W B Many Pokémon are based on prehistoric animals. No matter what kind they are, the similarities are sometimes reflected even in the name. Are you ready to meet them?
AERODACTYL
It is a rock-flying Pokémon that lived in the rainforests millions of years ago. It was characterized by its large wings and its tail’s tip was in the shape of an arrow. It was a great carnivore that ripped the throat of his enemies easily, although in the Pokémon Chronicles series, Gary Oak manages to revive an Aerodactyl and it ended up eating fruits, luckily.
Except for the two horns, the Aerodactyl was inspired by the Eudimorphodon. A genus belonging to the pterosaurs’ order, flying reptiles that are not exactly dinosaurs, but are related to them. Aerodactyl had wings formed by skin membranes and a bone structure at the end of the tail, called diamond, which served as a rudder during the flight. In its 2.3-inch-long jaw he had no less than a hundred teeth. A bite from this dinosaur must have been a terrifying experience.
ARCHEOPS
It is also a rock-flying Pokémon, supposedly extinct, that lived in groups on top of the mountains. It was good flying, but better still at running. In Pokémon: Black and White , a couple of scientists revive an Archen that then evolves to Archeops and searches individuals of the same species, implying that they were not extinct at all. Typical of the Pokémon world.
From its name, it is indicated that Archeops is based on Archeopteryx, a flying dinosaur of the Jurassic period, which lived in what is now southern Germany. There is controversy among paleontologists about whether their habitats were the trees or the soil itself. There is also a huge discussion about whether he was an active flyer or if he was just floatingfrom branch to branch. Like the Archeops, he had a series of sharp teeth that served him to hunt small animals.
ARMALDO
It is an extinct Pokémon that inhabited the seas and rivers, although some of its remains have been found in the desert. In the anime, some scientists manage to clone several anoriths and one evolved in Armaldo. It can withstand all kinds of attacks with its hard shell, break stones with its powerful claws and launches water jets. Awesome! If the situation requires it, it can dig tunnels in the ground and get in there.
It was inspired by the Therizinosaur, whose name means lizard with scythe. Spooky! He lived in Asia and, like Armaldo, had a heavy body with an 8.2 feet wide pelvis. Its front limbs had three enormous claws, the largest of them in the shape of a scythe and a terrifying meter in length. The Therizinosaur used them to cut branches, bring them to its mouth and to defend itself from predators.
TORTERRA
It is of the plant-earth family and inhabits the leafy forests. It has a tree on its back that gives berries and, if it is in the wild, it is usually a refuge for several flying Pokémon. Torterra has to drink water constantly to keep its tree alive and it must be trimmed every so often so that it is not difficult to carry.
In fact, you must already imagine what dinosaur inspired his existence: the ANQUILOSAURUS, whose name means armored lizard, because it had an armor formed by bones between 0.3 and 13.7 inches in length. This armor is analogous to the armor that the Torterra has and on which its tree sits. Like this one, it also had horns protruding from the back of the head: two pointing backwards and two pointing downwards. At the end of its tail was a mallet composed of several bones and supported by a series of six caudal vertebrae without cartilage and with hard tendons that worked like a bat always ready to deliver an accurate hit on enemies. Formidable!
RAMPARDOS
It is a rock Pokémon, distinguishable by having a hard vault in the head that allows it to make powerful attacks. He likes to train himself by knocking down anything in one swoop. It has a pair of big horns in the head, two smaller ones in the back of the neck, two in the nose, two in the neck and one in each knee, with which it performs devastating attacks.
It is inspired by Stygimoloch, also called Thorny Devil of the Styx River. Like the Pokémon, it had a bump on its head and a dangerous bone decoration. It had two horns on the back of the head that could reach up to 5.9 inches in lenght inches and were accompanied by two or three smaller horns. In addition, it had two conical and short horns in the nose. So many thorns served him as a defense mechanism and for fighting with members of its own kind. Rampardos is practically a copy of this dinosaur!
TROPIUS
This long-necked Pokémon belongs to the plant-flying family. It weighs more than 220 pounds, but its leaves are so strong that they can lift it through the air. They perform photosynthesis, which allows delicious fruits to come out under its head from which humans and Pokémon alike can feed on. It can launch a powerful attack called solar ray.
Among many long necks, Tropius is inspired by the BRACHIOSAURUS, a sauropod that measured 85.3 feet in length and reached 29.5 feet in height. He liked to feed on the leaves he found at the top of the trees. Unlike its relatives, its tail was small in comparison to its neck and its front extremities were bigger than the rear ones, giving it a more vertical air, very similar to that of Tropius.
TYRANTRUM
According to the Pokédex, it is a supposedly extinct despotic Pokémon that lived 100 million years ago. It was of the rock kind and its main attack consisted in throwing flames. It made its appearance in the Pokémon XY anime, when the Rocket team enters a laboratory and steals a Tyrunt that escapes and ends up in the hands of Bonnie who takes care of it until it becomes a Tyrantrum. As it belonged to a fossil laboratory, Bonny has to return it starring in one of the most tearful and sad scenes of the whole series.
As the name implies, it is inspired by the TYRANNOSAURUS REX, which was not as friendly as the Pokémon. It was as long as a bus and could reach 13 feet in height. Its head reached 5 feet in length, his teeth at 7.8 inches and the force of his bite is estimated at 4 tons. A killing machine! Like Tyrantrum, it had powerful legs and small forelimbs. It has been the cause of many controversies, some say he could not reach great speeds, others say that his front limbs were strong and others that it was covered with feathers or that he only had them in certain places, maybe that’s why Tyrantrum has a strange beard around the neck.
AURORUS
Ice-rock kind, it is characterized by having a double candle on the head and a belt of crystals on the sides of its back, neck and tail. It has the ability to expel cold air to protect itself from attacks and damage its opponents. The crystals can lower the temperature to minus 175 degrees Fahrenheit and create ice walls. We freeze just thinking about it.
The Aurorus is inspired by the Amargasaurus, an animal that lived in present-day Argentina at the beginning of the Cretaceous. The vertebrae of this specimen had two parallel bifurcations, forming two rows of spines. Its appearance is controversial, paleontologists say that these spines protruded from the body and were used as a defense mechanism against enemies. But since no one had a video camera in the Cretaceous, others say that the thorns were covered in skin forming a double candle that served to regulate its temperature or communicate with other members of their species. These last theories were the basis for creating Aurorus.
BASTIODON
This rock-steel Pokémon has two main horns on the head, four in the mouth and two in the upper part of the shell that seem to be a mixture of tribal shield and wall in which four windows can be seen. It is a specialist in self-defense.
It is based on the Pentaceratops, a peculiar-looking dinosaur related to the tricératops whose bony appendix, called a gola, had two windows and a series of pointed terminations or spines just like the Bastiodon did. Its name means “face with five horns” and it makes reference to the two main horns located near the eyes, the one of the nose and the two horns that sprung from the back of the cheeks. What a strange head! He walked in herds feeding on ferns that he used to pluck using the beak of his mouth.
CHARIZARD
It is a pokémon that prefers altitude and hot places like volcanoes, most of them live in the Charicific Valley (yes, it seems to be a tongue twister) where the charizard challenge and train with each other. They are a bit proud and do not deign to fight with a Pokémon that seems to be weaker than them. What a proud character! They are fire-like and have a flame at the tip of the tail that represents their mood and keeps their temperature constant, if the flame goes out the charizard can die. Poor creatures.
It is inspired by the DIMORPHODON, a flying reptile that lived in the Jurassic period and was 3.2 feet long and 4.9 feet wide with open wings. Its skull is large but light because it has cavities separated by thin bony walls. Like all PTEROSAURS, it had wings that were born from one of the fingers of the hands. Like Charizard, he had a long tail that balanced the weight of his head when flying and when he landed he could walk using only two limbs. He lived near the coasts and fed on fish and small terrestrial animals, which it hunted by diving into the water.
If you were also surprised by the similarity of some dinosaurs with the Pokémon, comment and share! Until next time!
