Fossil


 * If you were looking for the TCG set, see Fossil (TCG).

A Fossil (Japanese: カセキ Fossil) is a trace or piece of an organism from the past, such as a skeleton, shell, or leaf, preserved in the earth.

In the Pokémon world, Fossils of prehistoric Pokémon are items which can be revived into living Pokémon using techniques developed by the Devon Corporation and a research laboratory on Cinnabar Island. The two institutions purportedly developed their techniques independently of each other at around the same time. There are also other scientists around the Pokémon world who can revive Fossils using these techniques.

Pokémon revived from Fossils are commonly called Fossil Pokémon. They are always part.

In the games
Scientists who can revive Fossils can be found in every core series game except the Generation II games.
 * Kanto: Cinnabar Lab or Pewter Museum of Science
 * Hoenn: Devon Corporation
 * Sinnoh: Oreburgh Mining Museum
 * Unova:
 * Kalos: Ambrette Fossil Lab
 * Alola:

Prior to Generation IV, Fossils were Key Items. However, from Generation IV and on, they are normal items, meaning that they can be traded freely between games. The table below summarizes the natural availability of the Fossils in the core series games. In the games, relatively few Pokémon Trainers possess Pokémon revived from Fossils, since they are considered rare and difficult to obtain.

Generation I
In, the first three Fossils were introduced. They have also appeared in most of the later games. They can be resurrected into these respective Pokémon:

The Helix and Dome Fossils are chosen at the end of Mt. Moon, being guarded by a Super Nerd, but the player may only choose one to keep. The other one that the Super Nerd takes will be revived and put on display in the Safari Zone. The Old Amber is located in the secret part of the Pewter Museum of Science, which can only be accessed with HM01 Cut.

A scientist in the Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar Island can revive the Fossils. The resulting Pokémon are level 30.

During this generation (and their Generation III ), all Fossils are Key Items, and cannot be traded to other games to be revived.

Lance is the first Trainer to be seen with a Fossil Pokémon, possessing an Aerodactyl due to its draconic appearance.

Generation II
No new Fossils were introduced in, and these games have no means by which to revive or acquire Fossils. However,, , and are prominently featured in the puzzles located at Ruins of Alph. Of the three, only Aerodactyl is actually obtainable in the games via an in-game trade with an NPC in Kanto (for ). Omanyte and Kabuto must be traded from Generation I.

Lance, who is now the Pokémon Champion, continues to have an Aerodactyl on his team. In addition, Brock, being a Fossil enthusiast, has an and a  in this generation's games, as well as the Stadium games in Gym Leader Castle. His fondness of Fossils is referenced again in the next generation of games when a man in Mt. Moon mentions that Brock helps excavate Fossils at the location, which implies that he excavated Omastar and Kabutops's Fossils himself.

Generation III
In, two new Fossils were introduced. They can be resurrected into these respective Pokémon:

In Ruby and Sapphire, the player can choose one of either the Root or Claw Fossils at, and upon choosing, the other will sink away into the sand. In Emerald, however, while the player can only choose one initially at the Mirage Tower, they can retrieve the other later at the end of the Desert Underpass. In the Generation I remakes,, the player can obtain the same Fossils as in the original games: either the Helix or the Dome Fossil, and the Old Amber.

Additionally, is also an ancient Pokémon which is partially Rock-type, and it can be considered a. However, since it survived extinction for approximately a hundred million years and can be caught in the wild instead of being revived from a Fossil, it is rarely included in the Fossil Pokémon group.

Steven Stone, a rock collector whose father is head of the Devon Corporation, has two Fossil Pokémon, and. In, Roxanne will eventually gain a Kabutops, an Omastar, and an Aerodactyl for her team. Also, in FireRed and LeafGreen, Lance continues to have Aerodactyl on his team.

In 's Story Mode, various characters use the Hoenn Fossils, as well as Relicanth. The most famous of these users are Miror B. and Gonzap, each of whom at some point has an Armaldo on his team. In Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, this relative ubiquity is cut considerably, with Lileep, Anorith, Cradily, and Armaldo only appearing once. With that said, Relicanth deserves special mention as a member of Zook's team, while an Aerodactyl will appear on Greevil's team once his Shadow Pokémon have been Snagged.

FireRed and LeafGreen Fossils are obtained the same way as in Generation I, while Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Fossils may be revived by a scientist in the Devon Corporation building in Rustboro City. Newly resurrected Pokémon are level 20 in Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald and level 5 in FireRed and LeafGreen.

Generation IV
In, two new Fossils were again introduced:

These Fossils can be turned into level 20 Pokémon at the Oreburgh Mining Museum.

In Diamond and Pearl, for the first time in the series, the Fossils the player is able to receive are dependent on the version played: Skull Fossils are available in Diamond only and Armor Fossils in Pearl only. In Platinum, whichever Fossil a player digs up will depend on whether the Trainer ID is even or odd. If the Trainer ID is even, the player will dig up Armor Fossils only, and if the Trainer ID is odd, the player will dig up Skull Fossils only.

In Sinnoh, when players travel underground, they can find most of the Fossils by digging, along with several other rare items, potentially. After getting the National Pokédex, they can also find the five Fossils from the previous three generations.

In Johto's Generation IV games, the Dome and Helix Fossils as well as the Old Amber can be found randomly by outside Ruins of Alph. Root and Claw Fossils can be found randomly by smashing rocks in the Cliff Cave after entering the Hall of Fame. Fossils found in can be revived as level 20 Pokémon at the Pewter Museum of Science. The Skull and Armor Fossils are absent from both games, so either they, or the Pokémon revived from them, must be transferred from Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum.

In this generation, Fossils are considered to be normal items. As such, they can be held by a Pokémon and traded to another game.

Roark has a Cranidos, while his father, Byron, has a. and Shieldon are also used by two minor Trainers. In the post-Elite Four stage of the games, can be spotted with another Trainer.

As in, Brock has an and a  on his team in  and also uses a Rampardos in rematches. Lance continues to have Aerodactyl on his initial team, but it is not used in rematches.

Generation V
once again brought a new set of Fossils to the Pokémon world:

These Fossils can be revived into level 25 Pokémon using a machine in the Nacrene City Museum.

In Pokémon Black and White, one of these two Fossils will be given away by a person in Relic Castle, similar to how the Helix and Dome Fossils are originally obtained in the Kanto-based games.

In the sequels to these games, the fossils are instead given away by former Gym Leader Lenora.

In Chargestone Cave, a couple of s battle with a and an. In Black 2 and White 2, two s on also use teams entirely made out of Fossil Pokémon.

The two final evolutions of the Fossil Pokémon released in this generation ( and ) are used by N in the final battle against him in N's Castle.

After defeating Ghetsis or Iris, Fossils of previous generations will be given out by a in Twist Mountain, with one being given out per day.

While it cannot be revived via fossil, is known to have been created by Team Plasma by reviving a prehistoric Pokémon and upgrading it by attaching a cannon to its back.

Generation VI
Two Fossil Pokémon were introduced for.

One of the two Fossils is given to the player in Glittering Cave and can be restored at the research facility in Ambrette Town. The resulting Pokémon are level 20. The Old Amber can also be collected after this by smashing rocks in the back of Glittering Cave.

Gym Leader Grant uses and  and their evolved forms in subsequent rematches. Champion Diantha also uses and.

After defeating the, the player can return to Glittering Cave and smash rocks to find the Skull, Armor, Plume, and Cover Fossils, regardless of version, as well as Root and Claw Fossils or Dome and Helix Fossils.

In Hoenn's Generation VI games, the Root and Claw Fossil are collected and restored the same way as the original Ruby and Sapphire games. During the post-game, a number of other fossils can be collected by smashing rocks at the Mirage spots. While the Old Amber can be found regardless of version, the Dome, Armor, and Plume Fossils are exclusive to Omega Ruby and the Helix, Skull, and Cover Fossils are exclusive to Alpha Sapphire. The Jaw and Sail Fossils are absent from both games, so either they, or the Pokémon that are revived from them, must be transferred from X and Y.

Generation VII
Generation VII introduces no new Fossils, but the player may obtain most of the previous Fossils depending on the game. In Pokémon Sun and Moon, only the fossils from Sinnoh and Unova are available. Their location is at Olivia's jewelry shop in Konikoni City, where the player can buy a Skull Fossil and a Cover Fossil in Pokémon Sun or an Armor Fossil and a Plume Fossil in Pokémon Moon.

In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, this has been expanded to include more of the previous fossils which were absent from the original games. The Helix, Claw, and Jaw Fossils may be purchased alongside the Skull and Cover Fossils in Ultra Sun, and the Dome, Root, and Sail Fossils may be purchased alongside the Armor and Plume Fossils in Ultra Moon. Additionally, unlike the original games, any of these fossils can now also be obtained from Isle Aphun at Poké Pelago regardless of version. This is done from conducting a Rare Treasure-Hunting expedition (or an Interesting Item-Hunting expedition once the island has reached Development Level 3), where any of these fossils have a very rare chance of being obtained.

The Fossils can be revived at the Fossil Restoration Center on. The newly revived Pokémon come at level 15.

Unlike the other Fossils, the Old Amber is unobtainable in Alola. Instead, an can be obtained at Seafolk Village as a gift Pokémon.

Several minor Trainers use some of these Fossil Pokémon or their evolved forms as part of their teams. In addition for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon only, Olivia uses both and  during her grand trial. Later, when the player faces Olivia at the, they have evolved into and  respectively as part of her upgraded team.

In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, all the Kanto Fossils are obtainable in the same locations as they were in Generations I and III. In addition, more of them can be found on the second floor of Cerulean Cave, where random rare items spawn occasionally.

The only notable Trainer who uses a Fossil Pokémon in these games is, who uses an Aerodactyl as a part of his team when rematched at the Viridian Gym.

In the main series
In the, most Fossil Pokémon are in fact, not extinct, but have simply been hibernating underground for millions of years, as seen in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon, Shell Shock!, and Fossil Fools. However, Professor Proctor and have both used research to directly revive Fossil Pokémon, as seen in Where's Armaldo? and Putting the Air Back in Aerodactyl!, respectively. Unlike in the, where Fossils of ancient Pokémon are resurrected into the skeletons of the prehistoric using a machine that recreates the missing organs that had decomposed away from the genes extracted in the remains, this Aerodactyl was in fact completely revived from a Fossil that was fully preserved inside of an Old Amber for millions of years and thus still had the memories of its past life.

Butler tried to create a for Team Magma in Jirachi: Wish Maker from a fossilized remnant, but the experiment failed and Butler left Team Magma.

Roark, as he does in the games, has a Cranidos which evolves into a. This Pokémon, as well as several other Fossil Pokémon, appear in A Gruff Act to Follow!, Wild in the Streets!, and O'er the Rampardos we Watched!. Byron, his father, also has quite a collection in his Gym. This includes the Fossil Pokémon, , , , , and , as well as a giant Claw Fossil. He also kept a leaf Fossil that Roark found when he was a child.

In A Night in the Nacrene City Museum!, a Fossil was first seen chasing Hawes, as he claimed it to be doing, but was later seen safely placed in a display case. Hawes later explained what it was to the trio. It was later revealed that the in the Nacrene City Museum was using its move  to make the Dome Fossil float and chase after Hawes after he put its mask in a display case, thinking that it was a replica Yamask mask given to him as a gift from the company that made a  replica after purchasing it from them for the museum.

Lenora gave a Plume Fossil to Professor Juniper and Fennel prior to Archeops In The Modern World!. They successfully resurrected a female from the Fossil using 's dream energy. With the help of and his, Archen learned how to fly and then evolved into.

found two fossils in Treasure Hunt, Akala Style!, during the Stoutland Search treasure hunt set up for Ash and his classmates by Olivia. On the first round, he found a Skull Fossil, and on the second one, he found a Plume Fossil.

In Pokémon Origins
The Dome and Helix Fossils were seen briefly in File 2: Cubone, being hogged by a whom  encountered on Mt. Moon.

In File 3: Giovanni, Red was seen using a in his battle against Giovanni, presumably revived from a Dome Fossil. Since Red is mentioned to have caught all 150 Generation I Pokémon (excluding ) by the time of File 4: Charizard, it means that he has also obtained the other Kanto Fossil Pokémon, presumably also revived from Fossils. As was mentioned to have collected 148 Pokémon, it is likely that he had also collected all Kanto Fossil Pokémon.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Lance and Brock both have Fossil Pokémon, just as in the games. Misty also temporarily has an, but she gives this to. In addition, uses Blaine's laboratory to revive an Aerodactyl. In Hoenn, fights a revived  and an  at Professor Cozmo's laboratory in Fallarbor Town. In Sinnoh, Roark has a like in the games, and his father a Shieldon, which he later gives to. In Unova, N had an, which he released, and has a Carracosta, given to him by Marshal as a. also has a. In Kalos, Grant has an and a.

In the TCG
All Fossils have appeared in the TCG at one point or another, usually being released in the same expansion as the Pokémon which are revived from them, and being released as TCG Trainer cards. Initially, only the TCG Mysterious Fossil card existed, which could be evolved into any of the three Generation I Fossil Pokémon; however, its use was eventually discontinued in favor of individual TCG Dome Fossil, TCG Helix Fossil, and TCG Old Amber cards to match the TCG Claw Fossil (Claw), TCG Root Fossil (Root), TCG Skull Fossil (Skull), TCG Armor Fossil (Armor), TCG Cover Fossil (Cover), TCG Plume Fossil (Plume), TCG Jaw Fossil (Jaw), and TCG Sail Fossil cards. TCG Ultra Prism brought the return of a shared Trainer card which could evolve into any Fossil Pokémon released during the Sun & Moon Series, this time known as TCG Unidentified Fossil.

Trivia

 * The Generation I Fossil Pokémon are the only Pokémon of that generation that are not part.
 * and are the only Fossil Pokémon that are pure-Rock type.
 * and are the only Fossil Pokémon to have Rock as their secondary type.
 * and are the only Fossil Pokémon without Hidden Abilities.
 * is the only Fossil Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution.
 * It is also the only one which doesn't evolve normally.

In other languages
Fossilien Fósil Fossile (objet) Fossili カセキ 化石