Primal Reversion

Primal redirects here. For the Pokémon from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, see Primal Dialga.

Primal Reversion (Japanese: ゲンシカイキ Primal Regression) is an ancient transformation affecting Kyogre and Groudon. It debuted in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre

The process is said to restore Kyogre and Groudon's true powers as it absorbs the energy of nature to greatly increase its potential. It has been described in-game as an ancient form of evolution. Primal Reversion has been absent from the core series since Pokémon Sword and Shield, though it still appears in spin-off games such as Pokémon GO, as well as in other media.

Terminology

Main article: Terminology of Primal Reversion

Primal Reversion uses the same English name but a different Japanese name to refer specifically to the transformed version of a Pokémon: Primal Reversion (Japanese: ゲンシカイキのすがた Primal Regression's Form). This appears as the name of this form of Kyogre and Groudon in the Pokédex, including in Pokémon HOME.

Pokémon that have undergone Primal Reversion are distinguished by the word "Primal" (starting with a capital letter) in front of their species name: Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon. Each is referred to as their primal form in Generation VI and Pokémon GO, or as primal state in Generation VII, written in lowercase (Japanese: 原始(げんし)姿(すがた) primal form/state).

In the core series games

Gameplay

In battle

Encountering Primal Kyogre

In order to undergo Primal Reversion, Kyogre and Groudon only need to be holding the appropriate Colored orb (the Blue Orb for Kyogre and the Red Orb for Groudon). Like Mega Stones, orbs cannot be removed during battle if held by the appropriate Pokémon. Unlike Mega Evolution, however, the player does not need a Key Stone or have to manually trigger Primal Reversion; it will simply happen automatically after Kyogre or Groudon enters a battle and after any entry hazards take effect, but before the activation of weather-changing Abilities.

If a Pokémon that has undergone Primal Reversion faints and then is revived, it will still be in its primal form after revival. In contrast, this does not occur to a Pokémon that has Mega Evolved or undergone Ultra Burst.

In a Rotation Battle, Kyogre or Groudon will only undergo Primal Reversion if it is sent out in the primary position; the Primal Reversion will not activate if the Pokémon is sent out in a secondary position at the start of the battle and then rotated to the primary position. Also, unlike Mega Evolution and Ultra Burst, there is no limit to the number of times a Primal Reversion may be performed per battle.

Outside of battle

In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, if Kyogre or Groudon is holding the appropriate orb for Primal Reversion when it is entered into a Pokémon Contest Spectacular, it will automatically appear in its primal form for the entirety of the show. However, this has no effect on the Pokémon's performance.

Pokémon capable of Primal Reversion

Pokémon Before Primal Reversion After Primal Reversion Orb
Image Type Ability Image Type Ability
Kyogre Kyogre  Water  Drizzle Primal Kyogre  Water  Primordial Sea Dream Blue Orb Sprite.png
Blue Orb
Groudon Groudon  Ground  Drought Primal Groudon  Ground  Fire  Desolate Land Dream Red Orb Sprite.png
Red Orb

Base stat comparison

Similar to Mega Evolution, Primal Reversion increases a Pokémon's base stat total by 100.

Pokémon 382Kyogre.png
Kyogre
382Kyogre-Primal.png
Kyogre
383Groudon.png
Groudon
383Groudon-Primal.png
Groudon
HP
100
100
100
100
Attack
100
150
150
180
Defense
90
90
140
160
Sp. Attack
150
180
100
150
Sp. Defense
140
160
90
90
Speed
90
90
90
90
Total 670 770 670 770


In the spin-off games

Pokémon GO

Main article: Mega Evolution (GO)

Primal Reversion was introduced in Pokémon GO on February 18, 2023. Rather than using the Red Orb or Blue Orb, an eligible Pokémon instead consumes Primal Energy to undergo a temporary Primal Reversion. Primal Reversion is functionally similar to Mega Evolution. The only differences are the types affected by the 1.3× power boost given to allies in raids (Primal Groudon affects the Grass, Fire and Ground types, while Primal Kyogre affects the Electric, Water and Bug types) and that the damage bonuses are active whenever the Primal Pokémon is in the party, not only when it is on the field. A player can only have one active Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion at a time.

In animation

Primal Groudon in Pokémon the Series: XY
Primal Kyogre in Pokémon the Series: XY

Pokémon the Series

Pokémon the Series: XY

Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre both appeared in Mega Evolution Special III, where they had a clash with one another off the coast of Rustboro City. Alain and Steven attempted to fight the ancient Pokémon with their Mega Charizard X and Mega Metagross, but they were soon overpowered. Soon after, a Mega Rayquaza appeared, battled, and eventually managed to defeat the two Primal Pokémon, causing them to return to their regular forms.

Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre also appeared in Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, where they were summoned and controlled by Hoopa Unbound along with the Pokémon of Myth and Kyurem to attack Ash, Pikachu, Hoopa Confined, a Shiny Rayquaza, and the Eon duo in Dahara City.

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Animated Trailer

Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre both appeared in the Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Animated Trailer.

Pokémon Generations

Primal Groudon in Pokémon Generations
Primal Kyogre in Pokémon Generations

Primal Groudon appeared in Courtney's vision in The Vision. She imagined it attacking Maxie, Tabitha, and the rest of Team Magma, but this did not deter her from her team's plans for long.

Primal Kyogre appeared in The Cavern. Despite Shelly's insistence not to, Archie awakened it nonetheless in the Seafloor Cavern. It proceeded to cause destruction across Hoenn, and eventually prepared to attack Archie and Shelly.

Pokémon Evolutions

Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre both appeared in a fantasy in The Wish. They were shown battling before being calmed by Mega Rayquaza as Zinnia told the story of the Draconid people to May.

In the manga

Primal Groudon in Pokémon Adventures
Primal Kyogre in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire arc

Archie and Maxie used the Red and Blue Orbs to transform Groudon and Kyogre into their primal forms in order to help save the world from the giant meteoroid headed for the planet. After some training at the Meteor Falls, both Primal Pokémon managed to master their special moves; Precipice Blades and Origin Pulse, respectively. However, both ancient Pokémon, even when assisted by Rayquaza, completely exhausted themselves while destroying a large piece of the meteoroid falling before the main body, causing them to revert to their regular forms.

Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game XY!

Pokémon Omega Ruby Crimson Passion and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Indigo Wisdom

Movie adaptations

In the TCG

Primal Reversion was brought into the Trading Card Game with the release of Primal Clash (Gaia VolcanoTidal Storm in Japan). Primal Reversion is an extension of the Mega Evolution Pokémon mechanics. As such, Primal Reversion Pokémon only evolve from the long-standing Pokémon-EX and are Pokémon-EX themselves. The only Primal Reversion Pokémon are the Primal Kyogre-EX and Primal Groudon-EX cards from Primal Clash and Ancient Origins. Each Primal Reversion Pokémon features an Ancient Trait. The Ancient Origins prints feature the Shiny versions of the Pokémon and replace the original Ancient Traits with θ Max, but are otherwise identical to the Primal Clash cards.

Related cards
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Primal KyogreEX Water Primal Clash Rare Holo ex 55/160 Tidal Storm RR 032/070
Primal Clash Rare Ultra 149/160 Tidal Storm SR 073/070
Primal KyogreEX Water Ancient Origins Rare Ultra 96/98   UR 093/081
Primal GroudonEX Fighting Primal Clash Rare Holo ex 86/160 Gaia Volcano RR 040/070
Primal Clash Rare Ultra 151/160 Gaia Volcano SR 074/070
Primal GroudonEX Fighting Ancient Origins Rare Ultra 97/98   UR 094/081
 


In other languages

Language Title
Mandarin Chinese 回復原始 Huífù Yuánshǐ
The Czech Republic Flag.png Czech Primární reverze
The Netherlands Flag.png Dutch Oerterugkeer
France Flag.png French Primo-Résurgence
Germany Flag.png German Protomorphose
India Flag.png Hindi प्राइमल रिवर्ज़न Primal Reversion
Indonesia Flag.png Indonesian Reversi Prima
Reversi Primal
Italy Flag.png Italian Archeorisveglio
South Korea Flag.png Korean 원시회귀 Wonsi Hoegwi
Malaysia Flag.png Malaysian Pembalikan Primal
Poland Flag.png Polish Pierwotna regresja
Portuguese Brazil Flag.png Brazil Reversão Primitiva
Portugal Flag.png Portugal Reversão Primordial
Russia Flag.png Russian Первобытное Восстановление Pervobytnoye Vosstanovleniye*
Прото-Превращение Proto-Prevrashcheniye*
Spain Flag.png Spanish Regresión Primigenia
Thailand Flag.png Thai คืนสู่ต้นกำเนิด Khuen su Ton Kamnoet
Turkey Flag.png Turkish Kadim Dönüşüm
Vietnam Flag.png Vietnamese Tiến hóa tận cùng Nguyên Thủy
Hồi quy Nguyên thủy

Primal Kyogre

Language Title
Mandarin Chinese 原始蓋歐卡 Yuánshǐ Gàiōukǎ
France Flag.png French Primo-Kyogre
Germany Flag.png German Proto-Kyogre
India Flag.png Hindi प्राइमल कायोगर Primal Kyogre
प्राइम कायोगर Prime Kyogre*
Indonesia Flag.png Indonesian Kyogre Primal
Italy Flag.png Italian ArcheoKyogre
South Korea Flag.png Korean 원시가이오가 Wonsi Kyogre
Malaysia Flag.png Malaysian Kyogre Primal
Brazil Flag.png Brazilian Portuguese Kyogre Primitivo
Russia Flag.png Russian Прото Кайогр Proto Kaiogr*
Древний Кайогр Drevny Kaiogr*
Spain Flag.png Spanish Kyogre Primigenio
Thailand Flag.png Thai ไคออกาต้นกำเนิด Kyogre Ton Kamnoet
Turkey Flag.png Turkish Kadim Kyogre
Vietnam Flag.png Vietnamese Kaioga Nguyên Thủy

Primal Groudon

Language Title
Mandarin Chinese 原始固拉多 Yuánshǐ Gūlādūo
France Flag.png French Primo-Groudon
Germany Flag.png German Proto-Groudon
India Flag.png Hindi प्राइमल ग्राउडॉन Primal Groudon
प्राइम ग्राउडॉन Prime Groudon*
Indonesia Flag.png Indonesian Groudon Primal
Italy Flag.png Italian ArcheoGroudon
South Korea Flag.png Korean 원시그란돈 Wonsi Groudon
Malaysia Flag.png Malaysian Groudon Primal
Brazil Flag.png Brazilian Portuguese Groudon Primitivo
Russia Flag.png Russian Прото Граудон Proto Graudon*
Древний Граудон Drevny Graudon*
Spain Flag.png Spanish Groudon Primigenio
Thailand Flag.png Thai กราดอนต้นกำเนิด Groudon Ton Kamnoet
Turkey Flag.png Turkish Kadim Groudon
Vietnam Flag.png Vietnamese Groudon Nguyên Thủy


Related articles

Pokémon forms and variants
Permanent: Shiny Pokémon (GO) • Alternately colored Pokémon (animated series)
Gender differencesForm differences (GO) • Brilliant PokémonAlpha Pokémon
Transformations: Mega Evolution (ShuffleMastersGO) • Primal Reversion (GO) • Bond Phenomenon
Ultra BurstDynamax (GO) • Gigantamax (GO) • EternamaxTerastal phenomenon
Groups: Totem PokémonNoble PokémonTitan Pokémon
Regional forms: AlolanGalarianHisuianPaldean
Analogous: Paradox PokémonEcologically similar Pokémon
Species-specific: Arbok variantsPikachu variants (SurfingFlyingCosplayCap) • Ditto transformations
Miscellaneous: Giant PokémonSpiky-eared PichuPartner Pokémon (LGPE)
Fusions (GO) • Human–Pokémon transformation
Side series original: Shadow PokémonShadow Lugia
Spin-off original: Shadow Pokémon (GO)Primal DialgaToy Pokémon (Rusty Pokémon)
Shadow MewtwoPokéxelIllumina phenomenonMighty Pokémon
Animated series original: Pink ButterfreeClone PokémonCrystal Onix
Mirage PokémonMeta GroudonGreen-crystal Deoxys
Manga original: Thu-Fi-ZerBlack FogBlack Tyranitar