Pokémon: Claydol's Pokédex Entries Hint At Its True Origins

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Claydol is an ancient Pokémon with a history that goes back 20,000 years. Despite being fairly unassuming, its mystical and ambiguous origins call into question its larger importance in the franchise’suniverse. There are several theories about how Claydol became a Pokémon, and its Pokédex entries suggest that it may be one of the oldest species.

Claydol is a dual Ground and Psychic-type Pokémon introduced in Gen 3’s Hoenn region. It evolves from Baltoy (also of Hoenn) at level 36. Claydol’s design is often compared to dogū figurines, which came from the prehistoric peoples of Japan during the Jōmon period. Its spherical body has stumpy legs and untethered arms from which it can shoot beams of light. Claydol also has multiple pink eyes around its head with beak-like bumps in between.

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Claydol has garnered attention for having one of the best Pokémon TCG Celebrations: Classic Collection cards. It can be used as a defensive weapon in competitive Pokémon battles due to its healthy defensive stats. However, closer examination of Claydol’s lore reveals that there is more than meets the many eyes, as Claydol is one of the oldest Pokémon in the current series canon.

Almost every Pokédex entry for Claydol references its antiquity. It was created out of clay by a primitive civilization 20,000 years ago. According to Pokémon: Ultra Moon, the ancient people “modeled it after something that descended from the sky”. Many descriptions say Claydol started life as a Pokémon when it was “exposed to a mysterious ray of light”. The Pokémon Fossils’ ages are hundreds of millions of years and Pokémon like Arceus — the creator of all Pokémon — even came before that. Still, no specific date is