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 possesses the ability to expand continents. In ancient times, it came in conflict with Kyogre, a Pokémon with the ability to expand the oceans.
Groudon is the game mascot of Pokémon Ruby and its remake, Pokémon Omega Ruby, appearing on the boxart of both games in its normal and Primal forms, respectively. In these games, as well as in Pokémon Emerald, Groudon is sought by Team Magma as a major part of their plot to expand the world's landmass.
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 also described in mythology as the creator of the world's continents. By summoning magma formations, it can also further expand the world's landmass. Groudon is among the most powerful Pokémon, capable of summoning intense sunlight that can dispel rain clouds and evaporate water. Groudon can additionally travel on water by using its magma to form a path beneath its feet. As Groudon slumbers in Seafloor Cavern, it is encased in a layer of rock that will be shattered if it is awakened by the Red or Blue Orb. Groudon was hailed as a savior for evaporating flooded areas of the world.
Groudon is normally calm and helpful, but if it encounters its rival, Kyogre, Groudon will engage in a cataclysmic battle against it for the dominion of the Pokémon world. Their battles can only be stopped by the intervention of Rayquaza. Groudon is known to enter a deep slumber after its conflicts with Kyogre. Groudon can attack its foes by manifesting the power of the land in fearsome blades of stone. It sleeps underground in large magma chambers. Groudon loves Groudon Treats made by Snacksworth, who once encountered it in the past.
Primal Groudon's appearance is similar to Groudon, but larger in size. 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 is now shown on its arms. Its eyes, the inside of its mouth, and the now-enlarged openings between its armor plating glow bright yellow, and its irises are now red.
The primal form of Groudon is said to be Groudon's true and original form and is at its full power when in the Primal state. Primal Groudon received its name from the ancient people of Hoenn who it tormented in the past.[1] In the Mega Evolution Pokédex Short, Primal Groudon is said to create new land with every step it takes. The energy that fills Primal Groudon pours forth as magma, and it burns with such an extreme temperature that its body is always shimmering with the haze of its heat.[2] It uses this enhanced magma to expand the landmass of the world. With its weather-manipulating powers, it can nullifyWater-typemoves.
Primal Groudon was formed from the natural primal energy that existed in Hoenn's ancient past. It has to feed on that same energy so it can maintain its primal form in the present day, after it was undone in the past by Mega Rayquaza.[3] Due to the lack of Primal 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, allowing it to undergo a Primal Reversion. Primal Groudon along with Primal Kyogre have the power to disrupt the planet's balance, with the risk of it being destroyed.[4] Research data from the Weather Institute indicates that Primal Groudon possesses the ability to eliminate all life before initiating a reset of the planet.[5]
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire: Groudon is the focus of the second Bonus Field on the Ruby Field. Groudon 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, Groudon 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 has the power to scatter rain clouds and make water evaporate with light and heat. It came as a savior to people who had been suffering from terrible floods.
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 battle Kyogre, 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.
Trophy information
"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
↑Project AZOTH File No. 1: "In Primal Reversion, Kyogre 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)
↑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)
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.
Fire Gem (100%)
Choice Band (100%)
Gold Bottle Cap (100%)
For other sprites and images, please see Groudon images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
