Well, what about a dragon? Or a ghost that looks like a giant robot? There's a decent number of alternatives if you're not big on feathers.

[And yet some of the winged 'mons can't carry trainers around. That'll never cease to baffle him. Scythers should be able to learn Fly, darn it!]

And he thought it through. See, the thing is, most people use their Pokémon for fighting, but trained stunts? That's a niche most people ignore.