Dracozolt, Arctozolt, Dracovish, and Arctovish

Arctovish, Arctozolt, Dracovish, and Dracozolt are a quartet of species of fictional creatures called Pokémon created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998. In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Each Pokémon has one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon. A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species. The various Fossils appear to be based on different types of dinosaurs, such as the stegosaurus, paravians, and dunkleosteus. Their fused nature appears to be based on inaccurate reconstructions of dinosaurs, such as the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, while other aspects of the creatures appear to be based on hoaxes and paleontological forgeries such as Charles Dawson's Piltdown Man. The Pokémon, due to their hybrid nature, are not naturally occurring species, but are presented as such by the game's Pokedex. Dracovish are fast runners and brutally efficient at capturing prey, but struggle to breathe on land. and are capable of preserving food with the ice on their body. Dracozolt are said to have running abilities, similarly to Dracovish, but are too effective in their "natural" environment as a result. The four have two signature moves, only learnable by them. The move Bolt Beak, an Electric-type attack, can be used by Arctozolt and Dracozolt, while the move Fishious Rend, a Water-type attack, can be used by Arctovish and Dracovish. Arctozolt has been voiced by Dawn M. Bennett in Pokémon: Twilight Wings and Kellen Goff in the anime, while Dracovish has been voiced by Kenyu Horiuchi in the anime in Japanese. == Appearances ==

The four first appeared in Pokémon Sword and Shield, where they can be revived from fossils by a non-player character named Cara Liss. Dracovish and Arctozolt later appeared in the Pokémon anime, where they were revived by Cara Liss. The character Goh captured Arctozolt, while series protagonist Ash Ketchum captured Dracovish, using it throughout the series. A Dracovish based on Ash's was later distributed via the game's "Mystery Gift" mechanic as part of a limited time event. In Pokémon Masters EX, Ash's Dracovish, along with his Pikachu, Dragonite, Gengar, Lucario, Sirfetch'd, is one of the fightable NPC opponents used by him against the player, while the other trained Dracovish are the other two of the fightable NPC opponents used by Bede and Marie. == Reception ==

The quartet have been met with a mixed response since their inception into the franchise. Patricia Hernandez, writing for Polygon, also agreed with the sentiment. She criticized the lack of realism in their appearances, and further criticized how the group's in-game Pokedex entries ignored the Frankenstein-esque aspects, instead pretending they were real creatures. The Journal of Geek Studies author Rodrigo B. Salvador also criticized their designs, stating that "I find it difficult to decide whether this was just some game developers running wild during character creation brainstorming sessions or if said developers knew enough about Paleontology to make a bold statement against the mistakes and the forgeries that pop up in this field every now and then... Given other biological nonsense in the series, I am more inclined towards the first hypothesis." Other critics, however, were more positive. Ben Sledge, writing for TheGamer, stated that, despite the lack of realism in the fossils, he couldn't "help but love them." He argued that despite the flaws of the designs, the four Pokémon, unlike past Fossil Pokémon, told a story with their designs, stating that it was "a story that you don’t need to read the Pokedex to understand, a story that screams at your eyeballs the moment you first bring a Galarian fossil to unnatural life. In every other Pokemon game, you’re restoring a lost creature... In Pokemon Sword & Shield, however, you’re creating new life. You have too much power in your hands and you feel a visceral hatred for your creation." The designs of the fossils have also been used as a subject of comparison to similar mistakes and forgeries in the real-world paleontology field, and Cara Liss's creation of them has been likened to Dawson and the Piltdown Man. Her creation of the fossils and their false Pokedex entries have also been compared to modern day misinformation tactics. and it was eventually banned from standard play and ranked in the "Ubers" tier of the competitive singles format as a result. A Dracovish plush was later released, which could come with various items based on those prominently used by Dracovish in the game's competitive scene. == References ==