940: Wattrel
940: WattrelWattrel here is about the closest thing we have to a traditional "common bird" line, but it's not really found on the inland routes like the Early Birds tend to be, rather they're found around beaches and out at sea. Like their dex classification outright states, it's a storm petrel, a type of small seabird that flutters just about the surface of the ocean to briefly dive down and catch any stray bits of food or fish.
Wattrel's wings apparently charge up in electric energy when they catch wind, which is a neat concept for an Electric bird Pokemon. Its wings even glow to signify this. Arguably even neater is that it's a predator of ocean Pokemon. AKA, mostly Water types, which an Electric type has an advantage over, which is neat! The Pokedex even states it electrocutes its prey after catching it.
941: Kilowattrel
941: KilowattrelWattrel changes into a completely different seabird, now being a frigatebird. This feels like Wingull into Pelipper all over again! Frigatebirds were one of the birds we put on an animals-we-want-in-Pokemon list, but sadly this new one isn't really doing it for us. We don't dislike Kilowattrel, but it feels a little basic.
Not 100% so, though. It uses the frigatebird's throat pouch as an organ that inflates when it's storing electricity generated from its wind-riding. Which, is neat enough. The mere fact that it's electric-themed could be a play on frigatebird's kleptoparasitism. Which is a fancy way to say it saves on energy by just stealing food from other sea foragers to support its constantly-on-the-flight lifestyle.
It's just a little disappointing. Something broad like an urchin or a grasshopper at least feels like it has a chance of getting another new Pokemon added to their ranks sooner rather than later, but a frigatebird is rather specific, ain't it? So there's a chance we might not get to see a frigatebird Pokemon ever again. Not zero, but we're certainly not gonna hold our breath for it. Holding an official Pokemon and a Fakemon up to similar standards isn't entirely fair; one is an artist's design with all the catches of a corporate product, including peer-review and other approval processes, and the other is a single individual's labor of love. But just about every frigatebird Fakemon we've ever seen is way cooler. ):
Personal Score: 6/10
Yeah, I'm with you on this one. Frigatebirds are my favorite kind of seabird, so I'm happy they finally have Pokemon representation, but Killowattrel is pretty simple and doesn't put enough emphasis on the pouch, which is the best part about frigatebirds. Ah, well; hopefully, we'll get a regional variant of this family later down the line. Maybe Fire/Flying or Poison/Flying-type? That would be fun.
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