Out of all the niche Pokemon types in the franchise, Fossil Pokemon arguably have the biggest cult following. They’re often decently powerful in battle and have quirky, memorable designs that make them stand out from the crowd in the Pokedex.
That being said, there aren’t too many Fossil Pokemon in existence – especially in the more recent Pokemon games.
The topic popped up in a recent debate online, with a Pokemon player kick-starting the conversation by pondering what Fossils from Gen 2, 7, and 9 would look like. Hordes of other fans jumped at the chance to share their thoughts – and concerns – with Fossil ‘mons as a whole.
Other fans were intrigued by the Fossil-less generations, with one chiming in, “To be fair, fossils on a small archipelago like Alola is not a thing IRL? I know Pokemon is not a documentary, but they love this kind of small reference.”
Another agreed that the only reason why Gen 8 got Fossils at all was due to the Bone Wars reference – a real-world event that took place from the 1870s to the 1890s.
In this historic period, rival paleontologists were so determined to outdo each other with their discoveries that they misidentified and incorrectly assembled dinosaur bones. This reference can be seen in the Galarian Fossils, which fans have dubbed “crimes against nature”.
Players in this thread were still clearly unnerved by the disturbing nature of the Galarian Fossils, with one noting, “I still wish we got their actual forms instead of the creatures that are constantly suffering.”
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Another player chipped in with their thoughts on Galarian Fossils, saying, “The idea isn’t the problem. It’s the execution. The designs are eyesores and you’re just left feeling like we were robbed of some really cool Pokemon.”
It’s not just the Galarian Fossil Pokemon that were under scrutiny in this discussion, either. Some players felt that Gen 9’s move towards Paradox Pokemon instead of typical Fossils was a breath of fresh air for the franchise.
A Pokemon player noted, “To be fair, in Gen 9 we actually got ancient Pokemon, so I feel that balances it out a bit” in reference to Paldea having no Fossils.
Another fan agreed, “Yeah, and it’s kinda better. The fossil mechanic of having to realive them is cool, I love it. Yet, there’s the rock type being mandatory for fossils, because they’re embedded in a rock, changing the what? DNA? Something along those lines.”
Whether you love Fossil Pokemon or hate them, it’ll be interesting to see whether they make an appearance in the next game. Legends Z-A might not seem like the most logical time to introduce new Fossil Pokemon – but who knows? Perhaps we could see new Mega Evolutions for popular Fossils, or even new Fossils being unearthed in Lumiose City.
