Were fossil Pokemon rock type when they were alive?
since they are based on dinosaurs or prehistoric animals from different eras, we need a prehistoric mamal and a prehistoric fish (i know about relicant, but i mean a fossil one).
Also a prehistoric plant like one of those spiked trees or the ones without flowers nor leafs.
>>26660091
>wanting a rock/normal mammal thats gunna get mike tyson'd
>wanting ANOTHER rock/water fossil
>>26660049
I kind of assume yes, and only rock type pokemon have surviving fossils because the others decayed too much.
That's why "ancient power" level ups aren't rock. They just don't have clear fossils because pokemon professors are bad at archaeology.
>>26660049
Probably not.
In my Pokemon Tabletop United campaign I'm eventually planning to introduce an island or some other unexplored place where fossil pokemon survived and can be found in the wild, and they have different types, stats, movesets and abilities.
For example, Kabuto line is Bug/Water, Omanyte is pure Water, Tyrunt is Dark/Dragon, Amaura is Ice/Electric (based off aurora being caused by the Earth's magnetic field, and the fact Amaura/Aurorus learn some Electric moves already).
I'm not sure about the others yet, if anyone has good suggestions I'll take them.
>>26660789
We could have a Rock/Fighting mammoth and the fish doesn't have to be water. Lileep and Anorith are both sea creatures and neither are water type.
>>26660049
Since the rock is as much a part of them now as their actual fossilized body parts, I think it's likely that Rock probably took over one of the types they had while alive, and became their primary type.
In life, Kabuto was likely Bug/Water, Omanyte Water/Ground, Lileep Grass/Water, Anorith Water/Bug, Archen Ground/Flying, and Tirtouga Water.
Aerodactyl was either pure Flying or Flying/Dragon, Amaura either pure Ice or Ice/Psychic, and Shieldon either Ground/Steel or Normal/Steel. Tyrunt likely was Rock/Dragon in life, and Cranidos was likely either pure Ground, Rock, Normal, or Dragon.
I think it would be cool if the fossils got Primals instead of Megas, losing their Rock typing and gaining sth else
>>26661190
That would be cool, but I'm guessing that Primal is only going to be applied to legends, if not exclusive to Kyogre and Groudon
>>26660884
I'll help!
Aerodactyl- Dragon/ Flying (It's already pretty wyvern like for a pterosaur)
Lileep- Grass/Water or pure grass if you want more varied types.
Anorith- Bug/Water or pure bug
Shieldon- Steel
Cranidos- Was probably rock already as a result of its tough skull.
Tirtouga- Water
Archen-Normal/Flying to reflect regional birds
>>26662055
That's pretty much what I had in mind, except Shieldon as Steel/Ground and Cranidos as either pure Normal or Normal/Rock, which could work with increased speed and less bulk as a glass cannon (not that double weaknesses are that crippling in PTU) since there are a lot of good and powerful recoil-based Normal moves.
I still don't like Tirtouga being pure water though, Omanite cover that niche already.
>>26661028
I think you're wrong about archen and omanyte, they don't seem like ground types to me at all.
Omanyte actually seems more like one of the only ones that might actually have been rock before being fossilized. And as for archen, it likely being a distant relative of modern regional birds means that normal/flying is almost guaranteed.
Best theory coming through. Get ready.
All fossil Pokemon were always Rock type. The fossils we find are just good intact specimens. They're not so much "fossils" are they are dead bodies, since Rock type Pokemon are literally made of living stone. Real fossils happen when the creature's tissue is gradually replaced with sediment and shit over the years, but the Pokemon fossils are just the actual Pokemon's well preserved stone body. The fossil revival process basically just heals them like a turbocharged Pokemon Center.
Non-rock fleshy ancient Pokemon's bodies decomposed over time and there's nothing left to heal. By this logic, ancient Steel Pokemon might be revivable though.
>>26662341
Soooo by this logic Genesect was always Bug/Steel, it was just upgraded a bit after being revived. I like it.
Having a Mega for Tyrantrum would make me so wet..
>>26660049
No the Rock Type is a reference to them being fossils you idiot.
>>26661277
>>26661190
we did sort of get that with the pokemon that evolve upon level up with ancient power in their moveset. Its only really apparent with Piloswine.
>>26662341
I have another theory.
Pokemon are fantastical creatures with elemental powers that take the concept of evolution to extreme and twisted levels, and may as well be considered as beings with a certain degree of molecular unstability as their bodies can enter transitionary phases in which they are composed of raw, malleable energy, such as when they evolve, mega evolve, hatch from eggs or enter/leave Pokeballs. It's very possible that their DNA being trapped in sediment and undergoing fossilization for long periods of time can make some "rock type essence" modify their very genetic makeup and grant them with such type when they are revived. It also explains why they are some of the few pokemon to learn the rock-type move Ancient Power, which is mostly exclusive to fossils, pokemons that evolve in prehistoric-looking forms, like Mamoswine and Yanmega, and ancient construct pokemon like Claydol.
>>26662394
Being Steel type might be the reason it was upgradable to begin with.
Of course, this is all just headcanon. But that's okay because Genesect is a head cannon too.
>>26662438
Huh, Piloswine, Tangrowth and Yanmega are like primal-lite?
That actually makes a twisted sort of sense.
>>26662394
>>26662475
I strongly doubt that, the Steel of Genesect comes from having augmented him further with literal mechanical upgrades, there's no indication or reason to believe he was a cyborg prior to being revived.
Also being Steel doesn't mean a pokemon is automatically compatible with mechanical upgrades, many Steel types are biological/mineral based, or just have extremely hard and dense shells or hides, while some clearly machine based mons like Voltorb and Golurk like Steel type.
>>26662475
bahahahahaha
>>26662473
Rebuttal:
Omastar's HeartGold entry mentions that it preyed on Shellder, a Pokemon that still exists now. Since Shellder existed back in ancient times, there should be Rock/Water fossil Shellders if all it takes is being trapped in sediment.
This points towards Rock typing being innate, and not gained through fossilization.
>>26662536
Golurk is clearly made of clay (and erego it being a ground type), its shape is sort of based ON giant robots but it's not composed of metal/steel at all. It's a clay golem or homunculus,
>>26662536
>there's no indication or reason to believe he was a cyborg prior to being revived.
The "rock and steel type bodies can survive fossilization" hypothesis actually would suggest that it was Steel prior to Plasma's interference.
>>26662580
I thought Golurk was an automaton created by an ancient civilization.
>>26662573
"There should be Rock/Water fossil Shellders"
And who said there aren't somewhere? Nothing in the game disproves it, maybe the player just didn't find them.
Do we have all fossils ever? Of course not. Doesn't mean that "nope, only those in the OP image exist", just that those are the ones that were created and put in the game by GameFreak, but there must be others "in-universe";
>>26662642
Yes it is. But it's not metal.
Think like those clay soldiers in the emporer's tomb in China, but animated by a spirit. I mean come on, it even looks like pottery.
>>26662647
Occam's razor, man. Why would you assume there are fossil shelder somewhere that we've never happened to have seen a theory when it's simpler to say only rock types fossilize?
>>26662647
Case closed, Anon. I found the definitive argument-ender. Look at Kabuto's RSE dex entry.
>KABUTO is a POKéMON that has been regenerated from a fossil. However, in extremely rare cases, living examples have been discovered. The POKéMON has not changed at all for 300 million years.
Living Rock/Water Kabuto have canonically been found, and they have not changed. Kabuto is and has always been Rock/Water.
>>26662573
>Since Shellder existed back in ancient times, there should be Rock/Water fossil Shellders if all it takes is being trapped in sediment.
Pokemon don't have to go estinct, look at Relicanth, he's a living fossil and virtually unchanged from prehistoric times. Shellder probably survived as a species unlike the Omanyte line, which is plausible since many real life mollusk (and many lifeforms of the sea) aren't that different from species that existed in ancient times. Of course it might have been a wildly different subspecies of shellder.
>>26662624
>>26662671
Saying that all fossils are rock types because they were rock types prior to fossilization is less plausible than hypothesising the revival from a fossil state caused them to become rock types. The very meaning of fossilization is a process where remains of a creature are preserved by being encased by layers of rock, creatures are not required to be rocky in order to be preserved.
>>26662688
It doesn't specify if they are fossil rock type or original type kabuto. also it could have been a rock type all along without the other fossils being rock type themselves.
Also it could have just been a Kabuto that was revived previously and set free in the wild.
>>26662729
>Saying that all fossils are rock types because they were rock types prior to fossilization is less plausible than hypothesising the revival from a fossil state caused them to become rock types.
100% unsubstantiated claim.
>The very meaning of fossilization is a process where remains of a creature are preserved by being encased by layers of rock, creatures are not required to be rocky in order to be preserved.
Anything can be preserved, yes. I'm suggesting that only Rock or Steel type can be revived after fossilization. In fact, your argument is even more bullshit when you consider fucking definition of fossilization:
>verb (used with object), fossilized, fossilizing. 1. Geology. to convert into a fossil; replace organic with mineral substances in the remains of an organism. 2. to change as if into mere lifeless remains or traces of the past.
All of the organic remains are replaced with minerals and shit. As in, no more organic matter. A fossil is a stencil of what it used to be, not its original body. I'm saying that Rock and Steel types specifically can be revived because the thing in the ground IS their original body.
>>26662914
It makes more sense thinking they became Rock Type because minerals replaced their tissue.
Also drop the thing with Steel Types, it doesn't work, the only Steel fossil is part Rock as well. No, Genesect doesn't count, he's genetically engineered and technologically augmented, he's much more akin to Mewtwo than fossils.
>>26662948
>It makes more sense thinking they became Rock Type because minerals replaced their tissue.
Again, you're not backing this up with anything but "because I said so", even when Kabuto has been officially proven to have always been Rock/Water with no fossilization process involved.
The Steel thing is a little more tenuous, yes, but the focus here is on Rock types.
>>26663005
You aren't backing your claim with decisive evidence either, maybe Kabuto was Rock type from the start (but I doubt this as well since pokedex entries are notoriously inaccurate) but there's no evidence for the rest.
I've always been of the assumption that the rock-typing was because they were fossilized, but it also makes sense that they only became fossilized because of the typing.
>>26660049
No. The Rock typing is just a side effect of the defosilization.
They're cloned mutants that would be rejected if sent back to the time they came from.
Would an unmodified Genesect have been Bug/Rock instead of Bug/Steel?
>>26663132
My guess is pure Bug. Maybe Bug/Flying since it may be related to Scyther.
Bug/Rock would have probably been his form if he was revived by normal defossilization means.
Rock/Fighting Megatherium when?
>>26663070
>the Pokedex isn't canon when you cite it, only when I do!
Are you fucking kidding me?
Do you guys think this mysterious dragon Pokemon was rock-type during its life? Would explain how it died.
>>26663199
That's not just a dragonite skeleton?
I don't know. Relicanth is also an ancient pokemon, and it is still part Rock, but there are other pokemon that have been around since the beginning, and they aren't Rock. Mega Aerodactyl's description says that it may be what Aerodactyl truly was in ancient times, and the rocks are actually a part of it's form.
>>26663199
It's clearly Dragonite. Look at the shape of its skull and the horn on top.
>>26663210
>>26663284
No, the game refers to it as a mysterious dragon pokemon...
>>26663114
Your headcanon isn't literal canon.
>>26660049
Oooh this is interesting. I'd assume not, since the fossilization and Rock-typing links all of them, I'd say the Rock-typing comes out of the fossil-cloning-whatever process.
I'm going to crack my knuckles and make some guesses...
>Kabuto
I'd guess they'd be Bug/Water in their own time.
>Omanyte
Pure Water
>Aerodactyl
Maybe actually Rock/Flying, considering its fossil is Old Amber, suggesting there's some of its DNA in there a'la Jurassic Park, instead of coming from a rockus fossil.
>Lileep
Probably Grass/Water, maybe pure Grass.
>Anorith
Maybe pure Bug, maybe Bug/Water based on its environment.
>Cranidos
Who knows, maybe Rock, maybe Normal, for the time. Like Tauros today. Dinosaurs dominated where Mammals do today. Normal.
>Shieldon
Probably pure-Steel
>Archen
Maybe Normal/Flying for its time.
>Tirtouga
Pure-Water.
>Tyrunt
Pure Dragon, my bet.
>Amaura
Pure-Ice.
I'm gonna spell it out nice and simple.
>Living Kabuto hava been discovered
>They are still Rock/Water and have no differences from the 300 million year old fossilized ones
>The fossil reanimation process did not change or add anything new to Kabuto
>It can safely be assumed that the revival process does not alter a Pokemon, otherwise the revived Kabuto would differ from the still-living ones
>Therefore, the revival process did not change any of the other fossil Pokemon, and they were also originally Rock types
The only snag here is Aerodactyl, since the information on its Mega says that the revived ones are incomplete and the Mega version is how it originally was in prehistoric times. Even still, that only supports the fact that it was originally Rock type since its true form has more rocks.
>>26663391
But it's certainly better than your no canon.
>>26663199
that's definitely a dragonite, body structure is completely the same, i can recognize those dinky ass wings anywhere
>>26663532
Kabuto is a horseshoe crab so it must be pure Water, Omanyte would still be part Rock because of the shell, like Magcargo.
>>26663586
ebic :^)
>>26660884
oh shit good point about Amaura
>>26662055
and good Aerodactyl point, I'd like to addendum those to my post:
>>26663532
Yes.
Aerodactyl is not 'in' the old amber you find. You find its DNA in there and it is resurrected from its DNA. And the result is it being rock-type.
Same with the fossils. When they are resurrected, they aren't fossils anymore - they're just what they are.
>>26662341
I like this theory, it adds up, maybe in another million years the same thing would happen with Geodude and Gigalith and Larvitar
![tumblr_lt9n5iKmgK1r1kzf4o1_500[1].png](https://i.imgur.com/3a4JMg2.png "tumblr_lt9n5iKmgK1r1kzf4o1_500[1].png")
>>26660049
>Were fossil Pokemon rock type when they were alive?
No.
Fossil pokemon are given the rock-typing for GAME. THEMATIC. reasons, I.E: they were revived from rocks and thus are "rocky".
Fossil pokemon whom have remained alive and untouched for millions of years remain "rock-typed" for GAME. MECHANIC. reasons, I.E: game freak isn't going to bother separating this "special deviation" for the sake of fluff.
For what it's worth I also think Ancient Power is also guilty of it's rock typing because pokemon has decided that Rock is the >Ancient, Fossily-type.
Lots of pokemon that require Ancient Power to evolve typically evolve into more "primitive" looking forms or pokemon: Yanmega is literally a giant prehistoric dragonfly & Mamoswine is a mamoth.
I dunno.
Rock is just the "Ancient/Fossil/Dinosaur" Type(?)
>>26663743
Aerodactyl was revived from amber, which is not a fossil nor is it a rock.
>>26663199
I think this post needs more attention. Why would they not know it was a dragonite? Is it too big? Are they not aware of pokemon from other regions? If so how did the drgaonite get there?
>>26663627
>>26663877
They call it a mysterious dragon pokemon. That's all we know for sure.
>>26663889
Is dragonite supposed to be an unknown/legend-like pokemon?
>>26663877
It's Gen V. They're a bunch of retards over in Unova.
>>26663877
I think it's an extremely deep social commentary on the west's tendency to appropriate cultures. They pick up a skeleton of a rare and culturally significant Pokemon of the eastern regions and act like it's this mysterious unknown Pokemon when really the Kantoans have already discovered it.
Gen 5 was extremely deep.
>>26663877
>>26663889
>>26663906
>>26663947
>>26663968
>>26663199
>>26663210
>>26663362
>>26663627
It's a Dragonite.
It's just a big fucking Dragonite.
They call it a "mysterious dragon" for tourism bucks and to take advantage of the fact that very few people genuinely know of or have actually seen a dragonite, dragonair, dratini, etc.
That's my personal theory anyway.
>>26660049
Of course, it was the stone age
>>26663998
Are you sure? Surely they'd know it was Dragonite because the Pokemon world has the internet, no?
Maybe it's a new Pokemon that we'll see in Gen 7?
>>26664018
It's a Dragonite.
>>26664035
Maybe ancient dragonites were much larger similar to tangela
>>26663968
Truly a masterpiece of a game.
>>26664035
>implying that the professionals who curate the Nacrene City Museum can't tell what a skeleton is
Fuck off
![MID_232820_Paul_Nicklen_NAtional_GEographic_Stock_WWF_Canada[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/vKo6Di7.jpg "MID_232820_Paul_Nicklen_NAtional_GEographic_Stock_WWF_Canada[1].jpg")
>>26664018
>Are you sure? Surely they'd know it was Dragonite because the Pokemon world has the internet, no?
There are millions of people in the modern world who thought Narwhal's were mythical creatures.
There are so many people whom in fact thought Narwhal's were mythical creatures that some environmental agencies and so forth are taking advantage of this momentum to try and protect narwhals from poaching, etc as people can't believe such a fantastical animal exists.
I don't chalk this sort of thing up to ignorance so much as people have other things going on with their lives.
I can only imagine the people within that region must think a Dragonite is a mythical or mysterious dragon pokemon in some way or another.
>>26664089
>Narwhals are real
Holy fuck
>>26664089
>>26663998
A combination of these two seem to be the most likely scenario.
>>26663093
Yes, this divide has good points on both sides. I'd probably side with the "they can be revived BECAUSE they were Rock-type to begin with", as IRL we don't have any rock-based lifeforms, and in the Pokémon world they do, so the rules of ancient preservation would be different.
I also like that theory because it follows the logic that we can't revive dinosaurs from fossils; even Jurassic Park used the DNA inside the blood inside the stomach of a mosquito preserved in amber. In a world with rock-based lifeforms, it could be within the realm of reality to be able to revive a creature from the stoney remains since the stone has both the qualities of a rock, longevity, and the qualities of a living organism, DNA. I suspect the process the scientists do isn't so much reviving the fossils back to life as much as it is using the DNA in the rock/fossil as a basis for cloning the Pokémon.
If I look at all these fossilmon objectively, I can't see them as having Rock typing i they were in no way associated with being fossils.
They simply look like Pokemon of their secondary type.
![250px-408Cranidos[1].png](https://i.imgur.com/VNhfe0u.png "250px-408Cranidos[1].png")
>>26663532
>Cranidos
>Who knows, maybe Rock, maybe Normal, for the time. Like Tauros today. Dinosaurs dominated where Mammals do today. Normal.
This is a really great fucking point and another reason why I think fossil pokemon are only stone for thematic purposes.
Look at Cranidos' move set: it's almost exclusively dominated by normal type movies, a couple dark types and only has 2 rock type moves with 1 being ancient power and the other being head smash.
I'm completely and totally stealing this. It's a good thought- it's a good idea, I love it.
Cranidos was/is normal, but their typing is superseded by rock=fossil.
In their own time they were "normal-type" because they're a normal dinosaur.
>>26663165
>>26664382
Yeah, that's my biggest pull to the "they're Rock because of fossilization" side of the argument. But, maybe the truth is a little of both. I definitely think it could've been Normal.
>>26663681
Actually, reading other posts and re-reading mine, I'm going to leave the Aerodactyl/Dragon theory. It was probably always Rock/Flying
>>26663743
I think especially on your Ancient Power point it ties into the thematics, yes, Rock sorta = ancient, because of the "Stone Age" thematic element.
>Dinosaur King
>>26660091
fossil pokemon based on the peking man
