While I'm sure the Devon Corporation was going to have fossil decorations no matter what, I do think TPP had something to do with them choosing to plaster Omanyte all over the place rather than the gen 3 fossils or an even spread of all the gens. There was also a small lone portrait of a helix fossil on one of the walls.
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RTTP: The Pokemon. All 721 of them, and counting.
- Thread starter Watch Da Birdie
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While I'm sure the Devon Corporation was going to have fossil decorations no matter what, I do think TPP had something to do with them choosing to plaster Omanyte all over the place rather than the gen 3 fossils or an even spread of all the gens. There was also a small lone portrait of a helix fossil on one of the walls.
As a kid I liked that they chose ammonite and trilobite as fossil Pokemon. Good choices and I wouldn't call these too obscure.
Good point, I knew there was a Pokemon or two that had that implemented into their design but I didn't notice how many there truly were.
I have no idea how that happened but Movie 5 had a pretty good and memorable soundtrack.
Good point, I knew there was a Pokemon or two that had that implemented into their design but I didn't notice how many there truly were.
I have no idea how that happened but Movie 5 had a pretty good and memorable soundtrack.
unknownstranger
Member
I've always wanted to love Kabutops but the awful hp and meh movepool prevents me from doing so.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
With that said I feel like Heracross fits the Kabuto name more.
Yeah but that doesn't really involve helix shit. It's just a bunch of gen 1 fossils.
If I remember, ORAS kinda put a little nod with the Gen I fossils in Devon Corp.
Yeah but that doesn't really involve helix shit. It's just a bunch of gen 1 fossils.
Star Falcon
Member
Love this thread, haven't posted in it yet but been following it for a while.
I think I always went with Kabuto also, despite never actually training one seriously it just looked 'cooler' which was probably the biggest priority for my teenage self (and still adult) self!
I think I always went with Kabuto also, despite never actually training one seriously it just looked 'cooler' which was probably the biggest priority for my teenage self (and still adult) self!
Professor Beef
Banned
wat
Stone Edge, Waterfall, Aqua Jet, and Swords Dance alone let him murder most things. And that's not even counting Rain Dance!
balladofwindfishes
Member
Kabuto taught me what a kabuto was.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Don't they start at level 5 or something stupid like that too? I believe Gen III bumped it to 30.
R/B wasn't really the easiest game to grind 50 levels to bring a random Water/Rock type to match your team's levels at that point in the game.
R/B wasn't really the easiest game to grind 50 levels to bring a random Water/Rock type to match your team's levels at that point in the game.
They're actually level 30 in Gen 1 and the remakes, at least according to Serebii.
Except Aerodactyl in the remakes, who is level 5 for some reason.
I think in RSE games they're 20. In BW they're 25.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Must have gotten confused with FR/LG Aerodactyl.
At that point in the game, even level 20 is about 30 levels lower than where your Pokemon would be. And grinding 20 levels in the first gen is tedious.
At that point in the game, even level 20 is about 30 levels lower than where your Pokemon would be. And grinding 20 levels in the first gen is tedious.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
#142 - Aerodactyl
Rock/Flying
Here we are, the final Generation I Fossil Pokemon, and arguably the most popular Fossil Pokemon of all time. Unlike our previous Fossil Pokemon, Aerodactyl is a single-stage Pokemon, and is Rock/Flying instead of Rock/Water. Revived through the Old Amber, obviously a shout-out to the method popularized by Jurassic Park, Aerodactyl appeared late in the Kanto journey, but everyone was able to get his Fossil as opposed to having to chose between it and another. Thus I imagine due to how immediately cool he looked probably quite a few people kicked out whatever Flying-type Pokemon they had in their team in favor of him. In Gold and Silver he was the only Fossil Pokemon available without trading with Generation I, and in quite an odd way---a random NPC had him and would trade you one for Chansey. Aerodactyl looks cool, and has the second highest speed of Generation I alongside Jolteon, but during his debut he was actually somewhat weak, due to having a very poor move set with no Rock-type moves, and rather poor Flying-type moves like Fly and Sky Attack which were easy to predict and left him open to being countered. However, he quickly picked up steam when he began to receive better moves, and in Generation IV gained notoriety for being one of the fastest Stealth Rockers. Apparently, though, his main strength was unpredictability, and the mandatory team preview introduced in Generation V greatly hurt him, as if you knew he was coming, he's apparently east to predict. But he got a Mega in the next Generation and thus can still hold his own and shouldn't be underestimated. He's another Pokemon who I really liked as a kid because, hey, he was a "dinosaur", but as an adult I don't really feel him as much.
I guess since Game Freak went with the "lamer" prehistoric creatures for the other Fossil Pokemon, they needed to throw folks a bone and give them at least one "dinosaur" Pokemon. I'm not sure if Game Freak knew that pterosaurs weren't actually dinosaurs, but regardless they're thought of as dinosaurs by the general population, even today, that I can't blame them for just going with that idea. And I'm not just assuming that they designed Aerodactyl as a dinosaur, because its original PokeDex in Japanese Red and Green even states that it was revived from a "dinosaur's genetic matter". But that is a weird way to phrase that, because calling it a dinosaur's genetic matter makes it seem like the original creauture was not actually a Pokemon until it was revived? Or, at least that's the way the sentence seems to be saying when I read it. But you know, with all the popular dinosaurs featured in Jurassic Park they could've chosen, I'm surprised they went with the pterosaur. They're certainly well-known, but I'd say the tyrannosaurus, the triceratops, the stegosaurus, and the brachiosaurus are easily more popular overall, and probably what I would've had gone with first when creating the premier Fossil Pokemon. Furthermore, it seems Aerodactyl was inspired by Jurassic Park due to its revival method, yet pterosaurs were completely absent from the franchise till the sequel released after the debut of Pokemon in Japan, so thus it's kind of an odd choice thinking it over. But as a Pokemon, it's easily the most iconic Fossil Pokemon, so it all worked out.
Aerodactyl is of course inspired by pterosaurs, ancient flying reptiles, and specifically seems to borrow the main traits of the rhamphorhynchus genus such as the (semi) diamond-shaped tail, curved beak, and sharp fangs. Real-life pterosaurs were predatory creatures, but mainly preyed on smaller animals such as fish and such, whereas Aerodactyl appears to be an apex predator capable of taking down larger foes. What killed the dinosaurs? The ice age! Or, possibly Aerodactyl, since it seems like it could probably take on any normal dinosaur with all of its Pokemon powers in play. Nowadays, Aerodactyl barely resembles how pterosaurs are believed to have looked by scientist, but even back in the 90s when Jurassic Park influenced the common view of dinosaurs in the minds of basically everyone not versed in prehistoric biology, it's obvious Game Freak took a lot of liberties with the design. If anything, Aerodactly is basically a dragon, and has often been seen as a "pseudo-Dragon" alongside Charizard and Gyrados. I imagine perhaps Game Freak may have considered making it a Dragon at one point, but like the previous two making a Dragon who was strong against Ice-type Pokemon just wouldn't be fair. That said its nature as a dragon is less pronounced than Charizard and Gyrados, as it doesn't learn too many Dragon-type moves and isn't part of the Dragon Egg Group---still though, it's been a steady member of Lance's team throughout the series leaving the dragon impression in the minds of virtually every player who faced one during their Elite Four challenge.
By the way, there's actually a real-life pterosaur named after Aerodactyl! A species once thought to be simply a member of the Pterodactylus genus was spun off into its own, single-species genus known as Aerodactylus scolopacipeps, who was explained to have been named after Aerodactly due to it being a very suitable name---it basically translates to "wing finger". The real-life animal doesn't really resemble Aerodactyl, but like Aerodactyl it has elements of multiple species of pterosaur giving it a uniqueness akin to the fantasy creature. Pretty cool, and goes to show you how popular and influential Pokemon has become.
Of course Aerodactyl played a major part in the anime, involved in one of the most important moments of the series the debut of Ash's Charizard who evolved to rescue Ash from the Fossil Pokemon's clutches. Aerodactyl is the most prolific Fossil Pokemon, and has a few other starring roles such as a more sympathetic focus episode in the Chronicles series where Gary befriends a revived one, and a later Diamond and Pearl episode where once again one pulls a Jurassic Park and begins rampaging around a city. Also in Movie 5, Aerodactyl was also revived in addition to Kabutops and terrorized the city of Alto Mare. It's actually not too many appearances considering the length of the show, but more than all the other Fossil Pokemon got.
#M142 - Mega Aerodactyl
Rock/Flying
Another missed opportunity as far as most fans are concerned to make a classic pseudo-Dragon into a full Dragon through Mega Evolution, like Mega Gyrados Game Freak kind of let folks down. Also, it's another Mega Evolution I've seen a lot of dislike for for taking a classic and streamlined design and adding a bunch of additional bits and pieces that don't really fit together in a cohesive way, and just make Mega Aerodactyl look kind of weird. But Mega Aerodactyl increases Aerodactyl's Attack and Speed greatly, making it a more potent sweeper, while also bumping up its rather weak defenses a bit more to make it less fragile, although really the goal of Mega Aerodactyl is probably to cut right through the enemy before it can be hit at all. It also gains the Ability Tough Claws, powering up its direct-contact moves that fit its role as a powerful hunter by 30%. I think most fans who use it for making Aerodactyl better again might still wish it looked a bit better.
Anyway, Mega Aerodactyl's actually kind of a weird Mega Pokemon when it comes to both the lore behind Mega Evolution and Fossil Pokemon. How Mega Evolution came into being is still a mystery, but generally the idea pushed forward by the flashback in XY suggests it's possibly the result of Pokemon involved in the Kalos War---so why does an Ancient Pokemon revived after years of no human contact have a Mega Evolution? It seems like all the other Mega Stones came about due to ancient bonds between humans and Pokemon, but then Aerodactyl suggests it may be a natural thing since that bond didn't exist till just a few years ago. Of course it seems even Game Freak themselves haven't really figured out the exact reason behind Mega Evolution, so I may be wrong in that assumption. That or there really were ancient trainers back in the dinosaur days. Another interesting bit of lore about Mega Aerodactyl of dubious canon is that the official Pokemon XY website claims that some researchers in the Pokemon World believe Mega Aerodactyl is actually what Aerodactyl looked like pre-revival, and like in Jurassic Park the regular Aerodactyl isn't a perfect copy, but rather a simulacrum created through substituting the missing pieces of its DNA. I don't think this ever was mentioned in the actual games, but if true, it makes us reconsider the notion that the Rock-type was a result of the revival process, as Aerodactyl was thus always part-Rock, and beyond that, it was even MORE of a Rock-type in appearance in reality.
Mega Aerodactyl has only cameo'd in the opening of the Mega Evolution Act I special so far in the show.
Nocturnowl
Member
Aerodactyl is one of those cases of being based off a creature I really like but the pokemon itself leaving me underwhelmed.
There's just something so plain about Aerodactyl, then it mega'd up and tried to fix its plain look by jamming rocks everywhere which just didn't help at all.
There's just something so plain about Aerodactyl, then it mega'd up and tried to fix its plain look by jamming rocks everywhere which just didn't help at all.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Aero had some bizarre Stadium animations.
For some reason his physical attack animation had him rolling into a ball and charging at the enemy, which is totally how I'm sure everyone pictured a large winged rock dinosaur attacking things.
Rather than biting them or flying at them or something. Nope, big ol' rock dragon turns into a Goron.
For some reason his physical attack animation had him rolling into a ball and charging at the enemy, which is totally how I'm sure everyone pictured a large winged rock dinosaur attacking things.
Rather than biting them or flying at them or something. Nope, big ol' rock dragon turns into a Goron.
Aerodactyl is flat out my favorite Pokemon. Really cool and mostly useful. It really needs to learn Brave Bird and Head Smash though. The Mega is, well I can't hate it since it's Aerodactyl, but it isn't the greatest design.
Aero really became my favorite thanks to Pokemon Special. Red and Blaine are fighting a Team Rocket controlled Moltres that's kicking their ass, even Red's Gyarados. Then Red revives his Old Amber, and a newly born minutes old Aerodactyl beats the legendary Moltres. Amazing.
Aero really became my favorite thanks to Pokemon Special. Red and Blaine are fighting a Team Rocket controlled Moltres that's kicking their ass, even Red's Gyarados. Then Red revives his Old Amber, and a newly born minutes old Aerodactyl beats the legendary Moltres. Amazing.
balladofwindfishes
Member
You mentioned Aerodactyl lacked any rock moves in Gen I
"Surely not. Rock Slide was a TM in Gen I, Aero definitely learned it"
And then I checked and he didn't get Rock Slide in Gen I
What the heck Gamefreak? You give Rock Slide to random Pokemon, and don't give it to an actual Rock Type??
Gen I move pools were strange.
"Surely not. Rock Slide was a TM in Gen I, Aero definitely learned it"
And then I checked and he didn't get Rock Slide in Gen I
What the heck Gamefreak? You give Rock Slide to random Pokemon, and don't give it to an actual Rock Type??
Gen I move pools were strange.
If I remember, ORAS kinda put a little nod with the Gen I fossils in Devon Corp.
Why would people in Japan care about english memes they weren't part of?
It took 6 gens to give flareon flare blitz...yeah I know the japanese name isn't the same but flareon's movepool is hilariously special biased despite that attack stat lol.
Still waiting for gamefreak to give Flygon quiver dance as an egg move...
I always wanted to use Aerodactyl in my team and I would have easily added him to my Pokémon Red team but despite getting the fossils early, can't revive them till late in the game.
Thanks Game Freak. ¬_¬;
Also I don't believe that Kabutops is related to Genesect, their typing and shape don't match at all.
Also fun fact: while Gen 2 didn't have a set of fossil Pokémon Tirtouga was originally planned to be in gen 2 but got cut before resurfacing as a gen 5 fossil Pokémon. Just makes you think what other Pokémon got cut during development.
You're welcome.
Same but with Tyrunt on my Y team.
Diamond/Pearl and Platinum also handled it greatly since you can get the fossil after you get the digging tool in Eterna City and the place to revive them is only a short bike trip away.
Hope that they keep this up going forward now as no ones like getting fossil early and not being able to revive them till late in the game.
It gets funnier as in gen 2 Lance's Aerodactyl has Rock slide, despite not being able to learn it. ¬_¬;
Thanks Game Freak. ¬_¬;
Also I don't believe that Kabutops is related to Genesect, their typing and shape don't match at all.
Also fun fact: while Gen 2 didn't have a set of fossil Pokémon Tirtouga was originally planned to be in gen 2 but got cut before resurfacing as a gen 5 fossil Pokémon. Just makes you think what other Pokémon got cut during development.
And thank you so much Mr-Joker for your nice comment
You're welcome.
Same but with Tyrunt on my Y team.
Diamond/Pearl and Platinum also handled it greatly since you can get the fossil after you get the digging tool in Eterna City and the place to revive them is only a short bike trip away.
Hope that they keep this up going forward now as no ones like getting fossil early and not being able to revive them till late in the game.
It gets funnier as in gen 2 Lance's Aerodactyl has Rock slide, despite not being able to learn it. ¬_¬;
balladofwindfishes
Member
Lance is a known hacker though.
He's also a Flying Type trainer, as much as he wants to say he's a Dragon Trainer.
He's also a Flying Type trainer, as much as he wants to say he's a Dragon Trainer.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
I kind of think the Mega should've had it move towards looking like what we believe pterosaur look like in reality with feathers and such.
Inquisitive_Ghost
Member
Exactly this. I really like the skull of some real pterosaurs with the fan coming off the back and the triangular, tapered mouth, but Aerodactyl removed that and replaced it with worse design.
Pterosaurs did not have feathers, that is strictly a dinosaur/bird trait. They did have pycnofibres though, something akin to fur.
See, this has an elegance to it, and then Aerodactyl just is so chunky and completely lacking in grace.
Aerodactyl is pretty cool, but like you that it became less appealing to me designwise with time. The mega was a goo chance to fix it but it looks like they had no idea where to go with it.
Though really, that only happened in Gold and Silver. And man checking his Stadium teams is hilarious. I have no idea what they were thinking with them, especially his rematch in the original.
Though really, that only happened in Gold and Silver. And man checking his Stadium teams is hilarious. I have no idea what they were thinking with them, especially his rematch in the original.
Actually if Aerodactyl uses fly he will lunge at the opponents with its fangs.
Though really, that only happened in Gold and Silver. And man checking his Stadium teams is hilarious. I have no idea what they were thinking with them, especially his rematch in the original.
Pfftwhahahaah they actually gave his Arcanine Dragon Rage? Poor thing.
Kabutops has never been one of my favourites, but it is a great design.
I love this card of Kabutops btw. About five years after the Pokemon craze died down, I found a single Pokemon booster pack in a store that was having a closing down sale, and decided to get it for the nostalgia, and this was in it.
Sadly it went missing years ago, which is weird because all of my cards were (and still are - I have the first four sets all complete) in a card folder and this is the only one that's missing.
I love this card of Kabutops btw. About five years after the Pokemon craze died down, I found a single Pokemon booster pack in a store that was having a closing down sale, and decided to get it for the nostalgia, and this was in it.
Sadly it went missing years ago, which is weird because all of my cards were (and still are - I have the first four sets all complete) in a card folder and this is the only one that's missing.
It's been 15 years since I played this game and this shit still cracks me up.
The only time Lance had a proper Dragon type team, instead of a Dragon inspired team, was in the Pokemon World Tournament in Gen V. Before then there weren't enough Dragon type pokemon available in rotation to give him a full team due to half of all Dragon types being legendaries lol
I have that. Bad ass card.
It did take such a long time for that family to grow. It only reached 6 fully evolved non-legendaries in Gen IV. Even when they were introduced Steel and Dark had more fully evolved pokemon in Gen II than dragons in gen II. In gen III Steel had 8 while Dark 11, but Dragon had 5. Still, that was a big ump over gen II.
Ally of Justice
Member
I once pulled an Aerodactyl EX card from a random booster pack I got when I was a kid. Could never use it because I didn't have the cards to play it, but it was the first shiny card I pulled from a booster pack so it became a kind of holy grail of cards to use and that evolved into me liking it in the games too.
The only game I've been able to use since early into the game was during a Nuzlocke on X, and didn't end up well...
The only game I've been able to use since early into the game was during a Nuzlocke on X, and didn't end up well...
balladofwindfishes
Member
iirc, every Gen I Pokemon that can naturally learn Fly (IE, not Mimic) has a special flying attack animation in Stadium.
In looking up his Stadium animations I hit this and lmao. What in the world.
Looking at Stadium 2 videos, he doesn't actually use this animation for Earthquake anymore...
You should see Charizard using fly in Pokémon Colosseum, it's so funny.
balladofwindfishes
Member
I remember pretty clearly that Salamence was very much broken with Fly in Colosseum. His animations just like, gave up when he was flying.
They must have realized, because as soon as I got XD, I checked and his animation worked fine.
Nocturnowl
Member
Seven Force
Banned
Always had a soft spot for Aerodactyl.
I love the stadium games, but some of the trainer lineups were fuckin' hilarious.
I love the stadium games, but some of the trainer lineups were fuckin' hilarious.
I was browsing Smogon for the first time in a long while and I stumbled upon the latest usage tiers:
Combined Usage for OU
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Percent |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------- +
| 1 | Garchomp | 27.026% |
| 2 | Landorus-Therian | 25.603% |
| 3 | Keldeo | 19.455% |
| 4 | Scizor | 17.629% |
| 5 | Heatran | 17.335% |
| 6 | Talonflame | 16.603% |
| 7 | Excadrill | 16.003% |
| 8 | Tornadus-Therian | 15.717% |
| 9 | Rotom-Wash | 15.454% |
| 10 | Ferrothorn | 15.411% |
Garchomp? Fucking Garchomp? It's 2015 and he's STILL the best? FML.
10 years of fucking terror.
Combined Usage for OU
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Percent |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------- +
| 1 | Garchomp | 27.026% |
| 2 | Landorus-Therian | 25.603% |
| 3 | Keldeo | 19.455% |
| 4 | Scizor | 17.629% |
| 5 | Heatran | 17.335% |
| 6 | Talonflame | 16.603% |
| 7 | Excadrill | 16.003% |
| 8 | Tornadus-Therian | 15.717% |
| 9 | Rotom-Wash | 15.454% |
| 10 | Ferrothorn | 15.411% |
Garchomp? Fucking Garchomp? It's 2015 and he's STILL the best? FML.
10 years of fucking terror.
Banana Aeon
Member
Dude, Garchomp's stats, typing, and movepool are pretty much perfectly optimized.
I still wanna see the absurdity of a Dragon Dance Chomp.