Dear LH, I have a Question Regarding RUmors of Nidoking and Rhydon being able to learn Surf. Is this utter fiction, or can these ground types actually swim, and if so, why isn’t it more well known? and are there OTHER non-water types that are surprisingly good swimmers?

[The following is the chat transcript between Bill and LH concerning the above two asks. Text has been edited only to correct typos. —Brigette]

Bill: ….

Bill: I suppose that’s one way of skipping the queue.

LH: As you always say, fortune favors the bold? I don’t think you can fault our audience for being creative. Or audacious.

Bill: True.

Bill: As much as I’d hate to admit it.

LH: In any case, should we answer this one together?

Bill: Together? As I recall, I’m still banned.

LH: Oh. Right.

LH: Well, okay. I can just have Brigette post this log.

Bill: Or you can lift my ban.

LH: First off, yes, it’s true that nidoking and rhydon can swim. Although you’d think they wouldn’t considering their typing and mass, they can actually withstand exposure to water for short periods of time. It’s not recommended that you have them swim entire oceans, of course, but they can at least hold their own in pools or slow rivers.

Bill: It’s really their hides that do it. Both nidoking and rhydon have thicker hides than a lot of rock- or ground-types, and they aren’t literal boulders like the geodude line or the roggenrola line. As such, water by and large stays out and can’t erode their inner plating, and the experience doesn’t sap their energy the way it would for a pokémon made of solid rock or earth. Well, that and they don’t simply sink to the bottom like stones.

LH: …was that a pun?

Bill: In any case, it’s not particularly well-known because it’s not a practice that’s encouraged. Even though they can swim, it’s still a risk for pokémon of their typing. Only particularly well-trained nidoking or rhydon can swim for long periods of time, and once they begin to sink, water can seep through their outer armor, reach the sensitive skin underneath, and consequently begin to react to their respective elements. Experienced trainers will only teach these pokémon Surf if and only if it becomes a focus of their routine, to the point where they dedicate a lot of training time to ensuring their pokémon can stay afloat; otherwise, most trainers will actively avoid these moves in favor of something that would better suit either species’ natural battle style.

LH: As for which pokémon are surprisingly good swimmers, there’s a long list, actually! On it are things like aggron, tyranitar, nidoqueen (of course), and even garchomp.

Bill: But arguably the most shocking is pikachu.

LH: Okay, that was definitely a pun.

Bill: …my ban is being extended, isn’t it?

LH: As we speak.

Bill: Worth it.

The Geodude Line

bills-pokedex:

Geodude
The Rock Pokémon
Type: Rock/Ground
Official Registration #: 74
Entry: A stony pokémon native to mountainous areas, particularly those of the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions. At rest, geodude look exactly like ordinary boulders, to the point where it’s not uncommon for even the most careful hikers to trip over them. It should be noted that not only will geodude become violently angry if you trip over them or their brethren, but also, geodude are extremely common pokémon to the aforementioned mountainous regions. To any trainers currently journeying through the mountains, the author wishes you godspeed.

Graveler
The Rock Pokémon
Type: Rock/Ground
Official Registration #: 75
Entry: The evolved form of geodude, by battle experience. Wild graveler subsist entirely on rocks. It will consume at least a ton of these on a daily basis, usually while on the move from the peak of its native mountains to the base and back again. Unfortunately, graveler are not particularly careful pokémon, and they, too, have difficulty distinguishing ordinary rocks from the surrounding geodude. On the positive side, graveler are capable of managing geodude populations singlehandedly, so at the very least, geodude overpopulation has never been nor will ever be an issue to the human race.

Golem
The Megaton Pokémon
Type: Rock/Ground
Official Registration #: 76
Entry: The evolved form of graveler, via trading. This boulder-like pokémon’s shell is so hard it can withstand high-powered blasts, including the ones it generates itself. For this reason, it prefers traveling in this manner, propelling itself from mountainside to mountainside through the force generated by Explosion. A golem falling from the sky is not an uncommon occurrence in the harsh environment of the Johtonian mountains, so to any trainers currently journeying through that particular region, the author wishes you godspeed especially.

Geodude (Alola form)
The Rock Pokémon
Type: Rock/Electric
Official Registration #: 74
Entry: A rock-like pokémon native to the rugged, desert-like terrains of Ula’ula Island. If you accidentally step on an Alolan geodude sleeping on the ground, you’ll hear a crunching sound and feel a shock ripple through your entire body. Followed by, of course, something considerably worse, as you would have stepped on a live geodude.

Graveler (Alola form)
The Rock Pokémon
Type: Rock/Electric
Official Registration #: 75
Entry: The evolved form of Alolan geodude, by battle experience. When two Alolan graveler fight each other, it fills their surroundings with flashes of light and sound. Some people call this display the “fireworks of the earth.” Other, far more sensible people call it “oh gods oh gods we’re all going to die.”

Golem (Alola form)
The Megaton Pokémon
Type: Rock/Electric
Official Registration #: 76
Entry: The evolved form of Alolan graveler, via trading. An ornery pokémon, the Alolan golem is known to fire boulders charged with electricity to drive intruders on its territory away. If no boulders in its general vicinity can be found, it may switch to Alolan geodude. Either way, no pokémon says “[EXPLETIVE DELETED] you” to flying-types and vulnerable sacks of meat (such as and especially humans) more enthusiastically than the Alolan golem, apparently.

Onix and Steelix

bills-pokedex:

Onix
The Rock Snake Pokémon
Type: Rock/Ground
Official Registration #: 96
Entry: A giant serpentine pokémon native to the cave systems of Kanto and Johto. As it grows, onix’s stone body hardens until its skin resembles diamond, which protects it as it burrows at high speeds in search of sustenance … all of which is not an extended euphemism, contrary to the opinions of the Sinnohan storage system administrator.

Steelix
The Iron Snake Pokémon
Type: Steel/Ground
Official Registration #: 208
Entry: The evolved form of onix, most easily via trading if the subject has had a metal coat applied to it. As this snake-like pokémon ages, it burrows deeper into the ground, where the pressure of the earth itself and the heat from the planet’s core tempers its steel skin. While tamed steelix may have this coat artificially applied to it before trading, it is possible for steelix to evolve from wild onix. Using this process, steelix initially have a rocky hide but form their coats from the minerals it consumes as it burrows. A sheath begins to form on its face first (as this is the first thing that burrows into the ground) but gradually slides backwards until it coats the entire length of the specimen. Friction compacts and hardens this coat until the aforementioned process of tempering (via pressure from the earth and heat from the planetary core) may occur. And no, this is still not an extended euphemism, Bebe.

Mega Steelix
The Iron Snake Pokémon
Type: Steel/Ground
Official Registration #: 208+
Entry: The advanced form of steelix, via steelixite. As the result of mega evolution, this long, snake-like pokémon gains a considerable amount of power and mass. In fact, during its transformation, it not only grows in length, but its sheath hardens considerably, until excess matter is blown off the base of its head, and the author has decided that he is entirely unable to continue this entry because he can hear his Sinnohan counterpart cackling like a thirteen-year-old from all the way over here.

Cubone and Marowak please!

bills-pokedex:

Strange that I’ve never covered this line. They’re truly fascinating pokémon. As they say, coming right up, anonymous!

Cubone
The Lonely Pokémon
Type: Ground
Official Registration #: 104
Entry: Because young cubone are both weak and the favored prey of many pokémon in its native mountains and cave systems, its marowak mother will almost always sacrifice herself to protect her child early in life. As part of its mourning process, the orphaned cubone, sometimes with the help of the rest of its community, will give its mother a funeral, complete with the ritualistic extraction of her skull and one of her femurs. These bones will then become the cubone’s armor and will serve to protect it throughout its life. Either because of the fact that it always carries around a reminder of its mother or because the experience of losing her early in life has scarred it for life, the cubone will never fully heal from the trauma. In fact, the lines that appear to be cracks along the eye sockets of its skull helmet are not cracks but rather stains left by the tears it constantly sheds. The author really has nothing else to add to this entry; he just wanted to inform his readers that those are tear tracks. You’re welcome.

Marowak
The Bone Keeper Pokémon
Type: Ground
Official Registration #: 105
Entry: The evolved form of cubone, by battle experience. Even after evolution, marowak do not find relief from the traumas they had experienced. Instead, evolution brings about the boost in power and confidence that they need to train harder and master the use of bones as melee weapons. Once mastering their style, they collect more bones to add to their armory. No one is quite certain where marowak gets these bones. Some say they excavate them from marowak graveyards. Others who are well aware of the fact that marowak evolve from cubone who had been forced to bury their mothers simply stare at the first group of people in quiet, unbelieving horror while silently praying that marowak just happen upon the remains of other dead pokémon.

Marowak (Alola form)
The Bone Keeper Pokémon
Type: Fire/Ghost
Official Registration #: 105
Entry: The evolved form of cubone, by battle experience, at night, in the Alolan climate. Due to the abundance of its natural predators (that is, grass-types or pokémon that can learn grass-type moves) in Alola, cubone that evolve there take on an affinity for the fire type. Meanwhile, due to the spiritual energies associated with their bone clubs (which are said to not only have come from their mothers but also be possessed by their mothers’ vengeful spirits), they also gain an affinity for the ghost type, resulting in the distinctive fire/ghost Alolan marowak. In other words, with these two origins combined, Alolan marowak is one of the few evolutions to exist that was absolutely, completely born out of raw spite.

Diglett and Dugtrio

bills-pokedex:

Diglett
The Mole Pokémon
Type: Ground
Official Registration #: 50
Entry: A subterranean-dwelling pokémon renowned for its mile-long burrows. On an unprofessional note, the scientific community is also well-aware of what the rest of a diglett’s body looks like, and we are frankly intrigued by the fact that trainers prefer refusing to Google this. (Is this a meme? Is that why all of you keep making gifs about diglett?)

Dugtrio
The Mole Pokémon
Type: Ground
Official Registration #: 51
Entry: The evolved form of diglett, by battle experience. Actually just a trio of slightly larger diglett, but somehow, these slightly larger diglett can cause far, far more devastating earthquakes than a single slightly smaller diglett. And this, readers, is why pokémon evolution still baffles the scientific community.

Diglett (Alola form)
The Mole Pokémon
Type: Ground/Steel
Official Registration #: 50
Entry: The Alolan variation of this mole-like pokémon possesses three very stiff, very coarse hairs on the top of its head, each of which are as sturdy and sharp as needles. Which, in combination with diglett’s habit of popping up under the feet of unsuspecting hikers, means that the Alolan counterpart to Diglett’s Tunnel is even more exciting than its Kantonian cousin.

Dugtrio (Alola form)
The Mole Pokémon
Type: Ground/Steel
Official Registration #: 51
Entry: The evolved form of Alolan diglett, by battle experience. Long ago, the native Alolans worshipped this pokémon as the incarnation of a land and fertility goddess. Nowadays, given its long, whip-like hair and penchant for bobbing its head rather violently if given a beat, it’s still worshipped as a sort of deity but not so much among native Alolans as a fertility goddess and more by young metalheads as the perfect pokémon to bring to a Morbid Arceus concert.

And you would know this because…? —LH

How do you think I met Cassius? —Bill

Sandshrew and Sandslash

bills-pokedex:

Sandshrew
The Mouse Pokémon
Type: Ground
Official Registration #: 27
Entry: A pangolin-like pokémon native to dry grasslands and deserts. This pokémon possesses a rough, sandy hide capable of soaking up moisture from the dirt around it as it digs its burrows. Because of the consistency of its hide—along with its unique, sponge-like ability—sandshrew don’t need to drink much water and, in fact, shy away from it in all its forms as much as possible. Except, of course, in Alola, where sandshrew have adapted to become ice and steel types for reasons that surely make sense in a region that hosts plenty of other habitats a sandshrew can congregate in.

Sandslash
The Mouse Pokémon
Type: Ground
Official Registration #: 28
Entry: The evolved form of sandshrew, by battle experience. This pokémon is covered in sharp spikes, which are actually hardened sections of its hide. These spikes serve a largely defensive purpose: when threatened, a sandshrew will curl into a ball, forcing its spikes to stand on end and discourage physical attacks. In rare cases, a sandslash may be able to spin and move while in this position, thus crashing into enemies and obstacles. Such sandslash have also been noted to be faster, slightly bluer, and somehow “cooler” than other members of its species.

Sandshrew (Alola form)
The Mouse Pokémon
Type: Ice/Steel
Official Registration #: 27
Entry: A shrew-like pokémon native to the snowy mountains of Alola’s Ula’ula Island. It’s known primarily for its icy, hard-as-steel carapace … and secondarily for the Alolan tradition of shoving this pokémon across icy fields to see who can send their sandshrew sliding the farthest. Alolans call this sport Extreme Curling; the rest of the world calls it pokémon cruelty.

Sandslash (Alola form)
The Mouse Pokémon
Type: Ice/Steel
Official Registration #: 28
Entry: The evolved form of Alolan sandshrew, by exposure to ice stone. When this blue pokémon curls itself into a ball, its steel spikes point outward, which allow it to destroy anything in its path as it rolls down the icy slopes of its home at high speeds, and the author knows what you’re thinking, but for the last time, sandslash is a pangolin-like pokémon, not an alien hedgehog.

The Mudkip Line

bills-pokedex:

Mudkip
The Mud Fish Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 258
Entry: One of three pokémon traditionally offered to new trainers at the beginning of their journeys in Hoenn. A small, amphibious pokémon native to Hoennian rivers. It uses its large head fin to sense the flow of water and its large back fin to propel itself through turbulent currents with surprising power for its size. Likewise, the large gills on its cheek allow it to breathe even in the murkiest, muddiest depths, and its physical strength alone allows it to pick up and push boulders along river bottoms. In general, mudkip is a fascinating pokémon, and this is because the species itself carries a number of interesting qualities, not because someone “herd u liek it.”

Marshtomp
The Mud Fish Pokémon
Type: Water/Ground
Official Registration #: 259
Entry: The evolved form of mudkip, by battle experience. An amphibious pokémon primarily native to rivers and banks, marshtomp had to develop strong, bulky legs to compensate for the fact that its habitat lacks stable footing. Thus, marshtomp is capable of literally standing through even the fiercest earthquakes, the likes of which routinely plague its volcanic home region of Hoenn. A less composed young researcher would likely say that marshtomp has had the foresight to “not skip leg day,” but luckily, the writer is not the storage system administrator of Sinnoh.

Swampert
The Mud Fish Pokémon
Type: Water/Ground
Official Registration #: 260
Entry: The evolved form of marshtomp, by battle experience. Never let its seemingly cute species name fool you. In actuality, swampert is a four-foot-tall mass of pure, sea-tempered muscle. It is powerful enough to tow ships to shore, rend boulders in two with one swipe of its bulky arms, swim against the current of stormy waves, dive to the depths of the Hoennian sea, and spew jets of water that can tear holes in the hull of the ships it had towed to shore at the beginning of this list. About the only thing cute about it is the fact that it still wears a perpetual grin and enjoys belly rubs and literally sucking down insect prey, just like its ancestral cousin, quagsire.

Mega Swampert
The Mud Fish Pokémon
Type: Water/Ground
Official Registration #: 260+
Entry: The advanced form of swampert, via swampertite. Mega swampert is the only starter that doesn’t change drastically in terms of physiology or elemental affinity upon mega evolution. It simply becomes more muscular and adept at punching things … which is why it’s perhaps a bad idea to imply its mega evolution isn’t as interesting as its peers’ while it’s within earshot.

The Gible Line

bills-pokedex:

Gible
The Land Shark Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Ground
Official Registration #: 443
Entry: A short, shark-like pokémon first discovered in the cave systems of Sinnoh. This pokémon burrows in horizontal tunnels embedded within cave walls. From there, it points its face outward and waits for prey to pass by its burrow opening. When something comes close, it launches itself out of its burrow to pounce on and bite the intruder. It’s important to note that this behavior does not stop when tamed; rather, trainers should fully expect to find their clothing gathered in a small, hole-like pile … as well as ample amounts of time spent with a gible attached to their arms shortly after discovering said pile.

Gabite
The Cave Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Ground
Official Registration #: 444
Entry: The evolved form of gible, by battle experience. Native to dark caves, gabite is attracted to anything that glitters or glows. In the wild, this means it actively hunts down and collects any shiny object it can get its claws on—including jewels, ores, and even trash from trainers—and hoards these in its underground nest. In captivity, this means it is possibly the most entertaining pokémon to introduce a laser pointer to.

Garchomp
The Mach Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Ground
Official Registration #: 445
Entry: The evolved form of gabite, by battle experience. The short fins on this pokémon’s arms are actually wings that allow it to fly at supersonic speeds to chase down prey. There is no punchline to this entry. The author just wanted to inform all of you that a 209-pound ground-type land shark with wings shorter than its actual claws can apparently fly and that this world is a wondrous place.

Mega Garchomp
The Mach Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Ground
Official Registration #: 445+
Entry: The advanced form of garchomp, via garchompite. Formerly, this mega evolution was known for its devastating temper and its twin scythes, the latter of which are capable of cleaving boulders in half with a single swipe and the former of which makes it believe cleaving boulders in half (among other things within its line of sight) is a fun and productive way to spend one’s time. Currently, however, this mega evolution is known for being “a weird sand doggo.”

Numel and Camerupt

bills-pokedex:

Numel
The Numb Pokémon
Type: Fire/Ground
Official Registration #: 322
Entry: True to its species designation, this small, camel-like pokémon is known for its dense nature; it doesn’t notice when it’s been hit until much later. Of course, this pokémon’s body is also a walking cauldron containing magma that reaches temperatures in excess of 2200 degrees Fahrenheit, so even if it fails to notice when it’s being hit, that doesn’t necessarily mean hitting it is a good idea.

Camerupt
The Eruption Pokémon
Type: Fire/Ground
Official Registration #: 323
Entry: The evolved form of numel, by battle experience. The “volcanoes” on this camel-like pokémon’s back are actually bone protrusions with direct connections to camerupt’s magma reservoirs. Said reservoirs are normally the source of camerupt’s fire-based abilities, but every ten years—or whenever camerupt is angered—these volcanoes erupt, spewing super-heated molten magma dozens of feet into the air. How can this pokémon’s volcanoes erupt with such force, without harming their camerupt host? That is an excellent question, reader! The answer is [CONTENT TO BE INSERTED WHEN THERE ACTUALLY IS AN ANSWER]

Mega Camerupt
The Eruption Pokémon
Type: Fire/Ground
Official Registration #: 323+
Entry: The advanced form of camerupt, via cameruptite. It is perhaps unsurprising that mega evolution boosts most of camerupt’s capabilities, including both offensive strength (in both forms) and defensive abilities (also in both forms). It is, after all, a creature capable of triggering mini volcanic eruptions from its back in its base form; the extra energy merely disturbs its inner magma enough to strengthen the force of these eruptions. Yet despite how dangerous and utterly destructive mega camerupt can be, its considerable drop in speed, combined with its general shape, have caused the internet to refer to it as “volcano roomba,” because no force of devastation is too cute for the internet, apparently.

Can ground and fire and other Pokémon weak to water be in water without it being an attack? Like can I give my sandshrew a bath without hurting it? Can I take my cyndiquil to the beach?

It depends on the pokémon, anonymous. Sandshrew and cyndaquil normally have no problems with water, although sandshrew shouldn’t be bathed regularly to maintain its dry skin. Cyndaquil, meanwhile, absolutely can go to the beach, although be sure to remind it that it can’t ignite its flames in the water. It doesn’t exactly hurt cyndaquil to do so, but if it exposes its flame sacs to water, it may struggle to light them later.

On the other hand, you should never submerge pokémon that are primarily made of sand, rock, fire, or lava, and never wet a pokémon with external flames. For example, while a charmander may be able to tolerate a sprinkling of water, it should never be submerged or bathed, as that will extinguish its tail flame. Likewise, if a slugma’s body temperature cools (say, if it’s exposed to an excess amount of water), its skin will harden into rock and crush its internal organs. Meanwhile, exposing sandygast to water may destabilize its body (even though, yes, it lives right by the ocean—it simply retreats to higher ground during storms and high tide), and the geodude and onix lines should never be soaked, as water can get into the crevices of their bodies and erode their joints.

In short, the rule of thumb is that if a pokémon possesses no external flames and is not made of fire, lava, rock, or sand, they can likely tolerate exposure to water and can be bathed or allowed to swim. They simply might not always like that, and in many cases, be warned that if a fire-type swallows water or exposes its flame sacs to liquids, then it may have difficulty using its fire abilities later on. If, however, the pokémon in question is essentially made of their element, then give them a sand bath and have them avoid water as much as possible.