Aerodactyl (Pokémon)

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Aerodactyl (Japanese: プテラ Ptera) is a dual-type Fossil introduced in Generation I.
It is revived from an Old Amber. While it is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon, Aerodactyl can Mega Evolve into Mega Aerodactyl using the Aerodactylite.
==Biology==
Aerodactyl is a , bipedal prehistoric that resembles a with several draconic features. It has small sharply pointed ears, narrow dark green eyes, a ridged snout, a gaping mouth, and a strong lower jaw full of serrated fangs. Its body is covered in light blue-gray skin and it has large, violet membranous wings. The clawed hands at the end of each wing allow it to grasp objects. There is a hump-like ridge with a spike on its back, and it has a strong tail with an arrow-shaped tip. Its talon-like feet have two toes in front and one in the back, and are capable of scooping up and tightly clutching its prey in flight.
 
Aerodactyl's serrated saw-like fangs and ferocious attitude were very imposing in its time. Its fangs can rip out throats and tear through the skin of any Pokémon to pieces, even Pokémon. By spreading its wings, Aerodactyl is believed to have flown by gliding through the skies, freely letting out its high-pitched cries. However, it is slow to walk on land. It liked to nest in the , where it enjoyed both safety and seclusion. Aerodactyl lived in prehistoric times, and was theorized to become extinct thanks to a giant meteor impact. It was restored in modern times using genetic material extracted from amber; some casualties occurred during these attempts. Even still, this restoration is not considered perfect.
===Forms===
Aerodactyl can Mega Evolve into Mega Aerodactyl.
As Mega Aerodactyl, its eyes turn bright green and parts of its body turn to stone, which some researchers believe to be its original appearance before fossilization. It grows larger and sprouts jagged black spiky rocks all over its body: five spikes at the wrist joint of each wing replacing its hands, three small spikes along its tail, one spike on each ear, and a long spike on its chin. The spike on its back and its rear talons have also become black and stony. Rocky plates cover its eyebrows and the corners of its jaw. Similar stone ornaments are present on its chest on its torso: two small ridges flanking a longer ridge. 
The power of Mega Evolution allows some of Aerodactyl's dormant genes to reawaken. Some scholars claim that Mega Aerodactyl is Aerodactyl's true appearance from prehistory before it was revived. Some of the rocks on Mega Aerodactyl's body are harder than diamond. Because of the burden of Mega Evolution, Mega Aerodactyl is fiercer and more irritable than before. As a result, Mega Aerodactyl attacks anything that moves.
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Aerodactyl
==Game data==
===NPC appearances===
* Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire: In the Ruby Field, once an Egg has been hatched, Aerodactyl will fly by and replace it the next time the ball rolls into the Egg Stand.
===Pokédex entries===
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Aerodactyl in the	Mega Aerodactyl in the
===Game locations===
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====In side games====
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====In events====
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===Held items===
Pokémon caught in Generation I must be traded to a Generation II game in order for a held item to appear.
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===Stats===
====Base stats====
=====Aerodactyl=====
=====Mega Aerodactyl=====
====Pokéathlon stats====
===Type effectiveness===
===Learnset===
Aerodactyl is available in Version 1.3.0+ and .
====By leveling up====
====By TM/TR====
====By ====
====By tutoring====
====By transfer from another generation====
====Animated series-only moves====
Move	Type	Episode
 	 	Putting the Air Back in Aerodactyl!
===Side game data===
====Aerodactyl====
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Satchel				
====Mega Aerodactyl====
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===Form data===
====Mega Evolution====
===Evolution data===
===Sprites===
====Skeletal sprites====
 	 	
Image from	Image from	Image from
==In animation==
===Main series===
====Major appearances====
=====Goh's Aerodactyl=====
In Restore and Renew!, Goh found an Old Amber in the Pewter Museum of Science, which was revived into an Aerodactyl due to Team Rocket's intervention. It went berserk as a result, but Goh caught it after calming it down.
====Other====
Aerodactyl debuted in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon, where it scared off the other Kantonian Fossil Pokémon that were chasing and . It then kidnapped Ash, who was rescued by 's . took a photo of this Aerodactyl, which was seen in Pokémon Paparazzi. The same Aerodactyl appeared in a flashback in Who Gets To Keep Togepi? and The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!.
In Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias, an Aerodactyl was resurrected from a fossil alongside a Kabutops by and Oakley. In the English dub, it was described as having been used by an evil Trainer to torment the civilians of Alto Mare but was drowned when a brought water to the city. It was ordered to chase after Ash and . It had blank, yellow-tinted eyes with no pupils and a thick black outline.
In Putting the Air Back in Aerodactyl!, an Aerodactyl was revived by Gary Oak. It seemed to enjoy eating a pear-like fruit that grew in the forests of an island. Team Rocket agents Butch and Cassidy wanted to steal this Aerodactyl and present it to Dr. Namba, but were stopped by Gary's Umbreon and , and the Aerodactyl itself, who sent the two Rockets flying with a .
In Wild in the Streets, Team Rocket accidentally revived an Aerodactyl from its fossil. Angered and confused, it terrorized Oreburgh City. It was eventually stopped by Dawn's Piplup and before Dr. Kenzo it
In A League of His Own!, was revealed to have caught an Aerodactyl. It was used in his battle against Alain in the Lumiose Conference, where it went up against but was soon defeated.
In Showdown at the Gates of Warp!, an Aerodactyl appeared under the ownership of Alternate World Goh.
An Aerodactyl appeared in A Challenge from the Explorers, under the ownership of Sidian. Aerodactyl is used as Sidian's means of transportation.
====Minor appearances====
In Fossil Fools, a realistic Aerodactyl robot was part of the Ancient Pokémon Study Park exhibit.
Two Aerodactyl appeared in a fantasy in Where's Armaldo?.
In Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, two Aerodactyl were flying within the Tree of Beginning, while a third was in the opening sequence of the movie.
Two Mirage Aerodactyl appeared in The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, one of which kidnapped and Dr. Yung.
An Aerodactyl appeared in a fantasy in A Gruff Act to Follow!.
An Aerodactyl made a brief cameo appearance in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness.
An Aerodactyl appeared in the opening sequence of Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
An Aerodactyl that can Mega Evolve into Mega Aerodactyl appeared in the opening of Mega Evolution Special I.
In Coming Back Into The Cold!, an Aerodactyl skeleton exhibit was in the Ambrette Town laboratory.
In The Tiny Caretaker!, two Aerodactyl were being looked after by a group of s.
In Alola to New Adventure!, an Aerodactyl fossil was in the Pokémon School.
An Aerodactyl appeared in I Choose You!.
In The Mew from Here!, a Aerodactyl was seen on Faraway Island.
====Pokédex entries====
===Pokémon Origins===
An Aerodactyl Fossil appeared in File 1: Red.
An Aerodactyl appeared in a fantasy in File 4: Charizard.
==In the manga==
===How I Became a Pokémon Card===
An Aerodactyl appeared in Fossil + Pokémon = Aerodactyl!? where it got revived from an Old Amber.
===Pokémon Adventures===
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In Holy Moltres, an Aerodactyl appears as a silhouette in Blaine's fantasy of what the Old Amber would turn into when it would be revived. Later, obtains an Aerodactyl from a resurrected piece of Old Amber which he revives in Holy Moltres and names him Aero. He has since then used him extensively for aerial transportation and combat.
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Lance has his own Aerodactyl that he also uses for aerial transportation and combat which first appeared in Extricated from Exeggutor. He also owns multiple other Aerodactyl which were used in his army that were used to attack the mainlands of Kanto. They first appeared in Playing Horsea.
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An Aerodactyl capable of Mega Evolving appeared in a fantasy in Trevenant Pokes.
===Pokémon Pocket Monsters===
An Aerodactyl appeared in Big Rampage at the Safari Zone!?.
An Aerodactyl appeared in Clefairy Evolves... At Last?!.
Lance owns an Aerodactyl, as seen in Space Havoc!!.
An Aerodactyl appeared in The Ancient Pokémon Discovery!.
===Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire===
An Aerodactyl appeared in Find The Ancient Pokémon!!.
==In the TCG==
==Trivia==
* In the Pokémon Red and Green beta, Aerodactyl was revived using a Wing Fossil, which formed a trio with the Helix Fossil and Dome Fossil.
* Aerodactyl shares its with , , , and . They are all known as the Fossil Pokémon.
* Aerodactyl was the inspiration for the naming of , a genus of s. The genus name was chosen in reference to Aerodactyl having traits derived from various pterosaur species.Vidovic, S. U. & Martill, D. M. (2014). "Pterodactylus scolopaciceps Meyer, 1860 (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the Upper Jurassic of Bavaria, Germany: The Problem of Cryptic Pterosaur Taxa in Early Ontogeny". PLOS ONE. 9 (10): e110646.
* Aerodactyl is the only Fossil Pokémon with a Mega Evolved form.
** Prior to Generation VIII, it was also the only Fossil Pokémon that can be obtained in any way other than breeding, reviving its Fossil, or from the : it is available through an in-game trade in Generation II, as a gift in Generation VII, and is one of Hayley's trades.
*** The trade in Generation II was removed in , likely because the Old Amber could be obtained and revived in these games, unlike in Generation II.
* In the Pokémon Red and Blue beta, Aerodactyl was originally known as "Ptera", its Japanese name.
* Aerodactyl is the only Pokémon owned by Lance and Clair in the core series who is not a Pokémon nor a Pokémon belonging to the Egg Group.
** This is likely due to pterosaurs being known as "winged dragons" (翼竜 yokuryū) in Japanese, further explaining why it is called a "dragon" by an old man in Pewter Museum of Science in Generations I, , and , as well as suggesting why its appearance is influenced by that of s.
* Mega Aerodactyl has the highest base stat of all Pokémon.
* Aerodactyl is one of four non-Hoenn Dex Pokémon available in Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire. The others are , and .
* Mega Aerodactyl has a unique base stat total of 615.
* Aerodactyl is the only Generation I Rock-type Pokémon to not possess a 4× weakness to moves.
* Aerodactyl is the first Fossil Pokémon to have its shown in the .
* In the Pocket Monsters Encyclopedia, Aerodactyl was stated to be the predecessor of birds. This, alongside many facts in the book, would be retconned by future content in the games, specifically by the introduction of Archeops. 
===Origin===
Aerodactyl's design may based on , a family of s that lived in the period. Its long tail, however, may be derived from . Additionally, its pointed wings, spaded tail, and robust jaws give it the resemblance of a , specifically s.
The rocks that appear on Mega Aerodactyl's body may be a reference to whereby an ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. The rock on Mega Aerodactyl's chin resembles a .
====Name origin====
Aerodactyl may be a combination of ἀέρος aéros ( for air) or aeroplane, and .
Ptera may be derived from or .
==In other languages==
==Related articles==
* Aero
* Goh's Aerodactyl
* Fossil
* Mega Evolution
==References==
==External links==
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Category:Fossil Pokémon
Category:Pokémon that are included in the Japan-only Pokémon Stadium
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