowest in Special Defense. Mega Charizard Y is highest in Special Attack and lowest in HP and Defense. Evolution Line: Charmander evolves into Charmeleon at level 16 and then turns into a Charizard at level 36. Abilities: Blaze (Hidden ability is Solar Power). Mega Charizard X has Tough Claws. Mega Charizard Y has Drought. Type Effectiveness: Mega Charizard Y and regular Charizard are immune to Ground and Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Steel, Fire, Grass, and Fairy. They are weak to Water and Electric and super weak against Rock. Mega Charizard X is resistant to Bug, Steel, Fire, Grass, and Electric. It is weak to Ground, Rock, and Dragon. This and Flying-Type is very popular due to being a starter from the very first generation. Since it could Mega-Evolve, it has become a very powerful foe. It can quickly eliminate Steel and Grass-Types with no issue. Due to being Flying-Type, it can learn Roost to keep itself in the game while boosting itself up with Dragon Dance. Other suggested movies include Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Flare Blitz, Solar Beam, Defog, Focus Blast, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, and Outrage. You will need to watch out for Rock-Types, Water-Types, and when Mega X-Evolved, also Ground-Types. Its Y version should be wary of Dragon-Types. Skarmory
Base Stats: Highest in Defense. Lowest in Special Attack. Evolution Line: Has no evolution. Abilities: Keen Eye or Sturdy (Hidden ability is Weak Armor). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Poison and Ground-type. Resistant to Fairy, Dragon, Normal, Flying, Bug, Steel, Grass, and Psychic-type. Weak against Fire and Electric. With Skarmory being both Steel and Flying-Type, it is a highly defensive Pokemon. However, it can competitively struggle due to its low HP and Special Defense stat. Also, since it is Steel-Type, it is weak to Fire-Types. Recommended moves to teach it include Toxic, Spikes, Roost, Whirlwind, Stealth Rock, Counter, and Protect. Good items to give it would be a Leftovers or Rocky Helmet. Do be careful of the move Taunt though, as that can ruin your Skarmory strategy pretty quickly. Gyarados
Base Stats: Highest in Attack. Lowest in Special Attack. Evolution Line: Evolves from a Magikarp at level 20. Abilities: Intimidate (Hidden ability is Moxie). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground-type. Resistant to Fighting, Bug, Steel, Fire, and Water. Weak against Rock and super weak against Electric. Yeah, Gyarados is actually a Flying-Type. and Flying to be exact. When it Mega-Evolves, it becomes Water and Dark-Type. Despite looking like a dragon, it never has Dragon-Type, but it can learn Dragon-Type moves. It can have the ability, Moxie, which boosts its attack every time it knocks out an opponent. With that ability and its stats, it is a great offensive member of a team. Its major weakness is speed, though. Great moves to teach a Gyarados include Bounce, Dragon Dance, Waterfall, Taunt, Earthquake, Crunch, and Substitute. You've got to be careful of Electric-Types though. Aerodactyl
Base Stats: Highest in Speed. Lowest in Special Attack. Evolution Line: Does not have any evolution, but can be resurrected with the Old Amber fossil. Abilities: Rock Head or Pressure (Hidden ability is Unnerve). Mega Aerodactyl has Tough Claws. Type Effectiveness: Immune to Rock. Resistant to Normal, Flying, Poison, Bug, and Fire. Weak against Rock, Steel, Ice, Water, and Electric. Aerodactyl is another Flying-Type that can Mega-Evolve. It is also , which helps against one of Flying-Type's biggest weaknesses: Electric-Type moves. With its Mega-Evolution, Aerodactyl has a ton of speed and power. Stone Edge is known to be the best move to teach an Aerodactyl for maximum damage. Other suggested moves include Roost, Ice Fang, Aqua Tail, Pursuit, Earthquake, Stealth Rock, Aerial Ace, Crunch, and Iron Head. However, Aerodactyl does have to watch out for Water-Type moves and faster threats. Gliscor
Base Stats: Highest in Defense. Lowest in Special Attack. Evolution Line: Evolves from Gligar when it holds a Razor Fang at night and levels up. Abilities: Hyper Cutter or Sand Veil (Hidden ability is Poison Heal). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground and Electric. Resistant to Fighting, Poison, and Bug-type. Weak to Water and super weak against Ice. Gliscor is loved for its versatility. Due to this, it can be a pretty unpredictable competitor. Unpredictability is good! It also has quite the defensive typing: and Flying-Type! That makes one of Flying-Type's biggest weaknesses, Electric, not as bad anymore. It also has great healing techniques as it can use Roost and has the ability of Poison Heal. That means you want this guy to hold a Toxic Orb. That way, its Poison Heal will immediately be in effect, even if your opponent does not poison you. Great moves for Gliscor include Facade, Roost, Earthquake, Swords Dance, Toxic, Stealth Rock, Defog, and Knock Off. Kantonian Zapdos
Base Stats: Highest in Special Attack. Lowest in Defense. Evolution Line: Has no evolutions. Abilities: Pressure (Hidden ability is Static). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground-type. Resistant to Flying, Fighting, Bug, Steel, and Grass. Weak against Ice and Rock. The Legendary Bird Trio from Pokemon Red and Blue have had a tough life. Since the introduction of Stealth Rocks, Moltres and Articuno have been forced into hiding, living in fear of losing half their health on switching in. With the Heavy-Duty Boots, they're finally allowed to at least compete with the rest. Zapdos, on the other hand, just got stronger. While Galarian-Zapdos is cool and unique, it's hard to beat the stats and ability that Kantonian Zapdos has. Static is quite powerful as a hidden ability, and Pressure is always useful as well. Plus, with great speed and special attacks, it's a serious offensive electric threat with great defensive typing. Landorus
Base Stats: Highest in Attack and Lowest in Special Defense for Incarnate Forme. Therian Forme has the highest in Attack and the lowest in Special Defense. Evolution Line: Has no evolutions. Abilities: Sand Force (Incarnate Forme), Intimidate (Therian Forme), and Sheer Force (Incarnate Forme hidden ability). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Electric and Ground-types. Resistant to Poison, Bug, and Fighting. Weak against Water and super weak against Ice-type. Although Landorus-Therian is notorious in OU for its versatility and complete stranglehold of the metagame, regular Landorus is even more dangerous. With more speed and a focus on special attacks in combination with Sheer Force, Landorus has the power to one-shot even other bulky legendaries. On top of this, it also has the ability to set rocks along with breaking walls, something that not a lot of other rock-setters can claim. Sure, Stealth Rock may be nerfed in Sword and Shield, but they're still ever-present. Landorus has always been able to shine, and the latest generation doesn't change that. Yveltal
Base Stats: Highest in Attack and Special Attack. Lowest in Defense. Evolution Line: Has no evolutions. Abilities: Dark Aura Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground and Psychic-type. Resistant to Ghost, Grass, and Dark. Weak against Rock, Fairy, Ice, and Electric. The box legendary of Pokemon Y, Yveltal is a monster that's even more versatile than Landorus and its various forms. Yveltal is commonly an offensive specialist, using its signature move Oblivion Wing to great effect. Its statline and ability boost this power as well. On the other hand, Yveltal holds an incredible utility moveset, able to force walls to switch out through the threat of Toxic and Taunt. It can still hit decently hard as well, with Foul Play allowing it to check Pokemon that have already spent time setting up. There are plenty of uses for Yveltal, and even though it may be oft-forgotten by casual players, it's still shockingly powerful. Lugia
Base Stats: Highest in Special Defense. Lowest in Attack. Evolution Line: Has none. Abilities: Pressure (Hidden ability is Multiscale). Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground. Resistant to Fighting, Grass, and Psychic. Weak against Rock, Ghost, Ice, Electric, and Dark-type. Lugia, a beloved legendary Pokemon, and guardian of the seas, has immense power in the current metagame. Its ability, Multiscale, makes its solid bulk even more prominent by reducing the damage of super-effective attacks. Even boosted Pokemon are often unable to take out Lugia in one-hit, and its solid speed allows it to take priority in drawn-out battles. The war of attrition is the only one Lugia wins, unfortunately. It has good offensive stats, but hardly enough to compete with other legendaries. Despite that, it doesn't need to have a great offensive presence when it checks many of the offensive threats in the Uber metagame. Rayquaza
Base Stats: Highest in Attack and Special Attack. Lowest in Defense and Special Defense. Evolution Line: None Abilities: Air Lock. Mega Rayquaza has Delta Stream. Type Effectiveness: Immune to Ground-type. Resistant to Grass, Water, Fire, Bug, and Fighting-type. Weak against Fairy, Dragon, and Rock. Super weak to Ice-type. Let's put it this way: Mega-Rayquaza was so overpowered it got banned from even the Ubers-tier, something that rarely happens. Of course, it should be considered the strongest Flying-Type in the series. Even regular Rayquaza is both hard to kill, with its biggest weakness being Stealth Rocks. Well, with the Heavy-Duty Boots, that weakness is now gone. Rayquaza will have to trade offensive power from the Life Orb for that safety, but with a base 150 in both offensive stats, it can stand to lose some power. Even then, just having proper support in clearing rocks can allow Rayquaza to clean house. Rayquaza is easily the best Flying-Type in the entire series.