dragon type pokemon

today we're taking a quick look at some dragon types. all of the pokemon that will be featured in this post are all half types. here is a link to the complete list of dragon types.

for starters, it's worth mentioning that there are only 29 dragon type pokemon in all. out of that,only 8 of them are pure type, and 9 of them are legendaries. this type is very rare and very powerful.

i'm going to start this list off with dragonite. it's a pseudo-legendary, one of only six to have that title. it's also extremely rare, and can only be obtained by trade, evolving a dragonair, or going to dragonspiral tower (in b&w). from it's red/blue pokedex entry:

An extremely rarely seen marine Pokémon. Its intelligence is said to match that of humans.

pokedex entries from later games mention rescuing drowning humans and storm-batterered ships, and that it can fly around the globe in just 16 hours, despite it's size. the crystal entry mentions that there may be an island where only they live, though it's not mentioned in any of the other games. it's a very and friendly pokemon. the rest of dragonair's evolutionary line are also dragon type.

the only dragon type in gen 2 is kingdra. in gen 3 there are 3 legendary dragon types: latios and latias (mentioned in my second psychic type post) and rayquaza. rayquaza is one of the most important legendary pokemon, as it is the only one who can calm  kyogre and groudon when they begin to fight. using an ability called air lock to negate any effects they might have on the weather or environment. it i the only pokemon with this abailty. from it's sapphire entry:

Rayquaza is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years in the earth's ozone layer, above the clouds. Its existence had been completely unknown because it lived so high in the sky.

gen 3 also has the pseudo-legendary salamence and it's evolutionary line, altaria, vibrava, and flygon.

with gen 4 come the creation trio, dialga, palkia, and giratina. myths say these pokemon appeared when the universe was formed, and represent time, space, and antimatter, respectively. all three are extremely powerful. a page on the trio is here. other dragon types from this gen include garchomp and it's evolutionary line.

gen 5 brings another trio of legedary dragons, the tao trio. reshiram, zekrom, and kyurem. reshiram and zekrom were apparently created during a conflict in unova's history. from the trio's page:

The origins of Zekrom and Reshiram are told in legends, as they were once a single powerful Dragon Pokémon used by twin heroes in order to create the Unova region. But the brothers each sought something different in life — truth for the older brother and ideals for the younger — and they began to argue, then fight, over whose side was right. The single dragon, in response, split into two Pokémon: Reshiram, who sided with the older twin, and Zekrom, who sided with the younger twin.

The two dragons were equally matched as they battled and neither conquered the other. As a result, the brothers set aside their differences and equally declared that there was no right side, either. But the sons of the heroes resumed the fight, and Reshiram and Zekrom destroyed the region with their fire and lightning powers. They subsequently disappeared afterward.

these two are very important to the world, as they help the main character beat the game's villian. you are required to catch one to further the main plot line.

kyurem has much different, and much darker past. from the trio page:

Kyurem's origins are much different than those of the other two. The third dragon came down to the Pokémon world from an icy meteor and crashed into a place called Giant Chasm. An old legend in Lacunosa Town describing Kyurem claims that it would take people and Pokémon away from the town and eat them; this is why the town is now surrounded by a giant wall.

 the other gen 5 dragon types are the haxorus line, druddigon, and the pseudo-legendary hydreigon and it's evolutionary line.


my next post will cover dark type and then after that i'll move on to ghost type (!!!)