The world of Pokémon is home to creatures of many sizes, types, colors, and personalities. One group of pokémon that typically get overlooked are ground types who focus on having a sturdy body and are willing to take a hit. They're often not as flashy as other types, but can be key members to a trainer's championship-contending team. It's time to point out some of these creatures who often go unnoticed. Let's take a look at the sturdiest ground-type pokémon and rank them from worst to first.
10 Donphan
Donphan is most famous for being featured in the opening intro battle of Pokémon: The First Movie. It fought valiantly against Ash Ketchum's Bulbasaur and showed how dangerous a properly trained Donphan could be in battle. It tucks its head down and forms a wheel-like shape which allows it to gain speed and attack opposing pokémon with real velocity in a somewhat erratic way. Taking on this condensed shape also makes it harder to hit and the sturdy little elephant takes the upper hand because of it.
9 Rhydon
Many people wondered for years why the statues at the entrances of all of the early gyms in Pokémon were modeled after Rhydon. It turns out that the rhinoceros-inspired creature was the first-ever pokémon created. Its body looks like it's encased in armor, mirroring the look of real rhinos bodies. Though it's way less popular, Rhydon dwarfs Charizard in comparison as it is over a foot taller and 60 pounds heavier than the fire starter. It can either be born with the rock head or lightning rod abilities.
8 Claydol
Have you ever looked at something and thought that it was so weird that it was cool? That's exactly where the pokémon Claydol comes in. Ground and psychic aren't exactly the ideal or often thought about the combination of typings people would look for when creating a pokémon, but its pretty genius. Those two types don't crossover which means that its move-set could cover a lot of match-ups and opponents. They're dolls made of mud given life by a mysterious ray.
7 Onix
Most trainers laid their eyes on Onix for the first time when they attempted to defeat Brock at the Pewter City Gym in hopes of acquiring the Boulder Badge. Onix, in both the games and anime, was his go-to and trusted pokémon partner. In much the way Ash Ketchum shares a bond with Pikachu, Brock did the same with his Onix. In terms of size, Onix is a staggering 28 feet in length and its rocky body weighs in at around 460 pounds. If it ever stepped in the ring against a Gyarados it would be a match of titans.
6 Golem
Golem is what you get if you made turtles bipedal and out of rocks. It was one of the first pokémon that required trade to evolve, so trainers had a tough time getting a hold of one. The easiest way to evolve your Graveler was to have a trusting sibling or friend that you could make the trade evolution happen with. In terms of sturdiness, it's hard to beat a round compact rock. Golem also happens to have a low center of gravity which makes it hard for opponents to knock it off of its feet.
5 Rhyperior
Rhyperior happens to be the result of The Pokémon Company wanting to give Rhydon its Steelix-like evolution. Rhyperior can be acquired by trading your Rhydon while it's holding an item called protector. Rhydon looks more metal and armor based whereas Rhyperior truly embraces the ground and rock dual-typing. Its body gets covered in slates of rock and its arms look to become dense battering rams. Its lightning rod ability also happens to work wonders in double or triple battles.
4 Torterra
At some point, any kid who loves or is interesting in high-fantasy fiction will come across the images of giant turtles who carry an entire island on their back. The people at Game Freak took that experience and turned it into the final evolution of a starter pokémon. Though they're naturally the size of a big dog, the film Detective Pikachu showcased how terrifying they could be if they were gigantic. It seems that they're best suited for smaller enclosures and backyards.
3 Swampert
When Greninja was introduced many people pointed at Swampert and said that The Pokémon Company was double-dipping on having a frog-inspired water starter, but a closer look would show that Swampert is a mudfish. The similarity in design to that of a frog makes sense for the final evolution as a mud fish's appearance is very similar to a giant tadpole. Having both water and ground-typing makes it a real nuisance to deal with. Its armor plating is pretty reminiscent of the plating on Blastoise and Samurott.
2 Mamoswine
It's hard to find a pokémon sturdier than Mamoswine, a creature based on one of the largest and sturdiest animals to ever exist. Mamoswine may only come in at 8 feet tall, which is short for a mammoth, but its stout frame weighs in at close to 650 pounds. The big guy is pretty reliable in battle and the only issue surrounding it is the troublesome things one must do to evolve a Piloswine into it. Like real mammoths, the population of naturally occurring Mamoswine dwindled as temperatures rose in the years that followed the ice age.
1 Steelix
Onix was always seen as a sturdy and powerful pokémon, but when the ability to evolve it using a steel coat was introduced people learned just how fierce it could become. Steelix is a giant and powerful creature coming in at over 30 feet in length and weighing well over 800 pounds. It's a behemoth that's known to be able to take a hit or two with extraordinary natural defensive abilities. Since it's a dual-typing of ground and steel it should come as no surprise that its rock head ability prevents it from obtaining recoil damage.