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Posted by: Shinzu Jun 10 2011, 12:27 AM

Is there a Pokemon out there that you love to death, or just some random one, and you realized it was a /completely/ different type/another type?

I just now discovered that Jirachi was Psychic AND Steel! He was in my first Pokemon movie when it came out, my friend let me borrow his Jirachi on Diamond, and that thing was is one of my favorite Legendaries! When the /hell/ did he gain a Steel type? .__o'

Don't get me started on the Creation Trio... '>.> (Yeah, Giratina, I'm lookin' at you...)

Posted by: Matt Cat Jun 10 2011, 01:03 AM

The fact that Gyarados is part flying instead of part dragon really baffles me.

Marowak and Cubone both need to be made part fighting.

Luxray needs to be part dark, as does Luxio.

And the winner of the most WTF typing possible: Scraggy - it honestly doesn't look the part for either of its two types.

Posted by: Matt Cat Jun 10 2011, 01:41 AM

The fact that it doesn't learn fly contradicts the legend though; that's the part that baffles me more than the cosmetic side of it. It does look remarkably like one of those Chinese Dragons, yes, but I don't recall any of those being able to take to the air -- unless I missed something? *shrugs*

I would've added the legend, but I forgot what it was after I first heard of it.

Posted by: Nasra Jun 10 2011, 02:37 PM

My game's trainers think my Zekrom is part dark type.

Posted by: Merchant Jun 10 2011, 03:05 PM

Stunfisk's typing.
I was stupid enough think it had no weaknesses. Boy, was I wrong.
Another oddball typing is Empoleon. It looks like a normal Water-type.
Ferroseed/thorn is another, for obvious reasons.

That's all I can think of.

Posted by: Blak99Psy Jun 10 2011, 03:11 PM

Palkia being Water/Dragon, although I kind of understand. Still, pretty much all of the other Pokemon related to space have been either Psychic, or learned a fair amount of Psychic moves.

Posted by: Merchant Jun 10 2011, 03:54 PM

Space is ever present and is always flowing, like the ocean, hence Palkia's typing.
Even though you didn't include its brother, Dialga's steel typing is based on how time can be bended or modified through course of action. At least that's what I think, but I can understand what you're saying about Pokemon related to space.

Posted by: Blak99Psy Jun 10 2011, 04:10 PM

I actually was thinking about Dialga, too. Don't know why I forgot to add him in. Time doesn't have anything to do with Steel, other than maybe the fact that it doesn't change or that clocks have metal parts, but I highly doubt that's what they were going for. He's just as confusing, if not more-so.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking about with space's relation to water. When I initially played the games, I thought "Why not just have exclusive time and space types, like the ??? type?" It would have been more trouble in the end, I guess, especially since they recently removed the ??? type.

Posted by: pykies Jun 10 2011, 07:50 PM

I still kinda don't see why Charizard isn't Fire/Dragon.
xP

Posted by: Galahawk Jun 11 2011, 02:33 AM

Really? I always thought Palkia's typing was a pun on what gem it's modeled around. (since pearls come from ocean-dwelling mollusks)
It makes sense considering Dialga's typing too since diamonds, although being rocks, technically, can withstand a lot, which brings to mind the fact that the steel type has far more resistances than most other types.

Back on subject, when I first saw artwork of Absol during the dawning days of the third gen, I REALLY wasn't expecting it to be a dark type. Especially since until that point, almost all dark types were predominantly black (as opposed to Absol being a bright white). Other than that I really didn't know what to expect with its typing.
And before that, I, for the longest time, wasn't aware Tyranitar was part dark. I knew it was a rock type to say the least, but I never figured out the dark half until around the fourth gen. Also, is it sad that I only very, VERY recently discovered Steelix was ground/steel instead of rock/steel like I've been thinking for years now? xD



Because it's a starter. In the part of the game starters are used in most, a third-stage dragon type would seem extremely broken compared to almost everything around you. Notice how in the first gen the ONLY dragon types in the entire game elude you until you're almost at the end?

Posted by: okpo Jun 11 2011, 07:23 AM

Charizard is not a dragon

Posted by: Empty Vessel Jun 12 2011, 04:18 PM

Im surprised he wasn't brought up, but sudowoodo, when i first encountered him in gold/silver, i thought, okay quilava, burn that tree(thinking he was part grass being he is a tree) so i used a fire move, not very effective, just big wtf look came across my face

Posted by: Covenant Jun 14 2011, 03:58 AM

Why can't Bisharp be part Fighting instead of dark? :c

Posted by: Khall Jun 15 2011, 01:27 AM

why the hell is lucario a steel type?

Posted by: intu Jun 15 2011, 01:54 AM

i was surprised that archen's egg group includes water 3, when it's a rock-flying type pokemon

Posted by: Foxxeh Jun 15 2011, 02:44 AM

Sudowoodo i think confused everyone in pokemon gold and silver. "Look a pretty tree! Lets water it "
*tree shakes in anger* "GRRR >8U"
WTF? since when do rocks morph into plant shapes?

Posted by: Empty Vessel Jun 15 2011, 10:59 PM

Its actually a "fossilized" tree, so its mostly rock which is why water angers it, but still i wanted to burn it

Posted by: Logannaruto Jun 15 2011, 11:41 PM

why is delibird ice/flying. I know its a penguin but penguins cant fly and it looks misleading

Posted by: Galahawk Jun 16 2011, 12:33 AM

Because all bird-based Pokemon are part flying, whether they can actually fly or not.

Posted by: Merchant Jun 16 2011, 12:45 AM

Its name probably comes from Lupaster, a subspecies of the Canis Aureus, the Egyptian Jackal. Lucario's name possibly derives also from part of a Japanese spelling of oracle or orichalcum in reverse, reflecting its mythical design, its ability to see into the supernatural, and its Steel-type.

From Bulbapedia.

Posted by: Black Hole Sun Jun 16 2011, 06:58 AM

At first I was surprised that Golett and Frillish were Part-Ghost.

Until I read the Pokedex.

Posted by: Zapi Jun 16 2011, 08:15 AM

I used to think Mienshao was Fighting/Psychic because of its appearance. And that Elgyem and Beheeyem were ghost-type since Elgyem was found in that tower with all the Litwicks (forgot the name). And that Dwebble and Crustle were part water-type...

Posted by: Rika Kitty Jun 16 2011, 09:23 AM

When I was a kid, I could have SWORN that Machop was part ground type. I have no clue why though |D

Also, why isn't Mawile Steel and Dark type? It's the deceiver Pokemon! That just screams "Dark type"! On that note, it being steel type at all doesn't make much sense.

Posted by: Tekno Jun 17 2011, 12:45 PM

He didn't finish the legend. The carp transforms into a flying dragon and goes wreck havoc on a nearby village. As a punishment the gods take away the dragon's ability to fly, hence Gyarados' typing. And Chinese dragons actually fly without wings (at least in everything where one appears).

Posted by: Chu Chu Jun 18 2011, 12:41 PM

I always thought Tangela was part water type. I have no clue why. And I never understood why a lot of Flying types are part normal.

Posted by: rileyup Jun 18 2011, 06:45 PM

it has a steel spike

Posted by: Kazyx Jun 18 2011, 06:50 PM

For the longest time, I always thought Shellder and Seel were part Ice due to their evolutions.

I think a couple other Pokemon that baffled me at first were:

• Emboar being part Fighting. Not only did it baffle me, it ticked me off to no end. <__<
• Relicanth. At first I thought it was a pure Water type, and when I found out its history I was like "Why can't it be classed as a fossil Pokemon and make it exceptionally hard to find?"
• Drapion as Poison/Dark. Would have thought Bug/Poison like its pre-evo. Completely flipped me for a loop. I like the typing, but I was so confused at the time.
• Haxorus. Could have thought it'd be Rock/Dragon or Bug/Dragon, but it turns out to be pure Dragon. Strangest thing I'd ever heard of.
• At first I thought Cofagrigus was going to be part Steel, but when I learned about its pure Ghost typing I was kinda glad. Other than the lack of Toxic immunity, it kind of made sense.
• Serperior. I would have thought that beautiful creature would have had a second typing. Was kind of disappointed.
• Pansage line, Pansear line and Panpour line. Would have thought Normal/*insert type here* for all of them, or at least their evolutions. They just screamed Normal to me.

That's all I got right now. Locations of some confused me though, like Stunfisk (Who's WEAK to water) only being found IN the water. It was like "What are you doing. By the looks of this you can't even swim. Stupid fish."

Posted by: Trueblade Mia Dec 10 2011, 05:21 AM

Lanturn, he's water and electric. Is he like an eel or something O__O

Posted by: Dark Heart Dec 10 2011, 11:40 AM

I would have to say Gyarados being a flying type was surprising.

Posted by: Floating Away Dec 10 2011, 11:49 AM

I was confused to when I first saw it. Plus Aaron was using it, and I thought that it would be a Bug-Type because he's a Bug-Type Trainer. Sure surprised me.

Posted by: Dragon of time Dec 17 2011, 12:48 PM

I thought Mewtwo was Dark type at first.......
On another note,HOW IN THE %&^%^$ WORLD CAN GOLETT LEARN FLY?!?!?!?!

Posted by: virizions Dec 17 2011, 01:06 PM

When Lucario was first revealed I thought he was dark/fighting. Tynamo/Eelektrik/Eelektross surprised me because I presumed they were part water as well.

Posted by: Klaire Dec 18 2011, 02:38 PM

Uh, surfskit {..epic spell fail} is like bug and water.
and like no.
>:u those don't go together.

Posted by: Spanish Inquisition Dec 19 2011, 07:00 AM

Well, in-built jet packs immediately comes to mind. "GOLETTE, USE FLY!" Golett: *Takes superman pose and farts fire like there's no tomorrow*

But yeah. Emoboar. I love the thing to death, but THREE fire/fighting starters in a row is too much. For the longest time, I could've sworn that Noctowl and Stanler were part psychic types, that Baltoy/Claydol were part rock, and I was pretty peeved that Gyarados didn't know how to use fly.

Posted by: Raiden Dec 19 2011, 01:57 PM

He's actually http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish. Lanturn's just a lot prettier. (I've actually eaten an angler. Tasted good.)

Anglers have a little "fishing-rod" they have on their forehead, but they don't emit electricity like electric eels do. Instead, they only emit light that draws small fish to them. ...With those teeth, who needs electricity?

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Mar 30 2012, 12:01 PM

Actually, the fact that the Golett line can learn Fly is a direct shout-out to that movie, The Iron Giant. Scroll down to Shout Out in the New Pokémon Tropes folder on http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite?from=Main.PokemonBlackAndWhite and enlighten yourselves.

And I agree with the posters who find Mawile being Steel-typed weird. Even if you look at its inspiration (the Japanese futakuchi-onna), it still doesn't make sense.

Posted by: Velocity Apr 9 2012, 06:30 AM

This.

I really didn't notice this until now. I really thought it was part dragon? Someone did mention why its part flying on page 1 of the thread, but still since it can't learn fly it kind of defeats the purpose...

Posted by: PawsrentOrigin Apr 12 2012, 06:14 PM

I heard it was because the programmers were going to make it Dragon, but they decided they just wanted the Dratini family to have that type.

The type that surprised me was Litwick's Ghost typing. It doesn't look like a ghost.

Posted by: jacko19863 Apr 14 2012, 01:31 AM

1. Gyarados should have dragon. IT IS A DRAGON. Also i thought it could learn fly until a little wwhile ago (2 months?)
2. Arceus's multitype, Like, You'd think the default type would be somethin better, Not normal
3. Giratina. Y U NO DARK?
4. Lucario and the whole metal thing
5. Palkia confuses me, Y U WATER?
6. Chinchou, I thought it was an advantage in battle tower when it was a water only battle, send in chinchou, Thunderbolt, Ïnsert water pokemon here" Fainted.
7. Audino. Would thought to be physic? But only normal.
8 the pan's Y U NORMAL TILL EVOLVE?.

Thats about it. :/

Posted by: BarkingChaos Apr 14 2012, 06:50 PM

The fact Lugia is NOT a water type baffles me. I mean, it lives underwater!

Posted by: emilypemely Apr 14 2012, 09:05 PM

i think regigigas should have been a ground type

Posted by: shadowpikachu Apr 16 2012, 06:15 PM

Honestly, Arceus, Mainly because if It/He/She/Thing created EVERYTHING I would personally think it would have to be something other than normal... Probably like a ??? type

Posted by: Hexxy Apr 19 2012, 02:57 PM

Altaria being part Dragon. :T

Posted by: rt117 Apr 19 2012, 05:51 PM

I never figured that:
- Paras/Parasect were part grass, though I suppose it could have something to do with the mushrooms carried
- Lucario was part steel
- Frillish and Jellicant were part ghost
- Bulbasaur was part poison (being the only dual typed starter)

Posted by: SomeRandomDude314 Apr 21 2012, 12:23 PM

It does get Bounce, but that's by Tutor...

Anyways, why is Latios not part Flying and part Dragon instead?

Posted by: rt117 Apr 21 2012, 12:32 PM

Theres only room for two types, and because Flying can be thought of more like a 'secondary' type, it was omitted. Other Pokemon are missing a third type as well, such as Flygon (missing Flying, but has the Levitate ability to replace it), and Lugia (which should have the Water type attatched, being the 'Diving Pokemon', but is instead a Psychic/Flying type).

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Apr 21 2012, 05:15 PM

Actually, the Lugia not being Water/Flying is because GF probably didn't want a Legendary to have a 4x weakness to a rather common type. And as for Altaria being part Dragon, it's based off of the Chinese Peng, which are birds of enormous size often represented with a dragon's head and whiskers whom also have cloudlike wings. Its Japanese name, Tyltalis, could also come from the name for the star Epsilon Draconis, also known as 'Tyl', which in itself is a reference to the play L'Oiseau Bleu, a play by Maurice Maeterlinck, a Belgian playwright. The play is about two siblings, Mytyl and Tyltyl, who are searching for the 'blue bird of happiness'. Their names are translated as ミチル and チルチル in the Japanese version of the play.

Information on Altaria courtesy of http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Altaria_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

EDIT: Just saw the post asking why Lucario is part Steel. The most likely reason is that its name in Japanese, Rukario, can be interpreted as either the word 'oracle' or 'orichalcum' in reverse then transcribed to Katakana. Orichalcum itself is thought to be an alloy of metals ranging from gold/copper, copper/tin, copper/zinc/brass, or even a metal no longer known about. The word itself is derived from the Greek word oreikhalkos, which is derived from oros (mountain), and chalkos (copper or bronze).

Information on orichalcum courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orichalcum

Posted by: Kazyx Apr 21 2012, 06:26 PM

Let's see. Might as well add a few more Pokemon to my list. Doing Gens 1 and 2 for now.
(Images thanks to Poke Elite 2000)

• 
  • Suspected Type -
  • Reasoning - Due to the anime, Psyduck was said to have psychic abilities, and in the games, learned a good amount of Psychic moves. Due to this, I figured it evolved into a Water/Psychic, but was disappointed when I found out that wasn't the case.
• 
  • Suspected Type -
  • Reasoning - Due to my own general confusion, Horsea upon becoming a Seadra was able to use Poison Sting, as well as a couple of other Poison moves. This caused me to think that it was part Poison. Haha! Boy, was that ever silly thinking.
• 
  • Suspected Type -
  • Reasoning - Tree = Grass, right? Right?! NOPE. Boy was my poor Quilava ever surprised to be greeted by a Rock Slide to the face. I was so infuriated I didn't care what type it was, and went out of my way to DESTROY it. Yep. Didn't catch it. I KO'd both it and Red Gyarados in my first playthrough of Silver, back when they first came out.
• 
  • Suspected Type -
  • Reasoning - Zubat (the only bat to date at this point) was Poison/Flying. Gligar kinda looks like a bat, but with a socrpion tail. This caused my childish mind to think "Oh! It's a Poison/Flying!". *shrugs* We learn eventually, thank goodness.
• 
  • Suspected Type - ¹ / ²
  • Reasoning - ¹Due to it being a part of the legendary trio, I had imagined it having a similar set of typings, like how Gen 1's Bird Trio worked. This resulted in the thought of being an Ice type.
  • Reasoning - ²After watching Pokemon 4Ever (Still a silly title but whatever), and watching Suicune run on water, I began to think it was then part Water. Afterall, it was called the North Wind, and the North is cold, and there's ice there. Aurora Beam didn't help my confusion either. Oh how silly I was.

Posted by: unearthly May 10 2012, 03:00 AM

I didn't realize that magnamite picked up the 'steel' type until I joined gpx.
I guess that one makes sense though.
Why is seedots later evos dark? Idk you tell me.
Sudowoodo always confused me too ^w^

Posted by: Durppie May 13 2012, 07:18 PM

For a while, I thought Victini was a Normal/Fire type, not a Psychic/Normal. *shrugs*

For an even longer time, I thought Dratini was Water/Dragon. Must've been the blue coloration, and that they're found near water at times.

Posted by: PokeCo May 14 2012, 03:40 AM

Just got my hands on LARVESTA on this site. And a BUG/FIRE type makes me a tad confused...

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten May 30 2012, 12:40 PM

Regarding Nuzleaf and Shiftry's Dark typing: they happen to be based off of Japanese goblinlike spirits known as tengu, which are classified into two types:
Daitengu (Lit: Great tengu): The more benevolent variety, is often regarded in a protecting role. Shiftry is based on this variant of tengu. This type is also referred to as hanatakatengu (Lit: Tall-nosed tengu).
Kotengu (Lit: Small tengu): The malevolent variety, prone to playing nasty pranks on people. I theorize that Nuzleaf is based off this variant of tengu. This type is also referred to as Karasu-Tengu (Lit: Crow tengu) or koppatengu/konohatengu (Lit: Foliage tengu).

An additional clue lies in Shiftry's Japanese name, Dirteng, a corruption of daitengu. Although Bulbapedia has a different etymology for that name, this is the one I deem more fitting. (Bulbapedia derives it from dark or dirty and tengu).

Information on tengu courtesy of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu and back issues of Beckett Unofficial Pokémon Collector.

Posted by: Umi ko Jun 2 2012, 06:58 PM

That ugly Stufisk thing...The one that looks like a derpy pancake. It being ground and electric. I don't even know how that works. If it uses electric attacks, it'd cancel the attack out since it's a ground type B|

Posted by: Glover Jun 9 2012, 11:37 PM

Uh, Jirachi's always been part Steel. Has to do with the metallic alloys often found in comets.

Giratina is a ghost type because Giratina is essentially the ruler of the underworld. Granted, it's not the underworld of our lore, Giratina's realm is more like the backstage of a theatre than it is a realm of death, but that's what it is. Note the broken halo on its forehead.

Surskit is based on a spider, who ejects oil (you know, oil thicker than water) from its feet and can walk on water. This is real, folks.


Rockets. And because Golurk can. (by folding in his legs and hands and sprouting rocckets. Now, explain to me how the ancients managed to do with rocks and fire what NASA needs a multi billion dollar budget to do?)



Thank you. Thank you SO much for putting it so eloquently. You are a god amongst us.




Probably
A)So that Delibird can learn other flying moves. Well, TMs
B)Because Delibird fly (See Anime)
C)Becasue Santa Claus, whom Delibird is based off of, can fly.



Actually, you're forgetting that Nidoking (Poison/GRD) can learn Thunder too. Stunfisk is a Mudfish Pokemon, specifically a flounder (lives on the seafloor to wait for prey, has eyes in odd places) and a eel or electric stingray who can also zap a fish and cook its own lunch. The fact that the fishy is not water is a bit odd, but then if it was, it'd be a ripoff of Lanturn. I do wish that its ground type would protect its electric type weakness, but oh well.


Firebug. Kinda like a lightning bug.



Sudowoodo= Pseudo (meaning fake) wood. Fake Wood. Rock type who looks like a tree. Ta da!


Brotha' you ain't alone.

What is it with no one reading PSEUDOwoodo's name? Hint! Big Hint! Fake wood. (Granted, I didn't know what Pseudo meant when I played Silver the first time, but I read up on it beforehand


True, but how many seances involve candles?




You forget, Normal is supposed to be a baseline. most normal types can learn a huge range of types as well, because they are a baseline. Ditto's a baseline who can become anything.

Fixed due to annoyingness meme.

It's because they are still young. And they evolve with the stones, so their evolutions are inheiring the powers from the stones.

Although, I hadn't really looked to check and see that they were normal types, so what do I know?

Probably because we got Darkrai at the same time. Simple as that. Also, Giratina is supposed to be more of an underworld ruler than truly evil.

fixed due to annoyingness meme,

Posted by: daniff Jun 28 2012, 10:06 AM

i was convinced that luxray was part dark, i had an argument with my brother about it, i lost.
but I've heard a lot of people say this

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Jul 1 2012, 04:25 PM

^I've heard a lot of people are curious about that exact thing. Truth is, the Luxray line was meant to be an ATK-based counterpart to the SATK Manectric line. That, and its unusual blue/black/yellow color scheme calls to mind darkness and night.

On Golett learning Fly: It's a Shout-Out to the movie The Iron Giant. Check http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite?from=Main.PokemonBlackAndWhite for more info (you'll need to scroll down to the New Pokémon Tropes to find it.)

Regarding Litwick and its line: It's not meant to be a reference to seances, but rather a combination of Hitodama (a blue, black, or purple flame associated with ghosts and youkai, roughly the Japanese equivalent of the Western will-o'-the-wisp) and candles. Its Japanese name also holds a clue, being potentially derived from the Japanese hitomoshi, 火点し (Lit: to light a lamp, or a funeral-procession leader) or hitomoshi, 人燃し (to burn a man [to death]). Both of these words are death-related, and Ghost-types do have a tendency to be death-themed. A candlelike Fire/Ghost 'mon makes sense in light of this. Likewise, Lampent (a combination of the aforementioned Hitodama and an oil street lamp) and Chandelure (a combination of Hitodama and a chandelier) continue this 'soul-fire' concept.

And even though Giratina's typing has been brought up, I'd like to add something to what's already been said.
I believe the Ghost typing has something to do with the fact that Giratina is a representation of antimatter. Word of God from Junichi Masuda has confirmed this, as well as in-game confirmation in the HGSS Arceus event. I have the April 2009 issue of Nintendo Power, and there is an interview with Masuda and Takeshi Kawachimaru in the cover story on Platinum Version. Here's an excerpt from the interview (Question will be in Bold, responses distinguished by italics):

NP: Did you have the ideas for Pokémon Platinum in mind when working on Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, or did they come about later?

Masuda: While developing Diamond and Pearl. Giratina originally embodied the idea of an "antiworld", which is a paradox of Time and Space. It exists in relation to Dialga and Palkia. That's what I had in mind when I was developing Diamond and Pearl.

Kawachimaru: I was not aware of any of that during the Diamond and Pearl development. Masuda told me about it when we started developing Platinum. So it was after Diamond and Pearl for me (laughs). I normally receive key terms from Masuda in the first stage of development, but there were many random terms like "antimatter" and "e=mc2", "Reversed Mt. Fuji" ("Sakasa Fuji") and so on. He explained that "Sakasa Fuji" is the reflection of Mt. Fuji on the lake, and it's the antimatter world. It was challenging to put that concept in the game, so we did extensive research. I didn't know what exactly "antimatter" was either. I personally think that I comprehend it well, but I wonder....

Masuda: Yes. It exists but it actually doesn't. That sort of thing. The mountain exists on the lake through human eyes, but it's only a reflection and doesn't exist. It's a diverse world. You see it only because you are looking at it with your eyes. I'm impressed (with Kawachimaru) for being able to take ingredients that were not substantial and incorporate them into Platinum.

So there you have it. Straight from the producer and director themselves.

Information on Litwick, Lampent, and Chandelure obtained from: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Litwick_(Pok%C3%A9mon), http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Lampent_(Pok%C3%A9mon), and http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Chandelure_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

Quote of interview from the article "Pokémon Goes Platinum", from Nintendo Power issue #240, April 2009.

Posted by: Gizmokarp Jul 2 2012, 03:38 PM

^ Agreed with everything in Kazyx's post... except for Seadra, sort of. I never really saw Seadra as a part poison type all that much, but I guess it varies from different people's point of views~

...but Ho-oh is 4x weak to rock.

The only real thing I'm kinda disappointed in, in terms of typing, is Gyarados. It would be nice if it was dragon and water, as I'm sure everyone else would like the same thing as well.

Posted by: Kazyx Jul 2 2012, 11:04 PM

Hey there, Kaz here with Generation 3 and their effing confusion!
(This time, pictures from Pokecheck)

• 
  • Suspected Type -
  • Reasoning - Due to Surskit being a Bug/Water type, it was only natural that my younger self had thought that Masquerain was a Bug/Water type. I was shocked when I one-shotted it with a Rock move.
• 
  • Suspected Type -
  • Reasoning - Azurill, being a part of the Marill, only made sense to think that it was a Water type. Boy was I ever surprised to find out it was a Normal type!
• 
  • Suspected Type -
  • Reasoning - No idea why, but I thought Mawile was a Dark type. Could be the large mouth and the fact it was only found in caves. *shrugs*
• &
  • Suspected Type - ¹ / ²
  • Reasoning¹ - Volbeat and Illumise, when I heard they were Fireflies, made me instantly think of Ampharos, who was Electric typed. I was stoked, going "Oh boy, a Bug/Electric type! That sounds cool! NOPE.
  • Reasoning² - Then when I encountered them, I actually thought they were Bug/Flying types, like almost all bugs with wings are (Once finding out Masquerain was Bug/Flying helped this out). NOPE. GUESS AGAIN.
• & &
  • Suspected Type - & &
  • Reasoning - Trapinch! Wow, was I ever wrong about it! I thought it was a Bug type, that became a Bug/Flying, and then into a Dragon/Flying! I have no idea why I thought that as a kid, but I sure feel pretty silly about it now.
• 
  • Suspected Type -
  • Reasoning - Another confusing one. Thought this was going to be Normal/Flying. NOT TODAY. <__<;;

Needless to say, younger me was a very confused individual and I am not sure how I feel about it.

Posted by: Gizmokarp Jul 4 2012, 10:59 AM

^And again, I most certainly agree with Kazyx (well done on gathering them, by the way~).
Except for volbeat and illumise; I always saw them as pure bug type at first glance.
Same thing with trapinch, as I instantly assumed it was a ground type, and embarrassingly, for almost 90% of all the time that I've been playing R/S/E in my past years, it never crossed my mind that it evolved into vibrava, and I was so confused on how to get a Flygon until I eventually got bored and started to train a trapinch; it came to an extreme surprise to me when it evolved.

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Jul 7 2012, 12:02 PM

Oh, yeah. Gen III 'mons had some deceptive typings. I also thought Azurill was a Water type. So I was quite surprised to find out it was Normal type. And (even though I personally never suscribed to the idea) I remember reading a preview of some of the R/S 'mons, and one of the 'mons in the preview was Kecleon, which was theorized to be a Grass type, most likely due to its green coloration and the fact that it was an arboreal lizard. Nope. And same thing with Volbeat. I thought it'd be Bug/Electric too, what with being a firefly and all. Nope.

On Ho-Oh's predicament (x4 Rock weakness): Fire/Flying was an already established typing at the time, with Charizard and Moltres. So, having one Legendary with a x4 weakness, they didn't want the other version exclusive following suit. And the basis for Lugia's design, the ocean kami Ryūjin, has aquatic, avian, and psychic characteristics. (And if you look at the name, draconic characteristics.) The physical design of Lugia wasn't taken from Ryūjin's physical design (who is more like Gyarados or Rayquaza, appearance-wise), but its personality/mythos were. Ryūjin-focused stories tend to be violent or dark in nature. Fortunately, that particular characteristic wasn't carried over to Lugia.

TL;DR: Lugia is based off of an aquatic-dwelling dragon god in Shintoism, which also has some psychic characteristics.

(Information on Lugia obtained from Beckett Pokémon Unofficial Collector issue #125)

Posted by: Ticonderoga Jul 19 2012, 02:19 PM

Why the heck is flygon not dragon/flying...i mean, it has wings

Posted by: The Derpsparce Jul 22 2012, 06:18 AM

For years I thought Empoleon was Water/Ice, being a penguin and all. The moment I realised it was Steel-type my mind was blown. x3

Posted by: quomimi Jul 22 2012, 06:21 AM

I love flying types, dragon types, and ice types. They're beautiful~~

I think one type that I always forget about is Shuckle. I always think it's a normal type, when it's actually Bug and Rock. And when I see Suddowoodo, I think "Yeah he's wood type.... Wait what?" XD

Posted by: Mintabani Jul 22 2012, 09:44 AM

I always thought it was Water/Flying because it was the guardian of the seas and they live in the ocean. And it looks like a Water type because it's blue.
I learned it was a steel type just 2 months ago. It looks too small and soft to be a Steel type...
They didn't look like Poison types when I first saw them. Probably because I don't associate mammal-like Pokemon with the Poison type.

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Jul 24 2012, 11:39 AM

The Derpsparce, you aren't the only one who mistook Empoleon's typing. I too thought that it'd be Water/Ice, due to misreading its typing over on Serebii.net before D/P were released over here. It wasn't until I got my Piplup fully evolved that I found out I was wrong.
My thought process was along the lines of:
Yay! Prinplup's evolving! Ooh, that looks cool! *checks Empoleon's type* Wait... Steel type? What the Gehennom? It don't even look Steel type!

I don't really get the Water/Steel typing anyhow. I can't find any reasoning for the Steel typing on Bulbapedia other than its crown resembling a trident, but that seems rather weak reasoning, IMO.

Posted by: DarkPikachu732 Jul 27 2012, 07:20 AM

Gyarados because when I caught it was at the Lake of Rage I was like, Yes! My first shiny! Then when it was the Pokedex entry I was like, Wait wut! It doesnt have any wings! I said that because it was a Water and Flying type, at the end of the Pokedex entry I did a facepalm.

Posted by: DeathToll2400 Jul 27 2012, 10:17 AM

well, i would say the fact that swampert is part ground type, when i found out i was like O.o

Posted by: Andreutzu Jul 27 2012, 11:55 PM

This!

Posted by: labtech9999 Sep 10 2012, 07:17 PM

Rawr

Posted by: nkl93 Sep 11 2012, 10:54 AM

I agree with the Azurill Pokemon one; I figured this would be water since the other two were I believed. Confusing.

Posted by: pinkriffic Sep 26 2012, 05:10 PM

Jynx.

I just... I couldn't even guess the type of Jynx. Just, what? With Jynx, I wouldn't have been surprised it was Rock type, seriously.


Although, tbh:


Type: Nicki Minaj

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Sep 29 2012, 10:36 PM

On Jynx's typing: Odds are, if aspects of certain fanon opinions are right, Jynx being an Ice-type has something to do with her being either a Nordic princess/Norse Underworld goddess Hel, or a facsimile of. Other common interpretations are that her design is based off of the proverbial 'fat lady' in opera (as in the saying, "It's not over until the fat lady sings."), the Japanese fashion trends of Ganguro (Lit. 'Face black') or Yamanba (a corruption of Yama Uba, mentioned later), (this possible origin triggered cries of Jynx being a racist stereotype, even though in Japan, there is no stigma attatched to the blackface in performance arts, unlike here in the United States), the mythical Japanese Yuki Onna (lit. 'Snow woman', this is also the origins of Froslass), or the Yama Uba (lit. 'Mountain crone'.)

Information on Jynx from the following pages:
http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species:_Jynx
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Jynx_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

Posted by: Yung Oct 3 2012, 09:56 AM

Mars - I definitely agree with you in regards to the origin of Jynx's Ice type origination. I had did an entire paper when I was in High School regarding the goddess Hel and nearly ever source I found had included Jynx as a modern day reference to the goddess.

In regards to the original topic, I'll agree that the Red Gyarados was the first one that just blew my mind. I remember staring at him for hours trying to figure out the Flying aspect... he lives in a lake!

Posted by: purple umbreon Oct 3 2012, 10:19 AM

If I remember correctly, Relicanth is actually based on a fish, the coelacanth. They say that fish still looks the same like some million years ago.
I only know that from fishing for fish in Animal Crossing.

And now for me:
*I was surprised when I found out seel and shelder wheren't part ice like their evolutions.
*Sudowoodo being stone instead of grass never really surprised me that much but it did in the beginning.
*Azurill is a normal type? O.o I never knew that.
*I always thought shuckle was a rock/ground type but it's a rock/bug type.
*I thought shieldon was a pure steel type. I should have known it was part rock because all fossils are part rock
*Drapion being a poison/dark type instead of poison/bug type
*Serperior only being a grass type and not part poison like I first thought.
*Tynamo is an electric type, I thought it was also a water or ghost type.
"Haxorus is a pure dragon type? I'm not used to that.
*Stunfisk is a fish, but no water pokemon?
*Mienshao, why aren't you a psychic type?
*Golett is partly ghost type....
*Didn't expect lugia to be Psychic/flying. I also thought he would be a flying/water type
*Keldeo is part fighting. Didn't expect that.

Posted by: Yung Oct 3 2012, 11:57 AM

In all fairness I had honestly thought that Shuckle was a water type.

Posted by: dareco Oct 5 2012, 03:41 PM

I still don't get why Gyarados is a water/flying type
It should have been water/dragon.

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Oct 20 2012, 01:22 PM

To add to purple umbreon's comments on Relicanth's origins, the particular species that Relicanth is based upon is Latimeria chalumnae.

Edit: And as for Shuckle's odd typing, that comes from the most likely origin of its design, endoliths, which are creatures that live in porous rocks or animal shells. Fungi, which are common endoliths, are also known as molds, which might possibly be the derivation of its species, the Mold Pokémon. Other possible origins are abalones (a type of shell, which belongs to the order Archaegastropoda, genus Haliotis, and is found on the western coast of the US), scale insects (small parasitic insect pests that attach to plants and produce a substance known as honeydew; they belong to the order Hemiptera, superfamily Coccoidae), and tortoises/turtles in regards to its appearance. Looking at the Japanese name derivation listed by Bulbapedia (壷 tsubo (lit. 'jar') and 富士壺 fujitsubo (lit. 'barnacle'), it quite possibly draws inspirations from barnacles as well.

Information on Relicanth courtesy of http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Relicanth_(Pok%C3%A9mon)
Information on Shuckle courtesy of http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Shuckle_(Pok%C3%A9mon), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abalone (for genus clarification), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_insect (for order/superfamily names)

Posted by: Faceless Oct 20 2012, 02:23 PM

Stunfisk
Tynamo + Eelektrik + Eelektross
Smoochum + Jynx
Victini
Lucario
Shelmet (should have been Bug/Steel)
Golett - Golurk (should have been Steel/Ghost)
Serperior (COULD have been Grass/Dragon)

Posted by: Chrome Oct 20 2012, 04:39 PM

I wonder why Lucario is a Steel/FIghting type sometimes... O_O
It's a wolf, not a robotic thing. I get the whole Fighting but Steel?

Posted by: Samoo Oct 20 2012, 06:05 PM

Never understood why Gyarados was part flying.. Water/Dragon for it would've been better >_>

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Nov 3 2012, 03:57 PM

Regarding Tynamo and family's pure Electric typing:

Bulbapedia lists some possible origins of these three Pokémon as the following:

Tynamo
Electric eels, lampreys, jawless fish, leeches, lancelets, leptocephali (larval stage of eels), knifefish, and possibly Haikouicthys (a now-exctinct genus of craniates (creatures with backbones and distinct heads)) (morphology), bioelectrogenesis (typing), and a Crookes tube or Geissler tube, both types of gas discharge tubes (irregular yellow line on Tynamo's sides) and quite possibly the optical effect known as rods, sometimes named 'skyfish' (Ability). Its Japanese name is derived from 痺れ shibire (lit. 'numbness'), しびれうなぎ shibireunagi (lit. 'electric eel'), and シラス shirasu (lit. 'whitebait').

Eelektrik
Shares many possible origins with Tynamo, with lancelets, knifefish, leptocephali, Haikouicthys, Crookes/Geissler tubes, 'skyfish' excluded. Its Japanese name origin is shared from Tynamo, with シラス shirasu replaced by ビリビリ biribiri (lit. onomatopoeia for an electric shock) and イール īru (lit. 'eel').

Eelektross
Also shares many possible origins with Tynamo/Eelektrik with jawless fish excluded and replaced by Agnatha (a superclass of jawless fish in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata). Its Japanese name shares derivations from Tynamo/Eelektrik's names with shirasu/biribiri replaced by don (Lat: lord, AGrk: tooth).

Information on Haikouicthys courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haikouichthys
Information on Crookes tube courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crookes_tube
Information on Geissler tube courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geissler_tube
Information on rods courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyfish (page title is a redirect to the proper article)
Information on Agnatha courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnatha
Information on the Tynamo line courtesy of http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Tynamo_(Pok%C3%A9mon), http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Eelektrik_(Pok%C3%A9mon), and http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Eelektross_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

EDIT: Golett/Golurk being part Ground-type is likely due to the fact that they're based off of golems, a man-made human from Judaic lore. Golem itself is also named after this creature. In a book titled 'Sefer Yetzira' which dates to late antiquity, a theory that the 22 Hebrew letters are the tools of creation. It also taught that those letters could be manipulated in such a way as to give those who worked with them unlimited power. If, the book suggested, God created human beings from the power of letters, then it must also be possible for humans to create a being in the same way. Once made, these creatures had a tendency to cause trouble. The only way to deal with a renegade golem was to erase the word of creation, aleph, from its forehead or remove a card hung around its neck with this word written on it. Once this was done, the golem would return to the dust. This connection to dust is probably the main derivation of Golett/Golurk's Ground typing. However, I can't find any explanations of the Ghost typing.

tl;dr: Golem/Golett/Golurk are based off of mythical Judaic artificial humans.

Information on golems courtesy of The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures; the ultimate a-z of fantastic beings from myth and magic by John & Caitlín Matthews
Information on Golett/Golurk courtesy of http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Golett_(Pok%C3%A9mon) and http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Golurk_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

Posted by: Dian aka Shiny Feb 4 2013, 01:16 PM

Erm... Many people have mentioned Tynamo/Eelektrik/Eelektross, but I still don't get it. A pure Electric type who is based on an eel - I've almost understood it. But when I first encountered a Tynamo, I was like "Why on land?"

Posted by: Surilteir Sep 28 2013, 10:31 PM

Im surprised that Charizard wasnt part dragon...and what the heck is a "fairy" type??

Posted by: Captain Epic Oct 8 2013, 05:56 AM

The Fairy type confuses me. I don't know why they've brought this in now after having 5 generations without it. Yes, I understand the likes of Jigglypuff etc being re-typed to Fairy, but what I don't understand is why they've left it this long to do it.

The other things I don't understand:

Gyarados. HOW IS IT PART FLYING TYPE? WHAT?

This is something that has confused me for years... as it has done for other people, too.

Posted by: draconitas Oct 8 2013, 09:46 AM

Ah, my favourite Pokemon. Gyarados is based of a Chinese myth: a carp that jumps over the Dragon Gate (lit. Dragon Door) turns into a dragon, which is an auspicious, benevolent creature in Chinese mythology.

There is a bit about it http://www.zengyotaku.com/carp_jump_dragon_gate.html, or read it below:



(Although, personally, nobody really uses "Liyu Tiao Long Men". We use "liyü yue[i] long men", which is has a slight difference: [i]tiao means to jump; yue has the connotation of going over something like a river, a wall; physical or metaphorical obstacles.)

In that sense Flying makes sense, since the Eastern (specifically Chinese) dragon usually flies around. Even the ones that live in the sea can fly around in the sky. Magically; no wings involved. The mental image of a carp jumping the Dragon Gate is immediately followed by a Mysterious Underwater evolution Transformation, and then a dragon rising from the river above to circle around in the sky. I kid you not, that is what I always think when I think of the chinese saying.

Yes, Dragon would have made even more sense, and would have kept better with the myth, but I guess it seemed too ridiculous to make it go from Water to Dragon/Flying. Also, I get the sense that Nintendo rather wanted Dragon to be more exclusive and rare a type, in those early days. But like I said, Flying isn't just plucked from nowhere.

OT, I still think Dunsparce should be Ground. That drill.

Posted by: The Majestic Mr L Feb 23 2014, 09:41 PM

I love Torterra, but he's the only Pokemon with a Grass/Ground dual typing. Grass/Ground. Quadruply weak to Ice. And the slowest Grass type starter.

Posted by: Dorito Ninja Feb 23 2014, 10:52 PM

Question: How is Dodrio able to use the move Fly when A) It doesn't have any wings, and B) Both its design and name are clearly based on flightless birds?

Also why is Palkia part Water Type? Can someone explain that to me?

Posted by: Dorito Ninja Feb 23 2014, 10:59 PM

I still think they got Gyarados and Dragonite mixed round to be honest. For Dragonair, clearly based on the eastern serpents you mentioned to turn into a more western style dragon, with the wings and bipedal body makes no sense to me even now, Gyrados keeps the same body shape, so he's a more logical evolution to me, plus, Dragonite shares Magikarp's colour scheme a lot closer

Posted by: The Majestic Mr L Feb 23 2014, 11:05 PM

Yes, but why would a bipedal dragon evolve from a FISH?

Posted by: Erens Mar 12 2014, 10:06 PM

sudowoodo's typing confused me for so long. i actually lost a battle because of it. xD. also i dont really get palkia's typing either, i mean i understand the metaphorical choice behind it, but it's not as simple as a lot of other pokemon's typing. pretty cool though

Posted by: Noa Qep Apr 1 2014, 04:20 PM

Eelektross. I was disappointed it wasn't Electric/Poison. Also Luxray--I had really been hoping for Electric/Dark. :c

Posted by: WaitingforthePUNchline Apr 6 2014, 01:32 PM

I was confused with why Mr. Mime acquired the Fairy type. If GF needed a psychic/fairy type, wouldn't meowstic be a better option?

Posted by: Mars Adept Enten Aug 10 2017, 08:17 PM

In regards to Torterra, I believe its Ground type is a reference to World Turtles referenced in various mythologies around the world. They are turtles believed to carry the Earth on their backs. They are seen in the mythologies of Hinduism, China, and the native peoples of the Americas.

Information on World Turtles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Turtle

This viewpoint is also supported by the species name Torterra being the Continent Pokémon.

It could also be based off of the Black Tortoise of Chinese astrological/cosmological lore, which represents the direction of North and the season of Winter. It is variously referred to as Xuánwŭ (玄武) (Chinese), Hyeonmu (현무 Hangul) 玄武 (Hanja) (Korean), Genbu (玄武 Kanji) (げんぶ Hiragana) (Japanese), or Huyền Vũ (Vietnamese) (I couldn't find the transcription for this on Wikipedia, unfortunately. )

Information on the Black Tortoise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tortoise

Other information from Bulbapedia: https://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species:_Turtwig,_Grotle_and_Torterra and https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Torterra_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

Posted by: AregularFrankiefan Sep 12 2017, 09:09 PM

Can't think of specifics at the moment, but I know that I've confused a lot of Pokemon's Types before. Will chip in later if I happen to remember.

Posted by: Shadow Fennekin Oct 7 2017, 11:13 PM

Not sure if I should spoil it or not...

Like how is that thing not Rock/Ghost?!