While it is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon, Groudon can undergo Primal Reversion and become Primal Groudon if it holds the Red Orb.
Groudon is a massive, bipedal, dinosaur-like Pokémon covered in red, segmented plates of thick, armor-like skin. It has a gray underside and large white spikes that run along the sides of its head, body, and tail. Groudon has four claws on each hand, four dozer-like blades on the end of its large tail, and three claws on each foot with gray markings under its feet. It also has blue stripes inside the seams of its armor plating which can only be seen when Groudon is glowing with power.
Groudon is believed to be the personification of the land itself, and is described in legends and myths as a "maker of lands" who created the world's continents and expanded the landmasses by generating magma formations. It is also capable of summoning intense sunlight that can dispel rain clouds, evaporate water, and weaken Water-typemoves; because of this, it was hailed as a savior for stopping terrible floods. As a super-ancient Pokémon, Groudon is one of the longest-lived species, thought to have lived for thousands of years. It can walk on water by using magma to form a path beneath its feet. Though normally a calm and helpful Pokémon, in olden times, it encountered its rival, Kyogre, and for years, the two engaged in a cataclysmic battle for dominion of the world. They were stopped by the intervention of Rayquaza,[1][2] who sealed Groudon within Seafloor CavernRSORAS[3]/under Mt. ChimneyE, where it has since slumbered underneath the magma. During its sleep, its body is encased in a layer of rock that will be shattered once it is awakened by the Red or Blue Orb. It loves Groudon Treats made by Snacksworth, who once encountered it in the past. As seen in Hyperspace Desolate Land, Groudon's subconcious takes the appearance of the Cave of Origin.
Groudon can undergo Primal Reversion and become Primal Groudon. Its appearance remains mostly the same, but it becomes larger and its skin color changes from dark red to deep crimson, with its underside, spikes, and teeth turning black. The blades on its tail are more separated from one another. The Ω symbol can be seen on its arms, and its eyes, the inside of its mouth, and the enlarged openings between its armor plating glow bright yellow. Its irises are also red.
Primal Groudon is said to be Groudon's true, original, and full power form, having received its name from the ancient people of the Hoennregion who it tormented in the past.[4] The energy that fills it pours forth as magma, and it burns with such an extreme temperature that its body is always shimmering with the haze of its heat.[5] Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre fought each other the natural energy that was abundant in the primal age millennia ago; one of their clashes lasted for 20 days straight and threatening to disrupt the planet's balance and destroy it before Rayquaza stopped them.[6][7] Research data from the Weather Institute indicates that Primal Groudon has the power to eliminate all life before initiating a reset of the planet.[8] It was formed from the natural primal energy that existed in Hoenn's ancient past, which it has to feed on so it can maintain its transformation in the present day[9] after it was undone by Mega Rayquaza.[10] Due to the lack of natural energy in the surface, it is forced to find either a source underground, such as the stones in the Cave of Origin, or the Red Orb, which contains the remaining energy of the primordial world, allowing it to undergo Primal Reversion. With its weather-manipulating powers, Primal Groudon can cause magma to errupt outright nullify Water-type moves rather than simply weaken them. In the Mega Evolution Pokédex Short, it is said to create new land with every step it takes.
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire: Groudon is the focus of the second Bonus Field on the Ruby Field. It will throw rocks down from the ceiling to add obstacles to the field and create an eruption to surround itself in pillars of fire. The rocks take three hits to break while the fire pillars take four hits to break. During this time, Groudon will also throw fireballs at the Poké Ball to stall it further. The eruption does break any rocks still on the field. Groudon must be hit 15 times in three minutes to win. After beating the round twice, it will be captured.
Groudon has long been described in mythology as the Pokémon that raised lands and expanded continents. This Pokémon took to sleep after a cataclysmic battle with Kyogre.
Groudon is said to be the personification of the land itself. Legends tell of its many clashes against Kyogre, as each sought to gain the power of nature.
Through Primal Reversion and with nature's full power, it will take back its true form. It can cause magma to erupt and expand the landmass of the world.
Primal Groudon is an additional form for Groudon that is the result of undergoing Primal Reversion. If Groudon is sent into battle while holding a Red Orb, it will change into Primal Groudon; it only loses its form when the battle ends.
In Jirachi: Wish Maker, a former Team Magma scientist named Butler, working as a magician at the Millennium Festival, wished to use Jirachi to bring forth a Groudon. However, what he ended up with was not a Groudon, but a manifestation of pure evil that simply had the appearance of a Groudon. At the end, Jirachi used Doom Desire to destroy Meta Groudon.
Groudon made its physical animated series debut in Gaining Groudon. Team Aqua had captured Groudon but did not have the correct orb to control it, so they planned to make a trade with Team Magma, who had captured Kyogre. The trade was about to be made when Archie decided to use Kyogre to destroy everyone, including his fellow henchmen. The battle between Kyogre and Groudon occurred in The Scuffle of Legends.
In the beginning of Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, a Groudon was summoned by Hoopa to defeat it in the past. A Primal Groudon was later one of six Legendary Pokémon summoned and hypnotized by the shadow Hoopa Unbound as its reinforcements. It and its teammates engaged in a battle against the Latios, Latias, and ShinyRayquaza summoned to protect the real Hoopa in Dahara City. Eventually, after the shadow Hoopa was sealed in a Prison Bottle, the hypnosis on Primal Groudon and the other Legendary Pokémon was lifted, and Primal Groudon departed for its home.
Minor appearances
Groudon debuted in the opening sequence of Jirachi: Wish Maker, where it was seen rising out of the lava in a volcanic area while being monitored by Team Magma.
In The Vision, Courtney had a vision in which a Primal Groudon destroyed a chain of islands before attacking Maxie and Tabitha. While she was puzzled by the vision's meaning, this ultimately did not deter her from carrying on Team Magma's plans.
GOTCHA!
A Groudon briefly appeared as a silhouette in GOTCHA!.
Groudon's first appearance was in Assaulted by Pelipper I. Awakening Groudon was the main mission of Team Magma, so they could expand the land. Groudon was finally awakened when Team Magma and Team Aqua formed a temporary truce to be able to go underwater. Wallace, Brawly, and Roxanne tried to stop the Pokémon's advance but failed due to the interventions of Blaise, Courtney, and Tabitha. Eventually, it reaches its destination: Sootopolis City, to battleKyogre, which it did for days on end until Ruby, with the aid of a reformed Courtney and his own, Rayquaza-controlling father, managed to quell it. Afterwards, it cut its ties with Kyogre and went to resume its slumber at the bottom of Mt. Chimney. It is shown afterwards that this restored the volcanic activities that Team Aqua had earlier annulled. In the Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire arc, Blaise and Amber tricked Hoopa into summoning Groudon and Kyogre from their resting places, with Maxie and Archie making them both undergo Primal Reversion so that they could help defend the planet from the giant meteoroid that was due to impact it in several days.
Groudon is obtainable as a Poké Ball Pokémon. It uses Overheat to immolate itself in a fiery aura, causing anyone (except the summoner) who comes into contact with it to be knocked back and receive damage, similar to the attack of Moltres, though it lasts longer. Due to its tremendous size, it takes up a lot of the stage, making its attack almost inescapable. However, Groudon's attack is significantly weaker than Moltres', as it deals less knockback and damage, making it very hard to directly KO an opponent until they reach a very high damage percentage.
"A Continent Pokémon. In ancient times, it brought down droughts to save people who had suffered from floods. It is normally found in the profound depths of the earth, where it slumbers in magma. With a mighty roar, it uses Earthquake to mow down enemies. In battle, it summons sunlight to bathe the area. It once had an epic battle with Kyogre."
NA: Groudon is called the Continent Pokémon, and that's not just because it lives on them. Legend has it that Groudon actually created the continents. It has a rivalry with Kyogre, said to have created the oceans, and they apparently had an epic battle long ago. Perhaps our world was born from this great battle between land and sea.
PAL: Groudon is called the Continent Pokémon, and that's not just because it lives on them. Legend has it that Groudon actually created the continents. It has a rivalry with Kyogre, said to have created the oceans, and they apparently had an epic battle long ago. Perhaps it was this battle of land and sea that created the world as we know it.
In its early design, Groudon's eyes were shaped differently, with the positioning of the spikes on its body being slightly different. Its head details became much more elongated in the final version, and the super-ancient Pokémon's signature body patterns are not present.
Groudon may be modeled after the Earth's land and volcanoes and may be a personification of the land. Its conflict with Kyogre is similar to that of Behemoth and Leviathan of Hebrew legend, who at the end of time would start a battle that would kill them both. Like Groudon, Behemoth is associated with the land. However, while Behemoth is usually depicted as a warthog/hippopotamus-like creature, Groudon resembles a therapod dinosaur, with spikes resembling various species of Ankylosauria.
The patterns on Groudon and Primal Groudon's legs and arms appear similar to the last letter of Greek alphabet, omega, which might signify the end of life, believed to happen with cataclysmic events such as volcano eruptions. It might also signify the opposition to Kyogre's alpha.
Name origin
Groudon may be a combination of ground and don (Spanish for lord) or -don (common suffix in dinosaur names derived from the Ancient Greek word for tooth). It may also involve 土 do (earth) or ドン don (onomatopoeia for booming or crashing sound).
In other languages
Language
Title
Meaning
Japanese
グラードン Groudon
From ground, don, -don, 土 do, and ドン don, and may from craton
↑Zinnia: "That was when, as if drawn by the brilliance, a Pokémon that shone in a blazing emerald hue descended from the heavens... That Pokémon was none other than Rayquaza. Rayquaza's power overwhelmed that of the two Primal Pokémon, and peace returned to the world." (Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire)
↑Steven Stone: "The super-ancient Pokémon that has been sealed deep beneath Route 128 since ancient times... It slept until now in the Seafloor Cavern. The entrance to that cavern was sealed by the power of a certain Pokémon, all in an effort to keep any human or Pokémon from ever breaching it." (Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire)
↑Zinnia: "Thousands of years ago, in the primal age long lost, the world was overflowing with natural energy. Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre fought over that energy in endless, furious clashes." (Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire)
↑Archie: "Primal Groudon brings about an "end," all right. But you don't get to choose what end. It's gonna drive every living thing on this planet to its death! The only thing waiting for us is despair. A despair we can't even run from. A despair that's gonna crush humanity. You blasted fool... And it's all happening 'cause you were cocky enough to think you could control the super-ancient Pokémon's power!" (Pokémon Omega Ruby)
↑"PROJECT AZOTH File No. 1 The goal of Project AZOTH is to return the world—return everything—to the beginning. In order to further the project, we must proceed with research on Groudon'sOR/Kyogre'sAS Primal Reversion. Primal Reversion is a potential of PokémonEvolution, a potential different from Mega Evolution. Mega Evolution is made possible by the energy of people and Pokémon. Primal Reversion is made possible by natural energy. In Primal Reversion, GroudonOR/KyogreAS absorbs natural energy into its body, thereby increasing its power dramatically. Both states significantly enhance Pokémon's power: the difference lies in the source of the required energy." (Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire)
↑Devon Corporation scientist: "We believe that, thanks to its mikado organ, Rayquaza can undergo its own Mega Evolution, manifesting sufficient power to repel both Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre." (Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire)
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
Primal Groudon versus Primal Kyogre
Mega Rayquaza stopping Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre
Groudon's Ω symbol during Primal Reversion
Fire Gem (100%)
Choice Band (100%)
Gold Bottle Cap (100%)
For other sprites and images, please see Groudon images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
