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3rd Gen Root or Claw Fossil?

Dragon

lover of milotics
11,151
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when you go to Route 111, you'll notice a desert that you'll need googles to pass on through. In that desert, you'll eventually see two fossils in the sand: The Claw Fossil, and the Root Fossil. You have a choice between one or the other, since the one you don't pick will sink in the sand.

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The root fossil can be restored into a pokemon called Lilleep who is a Grass & Rock type pokemon who evolves into a Cradily. It's a pretty defensive pokemon that packs really great moves like Recover, and you can add stuff like Double team or Toxic for it.


Spr_3r_347.png


Anorith here can get restored from a Claw Fossil, and it's a Rock and Bug type pokemon who evolves into Armaldo. The family is more based on attack, so packing Swords Dance is a good idea as it can pack moves like Metal Claw and Rock Blast.


Which fossil do you remember picking up? Which Fossil pokemon is your preferred pokemon?
 
98
Posts
6
Years
I can't recall myself ever using any of those Pokemon, doesn't take away the fact I kind of like how Lileep is (and with that, Cradily (???) too).
 

Narwhal

Meme Lord
139
Posts
7
Years
I never used armaldo in a gameplay ever to be honest but I always had a fascination with it. Something about it just looks intriguing
 
50,218
Posts
13
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I used Lileep, so I obviously picked the Root Fossil. It was probably the cuter-looking one of the two to me at the time.
 
13,131
Posts
19
Years
I don't remember what I originally picked! Since what I picked definitely was not ever in my team.

But if I had the choice right now, it would most likely be that root fossil. Maybe if I ever get that far again in my copy of sapphire here I'll pick that.
 

Leviathan

[span="font-family:ubuntu; color: whitesmoke; padd
1,103
Posts
10
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Claw Fosil, always! I prefer Armaldo way more, so Anorith for me.
 
5,285
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14
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  • Age 29
  • Seen yesterday
I probably picked Claw from what I remember. I've never managed to get round to using either of them though, I just don't like them - I kinda like the design of Lileep / Cradily but the most stall-oriented Pok?mon I have the patience to play with is my Curse Munchlax in Gen IV, or Bulbasaur (because Sleep / Poison + leech seed is so satisfying). Armaldo is just not a great design.
 

Flowerchild

fleeting assembly
8,709
Posts
13
Years
Actually I... don't think I've ever used either. I know Cradily is pretty cool - my friend used it in competitive battles to great effect - so I'll give it a try next time I replay a Hoenn game. Not really sure why, but I've always forgotten about the Hoenn fossils and never got the chance to try them out!
 
4,044
Posts
9
Years
I do generally prefer Lileep to Anorith, but Armaldo is cooler than Cradilly imo so I always have a hard time choosing.
 
226
Posts
14
Years
  • Seen Jun 9, 2019
I never used any of them but I know I picked the claw fossil because Anoeith and its evolution seemed better to me.
 
169
Posts
7
Years
I'd go with the Root Fossil because Cradily is a NASTY TANK pokemon in any game really. Teach it toxic and some restoration moves and it will drop anything the E4 has to dish out.
 

Ho-Oh

used Sacred Fire!
35,992
Posts
18
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  • Age 31
  • Seen Jul 1, 2023
I wasn't really a big fan of either :( Years ago I made NU Doubles into a temporary thing. I used Cradily in my rain team and it was sorted. From then on I couldn't go with Anorith anymore - not when Cradily was so cool.

Plus Anorith is kinda ugly. I did always pick Anorith as a kid for some reason though...
 

Jayce Darcy

Champion
15
Posts
6
Years
  • Age 28
  • Seen Dec 4, 2017
Armaldo (claw) looks cooler but I've always preferred Cradily (root).

Cradily has a better type combination as Grass and Rock covers for each other's weaknesses very well. Grass covers Rock's weakness to Steel, Ground while Rock covers Grass' weakness to Fire, Flying, Poison.

Cradily also makes for a good wall with Ingrain, Amnesia, Confuse Ray.

Armaldo on the other hand makes for a good offense but he's just outshined by other Pokemon. Not to mention a Rock/Bug combo doesn't help each other at all except for Bug covering Rock's weakness to Fighting.
 

aNEETguy

Burned out Gamer(literally fire is no joke)
5
Posts
6
Years
I choose claw fossil the first time revived it got called to do a chore and absentmindedly saved...after i trained it upon return i realized how awful it was and reset the file for cradily which i fell in love with then when gastro acid was introduced in gen4 i loved it even more!
 
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