Groudon

Groudon (グラードン, Gurādon) is one of the fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar (Published by PR Newswire; accessed February 28, 2006) Pokémon media franchise, a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. The purpose of Groudon in the games, anime, and manga, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both wild Pokémon&mdash;untamed creatures encountered while the player passes through various environments&mdash;and tamed Pokémon owned by Pokémon trainers.

Groudon is featured in Pokémon Ruby and appears on the cover art for the game. It is one of a trio of legendary Pokémon, alongside Kyogre and Rayquaza. In the legend surrounding the three, Groudon represents the land, while Kyogre and Rayquaza represent the sea and the sky, respectively. The name Groudon probably originates from the words ground and don, similar to the suffix of many dinosaur names (like the Iguanodon), owing to Groudon's dinosaur-like design. When the word don is used for dinosaur names it means tooth (this might allude to the teeth-like spikes on Groudon's body). Don is also Spanish for "lord", which would make Groudon the "Lord of the Ground".

Characteristics
Groudon is a giant, stylized theropod dinosaur-like beast with a layer of outer skin composed of a warm red (Green in its shiny form), rocky substance and a stylized sloped tail with "tines" on the end like a rake; Groudon's tail is curved upward, making Groudon's contour look somewhat like an "S" shape. However, it can also stand in a more upright position. Groudon has narrow ridges on its head, long white claws, sharp teeth, and a grey chest. When angered, its black markings glow blue. Groudon resembles Godzilla in some respects as well, especially his fake clone in the Jirachi movie.

The heaviest of all Pokémon, Groudon represents the primal force of the land, as opposed to Kyogre (the primal force of the oceans) and Rayquaza (the primal force of the sky); as such, Groudon has the power to scatter rain clouds and make water evaporate with light and heat. It is literally "the land lord", as it is part of the creation myth of the Pokémon world. According to legend, it came as a savior to people who had been suffering from terrible floods by waging a titanic battle with Kyogre, creating the land and the oceans, and the two were sealed beneath their respective elements.

Groudon and Kyogre have a relationship similar to the Behemoth and Leviathan in Jewish mythology. In Jewish mythology, Behemoth is the primal unconquerable monster of the land, just as Leviathan is the primal unstoppable monster of the oceans. Rayquaza is also based on Ziz, another creature of Jewish mythology, as according to one Jewish myth the meat of the three creatures is to be served at the banquet at the End Times. Their appearances, however, are quite different from the traditional depictions of the creatures from Jewish myth: Groudon is a sloped, heavily-built dinosaur-like biped with a particularly powerful tail, while the Behemoth is often portrayed as a massive ox-like creature.

Groudon is known as the continent Pokémon, a species shared by Torterra in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.

In the video games
Groudon first appears in Pokémon Ruby, and appears on its cover art. It is one of the game's legendaries, and is only obtainable without trading in Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Emerald. Once obtained in one of these games, it can be traded to Pokémon Sapphire or sent to Pokémon Diamond or Pearl via Pal Park. It is a part of a legendary trio which includes Kyogre, a Pokémon only found in Pokémon Sapphire and Pokémon Emerald, as well as Rayquaza, which is obtainable in Pokémon Sapphire, Pokémon Ruby, and Pokémon Emerald. All three Pokémon are a key element of the main plot. The plot of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire differs from Pokémon Emerald ' s plot in that there is a new event where both Groudon and Kyogre are awakened, allowing for all three of the legendary trio to be obtainable in Emerald.

Groudon appears in several other games, including Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, Pokémon Ranger, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire, and as a Poké Ball Pokémon in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

In the anime
As in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, in the anime, Team Magma seeks to capture Groudon to increase the world's landmass, while their rivals, Team Aqua, seek to capture Kyogre to expand the oceans. In the episodes "Gaining Groudon" and "The Scuffle of Legends", this conflict climaxes when the Red Orb and Blue Orb that control Kyogre and Groudon fall in the hands of their respective Teams, and the two Pokémon are made to wage a battle against each other. At the end of the second episode, Team Aqua and Team Magma's opposing plans are foiled by Ash Ketchum and Lance, and Groudon and Kyogre return to their respective elements after calling a truce. It also appears as part of the legend in "The Spheal of Approval" and "Unfair Weather Friends".

Groudon also plays a pseudo-role in the sixth Pokémon movie, Jirachi Wishmaker. In it, Butler, a former Team Magma member and magician, wants to leave a permanent impression on his peers by creating "a living and breathing Groudon." To achieve this, he must use an omnipotent energy that cannot be found anywhere, and the solution presents itself in the myth of Jirachi and the Millennium Comet. After Butler forces energy out of Jirachi, he uses it to create a Groudon from scratch, but it ends up in a titanic, anomalous being of evil that, although vaguely resembling Groudon, has no relation to the true Groudon (the differences are in its eyes, tentacles, perpetually glowing lines, mouth, belly, no attacks, and of course, its size because the real Groudon is only supposed to be 11 feet tall while the fake had to have been at least 100 feet). Another difference is that it shows no signs of having relations to the Blue Orb. This Groudon mutant drains the life out of the environment around it and consumes in many humans and Pokémon in the area. Realizing his mistake, Butler teams up with Ash Ketchum to reverse the process and destroy the false Groudon in order to save the Pokémon and the forest sanctuary.

In the trading card game
Groudon has appeared quite a few times in the Pokémon Trading Card Game:
 * EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua (as Team Magma's Groudon)
 * EX Hidden Legends (as Groudon ex)
 * EX Hidden Legends (as a secret holographic)
 * EX Emerald
 * EX Emerald (as a holographic)
 * EX Delta Species (as Groudon "Star")
 * EX Crystal Guardians (as Groudon ex)

Groudon EX has the Mark of Antiquity Poké-Body that prevents it from attacking Kyogre ex or Rayquaza ex, which seems to contradict the events of the video games.