The Aron Line

bills-pokedex:

Aron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 304
Entry: A small but hefty tank-like pokémon originally discovered in the cave systems of Hoenn. Although these small but docile pokémon typically live deep underground, they thrive on iron and will thus rise to the surface in search of it if underground deposits run dry. In the process, they quickly become destructive forces of nature, capable of destroying anything within their paths easily until they consume the iron they need. They have been known to devour anything containing iron, including railroad tracks, cars, heavy equipment, sensitive research equipment, and more … yet the editor of this blog still considers them to be “cute” and “not at all dangerous” for some reason.

Lairon
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 305
Entry: The evolved form of aron, by battle experience. Aron, a pokémon that typically lives in herds, will congregate into similar herd structures after evolution. These herds typically congregate near mineral-rich underground springs, where they often engage in vicious battles with one another by slamming into each other’s armor, all in preparation for fights against invading pokémon or humans. Unfortunately, because their spring-side habitats tend to be closer to the surface than their nests as aron, they are known to lay waste to even more human-built structures, including mines, tunnels, or mountainside villages. For whatever reason, the editor of this blog thinks lairon is cute too.

Aggron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 306
Entry: The evolved form of lairon, by battle experience. Upon evolution, aggron will break away from its former herd and roam vast, mountainous territory by itself. A single aggron will claim an entire mountain as its personal territory, and as such, aggron are known to aggressively repel other aggron—even those from its former herd—with incredible feats of violence. Lone aggron are therefore much easier to capture and train, and in fact, aggron are among the strongest pokémon available in the Hoenn region. Their popularity is only helped by the fact that the Hoennian champion, Steven Stone, includes one among his signature team … which, actually, might explain the editor’s predilection towards them.

What are you implying?! —LH

Mega Aggron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel
Official Registration #: 306+
Entry: The advanced form of aggron, via aggronite. Upon mega evolution, aggron loses its affinity for the rock type but gains a considerable boost in defensive and physically offensive capabilities. Some believe that, in conjunction with its own territorial nature and the existence of mega tyranitar, mega aggron is itself proof that there is no higher power in the universe, as clearly, monsters with world-ending abilities and devastating tempers are allowed to exist and be placed in the hands of a species with notoriously questionable levels of judgment. Others believe that this is actually proof that there is a higher power out there and that this higher power is both a pokémon and extremely puzzled that humans have managed to survive for as long as we have.

The editor of this blog, meanwhile, simply believes that a 400-pound armored behemoth with spikes quite literally everywhere and a strong tendency to protect the pristine state of its territory through the most violent means possible is cute.

Edit: Really? Nothing, Lanette? —Bill

Why would I have a comeback? It’s cute, and to be fair, the world could use more sentient tanks to protect the environment. —LH

Sometimes I forget how terrifying you are… —Bill

I’m a rock trainer in the mining industry. My oldest child is a caring, responsible adult trainer going through the Kanto gyms. They have been talking with me about taking the next steps in their journey, which would be hiking through the mountain ranges of Kanto and Johto. Their team is small, and they’ve been looking to add a Rock type that can assist in transportation. Since I know breeders, I can help them find one. But do you have thoughts on the pros and cons between Aggron and Tyranitar?

Both are excellent pokémon, @ghostflannel, and I admit it will be a difficult choice between the two.

Nonetheless, allow me to begin with aggron. In terms of pros, aggron is partially steel and thus resistant to a higher number of pokémon types, including three out of the four specialties of the Elite Four (if we consider one of Agatha’s specialties to be Poison and Lorelei’s to be Ice). Furthermore, if your child is quite literally halfway through their gym challenge, aggron aren’t weak to Erika’s grass-types (although they aren’t resistant to them either), and they’re positively assets in Koga’s gym. Additionally, aggron generally have tamer personalities than tyranitar, as they’re only territorial, not outright aggressive.

On the other hand, they’re also generally weaker and slower than tyranitar (except when it comes to physical defenses), and because they’re part-steel, they may also be harder to maintain on a daily basis (as you will need to polish their armor regularly to prevent spotting or rust).

Tyranitar, on the other hand, are far stronger than aggron, and their typing renders them weaker to more elements than a steel/rock-type would be. On the other hand, a tyranitar’s dark typing allows it to be resistant to a different array of types than aggron, some of which may make tyranitar more vital to the latter half of a Kanto gym challenge. For example, whereas aggron is not resistant to psychic-types, tyranitar is perfectly immune to them, rendering Sabrina (one of the more formidable gym leaders) essentially harmless. Likewise, whereas aggron is critically weak to ground-types, tyranitar, while weak as well, won’t be crippled by them, allowing one to handle the Viridian Gym (when it uses its ground-type team, anyway). Tyranitar is additionally resistant to ghost-types and fire-types, allowing it to handle Agatha and Blaine far better than aggron would.

On the other hand, tyranitar and its preevolutions still possess a weakness to more types than aggron does, including grass, but then again, if you challenge Erika, it’s unlikely you’ll be using a rock-type anyway, so perhaps this isn’t much of a problem. What is much of a problem, however, is the fact that tyranitar’s personality make the species difficult to train. They’re naturally aggressive and are very liable to, well, rampage. They are, after all, considered to be the gyarados of the land, and with the sort of power they possess, this can often lead to catastrophic damage. However, it’s also true that with enough patience, a trainer may be able to tame a tyranitar (in much the same way a gyarados can be tamed), so if your child is a particularly patient individual, consider this to be more of a warning than a con.

In short, aggron are more docile and possess better defenses but are all-around weaker and will be less of an asset in the Kanto gyms, whereas tyranitar are dreadfully strong but extremely difficult to handle.

Best of luck on whatever you and your child choose!

Recently my late wife’s Aggron laid a small clutch of eggs. We turned most of them over to a licensed breeder, but my daughter decided to keep one and use it as her starter when she starts her journey in a few months. The two of us have been taking care of Aggron the past few years, but it had been fully evolved long before I met my wife. Is there anything we should know about raising a young Aron, both for the next few weeks at home, and later when my daughter sets out?

Luckily, you still have the aggron parent. That makes things immensely easier, not only because the aggron will do much of the work to take care of its child for you but also because aron will generally need many of the same things as aggron, just in smaller doses. Aron still need cool, dry places to sleep; rocks to supplement its diet (if you don’t feed it exclusively stone); and plenty of time to battle so it may gain experience and harden its shell. I would recommend a diet of pure stone, incidentally, as well as at least one hour of defensive training a day. Aron’s best traits on the battlefield is its defensive capabilities, so the harder its armor when it begins its time as your daughter’s starter, the better. It may also be worth it to invest in a sand bath of its own, complete with a few stumps or stones for it to Tackle. That way, it can bathe, play, and continue to work on training its defenses, all in one.

The only trouble you may encounter would be at the start of your daughter’s journey. Your late wife’s aggron may cause trouble, as losing her trainer would have been traumatic enough, but with the departure of her child and one of her caretakers, she may see the journey as less an opportunity for the both of them and more the act of losing half its family. It’s important to spend time with her and make it clear that you won’t leave her. If you have any other pokémon, have them bond with her too. If you don’t, consider getting her a long-term mate or ask the breeder who took on most of her clutch if she can visit until the hatchlings are adopted (or if she can spend time on the ranch, caring for any other pokémon—even this interaction will do wonders for her).

As for your daughter and her aron, have those two bond as much as possible. It sounds like the aron will still be young when it leaves home with its trainer, so you’ll need to focus on making the separation from its parent go as smoothly and as non-traumatic as possible. By having your daughter take an active role in caring for it—by feeding it, battling with it, playing with it, and so forth—the aron will bond with her more readily and, therefore, see her as its main family and caretaker, or someone who will be there for it and who it can trust.

In short, take care of the aron the same way as you would an aggron. The same could be said after your daughter begins her journey. She’ll need to continue feeding her aron and battling with it regularly. The only change is that she may need to polish her aron by hand, using a rag and standard steel-type polish, available at any pokémart. It’s just that prior to her departure, ensure that both your wife’s aggron and your daughter’s aron are emotionally prepared for the separation.

Good luck, and congratulations on your daughter’s journey!

Dear Bill, my Aggron is very jolly and gentle, but has a problem “renovating” my back yard and the surrounding neighborhood, namely digging up yards and planting trees wherever he sees fit, but we’re going through a drought and can’t support growing a new forest. Unfortunately every time they go to remove the trees, he becomes defensive. I know he’s just trying to help, but the aggression is so out of his nature that we have to back away. Any advice would be appreciated

Well, with regards to your neighbors’ yards, make it clear to your aggron that this is quite literally crossing a line. You may need to compromise with him by taking him to a forest and allowing him to engage in “renovations” there or by restricting him to your own back yard. Simply explaining to him that he may not enter a neighbor’s property should be sufficient. Aggron are more intelligent than most people think—at least to the point where one can understand a “no to this but yes to this.” Establishing literal boundaries can be a surprisingly simple task.

Beyond that, if your concern is that your aggron is planting trees in an area that may be susceptible to wildfire, have him dig a trench around the edge of your property and instruct him to plant trees as far away from that boundary as possible. This is the first step of the compromise: a physical boundary with a clear reason behind why it must exist. It will also help your aggron to understand the risks the drought is presenting to the trees it’s planting, which in turn will prepare him to defend his forest from a blaze. Teaching him Rain Dance or Water Pulse will further help him prepare (not to mention give him the means to take care of his forest himself).

That having been said, aggron rarely plant trees that cannot survive on their own, and they rarely plant trees that they themselves have no intention of caring for. (Note that aggron don’t generally display an interest in water beyond what they can incorporate into their moves, but if yours attempts to water their trees through a means other than either Rain Dance or Water Pulse, you may need to hide your garden hose and instruct your neighbors to do the same.) Once you establish what is and isn’t its territory, you can let it be, believe it or not. The trees it chooses will essentially take care of themselves and require no effort on your part, and should they die, your aggron will understand that the trees it’s chosen are ill-suited to the dry conditions it lives in. At that point, he may give up on his own. Alternatively, should the trees survive, they may actually provide excellent shade, which in turn may assist the local wildlife.

In short, the challenge is really in telling your aggron not to wander into other people’s yards. The trees themselves may not entirely be of any concern unless your aggron is actually stealing the ornamental trees from your neighbors. At which point apologize to your neighbors, return the tree, and consider investing in a stern psychic- or water-type to keep your aggron from doing that again.

The Aron Line

Aron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 304
Entry: A small but hefty tank-like pokémon originally discovered in the cave systems of Hoenn. Although these small but docile pokémon typically live deep underground, they thrive on iron and will thus rise to the surface in search of it if underground deposits run dry. In the process, they quickly become destructive forces of nature, capable of destroying anything within their paths easily until they consume the iron they need. They have been known to devour anything containing iron, including railroad tracks, cars, heavy equipment, sensitive research equipment, and more … yet the editor of this blog still considers them to be “cute” and “not at all dangerous” for some reason.

Lairon
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 305
Entry: The evolved form of aron, by battle experience. Aron, a pokémon that typically lives in herds, will congregate into similar herd structures after evolution. These herds typically congregate near mineral-rich underground springs, where they often engage in vicious battles with one another by slamming into each other’s armor, all in preparation for fights against invading pokémon or humans. Unfortunately, because their spring-side habitats tend to be closer to the surface than their nests as aron, they are known to lay waste to even more human-built structures, including mines, tunnels, or mountainside villages. For whatever reason, the editor of this blog thinks lairon is cute too.

Aggron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 306
Entry: The evolved form of lairon, by battle experience. Upon evolution, aggron will break away from its former herd and roam vast, mountainous territory by itself. A single aggron will claim an entire mountain as its personal territory, and as such, aggron are known to aggressively repel other aggron—even those from its former herd—with incredible feats of violence. Lone aggron are therefore much easier to capture and train, and in fact, aggron are among the strongest pokémon available in the Hoenn region. Their popularity is only helped by the fact that the Hoennian champion, Steven Stone, includes one among his signature team … which, actually, might explain the editor’s predilection towards them.

What are you implying?! —LH