Welcome to Jurassic Park: Fossils of Gen I-III

World Tour of Fossil Pokémon

Part 1

Back when I was a kid, I knew I was going to be a paleontologist. I just knew it. Of course, I ended up becoming a filmmaker, but that’s beside the point. Dinosaurs and fossils have captured the imagination of all kinds of children around the world and because of this, it is no accident that fossil Pokémon continue to be a popular staple of the franchise. And so, on request, we’re going to look at the fossils of the Pokémon world.

All Rock types, fossils are one of the most interesting aspects of the Pokémon world. Brought back to life after being killed off by who knows what, these Pokémon are all different and each offers a distinct playing style. We here at SplashAttack are proud to present a quick analysis on all of them. Hold onto your butts everyone, because over the next two days we have 11 Pokémon to cover. Let's get started.

Omastar

Base Stats
HP: 70
Attack: 60
Defense: 125
Special Attack: 115
Special Defense: 70
Speed: 55




Abilities
Swift Swim: Boosts the Pokémon's Speed in rain.
Shell Armor: The Pokémon is protected against critical hits.
Weak Armor (Hidden Ability): When hit with physical attacks its Defense is lowered, but its Speed is increased.

The God of TwitchPlaysPokémon is the first fossil we are going to look at. Omastar is a tricky case. With all around good stats and movepool, it’s somewhat of a mystery why it does not see much usage in higher tiers. There are probably a few reasons, but the simple explanation is actually just that it’s just barely outclassed. Like many others, Omastar is a good Pokémon who has the same role as a Pokémon with slightly different stats or movepool. In this case, that Pokémon is Cloyster. All that being said, with good coverage and great stats, Omastar can be a very rewarding Pokémon to use in both lower and higher tiers.

(All Praise) The Helix Fossil
Omastar
Hold Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Speed, 252 Special Attack, 4 HP
Shell Smash
Hydro Pump
Ice Beam
Hidden Power Grass

Omastar is a great Shell Smash Pokémon. It has a high Defense and a usable Speed stat, giving it good chances to set up. And once it has, watch out. If you are not carrying a dedicated special wall, Omastar will wreck house. Hydro Pump, save for the accuracy, is a reliable STAB move with great power and good synergy with Ice Beam. Hidden Power Grass is for Water types that resist the aforementioned moves. Blissey and Chansey will be problems for this set, as will less common walls like Jellicent, so a Pokémon like Conkeldurr is great to pair with Omastar to muscle through them.

Kabutops

Base Stats
HP: 60
Attack: 115
Defense: 105
Special Attack: 65
Special Defense: 70
Speed: 80



Abilities
Swift Swim: Boosts the Pokémon's Speed in rain.
Battle Armor: The Pokémon is protected against critical hits.
Weak Armor (Hidden Ability): When hit with physical attacks its Defense is lowered, but its Speed is increased.

To the loyal patrons of TwitchPlaysPokémon, using Kabutops is nothing short of sacrilege. However, once you go the dark side, you'll learn that Kabutops, with a little rain support, is nothing short of terrifying. Using its good Attack stats, decent movepool, and great Ability, Kabutops is capable of ripping holes right through entire teams. While it may be difficult to find time to set up due to Kabutops' half-decent defenses, Kabutops can be surprisingly effective even against well-prepared teams.

The Dome Fossil
Kabutops
Hold Item: Life Orb
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Speed, 252 Attack, 4 HP
Swords Dance
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Aqua Jet/Low Kick

When I said this set can tear through entire teams, I wasn't kidding. With rain on the battlefield and a Swords Dance, this Pokémon can tear holes straight through any Pokémon it feels like - even would-be counters.

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Kabutops Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 338-400 (96 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO.

Pokémon who have Sturdy, like Skarmory, can survive a hit and phase with Whirlwind, but that only works once and relies on Stealth Rock not being up. That’s right, I said it. Kabutops has a 31% chance to OHKO Skarmory in rainy weather, and it’s a guaranteed 2KO even without it. Kabutops likes two kinds of support: Rain support (obviously) and Stealth Rock support. Politoad is the obvious candidate for rain, but Tornadus with Prankster Rain Dance gets an honorable mention - especially in combination with 100% accuracy Hurricane to take out the Grass and Fighting types which would give Kabutops so much trouble.

Aerodactyl

Base Stats/Mega Stats
HP: 80/80
Attack: 105/135
Defense: 65/85
Sp. Attack: 60/70
Sp. Def: 75/95
Speed: 130/150



Abilities
Rock Head: Protects the Pokémon from recoil damage.
Pressure: The Pokémon raises the foe's PP usage.
Unnerve (Hidden Ability): The opponent Pokémon will never use their held Berry while the Pokémon is in battle


Mega Ability
Tough Claws: Powers up moves that make direct contact.

Aerodactyl is my personal favorite fossil Pokémon. Blazing fast speed and a usable Attack make Aerodactyl an incredibly threatening Pokémon. The Fossil Pokémon can generally run two kinds of sets - a dedicated lead Stealth Rock setter and an attacking set utilizing its newfound mega evolution, both of which can be very effective. All is not peachy for the prehistoric reptile, though, as it has some of the least impressive defenses out there, especially for a Rock type. This is partially mitigated by its mega evolution, but not enough to be noteworthy. Either way, Aerodactyl may face a lot of competition in this new generation for a mega and team slot, but the dinosaur can still pull its weight.

Old Amber
Aerodactyl
Hold Item: Focus Sash
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Speed, 252 Attack, 4 HP
Stealth Rock
Stone Edge
Earthquake
Taunt

With a ridiculously high 130 base speed and access to both Stealth Rock and Taunt, Aerodactyl is one of the best dedicated leads in the whole game, being capable of setting up Stealth Rock under almost any circumstance, fearing only Magic Bounce users like Espeon and Xatu. The strategy is simple: start with the Fossil Pokémon and use Stealth Rock. Once set up, use Stone Edge or Earthquake until you perish. It's pretty easy. Some would recommend changing the set slightly so that it’s Hasty Nature, 252 Speed, 156 Special Attack and 100 Attack with Fire Blast instead of Taunt. This also works as it baits and defeats the common Ferrothorn, Scizor, Skarmory, and the less-common Forretress, but this type of play style is more suited to last generation where dedicated leads were more obvious.

Ultimately, the choice is up to you. However, if you want Aerodactyl to play a more important attacking role, perhaps this set will be more to your liking:



Old Amberite
Aerodactyl
Hold Item: Aerodactylite
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
EVs: 252 Speed, 252 Attack, 4 HP
Stone Edge
Crunch
Earthquake
Aerial Ace/Hone Claws

Remember when I called Aerodactyl's 130 base Speed ridiculously high? Well, for its mega evolution, they gave the fossil Pokémon a 150 base Speed, which you might be thinking is a tad excessive. However, in combination with the improved Attack stat, Aerodactyl can function as a Choice Scarf user without a Choice Scarf. Yeah, it's that fast. Additionally, if your opponent thinks you are running the Stealth Rock set and switches to Espeon, they will be in for quite the surprise when they’re hit by a Tough Claws-boosted Crunch (which, for the record, is a guaranteed OHKO). The biggest problem with Mega Aerodactyl is that neither Stone Edge nor Earthquake receive a boost from Tough Claws and the Ability is kind of wasted on it. It does make Aerial Ace usable, as with STAB and Tough Claws it is more threatening, but you still might want to substitute for Hone Claws. Once boosted, there are not many Pokémon who would want to switch into Aerodactyl because of the increased Attack and the increased accuracy on Stone Edge. Just keep in mind that anything with Bullet Punch can, and probably will, make short work of Aerodactyl.

Armaldo

Base Stats

HP: 75
Attack: 125
Defense: 100
Special Attack: 70
Special Defense: 80
Speed: 45




Abilities
Battle Armor: The Pokémon is protected against critical hits.
Swift Swim (Hidden Ability): Boosts the Pokémon's Speed in rain.

I don't know about anyone else out there, but I picked the Claw Fossil in a heart beat. Armaldo is a pretty awesome-looking Pokémon. Admittedly, it’s got mediocre capabilities and does not see use in higher tiers. This is primarily due to the fact that, while it has a great Attack stat and a decent Defense stat, it does not have the Speed or typing to really take advantage of it. However, it does have some options which allow it to see use in lower tiers.

The Claw Fossil
Armaldo
Hold Item: Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 HP, 4 Defense
X Scissor
Stone Edge
Earthquake
Aqua Tail/Rapid Spin

Because of Armaldo's beefy Attack stat and good STAB combination, a bulky Choice Band set is about the best Armaldo can do. The only thing really worth explaining is the choice between Aqua Tail and Rapid Spin. Rapid Spin is a rare and valuable commodity - something that Armaldo... can't effectively take advantage of. It's weak to Stealth Rock and is not immune to Spikes or Toxic Spikes. In most cases, Aqua Tail is the better choice (Band), but Rapid Spin might be needed as a backup to clear hazards. It's up to you.

Cradily

Base Stats
HP: 86
Attack: 81
Defense: 97
Special Attack: 81
Special Defense: 107
Speed: 43



Abilities
Suction Cups: Negates moves that force switching out.
Storm Drain (Hidden Ability): The Pokémon draws in all Water-type moves.

Yes, I'll admit it. I overlooked Cradily for a very long time. It looks weird, and like the million-year-old sea plant it is, it doesn't look like it does much. That was my mistake. It actually has a few things going for i: an interesting defensive type combination, good mixed bulk, an immunity to Wate-type moves thanks to Storm Drain, reliable recovery and a great supporting movepool. Yeah, Cradily is actually pretty awesome. Like all Pokémon, though, it has its downfalls. The sandstorms which would give it an awesome boost to its Special Defense are all locked away in tiers Cradily can't go and it's slower than a glacier (not literally though – Avalugg's base speed is 16 points lower). However, Cradily can be a tough nut to crack if played well.

The Root Fossil
Cradily
Hold Item: Leftovers
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 Defense, 252 HP, 4 Special Defense
Stealth Rock
Recover
Energy Ball
Toxic

With maximum investment in Defense and HP, Cradily is very bulky. While its Special Defense stat is higher than its Defense, its typing makes physical bulk more valuable to this Pokémon, capable of shirking off attacks from powerful physical Water types such as Gyarados and Feraligatr. Once in, you want to set up Stealth Rock and use a combination of Toxic and Recover to damage as many Pokémon as possible. Energy Ball makes for a good STAB move that hits many Pokémon for x4 damage. You want to watch out for powerful Ice-type special attacks, as they could plow through the Root's uninvested Special Defense and score a OHKO or 2HKO.

That’s all for today folks. Tomorrow we’ll cover the rest of the fossil Pokemon, starting with the Sinnoh fossils.

- Alltheginjoints