Aerodactyl debuted in Restore and Renew!, during a visit that Goh, Ash, and Chloe made to the Pewter Museum of Science. Goh was digging for Fossils when he found a piece of Old Amber, which he took to be revived by the Curator. Overnight, Team Rocket broke into the Museum as Aerodactyl revived, causing it to go on a rampage. Alerted by the disturbance, Goh looked for Aerodactyl and found it and decided to catch it. Aerodactyl was able to defeat Raboot before going up against his Golurk and was defeated, allowing Goh to add Aerodactyl to his team.
In Showdown at the Gates of Warp!, Aerodactyl reverted into an Egg as a result of a clash between Dialga and Palkia distorting time. After Arceus stopped the fight between Dialga and Palkia, the Temporal and Spatial Pokémon repaired the distortions their fighting had caused and restored all the devolved Pokémon back to normal.
As inherent to its species, Aerodactyl is initially seen as a very aggressive Pokémon that Goh only gains the confidence of after defeating it in battle. In its subsequent appearances, Aerodactyl is seen to be closely integrated with the rest of Goh's Pokémon. It is one of Goh's main Pokémon for aerial support, alongside Flygon.
