The Origins of 17 Rock Pokemon & Why Not One of Them Is Fast

Rocks just sit there, and a few Pokemon are built to look like an actual boulder or a block of salt.

Here are the origins of the 17 rock Pokemon:

All 17 Rock Pokemon

#074

Geodude

Geodude is a living boulder, and it may be based on a golem, the earth elemental of folklore. Alolan Geodude has dark structures of magnetite, a magnetic iron ore, in the shape of its eyebrows, and its Electric type may be a pun on thundereggs.

It climbs harsh mountain roads with its arms, and carelessly kicking one will cause it to fly into a rage and chase you. Its Rock Head ability protects it from recoil damage, and an ability is a passive effect that works on its own in battle. At 0.4 m tall and 20 kg, it is a boulder you could carry, which makes the kicking a fair warning.

#075

Graveler

Graveler is a living boulder with four arms, which may come from Hindu gods such as Shiva or Vishnu. It could also be based on the tsuchikorobi, a Japanese yokai known as the "tumbling monster" for its habit of rolling over travelers and crushing them.

It enjoys rolling down slopes like a boulder during a rockfall, and you should keep an eye upward on mountain roads. (We now do that on every road.) It stands 1 m tall and weighs 105 kg.

#076

Golem

Golem, the Megaton Pokemon, may be based on the golem of role-playing games, an ogre-like creature covered in or made of stones. It could also be based on tortoises, which many myths say hold the world on their backs, and its shell may stand for the tectonic plates of Earth. Alolan Golem has a black structure on its back that may come from an electroshock weapon or a railgun.

It sheds its rocklike shell each year, and the cast-off shell crumbles into soil that can be spread across fields to promote crop growth. It stands 1.4 m tall and weighs 300 kg.

#095

Onix

Onix may be a visual pun on a rock python or an earthworm. Its great size could come from the Mongolian death worm, an earthworm-like creature said to reach 2 meters, and it may also play on serpentinite, a rock, which its green Shiny color supports.

Its chain of immense stones resembles a giant serpent, and it feeds on boulders as it burrows. It stands 8.8 m tall.

#377

Regirock

Regirock, the Rock Peak Pokemon, may be based on the golems of Hebrew legend, servants of higher powers that carry writing on their heads. In some legends the golem is weakened or even killed when the writing is removed. Its face of seven dots may be Braille, and the five legendary giants may be themed after historical epochs, with Regirock standing for the Stone Age.

Scientists studied its rock body with cutting-edge technology and found nothing inside, not even a brain or a heart. (We know a few people the same scan would describe.) Its Clear Body ability stops other Pokemon from lowering its stats.

#524

Roggenrola

Roggenrola is based on a geode and on an elemental creature, a being of earth. It starts to move when it detects a noise, and the energy core inside makes it slightly warm to the touch.

It is the Mantle Pokemon, 0.4 m tall and 18 kg. Its Sturdy ability stops it from being knocked out in one hit from full HP, leaving it with 1 HP instead (HP is how much damage it can take before it faints). A rock that only reacts to loud noises is a more honest design than most here.

#525

Boldore

Boldore, the Ore Pokemon, is based on a geode and an earth elemental like its pre-evolution, with some crab in it too: the three-legged structure of a tripod. It relies on sound to monitor what is around it, and when angered it attacks without ever changing the direction it is facing.

It stands 0.9 m tall and weighs 102 kg. Its Sturdy ability works the same way as Roggenrola's: a Boldore at full health survives any single hit.

#558

Crustle

Crustle, the Stone Home Pokemon, is a hermit crab. Its shell looks like a block of stratum, a layer of rock, instead of an actual shell, though it also resembles the ornately-colored shells of real hermit crabs.

Its thick claws are its greatest weapons, strong enough to crack Rhyperior's carapace (Rhyperior is a Rock and Ground Pokemon). Its Shell Armor ability protects it from critical hits, the extra-damaging hits that land at random. It stands 1.4 m tall and weighs 200 kg.

#688

Binacle

Binacle, the Two-Handed Pokemon, is based on the goose barnacle, which clings to rocks by a connective stalk. It survives together with a second Binacle, which may refer to rare same-species symbiosis. Its hand-like body with an eye in the palm may also come from the hamsa.

If the two do not work well together, both their offense and defense fall apart, and without good teamwork they will not survive. Its Tough Claws ability strengthens moves that make contact to 1.33× their power.

#689

Barbaracle

Barbaracle, the Collective Pokemon, is based on the goose barnacle too, and its seven fused Binacle may reference the mecha of science fiction, which combine from several robots. The many eyes in its palms may reference the Greek giant Argus and the Japanese Hyakume and Dodomeki, all of them covered in eyes.

Having an eye on each palm lets it keep watch in all directions, and in a pinch its limbs start to act on their own. Its limbs having minds of their own may be a reference to alien hand syndrome. It stands 1.3 m tall, and its Sniper ability raises critical hits from 2× to 3× damage.

#703

Carbink

Carbink, the Jewel Pokemon, could be based on the carbuncle, a mythical fairy-like creature rumored to emit light and grow gemstones from its body. It also resembles ores, the rocks that contain valuable minerals, and carbonate minerals that form jagged, geometric shapes.

Somewhere in the world there is a mineral vein housing a large pack of slumbering Carbink, and this pack has a queen. It stands 0.3 m tall and weighs 5.7 kg.

#713

Avalugg

Avalugg, the Iceberg Pokemon, is based on a tabular iceberg or a stalactite, and its huge body may stand for the submerged part of an iceberg. Being likened to an aircraft carrier may reference Project Habakkuk, a World War II plan to build an aircraft carrier from pykrete, a mix of ice and wood pulp. Hisuian Avalugg may be a mountain covered with glacier, or the glacier itself.

The armor of ice over its lower jaw puts steel to shame and shatters rocks with ease. It stands 2 m tall and weighs 505 kg.

#867

Runerigus

Runerigus, the Grudge Pokemon, may be based on runestones, large stones engraved by Vikings to commemorate the lives of notable people and events. The motif carved on it may be Jörmungandr, the World Serpent of Norse mythology, or Apep, the Egyptian serpent of chaos. Some runestones carried curses warning that anyone who damaged or moved them would be doomed.

If you touch its shadowlike body, you will be shown the horrific memories behind the picture carved into it. It stands 1.6 m tall and weighs 66.6 kg.

#874

Stonjourner

Stonjourner, the Big Rock Pokemon, is based on megalith structures, a trilithon or a dolmen, and it may be a direct reference to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. Its behavior may reference the link between Stonehenge and astronomy, and the evidence that prehistoric visitors came to the monument once a year.

Once a year, on a specific date and at a specific time, they gather out of nowhere and form a circle. It stands 2.5 m tall and weighs 520 kg. Its Power Spot ability powers up the moves of any ally next to it. It is the only Pokemon on this list with a calendar.

#932

Nacli

Nacli, the Rock Salt Pokemon, is a rock salt crystal embedded in a small sedimentary rock. Its body shape resembles mushrooms, particularly the Agaricus bisporus variety, and it might also draw on truffles. Its glowing eyes may come from Himalayan salt lamps.

The ground scrapes its body as it travels and leaves salt behind, and salt is constantly being created and replenished inside it. That may be a literal take on salt roads, the trade routes that carried salt to foreign markets. It stands 0.4 m tall. Its Purifying Salt ability protects it from status conditions and halves damage from Ghost-type moves.

#933

Naclstack

Naclstack is made of rock salt crystals and layers of sedimentary bedrock, and its quadrupedal shape may be loosely inspired by ancient Iberian sculptures such as the Bicha of Balazote or the Sphinx of Agost. It may also be a ziggurat or a pyramid under construction, and the front of its body looks like voxel artwork.

It compresses rock salt inside its body and shoots out hardened salt pellets with enough force to perforate an iron sheet. It stands 0.6 m tall and weighs 105 kg.

#934

Garganacl

Garganacl is made of rock salt crystals and strata, and its physique resembles a large bipedal creature, perhaps the Hebrew golem, given its role as a gentle earth-based creature. The structures on its shoulders resemble a ziggurat or the Pyramids of Güímar.

Many Pokemon gather around it hoping to lick its mineral-rich salt. Its ability to heal injured Pokemon with salt may play on "salt curing" and on the idiom "to rub salt in the wound". At 2.3 m and 240 kg, it has 100 HP and a Defense of 130.

Not One of Them Is Fast

The 17 average a Defense of 125 and a Speed of 41. The average for every Pokemon is 73 Defense and 67 Speed. Speed decides who attacks first in a turn, so a team of these Pokemon moves last and takes the hits first. Onix and Stonjourner reach 70, which is the highest Speed on the list, and Roggenrola's 15 is the lowest.

Rock Pokemon FAQ

How many rock Pokemon are there?

There are 17 rock Pokemon. Avalugg is an Ice type and Runerigus a Ground and Ghost type, which means not all of them have the Rock type.

What is the strongest rock Pokemon?

Regirock, with a base stat total of 580. Avalugg follows at 514.

Is Onix a rock?

Yes. Onix is a chain of immense stones shaped like a giant serpent, and it feeds on boulders as it burrows.

Is Stonjourner based on Stonehenge?

Yes. It is based on megalith structures, and it may be a direct reference to Stonehenge.

Is Garganacl made of salt?

Yes. It is based on rock salt crystals and strata, and other Pokemon gather to lick its salt.