Pokémon has 18 types, and Dinosaur is not one of them. Even so, dinosaurs are everywhere. This page lists 41 Pokémon in 24 entries and says which dinosaur each one is based on. Some fossil Pokémon are an obvious match. The rest hide a dinosaur in their shape, crest or name. For the Pokémon that are brought back from fossils, the Fossil Pokémon list has the fossils and the types.
Designers rarely explain their ideas, so many matches below are fan readings, meaning fans' careful guesses. A plain verb ("is based on") means a designer or a reliable source says so. "May", "seems" and "looks like" mean a guess.
Names give clues too. Pokémon Database lists Bulbasaur with the ending -saur, Tropius and Haxorus with -saurus, and Shieldon, Bastiodon and Koraidon with -don, all common endings in dinosaur names. Tyrunt and Tyrantrum start from "tyrannosaur".
Fossil Pokémon
| Pokémon | Based on... | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| Tyrunt, Tyrantrum | Tyrannosaurus, the "tyrant lizard". Their designer, Hitoshi Ariga, also designed Amaura and Aurorus. | Hear it |
| Amaura, Aurorus | Amargasaurus, a long-necked sauropod with sail-like spines. Ariga picked sauropods to pair with the Tyrannosaurus-based Tyrantrum line. | Hear it |
| Cranidos, Rampardos | Pachycephalosaurus, a dinosaur with an extremely thick skull roof that is thought to have been used for headbutting. | Hear it |
| Shieldon, Bastiodon | ceratopsians, the horned and frilled dinosaurs. With no horns, Shieldon looks most like Protoceratops, and Bastiodon's head looks like Chasmosaurus. | Hear it |
| Archen, Archeops | Archaeopteryx, a feathered dinosaur once thought to be the first bird. | Hear it |
| Dracovish | a mix. The lower half looks like a stegosaur and the top half like Dunkleosteus, an armoured prehistoric fish. | Hear it |
| Aerodactyl | a pterosaur, a flying reptile related to the dinosaurs but not counted as one. | Hear it |
Long necks and sails
Sauropods were the giants with long necks and long tails.
| Pokémon | Based on... | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| Chikorita, Bayleef, Meganium | what seems to be a sauropod. Bayleef and Meganium look like Apatosaurus in particular. | Hear it |
| Tropius | what looks like a generic sauropod mixed with a banana plant. | Hear it |
| Dialga | a short-necked sauropod, perhaps Camarasaurus. | Hear it |
| Deino | what looks like a young dragon or a sauropod. | Hear it |
| Raging Bolt | Raikou blended with a sauropod such as Brontosaurus, whose name means "thunder lizard", or Brachiosaurus. | Hear it |
Armour, crests and tusks
| Pokémon | Based on... | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| Aron, Aggron | Aron may draw on the nodosaurs, a family of armoured dinosaurs. Aggron may draw on Triceratops and theropod dinosaurs. | Hear it |
| Jangmo-o, Hakamo-o, Kommo-o | Jangmo-o looks like a small ankylosaur. Hakamo-o and Kommo-o look like theropods with some ankylosaur features. | Hear it |
| Axew, Fraxure, Haxorus | Axew's crest may echo a hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur called Saurolophus. Haxorus is likely based on Heterodontosaurus, an early Jurassic dinosaur with protruding teeth. | Hear it |
| Duraludon | what appears to be a theropod dinosaur body combined with the shape of The Shard, the UK's tallest building. | Hear it |
Two-legged hunters and feathers
Theropods walked on two legs. Some had feathers, and a few Pokémon show it.
| Pokémon | Based on... | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| Charmander, Charmeleon | Charmander is a lizard with a salamander theme, but its upright stance also recalls a baby theropod. Charmeleon's crest resembles that of Parasaurolophus, a duck-billed dinosaur. | Hear it |
| Tyranitar | perhaps certain theropod dinosaurs, mixed with kaiju (movie monsters). Its name may come from "tyrant" or Tyrannosaurus. | Hear it |
| Cubone, Marowak | Cubone looks loosely based on bipedal dinosaurs. Marowak is loosely dinosaur-like too. | Hear it |
| Grovyle, Sceptile | Grovyle looks like a feathered dinosaur, compared with Dromaeosaurus. Sceptile has a dinosaur look too, particularly Dilophosaurus. | Hear it |
| Groudon | what looks like a theropod dinosaur with spikes like an ankylosaur's. | Hear it |
| Koraidon | what seems to be a blend of lizards, feathered theropod dinosaurs and off-road motorbikes. | Hear it |
| Walking Wake | theropod dinosaurs, maybe a small one such as Coelophysis or a large one such as Carcharodontosaurus. | Hear it |
| Frigibax, Arctibax, Baxcalibur | Frigibax may be a baby theropod such as Concavenator, and Arctibax may be based on Spinosaurus. Baxcalibur may draw on theropods from old dinosaur art. | Hear it |
A quick cheat sheet
These words help you read the tables.
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sauropod | a giant with a long neck and a long tail |
| Theropod | a dinosaur that walked on two legs, and most meat-eaters belong here |
| Ceratopsian | a dinosaur with a bony frill and sometimes horns |
| Ankylosaur, nodosaur | armoured dinosaurs, some with tail clubs |
| Hadrosaur | a duck-billed dinosaur, often with a crest |
| Pterosaur | a flying reptile, not a dinosaur, which is why Aerodactyl has a note |
What the types tell us
Of the 41 Pokémon in the tables, 18 are Dragon type and 14 are Rock type.
Play and compare
How fast can you tell a sauropod from a theropod? Open the Pokédex page of any Pokémon in the tables and look at the neck, the legs and the tail. Then try Who's That Pokémon? and see if the shape alone gives it away. To see which living animals Pokémon follow, read Pokémon based on real animals.