A/N: A big thanks to Shady Lady and Hard Tack, whose suggestions helped me with this chapter!
Number: # 032
Type: Rock
Species: Compressed
Gender: 50% Male – 50% Female
Japanese Name: Gigaialith
Description: Gigalith is a very rarely encountered Pokémon, as they have only existed for the past 27 years!
30 years ago, leading scientists at Kanto invented the Pokémon Trade System (PTS) so trainers could confidently trade Pokémon without worrying about being tricked or scammed; it was seen as a huge triumph for the Pokémon League and Pokémon trainers around the world.
Depending on who you are, trading can be exciting prospect, a heart-breaking farewell, or a trivial matter; but for Gigalith it is a life changing event!
When a Pokémon is reclaimed back into a pokeball, the Pokémon's body is broken down into a form of pure energy, but the Pokémon is still conscious and may observe the outer world. When the Pokémon is later taken out of the ball, all the pure energy reverts back into its original form. A similar process occurs when two Pokémon are traded; their energy form is transmitted through a machine across a short distance, and any information relating them to their trainer is transferred over to the other person. In order to do this, the Pokémon is exposed to a beam of highly weakened radiation, and this never has any sort of effect on the actual Pokémon whatsoever.
That was until the first Boldore was traded. As the trainer eagerly greeted his new Boldore, he gasped as it burst into radiant light turned into a towering monolith of stone and crystals. Soon droves of scientists were all over the confounded boy and Pokémon, all desperate to be known as the first person to classify the new Pokémon Gigalith.
It seems that whatever made up Boldore's energy core reacted violently to the exposure of radiation and triggered an evolution; although the process resembles a mutation instead. As the core reacts to the radiation, it bursts out and develops a much larger body to accommodate the powerful energy, and massive shards of crystal spike out to store and augment this energy even more. With some tests, we have concluded that Gigalith's new energy contains traces of radiation. If your Boldore evolved into a Gigalith, congratulations. You now have a living nuclear reactor as a pet.
Trading isn't the only way to make a Gigalith evolve, however. Any sort of radiation exposure can trigger the evolutionary process, but it will take a much larger amount of radiation and trading is the most convenient method. This is because Boldore will reflect most radiation, but when in a vulnerable energy form like when trading, the radiation can permeate Boldore's body much more easily.
The energy core housed within Gigalith is insanely powerful, testified by all of the energy crystals produced simply to accommodate this. These crystals can absorb sunlight and feed this to the core, making it even stronger! When it charges this power up it can fire blasts of energy strong enough to decimate entire buildings.
To summarize, Gigalith is a living nuclear reactor armed with lasers that can make itself stronger with common sunlight. It's actually a good thing these Pokémon aren't found in the wild; I hate to imagine what would happen if Team Plasma got their hands on a few of these four years ago…
Personality: Gigalith are very docile and spend most of their time shuffling around idly. Since they need absolutely no support to survive, they are sometimes very detached from their surroundings. Through evolution their ears have developed into a dual set of ears and eyes. That's right, Gigalith hears through its eyes. But this gift of sight could be considered a curse; because now Gigalith's hearing is impaired, and its eyesight is rather lacking. They are aware of this and thus tread carefully, always watching to ensure they don't step on any smaller creatures.
Externally they seem rather callous, but they do indeed have feelings; they just can't communicate them as easily. Because of this they can become upset as they feel isolated from the rest of society. Even so, they are still gentle giants that have no antagonistic intentions.
Lifespan: Even though we have only known these Pokémon for 27 years, we can already agree that these Pokémon will still be walking around for thousands of years to come; which is just like the Golett family. Thousands of years ago an ancient civilisation built the Golett and Golurk and these Pokémon still wander about today. Likewise in a thousand years people will probably hold Gigalith in the same regard…
Diet: They do not require any sort of nutrition. However, they can absorb sunlight to strengthen themselves if they need to.
How To Bond: Now, this depends on how you obtained Gigalith. Did you receive it in a trade? Or did you trade it and then trade it back?
If you had Boldore traded and returned, then you should already be Gigalith's close companion; unless you alienated it as a Boldore or a Roggenrola. In that case, Gigalith might have a serious inferiority complex. Regardless of whether you did or not, Gigalith will need plenty of reminders that you care for it. Giving it a wash is a great way to treat it, but don't use pure water! Gigalith has now retained its fear of water, and it will panic if you try to put water anywhere near it. This will also damage its trust in you. Instead, there are special wash solutions you can buy to polish it with, these won't frighten Gigalith and will give it a sparky finish!
If you obtained a foreign Gigalith in a trade, then it will be very nervous and feel distanced, since it won't know you or any of your other Pokémon. It may be scared after evolving into this new form and not know how to act. Your first goal is to calm it down and show it that you are kind. Talk soothingly and stroke your hand over one of its crystals. We haven't proven it, but these crystals may be able to pick up on people's emotions, so this is a potential way to directly show Gigalith that you are a good person.
Gigalith will certainly outlive you, so you need to keep this in mind. If you are an aging or sickly person, you may have to warn Gigalith about your impending death. It may not seem like it, but these creatures can be easily as distraught about death just like any other Pokémon, especially if you've had it as a Roggenrola.
Battling: Gigalith is an absolute tank! Most Pokémon will be broken by its mighty form, and any that survive will probably flee. If you have Gigalith out walking with you, expect wild battles to be far and few between, as most Pokémon will have the intelligence not to attack such a fearsome creature. Gigalith's ability Sturdy has now been made somewhat redundant, as very few things will be able to take Gigalith down in one hit away.
As tough and powerful as Gigalith is, it is extremely slow. Only a few select Pokémon such as Foongus and Ferroseed are slower, but they don't stand a chance anyway. Due to its slowness, Gigalith fights best in confined areas such as caves, because then the enemy will have difficulty out speeding it and allow Gigalith to use its brute force. Alternately, don't send it out to battle on a beach. The last kid that did that had to pay 50000P to the workers after they had to dig Gigalith out of the massive hole it had sunken into.
Its defences don't mean anything if the enemy uses special attacks either, as they can bypass them without worry. Given that most Grass and Water types (Two of Gigalith's weaknesses) commonly use special attacks, you can end up in a lot of trouble without foresight. On the note of weaknesses, Gigalith retains all of its vulnerabilities, and they can still pack as much damage as before, so think ahead before sending Gigalith out. Remember, prevention is better than Pokémon centre.
Sandstorm can be a very important move, as it can provide a temporary distraction and make it hard for enemies to hit Gigalith. It will also steadily damage them too, whereas Gigalith will remain unaffected. Due to the way its senses work, Gigalith can seemingly see straight through the sandstorm, even though it normally has poor eyesight; use this to your advantage.
Stone edge is by far the most useful move you have in your arsenal. It deals a surprising amount of damage, hits multiple targets, and can knock down opponents that are currently airborne. Anything that isn't a Fighting, Ground or Steel type will be staggered by this move!
If worse comes to worst, Gigalith can resort to Explosion. This move will decimate any opponent, but will cause Gigalith to faint. This obviously causes Gigalith an extreme amount of suffering, so you must use this move as a last resort. Do not fool around with this move, it is extremely dangerous and can kill anyone nearby if used foolishly. Consider what happens after the move is used. What happens if Gigalith was your only Pokémon? What if Explosion took out only one Pokémon when there are many more still wanting to battle?
Overall, you need to check your weaknesses, plan ahead, and formulate strategies and the battle progresses.
With Fellow Pokémon: Gigalith may feel lonely in its large form, so it will be very eager to play with other Pokémon, but it has to be careful of its own size! It will be wary anyway, but some younger Pokémon such as Lillipup might not realise the danger and foolishly leap about Gigalith's legs, endangering themselves. It is vital that you warn all of your Pokémon of this danger, or you could be held liable for any accidents or deaths.
Keep Gigalith occupied with activities involving the other Pokémon; working alongside each other always builds strong relationships that last. Some Pokémon will naturally be wary of Gigalith, as it can be hard to understand a walking talking mountain! This is expected, but should be discouraged. Try to pair them up and let the two talk, Gigalith can talk like any other Pokémon, and when they see that Gigalith has thoughts and feelings just like they do, they may soften up.
Warnings: Gigalith can't sense its surroundings as easily as it used to, and that combined with its bulky form can make it a hazard to be around. Don't stand close behind it; otherwise you might end up flattened, and a Pokémon of that size and weight would kill you instantly. And don't try and hug Gigalith either, otherwise you might end up impaled on its crystals.
Summary: Gigalith takes effort to obtain, but can be an absolute titan in battle if used properly. If used irresponsibly however, it could cause injury or death. Only obtain or evolve this Pokémon if you are confident that you can handle a handful; this Pokémon is not recommended for amateur trainers.
Next Time… Number 033 Woobat!
A/N: Wow, what a big description. There were so many ideas to work with that I didn't want to let go of any, so this chapter ended a bit top-heavy. Woobat's entry might resemble Roggenrola's, as both rely on echolocation and live in caves.
Fun Facts: the Gigalith family is an expy of the Golem family. That means it closely resembles them and has similar traits. For example, both are Rock-type, learn Stealth Rock, Smack Down, Explosion, Stone Edge, and Rock Blast by level-up, first evolve at level 25, and then reaches the final evolutionary stage by trading.
Gigalith is based on a crystal formation.
Its name is a fusion of gigas (Greek for giant) and lithos (Greek for stone) so it literally means stone giant; a fitting name.