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the Pokemon world is as old as the real world, lore-wise. This means that some species of Pokémon unfortunately disappeared long before the games took place. Luckily, technology in the modern world is advanced enough that scientists can bring some of these extinct Pokémon back to life. They just need trainers to go out and find their fossils.
Brilliant Diamond and Brilliant Pearl has seven different Fossil Pokemon available. These fossils are found by digging in the Great Underground and then taking them to Oreburgh City. Once restored, players will find that all of these Pokemon are quite different. They all share the Rock typing, but their secondary designs and types can significantly alter usefulness.
seven Lileep/Cradily – Fossil Root
While Lileep isn’t exactly a bad Pokemon, they don’t have much to offer that other fossil Pokemon can’t do better. His design is unique, resembling an ancient plant, though his evolved Cradily form pushes him a bit too far and develops a face.
Unfortunately, Rock/Grass isn’t that great. It saves him from having 4x weaknesses, but he has a whole bunch of 2x weaknesses, and he barely resists everything. Some of his stats are worth it, with Cradily having 107 in special defense, but with such abysmal speed he can’t hold on to his peers.
6 Cranidos/Rampardos – Fossil Skull
Cranidos is one of the most disappointing fossil Pokémon. He had certain characteristics that gave him incredible potential. Unfortunately, its drawbacks prevent it from exploiting this potential. It’s not the most interesting design, and unfortunately Tyratrum would arrive in later generations and be a much cooler Dinosaur Pokémon.
His stats have a “killer application”, so to speak, in the form of 165 Attack for the evolved form, Rampardos. The problem is that there is absolutely nothing to back it up and make it usable. The combination of abysmal defense and speed, along with a solo Rock typing, means he’ll almost certainly be knocked out before he can use such a monstrous attack.
5 Anortih/Armaldo – Claw Fossil
Armaldo is an interesting case. It has some pretty significant flaws, but it has just enough upside for smart trainers to put to good use. Design-wise, it’s one of the best Fossil Pokémon. The layers of armor on the body summon an armadillo, while the claws and eyes clearly indicate that it is an insect. It’s one of the best examples of animal hybrids in the franchise.
On the battlefield, it can perform well if handled with care. Rock/Bug is good, but not perfect. He has fewer weaknesses than Cradily but no more resistance. Additionally, it has a much narrower movepool than other fossil Pokémon. That said, he has an attack stat of 125 and a defense stat of 100. His speed is still horrible, at only 45, but he has enough resistance to make a difference if he arrives at the right time.
4 Shieldon/Bastiodon – Armor Fossil
While Cranidos is disappointed as a Fossil Pokemon, Shieldon and Bastiodon do a lot of the heavy lifting for Sinnoh in that department. Shieldon looks pretty cute, essentially being a dog with a wok attached to his face, but that all turns into raw power when he evolves into Bastiodon. He looks fantastic with his body like a rhinoceros and his face like a bulldozer.
The Rock/Steel type combination is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it offers a lot of resistance and almost no weakness; on the other, the few weaknesses he has are 4x weaknesses. Unfortunately, Bastiodon has the opposite problem of Rampardos. He has a brilliant defense, at 168, but almost no attack power to back him up. He can stick around for a while, but he can’t really do much while he’s there.
3 Omanyte/Omastar – Fossil Helix
A Pokémon that became infamous thanks to the original Twitch plays Pokemon, it is debatable whether or not Omanyte lives up to the divine status attributed to it. It’s one of the best Gen 1 designs, being instantly recognizable just from a silhouette, especially once it’s evolved.
Rock/Water is a decent type but gives about as many weaknesses as resistances. Unlike so many other fossil Pokemon, Omanyte has a bit of a balance between attack and defense, hitting hard with 115 special attacks but taking hits with 125 defense. Its biggest drawback is the same as almost all fossil Pokémon: terrible speed.
2 Kabuto/Kabutops – Fossil Dome
While many players pick Omanyte over Kanto thanks to the meme, they’re overlooking a fantastic Pokémon in the form of Kabutops. Her original form isn’t very interesting, but once she evolves, she becomes a killing machine. Easily one of the best designs from Gen 1, Kabutops has a major intimidation factor.
Surprisingly, it has the same typing as Omanyte in Rock/Water, although it has no watery exterior traits. This means that when comparing the two, statistics are the way to go. Kabutops takes Omanyte’s 115 special attack and puts it into physical attack instead. His defense is the same, but what puts him above is an investment in speed. It’s still no wonder, but with 80 speed he actually has a chance to be first in a while and do some real damage before the opponent can take him out.
1 Aerodactyl – Old Amber
A Pokemon that many often overlook is a Fossil Pokemon, Aerodactyl stands out among the pack. It hits the sweet spot of Gen 1 design philosophies. There aren’t so many details to complicate it, but it has a unique silhouette that makes it an appeal in itself.
Rock/Flying is a great type combination. It comes with some 2x weaknesses, but there are just as many resistances and full immunity to Ground-type attacks. He has two remarkable stats. The first is Attack, which sits more at 105, meaning it can hang on to some of the stronger attackers. What puts it a level above the rest of the fossil Pokemon, however, is 130 speed. Almost any other Fossil Pokemon can be wiped out before they’ve even had a chance to attack, but not Aerodactly, which consistently controls the tempo of a battle.
Pokemon Shiny Diamond and Shiny Pearl is currently available for Nintendo Switch.
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