Starly
Starly is a Normal/Flying-type Pokémon, the Starling Pokémon, number 396 (#0396) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 4 and comes from the Sinnoh region. It is 0.3 m tall and weighs 2 kg.
Starly is a starling that is only bold in a crowd: it lives in huge, noisy flocks, and the Pokédex says it is barely noticeable alone. Its wings are stronger than they look, and one of its strikes can leave pain that lasts a week.
How to pronounce Starly
Starly is pronounced STAR-lee. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.
Listen to Starly said out loud:
In Japanese it is ムックル (Mukkuru).
Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.
Lore
Biology
Starly is 0.3 m tall and weighs 2 kg. Its plumage is grey-brown with black wing tips and a white spot on the chest, and a white mask-like marking covers its face, smaller on the female. Its long orange beak has a black tip, and its cry is harsh.
Behaviour
Starly are weak alone, so they gather in large flocks. The Pokédex says they bicker when a flock grows too big, and their singing is noisy and annoying.
Habitat
The Pokédex says Starly flock around mountains and fields. In Scarlet and Violet it lives in Paldea's South Province, and in The Teal Mask it is found across much of Kitakami.
Diet
It chases bug Pokémon, according to the Pokédex, and Bulbapedia adds that it preys on the nutrient-rich second head of Cherubi.
Powers
Starly has Keen Eye, which stops its accuracy being lowered, and, from Generation VI onwards, the hidden Reckless, which strengthens recoil moves. It begins with Tackle and Growl, picks up Quick Attack and Wing Attack, and later learns Endeavor, which drags a stronger foe down to its own HP, and Final Gambit, which spends all its HP to hit back. With base Attack 55 and Speed 60 it is a modest early-route flyer.
Name origin
Starly may come from 'starling'. The Japanese name is Mukkuru (ムックル), which may combine mukudori (the grey starling) with kurukuru, an imitation of a bird's call.
Design inspiration
Starly looks modelled on a young white-cheeked starling.
Evolution notes
Starly evolves into Staravia at level 14, which evolves into Staraptor at level 34.
In the games
Wild Starly appear in the opening scenes of Diamond and Pearl, where the species debuted. In Legends: Arceus, Marli, who fears most Pokémon but not Starly, asks the player to complete its Pokédex entry. In Scarlet and Violet it appears in 1-star Tera Raid Battles, and in Legends: Z-A it comes by trade in the base game and lives in Hyperspace Lumiose in the Mega Dimension DLC.
In the anime
Starly debuted at Professor Rowan's lab in 'Following A Maiden's Voyage!'. Ash caught one in 'Two Degrees of Separation!' and commonly used it to pop Team Rocket's balloon until it evolved in 'A Staravia Is Born!'.
Fun facts
- In Generation V Starly's Hidden Ability was just a second Keen Eye, yet a Starly that evolved into a Staravia with Reckless could be bred to produce Starly that did the same.
- Starly is one of the Partner Pokémon you can pick to begin Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia.
- In the short 'Flying in the Air' from Hoopa's Surprise Ring Adventures, Hoopa summons a flock of Starly to make a breeze for Ash and Pikachu, but their Gust attacks add up to far more than a breeze.
Base stats
- HP: 40
- Attack: 55
- Defense: 30
- Sp. Atk: 30
- Sp. Def: 30
- Speed: 60
Starly’s base stat total is 245. Its highest stat is Speed.
Type matchups
What is Starly weak to?
Starly takes extra damage from Electric (2×), Ice (2×), Rock (2×) moves.
It resists Grass (½×), Bug (½×).
It is immune to Ground, Ghost moves.
Evolution
How does Starly evolve?
Starly evolves into Staravia at level 14.
The whole family: Starly, Staravia, Staraptor.
Abilities
- Keen Eye: Prevents accuracy from being lowered.
- Reckless (hidden ability): Strengthens recoil moves to 1.2× their power.
Moves
Moves Starly learns by level up in Scarlet / Violet
| Level | Move | Type | Category | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tackle | Normal | Physical | 40 |
| 1 | Growl | Normal | Status | — |
| 5 | Quick Attack | Normal | Physical | 40 |
| 9 | Wing Attack | Flying | Physical | 60 |
| 13 | Double Team | Normal | Status | — |
| 17 | Endeavor | Normal | Physical | — |
| 21 | Whirlwind | Normal | Status | — |
| 25 | Aerial Ace | Flying | Physical | 60 |
| 29 | Take Down | Normal | Physical | 90 |
| 33 | Agility | Psychic | Status | — |
| 37 | Brave Bird | Flying | Physical | 120 |
| 41 | Final Gambit | Fighting | Special | — |
TM moves (29)
Starly can learn 29 moves from TMs in Scarlet / Violet: Take Down, Agility, Protect, Acrobatics, Thief, Facade, Aerial Ace, Swift, Air Cutter, Endure, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, U-turn, Air Slash, Sleep Talk, Rest, Fly, Substitute, Tailwind, Heat Wave, Helping Hand, Hurricane, Brave Bird, Tera Blast, Uproar, Dual Wingbeat, Double-Edge, Endeavor, Feather Dance.
Egg moves (6):Astonish, Double-Edge, Feather Dance, Fury Attack, Sand Attack, Uproar.
Breeding & training
- Gender: 50% male, 50% female.
- Egg groups: Flying.
- Egg cycles: 15 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 1,920).
- Catch rate: 255 out of 255.
- Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 50.
- Growth rate: Medium Slow (1,059,860 experience points to reach level 100).
- Defeating it gives 1 Speed effort value.
- Base experience yield: 49.
Pokédex entries
They live in the fields and mountains, gathering in large flocks. Their cries are quite obnoxious. Though small, their wings are strong—a strike from them leaves pain that persists for a week. (Legends: Arceus)
They flock around mountains and fields, chasing after bug Pokémon. Their singing is noisy and annoying. (HeartGold, SoulSilver, Y, Alpha Sapphire)
They flock in great numbers. Though small, they flap their wings with great power. (Diamond, X, Omega Ruby)
Because they are weak individually, they form groups. However, they bicker if the group grows too big. (Platinum, Black, White, Black 2, White 2)
Usually with a large flock, it is barely noticeable when alone. Its cries are very strident. (Pearl)
Names around the world
| Japanese | ムックル |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Mukkuru |
| French | Étourmi |
| German | Staralili |
| Spanish | Starly |
| Italian | Starly |
| Korean | 찌르꼬 |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 姆克儿 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 姆克兒 |
Trivia
- Shortest Normal type in Gen 4: 0.3 m.
- Shortest Flying type in Gen 4: 0.3 m, shared with 1 other.
- Taller than 4% of all Pokémon (0.3 m).
- Heavier than 7% of all Pokémon (2 kg).
- Base stat total 245, ranked #976 of 1,025.
- One of 27 Pokémon that are both Normal and Flying.
- One of 147 brown Pokémon.
- Number 10 of 107 Pokémon introduced in Generation 4 (Sinnoh).
- Part of an evolution family of 3 Pokémon.
- Can learn 39 different moves in Scarlet / Violet.
- Catch rate 255: about 33.3% per Poké Ball at full health.
- Appears in 5 distinct Pokédex entries.
Sources and fact-checking
- Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
- Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Starly (Pokémon), Serebii: Starly (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex).
- Pronunciation (STAR-lee): it follows how the English anime, games or official videos say it.
Last checked: . Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.
Explore
Normal-type Pokémon · Flying-type Pokémon · Normal/Flying weaknesses and matchups · Sinnoh region guide · Keen Eye ability · Reckless ability · Compare Starly · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves
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