#18: Aerodactyl

Remember that I talked about my thing for dinosaurs when I was still a kid? That brief obsession was the reason that Rampardos and Tyranitar are nowadays still two of my favorite Pokémon. Aerodactyl is based on a pterodactyl, so basically this Pokémon is also a dinosaur. This prehistoric bird is a tough one at that, too; it looks like a livid and dangerous Pokémon that can tear you apart with its sharp teeth in a couple of seconds. And it probably can, for that matter. Aerodactyl is the first dinosaur Pokémon, revived from an Old Amber, and maybe that's way it ends up higher in my list of favorite Pokémon than the previously mentioned ones, although other prehistoric dinosaur-like animals are still to be found above Aerodactyl: Archen and Archeops. But this article is all about Aerodactyl, so let's see how it turns out to do in video game battles. Absolutely great, I can tell you that. It is extremely fast, plus it is very strong on the physical-based spectrum, too. Its diverse movepool really helps to sweep the floor with the other team: it is capable of learning the elemental fangs (although they're not really worth it), but also moves like Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Crunch, Iron Head, Stone Edge and Fly. Archeops, the other fast rock/flying-type fossil Pokémon, is generally much stronger and can even pull off special-based moves, which Aerodactyl cannot. Both Pokémon are quite frail, but some players prefer Aerodactyl over Archeops due to Archeop's terrible ability, Defeatist. I'd say either Pokémon is fine, as both Pokémon are in my list, Archeops a little higher than Aerodactyl.