Jangmo-o, Hakamo-o and Kommo-o

I guess we’re almost at the end now, technically – today’s Pokémon are the last “ordinary” Pokémon of Alola. On the other hand, we’re sort of not near the end at all, because we’ve got not only legendary Pokémon to do after this, but also Ultra Beasts, and I think I promised to write something about the Alolan forms as well, and… oh, let’s just get on with it. Here’s Jangmo-o, Hakamo-o and Kommo-o: the Scaly Pokémon.

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Tony the Tiger asks:

You like old stuff, right? What are your thoughts on fossil pokemon?

In general archaeologists take pains to point out that we do not study fossils (it’s a surprisingly common mistake). Not all “old stuff” is similarly old (unless you listen to certain ill-advised religious sects); I deal in the hundreds/thousands of years range, not millions/tens of millions. Fossils are about as much my professional area of expertise as the moons of Jupiter are an airline pilot’s.

…as it happens, though, I am independently a layman dinosaur nerd with a basic knowledge of evolutionary biology, and I was a sufficiently weird kid that, when I started school, I wanted to be not a fireman or an astronaut but a palaeontologist. So LET’S TALK FOSSILS.

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Apologies, and dinosaurs

So once again I don’t have a Pokémon review for you this week, and I also think an apology is due to anyone who’s sent me a question in, like… the last… month. I promise I will answer all of those; I only have one more week of teaching this year, then a week of marking assignments and exams, then a looooong flight back to New Zealand for Christmas, at which point I should have some breathing space. My workload will hopefully be a bit lower next semester as well. In the meantime, though, did you know I also occasionally review dinosaurs, for the amusement of my friends on Facebook? Please note that the following are only my opinions, however please also note that my opinions are always objectively right.