Could scientists really revive fossils?
In Pokémon, a machine can turn a fossil into a living Pokémon. In real life, it can’t.
Case status: Busted. A rumour that does not hold up.
What the games say
Fossil Pokémon are brought back by scientists in the games. Red and Blue say Omanyte can, in rare cases, be genetically resurrected from fossils, and that Kabuto was resurrected from a fossil found where the ocean floor used to be. In Yellow, Aerodactyl was brought back using DNA taken from amber.
The games admit it is not perfect. Sword says even modern technology can't make a perfectly restored Aerodactyl, and Ultra Sun says Tyrunt's restored form may be different from its form long ago. Sword says Omanyte is becoming a problem because restored ones get released into the wild. The four Galar fossil Pokémon have odd bodies: Dracozolt's upper half is "entirely too small" for its lower half.
What fans think
In Sword and Shield you build each Galar fossil Pokémon by joining two different fossils. Some fans think the odd bodies are on purpose, a wink about what happens when the pieces don't match. Game Freak has not said that.
Fans also like to ask whether Archen could have flown. In the games, Sword says it can't, as research suggested.
Our verdict
Case status: Busted
Busted, for real life. Fossils are mostly rock, and the DNA inside is gone. The oldest DNA scientists have ever read is about 2 million years old, found in frozen ground in Greenland in 2022. The last non-bird dinosaurs were gone about 66 million years ago, which is far older than that. No one can bring one back.
The games are fairly honest about it. Their scientists make mistakes, and the Pokédex says so. Reviving fossils is a Pokémon thing, not a real thing.
What do you think?
Which fossil Pokémon would you revive first?
- Aerodactyl
- Kabuto
- Omanyte
Pick an answer on the page. Your pick stays on your own device: we do not collect votes or show totals.
Related Pokémon
Sources
- MIT Technology Review: DNA frozen for two million years, sequenced
- Aerodactyl: in-game Pokédex entries
- Omanyte: in-game Pokédex entries
- Dracozolt: in-game Pokédex entries