955: Flittle

Gen 9 is also spoiling you if you're a big fan of birds in particular, cause dang we think the 6 lines of new birds (7 if you wanna be pedantic and count Skeledirge's bird-wisp) is the most new birds introduced in a single generation. All of them species that are brand new to Pokemon! In general, it feels like this generation's main goal was to set out and get a bunch of species off of Pokemon's bucket list, which is a far cry from Gen 8 doing a lot of repeat animals.

Anyway, Flittle is a cute little bird chick that is Psychic type. It levitates rather than outright flies, so no Flying type on this one. Its main gimmick is that its plumage looks like a frilly dress, and this dress is apparently what it emits psychic energy from.

Biggest thing we like about it is that vacant stare, just having big eyes and such a small mouth you'd be forgiven for not realizing it's supposed to be a beak. It's one of those Pokemon that has a big "Kirby enemy" vibe to it.

Sometimes a Rillaboom comes along and rides them.

956: Espathra

While we've had Dodrio as a stand-in for an ostrich Pokemon, the Dodrio family's main features made them look more like kiwis. So here's Espathra for your more-blatantly-an-ostrich needs! And we think the frilly dress shtick of this line is a lowkey genius take on an ostrich's plumage.

A big thing that allows most birds to fly is their feathers have microscopic hooks that lock them into the iconic feather shape. A lot of flightless birds, then, have feathers that have lost these hooks over time in favor of more downy, floppy feathers that are better at regulating temperature. But because they're like that, they droop just like Espathra's pretty dress does!

It's also got a pretty cool face, with the teardrop-shaped head and big, creepy human-like eyes. And having the head frills that have allowed people to affectionately refer to it as the Lady Gaga of Pokemon. We mainly just feel like it'd be funny if this Pokemon still floated like Flittle does. The idea of being chased by an esper ostrich that floats after you at ostrich-like speeds rather than actually running is funny and it's a shame they didn't do that. Still, pretty solid design!