Pokémon Red and Blue set so many standards for the series, and one of those was the inclusion of the interesting fossil Pokémon. Choosing between the helix fossil or the dome fossil to revive either Kabuto or Omanyte, this trend continues in almost every generation, but who are the best of these historic ‘mon? Let’s grab our shovels and find out.
If you need some help picking members for your team, our grass Pokémon, fire Pokémon, ghost Pokémon, psychic Pokémon, and dark Pokémon guides are a good read. We can even tell you how to beat them with our grass Pokémon weakness, fire Pokémon weakness, ghost Pokémon weakness, psychic Pokémon weakness, and dark Pokémon weakness articles.
Let’s dig into our best fossil Pokémon guide.
Fossil Pokémon
Omanyte
Based on an ammonite, a precursor to cephalopods like the nautilus or the cuttlefish, Omanyte has a distinctive spiral shell and an adorable blue body with tendrils ready to attack. The rock Pokémon that doubles as a water Pokémon comes from the helix fossil, and while its evolution Omastar is also pretty great, this little guy just cinches it with the cute factor.
Mind you, while we admit this gen 1 Pokémon is cute, we can’t deny the trouble Omanyte and Omastar can give you, so do yourself a favor and brush up on the rock Pokémon weakness and water Pokémon weakness.
Aerodactyl
With a good chance of being the best fossil Pokémon ever created, Aerodactyl is based on the pterodactyl, and like its namesake, this flying Pokémon is a terror of the skies, combining rock/flying for an interesting type spread we’ve still very rarely seen ever since. While it might not be the strongest Pokémon out there, it did get a great power boost with the fearsome mega Aerodactyl, and the new form adds some jagged rocks to make this Pokémon even more terrifying than ever. Yeah, maybe you should learn what the flying Pokémon weakness is, after all.
Bastiodon
I know a lot of people are in the Rampardos camp, and look I love the pachysaurus as well, but something about Bastiodon just makes this defensive powerhouse way more interesting. It’s based on the zuniceratops, and is the nearest Pokémon has ever gotten to giving us a Pokémon properly based on a triceratops; aka, the coolest dinosaur. It sports a whopping 168 physical defense and 138 special defense, as well as doubling as a rock and steel Pokémon for some great defensive coverage. The plates on its face also form a castle, which is just rad. Bastiodon fans rise up!
Just don’t forget to learn what the steel Pokémon weakness is. We love this gen 4 Pokémon, but if you have to face it in battle you need to understand what you’re up against.
Carracosta
To paraphrase an internet legend, I like turtles. Carracosta isn’t anything new, it’s one of many turtle Pokémon, and it also sports the same rock/water typing that we’ve seen a few times before, but it’s just a cool design and I’ve always preferred it to its generational counterpart Archen and Archeops. Sadly, slow and steady doesn’t win the race in Pokémon, and Carracosta is let down by a dismal 32 speed, even though it has an impressive 133 physical defense. It might fit on a weird trick room team, but outside of just being cool to look at, I can’t think of many reasons to put this gen 5 Pokémon in my team.
Tyrantrum
Just have a quick look at that and tell me it isn’t awesome. Holding the title of the second best Pokémon whose name starts with Tyran, Tyrantrum is a rock/dragon t-rex Pokémon that finally delivered on the dream of a pocket monster based on the infamous dino that invaded so many children’s nightmares after Jurassic Park. Sadly it’s got a few devastating weaknesses, as it’s weak to dragon Pokémon, ice Pokémon, and fairy Pokémon, among others, but it at least has a respectable 121 attack stat to play around with as well as access to ancient power, allowing lucky users to improve its attacks even more. A truly terrifying prospect that does all the gen 6 Pokémon proud.
Dracozolt
Look I’ve got a lot of issues with the gen 8 Pokémon games, Sword & Shield, but the spin they put on fossil Pokémon is truly genius. Instead of simply giving players fossils like before and picking a single Pokémon, Sword and Shield instead have four Pokémon that are the result of some serious science gone wrong. Different fossil parts have been mixed up, giving players the chance to create four ancient abominations, clearly pulled from different parts of various creatures.
Out of the four, Dracozolt just pips the post as the best, thanks to its really fun design with a tiny raptor-like body poking out of massive legs, and the fun electric Pokémon and dragon-type pairing. While its stat spread leaves a lot to be desired, with the highest being a perfectly average 100 physical attack, none of the stats are particularly lacking, so with a bit of tweaking, this can be an interesting addition to your party. We’d love to see the true forms of these four Pokémon one day, perhaps in Pokémon Legends: Eternatus about fifteen years from now, aye?
Anyway, make sure you read our electric Pokémon weakness guide just in case to stumble across this monstrosity while out and about in Galar.
Okay, so while we’re done talking about fossil Pokémon for now, we still have much to say about Ralts’ evolution, Scyther’s evolution, Floette’s evolution, and Bisharp’s evolution.