Pokémon Top 5: Favorite Rock Type Pokémon

Hello Hello my sweet island guests! Even a restyle can not stop me from continuing to do top fives on one of my most beloved franchises in the world. Pokémon! By the time you are writing this the DLC will have been out for about a week or so. However I plan to take my time with that.. plus I work ahead a bit so I will discuss that when I get there. Most likely on a game cocktail as well. So keep an eye out on tuesdays! Today however we will discuss a pokémon type that is super effective against the ice type! The Rock type!

Unlike the ground type , which is counted as one of the stronger pokémon types, the rock type oftenly along with the ice type is considered on of the two worst typings. Rock type moves are quite okay .. but due to how many enemies are weak or quad weak to rock, you do not really need the STAB bonus for it.. rock type moves are often better of being used on a non stab pokémon. And  that is mostly due to the insane amount of weaknesses rock has as well. Water, Grass, Ground, Fighting , Steel. While it is super effective against Fire, Flying, Bug and Ice that already forms a problem. Bug Ice and Flying are all part of the weaker, less (end game)  represented typings.

In the competitive scene.. nearly all fire types learn will o’wisp which burns an enemy and harms physical attack.  Most rock moves are physical and stat wise.. these pokémon are oftenly specced on the defensive side.. for example Oddish has a better physical attack than Onix.. that means a beet..can punch you harder than a rock snake! Halving their offence so easily.. is not that good! Since it’s so bad! Onix is not my favorite but he does get a mention.

Like Always one entry per evolution line, while I can use prior forms if I like them better, I’d have to like the final form at least a bit. It has to be usable.. if the final form makes me not want to use it.. it gets reprimanded. As is the case with Tirtouga and it’s evolution Carracosta. While I really like the energetic looking rock turtle Tirtouga, Carracosta is just a cranky boring as bipedal version of it and it feels extremely lazy in design! It doesn’t have a fun move set either and it lacks any form of charm. Gen VIII finally showed us how a rock turtle is properly done with Chewdle and Drednaw. I do love Tirtouga design wise.. it just doesn’t got anywhere.. which is a shame. 

Now this typing is the worst offender by far of my.. it has to feel like a rock type to me rule as well. The biggest reason is all the fossils being rock type because they are ancient pokémon and came out of a rock! (Well except for the Gen VIII fossils but so many of them miss the mark. Aerodactyl should have been a dragon type.. while I get the redundancy with dragonite nothing really screams that this thing is made of rocks until it’s mega evolution. It’s a flying dinosaur. Flying Rock and Flying Ground and Flying Rock types I have difficulty believing. Minior and Archeops being the only exceptions because one is a meteor.. so I get both typings.. and the other is a dinosaur that can barely fly.  I know Aerodactyl has some pretty solid rock type moves but I’d rather see either an Ancient Type or giving Dinosaurs the Dragon type. 

Another rule is that a pokémon can not show up on a list more than once. If a pokémon was on an earlier  typing list it can not exist on the list of it’s other typing as well. Shuckle, Archen and Archeops are therefore out of the running. Still I would like to name one of my favorite Ultra Beasts here, Nihilego.. it’s a starry Jellyfish that shoots poison .. but for some reason they gave it the rock typing! Not only does this make my precious like super weak to sooo many types.. it should not be a rock type at all! It doesn’t have anything that ties it to a rock type other than that it learns Power Gem and possibly Ancient Power?!  Blegh! Bad call Game Freak!  So unfortunate that lovely will not be on the list either! Now let’s see who did make it.

For the first time I flipped a coin to determine my number 5. It was a close one between this and Minor, the cute jelly filled rock which has a pink form!  Ultimately when I think about it though Sudowoodo is definitely the more iconic one of the two! It’s one of the famous roadblock Pokémon, it has that level of clunk to it which I really appreciate in pokémon and like Minior it has a bit of a deceptive nature.  Where Minior looks like a rock but is actually a rock covered.. alien thing.. this looks like a tree that is actually a rock. Comparing those statements next to each other does make me think Sudowoodo is the better pick! His anime voice is amazing as well! This pokémon actually became a part of my first Pokémon Gold Team for a brief while! I would later travel with a Bonsly that would turn into Sticks the Sudowoodo in another pokémon fangame, whose name I am not sure off. It might be Pokémon Phoenix Rising.. but it might have also been something else. I play a lot of those!Reason enough to have a personal connection with this pokémon though! So yay for number 5.

Lorewise Sudowoodo is quite an odd Pokémon which endears me to it! It hates fighting so it pretends to be a tree to avoid being attacked.  While up close you can see it seems to be made out of rock rather than out of wood it really sticks to the practice. It is so rigid that if you see a twig shake in the wind.. you know it’s NOT a Sudowoodo! While it is not moved by the wind.. it starts fleeing as soon as it begins raining as it hates the rain so much, which I find adorable.  The fact that it hates rain and water so much is mentioned in nearly every pokédex entry.. and it had a lot!  It allegedly has has gained tremendous strength keeping its muscles so stiff. However by far the best pokedex trivia comes from the fact that old folks tend to collect and groom Sudowoodo. The greener their finger orb things are the higher the collectors value. Old people like to compare their Sudowoodo with each other, trying to find one that has the perfect arm length and angle with as green as possible orbs. This practice has become so popular it even sprouted it own magazine! So if you ever want a magazine filled with posing tree rocks travel to the pokémon world!

Sudowoodo is not a very competitive pokemon. With a Base Stat Total of only 410 it’s about as powerful as a Ponyta, Bibarel or Pyukumuku .. it also has the same base state total as the number four on my list.. and that one is not even fully evolved… neither is Ponyta though. While it’s defence is a great 115 and it’s attack a very respectable 100 the rest of it’s stats are VERY poor. Speed being at 35 as Sunkern and a Metapod and with it’s Special Defence, and Health being below par means it will not take kindly to even a water gun!
Sudowoodo however can learn the devastating move Head Smash and is one of the most punishing sucker punch users to send out against psychic types, ghost types or fire types.  While Woodo will go down with just a splash of water or a Giga- or mega drain  it can still take away a large chunk of enemy hp. Counter or Lowkick and Wood Hammer are pretty solid to run on this pokemon as well. It could also set up the sun if you have team build around that.  All in all a great monster that does show the rock type it’s flaws very well. It might be physically defensive..but three out of the  9ish predominantly physical types are its weaknesses.. 4 if we count the pretty solid grass physical covery.  So it is a mon you need to swap out a lot.

This pokémon is a bit of a weird pick! It’s the first, and not final evolution of Rolycoly, the cutests named rock type in existence. It is on this list because with some distance it is my favorite designed rock type. A coal cart! That is so random.. but what won me over is that Coltrane  my Carkol was so fun to play with at Pokémon camp! I had a blast tossing the ball for it and see it play fetch. There is something about seeing a mine cart filled with fire and a head smile gleefully at you that felt deeply satisfying. I also really like the combination of fire and rock types being used as non-lava pokemon for once. Coal seems a perfect metaphor for that type and since Galar is based on England making a pokémon to represent that part of their history I found quite enjoyable. There is so much recognisability in Galar pokémon, one might call it gimmicky but I actually love this style. You can glance at a pokémon and say! Well yep that’s from Galar!  It’s a great route I hope they will take in the future and this pokémon to me might be the epitome of it. 

Now lore wise Carkol is lacking a bit as it is only one generation old and DLC has replaced alternative versions so less dex entries for it to be had anyway! Carkol  apparently can form coals deep inside its body which it then “drops”  these coals have fueled many generations of people living in Galar. So there you have it , steam trains in Galar run on Pokémon Poop! I never thought I could make a PooChoo train joke but here I am! Thank You Game Freak.  Not to speak of Poop-Power Plants! Pooper Plants?  Of course this is never really stated to be poop.. but it is a dropping the pokemon forms out of waste inside its body so that does sound awfully familiar.  Carkol rolls around on its little  stumpy legs, they can spin around like wheels.. but not as round.. which is hilariously clunky and if you read any previous top 5 you know I have a thing for that. It’s top speed is 30 kilometers per hour or 18 miles per hour! Proof that kilometers are the best because more of them fit in the same hour! More is always good!  This little train that is about as fast a sprinting cyclist  can also breathe fire of about 1000 degrees Celsius or 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.. which proves Celsius is better.. because there are less degrees to get hurt by!

Competitively this pokémon of course can’t do anything! It’s base 410 stats are evenly distributed with a best stat of 90 in defence and speed being the lowest at 50.  Since it is 4x weak to both water and ground basically every semi decent pokémon trainer will kill it dead within a single turn. Coalossal it’s evolution however does have some uses as a physical wall. Just make sure to equip it with an air balloon. It’s signature ability Tar Shot adds a weakness to fire moves on the next turn so it’s best used to take care of enemies you do not have a counter for during gameplay! I don’t see this pokémon being used a lot in competitive battles and Smogon has put it in a bit of a borderline competitive tier RarelyUsed. So instead of trying to making this pokémon work for you in battle I suggest you use it where it really matters. In your pokémon camp! Making it fetch various forms of toy-balls and such! Thats where this little coal cart really can warm your heart!
_{<I found no Carkol Plushie otherwise it would be depicted as an image>}

Who would have thought that a pink pixie that is considered the jewel pokémon with a mostly white and pink colour scheme would ever be one of my favorite rock types?! It’s a legendary pokémon as well.  Now I know some people will nitpick and call it a mystical pokémon instead but no it has 600 stat points at least! It’s a legendary! Mystical is a term I hate to define pokémon with. It’s so exclusive for no reason at all! Anyway this pokemons design is so amazing. I loved Carbink already but when they gave it a magical evolution that formed this legendary creature it just got better. It’s Mega evolution is so amazingly pretty! It felt truly like something legendary.. but not like Celebi or Victini.. whose designs I find a back lackluster. This one walked that balance so much better. Just look at it! It’s so pretty and the gem on the normal form changes into a heart when it evolves. Have I told you it’s shiny is even pinker?! * Fan Girl purring noises* 

Only in the Gen VI games has Diancie ever had a pokédex entry! While it is linked to the regularly pokémon, the rock and fairy Type Carbink it doesn’t actually evolve from it in game. Rather according to the pokédex it more or less mutates into a Diancie. A sudden transformation rather than a build towards evolution. The reason why it does this is not known. It’s pink glimmering body is in universe said to be the prettiest site in the entire world… *Squeeeeee*  So the fact that this pink thing is the prettiest thing in existence in the pokémon world makes me feel I am right! Pink is an amazing colour! So it’s a great pokémon for me to have! Not only that but Diancie also has the ability to create Diamonds from “nothing” It can compress the carbon between it’s hand and form pink diamonds which she can hurl at her enemies.. or of course give to me .. her loving trainer. Diamonds might be a girls best friend but that is just because most girls do not know what a Diancie is!

In battle Diancie is amazing, as to be expected of a legendary with a mega evolution. Just unfortunately like almost every dual rock type she has a 4x weakness. This time to steel types. Luckily Iron Head and Bullet Punch, and Meteor Mash are usually the only steel type moves that are run so it’s not as bad as being 4x weak to fighting or to Water or Grass.  With 100 base stat in both attack and physical attack it’s about as strong of an attacker as Mew  and with 150 defence and special defence it’s as hard as Registeel! It has terrible hit-points and speed though. It can probably survive one of two hits due to it’s tankiness but still this pixie does not enjoy pain! When you Mega evolve it it swaps around it’s offensive and defensive stats and becomes fast!  Meaning it now can hit really hard really fast. Usually I run a barrier setting Diancie with Diamond Storm and Moonblast as offensive moves.  Get your barriers up, transform and bring the pain.  Once again though Diancie is a monster you do not want to sent out against anything it is weak against.. and that is still a fair few things. You probably need a trick room setter or a hazard setter to optimise your beautiful jewel.

This pokémon would be my number 1 with quite some margin if it did not have one big strike against it.  It’s four times weak to fighting type moves. Those are quite prevalent in end game and competitive scenes due to moves like Close Combat. Also since Dynamax fighting moves are really good, as in that they actually increase your most important stat if you use those type of moves…  that is a major flaw in the current generation for this pokémon. Despite that fact though this is such a cool pokémon. I am a bit upset they did not give it a Godzilla like Gigantamax. This is the pokémon is basically Godzilla anyway so now that pocket monsters can actually become Kaiju this is a missed opportunity. That being said ..this pokémon is so incredibly cool! Like from it’s design to it’s moveset, to it’s mega!  This is a COOL pokémon. I’d say rivalling charizard in charisma for me! …Not that I am THAT fond of charizard but still I can’t deny it’s charisma! This is the same.  Probably my favorite designed pokémon from Gen II. 

In the pokedex this pokémon is quite hyped up as well. It being described as so incredibly powerful that in a single of its hands it has the power to destroy mountains. It is unable to feel physical pain so it travels through mountains to find a new home destroying every opponent it finds on it’s way. It cares for nothing but for itself and it can create earthquakes powerful enough to shape the land. When A Tyranitar goes on a rampage maps have to be altered because the land simply will not look the same. Ultra Moon describes it as a mobile Disaster.. it will go where it wants to go and if something is in it’s way it will go through rather then around. No matter if this is pokémon , people, houses or mountains. All shall be  crushed by its power.  It should come to no surprise then that Tyranitar is a Pseudo-Legendary.. and in fact having high enough stats to be counted among some of the legendary pokémon. It’s mega evolution only has 12 pokémon physically stronger than it.  Mewtwo X, Kyurem Black, Primal Reversion Ground and Deoxys are amongst the list.. so  you can imagine how many pokémon can actually stand up to it… all but two are mega evolutions as well. 

What is most terrifying about this pokémon though is that it learns Dragon Dance, a support move that boosts Attack and Speed. Dragon Dance is one of the.. if not the best set up move in the entire game and it turns Tyranitar in a justified OverUsed (best rank of competitive battling that are not widely banned)  candidate despite it’s weakness. However since I don’t exactly know what does get Superpower or Close Combat or on who it ‘s viable and what not I can’t use this pokémon to the max of its potential!  You definitely want Dragon Dance on your Tyranitar usually with Crunch a dark type (thus boosted) physical move  and Stone Edge, which is the best physical rock type move an elemental punch of your choice to complete the set and you are done! You created a monster.. although one that will fall immediately if someone uses low Kick!

This pokémon looks like the most edgy pile of rocks you have ever seen. Yet this pokémon really feels like rocks! I just love this design! The blueish main rock with those orange like shards and those split rock.. yellow eyes it is completely amazing to me! During my first play trough of Black and White I caught a Roggenrolla intrigued by the little thing. It’s evolution into Boldore and trade evolving into Gigalith was one of my most liked evolution lines. This really feels like an evolution but it also feels really impressive and powerful. I managed to get it evolved by trading with someone willing to help me out after I wondered why Boldore would not evolve and looking it up. The pokémon that I got in return was so badass and while I am not a big fan of badass pokémon this one quickly won my heart.  During Black and White 2 I found no one to trade me and this pokémon was sorely missed. It’s a super sluggish pure rock type.. but unlike Tyranitar I always feel like I am control of this beast and I can make the proper plays!  Plus my Barney could really look impressive while he was doing it. 

Like Tyranitar Gigalith is a force to be reckoned with, though where Tyranitar is a Pseudo Legendary this one is not, which is reflected in its lore! It’s a much more friendly pokémon usually working with humans in construction. It works a bit like Dynamite..capable of producing energy that could blow up filled dump trucks. However to do so it must  charge it’s orange bits in sunlight first. It can not keep this charge for very long either because it is stated that on rainy or cloudy days it can not use it’s beam attacks.  While it is being described as a beam attacker though it’s actual special attack stats (which is used for beams etc)  are quite low. However there is still a way that Gigalith can unleash all this energy! It can explode with a big bang! When it compresses the energy inside itself it can gather enough energy to blow up an entire mountain along with it, so that means it would be a great pokémon for Megumin from Konosuba.  Explosion!

Explosion is a great optional move on this pokémon. However this pokémon comes with with the ability Sand Force .. and that is what you want it to have. This ability boosts Rock steel and earth types moves power by 30% if used in a Sandstorm.. so obviously you want to carry that move named the same as a Darude song with you . Then you want to run earthquake.. while it does not get STAB bonuses on Gigalith it’s 135 attack along with the 30% boost will not make that to much of a problem. You could run toxic on it because Gigalith is counted as a wall pokémon but I honestly advise you to just bring normal gem and explosion along and use the last move for Stone Edge. Toxic stalling might be smarter but exploding and taking out your opponents ace is so much more satisfying. For some reason everything I see Gigalith I just think.. man now thats a cool rock type.. when I see Tyranitar I think.. wow thats a cool pokémon! So that’s a point for this one! Another point.. A fully set-up Tyranitar will surely cause despair in your opponent but seeing their face when their Kyurem white just jumped into an explosion is so much more priceless. Now seeing a face doesn’t often happen but I got lucky on a few occasions and while I think Tyranitar really is overused and a bit of a generic pick.. I would use Gigalith again!  My favorite rock type is just that.. a rock! Both on and off the battlefield.

Due to almost all the Rock dual types having a 4x weakness, this is one of my lesser favorite types! I love rock types moves but due to their stats they are usually still beter on another Pokemon. What are your favorite Rock-Types? Is it Aerodactyl? Do you use the type a lot? Let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading and next time we are going to look at my absolute least favorite type.. the steel type! Now it’s time for me to be taking a plunge into making some more content! Bye!