There Goes My Fearow

Last article, we discussed Call for Family users and how they use the aspects of the Double Battle Format to get their value without loss of opportunity cost. But something that I briefly alluded to was how, in many ways, some Pokémon can get their value while partnered with another useful Pokémon.

Note that I said “useful” and not necessarily “strong” — this article won’t be about the guys you’re swinging for the fence with like Diggersby, Annihilape, or something similar to that. It’s going to be about the unsung heroes, the guys who are uniquely viable in DBF: Support Pokémon. But not just any Support Pokémon, like the Energy-attaching Houndoom, the Attack-blocking Klefki, or the evolving Rocket’s Nidorina — this article is about filling a void left by a Pokémon that’s close to at least some of our hearts: Fearow.

So there’s this bird. You might have heard. He placed in every tournament we’ve run — from first, to third!

Fearow was a mainstay Support Pokémon in pre-rotation DBF because of many different factors. It was mostly because of the fast-evolving Spearow and the ability to grab it and its pre-evolution with Fan Rotom, but the card itself had a lot of merit on its own without these factors. Fearow had the ability to grab three of any card from the deck — and because of Spearow, it could happen on the first turn of the game. Not only that, it had free Retreat, and could one-shot Budew for one Energy.

It was the epitome of a Double Battle Format Support Pokémon — it was flexible, high-value without being high-damage, and it was an excellent pivot. Fearow was always a boon to have in play, and the opportunity cost of spending an attack on searching out cards was never worse than the value you were getting from using its attacks. You may not always want more than one during a game, but there was never a time where one wasn’t appreciated.

Fearow was flexible enough to be put in any deck, consistent enough to get turn 1 nearly every game, and useful enough to speed up the game pace for many decks. Seismetoad was one such deck — it was able to not just get a Hilda for the Toad and the Neo Upper Energy, but a Rare Candy to put it into play and the Luxurious Cape to keep it alive in one fell swoop.

But, like all things, Fearow eventually had an end, and its name was “Rotation”.

Filling the Fearow-shaped Hole in Our Decks

So, what’s next?

This question has a lot of answers. DBF opens the door to a lot of combos, and it opens the door to a lot of viability for some options that you might not expect. We’ll go over a few today, but note that there are always more hidden just around the corner that we haven’t even thought of yet! Just think about how many Pokémon you’ve seen that you’ve said “that’s a neat Attack” and stuffed in a one-row of bulk — there are potentially endless options.

The first option that I’d like to talk about today is Unfezant. Unfezant has been a surprisingly consistent option for a Fearow replacement, and the two share a lot of the same traits. It’s a fast-evolving Pokémon that can be easily searched out and evolved, even by Fan Rotom, that has a single-Energy attack that gets you card advantage, while having a situationally useful second attack and free Retreat.

Drawing four cards isn’t as good as searching for any three, obviously, but it’s close. And, let’s not gloss over doing 120 damage in a format where high HP Pokémon have 150-180. Oftentimes, 120 is plenty enough to take early and mid-game KOs; and, not only that, but it can also become invincible on a coin flip. This elevates that second attack into something genuinely worth considering on any turn of the game, and your opponent will need to seriously debate their target priority between it, and your actual main attacker.

Not only that, but it’s a fast-evolving Pokémon that you can get into play on the first turn of the game using a few different effects. The first of these is Risky Ruins — a Stadium that places 2 damage counters on Pokémon that hit the bench. This puts Pidove at 30 HP remaining (it has 50 HP normally), which means you can use its ability to quickly search out Unfezant and evolve it immediately after putting Pidove into play.

Another effect that’s rather inconsistent, but always appreciated, is Team Rocket’s Venture Bomb which places 2 damage counters on either one of your Opponent’s Pokémon, or on one of your Active Pokémon. So, in a way, it’s a coin flip between doing more damage, or getting a superpowered Rare Candy. This might pale in comparison to simply playing down a Froslass, which can also evolve Pidove easily, but it’s still worth mentioning.

And, mind you, leaving damage on your board for your own Munkidori is almost never a bad thing

But it’s not all sunshine and lollipops, here. Unfezant is still a Stage 2, and requires weird combos in order to get it into play. And draw is no guarantee, either — so, what if you want something specific? Well, we have some other options.

Some Other Options

Scrafty is an interesting, albeit not entirely a true successor to Fearow — but a worthy mention.

Scrafty, though not fast-evolving, does search for several cards — sometimes even more than Fearow — with its first attack. A Scraggy also has an attack that, for one Energy and a heads-flip, can OHKO a Baby Pokémon which is always both relevant and appreciated. And, the monstrous ability to search for up to four cards is absolutely bananas when it hits right. Plus, the guy has 120 HP which is surprisingly difficult to chew through in this format.

Unfortunately, it can’t fast evolve, and it is reliant upon your bench size to search out new cards. This can serve as a serious hamper on how consistent it is as a setup card, and though it’s not always relevant to mention, it’s still worth mentioning. You also lack the flexibility and mobility of some other options, as it has a Retreat Cost, as well as a second attack that requires Dark Energy.

Delibird is a more flexible option, and a faster option, but with far less explosiveness. Being a basic, Delibird can be searched out and benched on the first turn of the game. It can then be promoted, and using its colorless Energy cost, you can search out a card — even your Ace Spec — on the first turn, even before your opponent has a chance to act. Its second attack, though taking two Energy, is still enough to KO the ever-popular Baby Pokémon like Budew or Ethan’s Pichu, and it has 90 HP (as much HP as Fearow) which means it requires some form of commitment to KO.

Delibird may not have free retreat, but it’s also a Basic Pokémon that immediately gives you value from its presence without taking up more than a single space in your deck. This is compared to other options that require not only a turn to evolve, special conditions to evolve or to get value, and it can even be found by Fan Rotom.

Delibird has been a great card in playtesting thus far, and I look forward to seeing how it develops.

In Conclusion

There are numerous options for consistency-focused Support Pokémon that you can play in your decks, even beyond the ones I’ve mentioned here. Some are even for specific types, such as Eldegoss which has Fearow’s ability to search for three cards, and Forest of Vitality for fast evolution. It’s got some hangups, especially since you need the Stadium to fast evolve — and that’s made even less appealing since Eldegoss shuffles itself away after it attacks.

The main takeaway I want you to have here, though, is that there are always viable options in DBF. Some of them are more viable than others depending on the deck you’re playing, or what your opponent might be doing, but viable they are. I mean, think about it — there are countless Pokémon that draw cards, search for Energy, search for Evolutions, search for Item cards, Supporter Cards, and do everything in between. That’s a lot of options, and a lot of potential combinations!

So, what do you think? Are you a crafty Scrafty? Maybe Delibird delivers for you, or maybe you find Unfezant pleasant! No matter what you pick, I’m looking forward to seeing what you put in your decks!