Pokemon Type Reviews: Rock
You know, off-hand, I could have sworn there were actually more rock types than ground types, but apparently not. The two certainly crossed over a great deal in the early days, with only ground/rock, water/rock and one rock/flying combination in the first generation, and another couple of rock/ground critters in Gold and Silver - the unevolved forms of Tyranitar.
More focused and more "tangible" than ground type, rock Pokemon are actually made of stone, or at least have stone incorporated into their bodies in some way, albeit in some cases almost invisibly. There's always been something really cool about monsters made of rock, too, and I appreciate that they come in such an incredibly wild variety here. Only a few rock Pokemon are just living masses of stone, but when they are, they're fairly memorable themselves.
I always thought Rock's weaknesses to water and grass were a little odd, though. Water and plant life don't erode rock that quickly. The weakness to ground, steel and fighting all make more sense as various forces capable of immediately fracturing stone.
Rock's strengths are against bug, ice, flying and fire, the last of which I actually completely overlooked until just now. Fire? Really? Why fire? Flying's weakness to rock at least has a great joke behind it, suffering double damage because you kill two birds with one stone, but I just don't know what the reasoning is for fire.
The rock type's greatest claim to fame, of course, is the presence of fossil Pokemon, ancient prehistoric creatures you can resurrect from their own petrified remains. This is Pokemon's now-preferred means of incorporating dinosaurs, but also extends to an assortment of killer invertebrates, and if it counts, a non-extinct Coelecanth!
There are two fun theories of course as to why all of these prehistoric beasts have the rock typing. One holds that, logically, monsters who are already rock type would fossilize much better than fully organic species, making extinct rock types the easiest Pokemon to reconstitute in the first place. The other leading theory, and my personal favorite, is that their reconstitution from a petrified state makes them into new rock-type species whatever their original typing may have been.
More focused and more "tangible" than ground type, rock Pokemon are actually made of stone, or at least have stone incorporated into their bodies in some way, albeit in some cases almost invisibly. There's always been something really cool about monsters made of rock, too, and I appreciate that they come in such an incredibly wild variety here. Only a few rock Pokemon are just living masses of stone, but when they are, they're fairly memorable themselves.
I always thought Rock's weaknesses to water and grass were a little odd, though. Water and plant life don't erode rock that quickly. The weakness to ground, steel and fighting all make more sense as various forces capable of immediately fracturing stone.
Rock's strengths are against bug, ice, flying and fire, the last of which I actually completely overlooked until just now. Fire? Really? Why fire? Flying's weakness to rock at least has a great joke behind it, suffering double damage because you kill two birds with one stone, but I just don't know what the reasoning is for fire.
There are two fun theories of course as to why all of these prehistoric beasts have the rock typing. One holds that, logically, monsters who are already rock type would fossilize much better than fully organic species, making extinct rock types the easiest Pokemon to reconstitute in the first place. The other leading theory, and my personal favorite, is that their reconstitution from a petrified state makes them into new rock-type species whatever their original typing may have been.
MY TOP SIX FAVORITES:
MY LEAST FAVORITES:
I DON'T dislike ANY of these, I really just didn't know what to pick for least favorites again. The wolves are only here because I see no real reason why they're rock type at all and not just normal or dark.
THE MOST CREATIVE:
They certainly enjoy some pretty fun little gimmicks with this typing.
SCARIEST/MOST BADASS:
THE PRETTIEST:
THE CUTEST:
THE GOOFIEST CHARM:
We'll keep this category from now on, because I really think this is one of the most under-appreciated aesthetics out there. Nobody seems to like the "dopier" designs, and maybe that's just because we don't have any positive words for it in English.
BEST ZOOLOGY:
It was a tough call, but I feel like these six either make some of the most interesting use of their animal bases, have the best rationalization for why these particular creatures are rock type, or represent impressively obscure creatures.
RANKING THE FOSSILS:
For a change of pace, here's every fully evolved fossil pokemon in order from my very favorite design, Kabutops, to my least favorite, Rampardos, though even Rampardos has grown on my significantly. All of these range from pretty decent to outstanding.
WHAT'S MISSING?
A Gargoyle
Gargoyles are basically the "rock type" monster in popular culture, but all we have is the merely gargoyle-esque dragon type, Druddigon. I like Druddigon, but what I'd really like would be a nice horned, winged humanoid or even a devilish bird creature made of stone, with of course a selection of water attacks - and what else but the storm drain ability?!
A Sphinx
We already have Moai and various other ancient relics as Pokemon; a rocky lion with a humanoid head - and a broken-off nose? - has lots of potential. I feel like it should be another Pokemon if exceptional size, as well, rivaling Steelix or even Wailord.
A Wall
Hear me out, here! There's already the Nurikabe, a classic Japanese Youkai that exists solely to block the paths of travelers and already depicted as a living, ghostly stone wall when it isn't depicted as a three-eyed dog monster. The idea of a living or sentient wall has always been really cool to me, and there's plenty of approaches a pokemon could take. I'm kinda torn between one with "graffiti art" for facial features and one made up of individual "bricks" or "cobblestones" that are each a miniature rock creature themselves, like a colonial organism.
A Tombstone
I realize this is similar in many ways and could easily be combined with the stone wall monster, but I almost can't believe there isn't already a rock/ghost with a tombstone for a body or at least using one as a sort of "shell" or "shield." Cooler still would be if it evolved into a Diglett-like cluster of the things, a whole little chunk of haunted graveyard you can command as a pocket monster.
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