Pokémon who don't look like their types

[TwilightBlade]

I personally think that it sort of resembles a scorpion or a wasp of some sort, so I assumed that it being half Poison-type was an allusion to that.

I always thought it was meant to be some kind of demonic snake creature from an obscure legend or culture. Most snakes are venomous so I just put 2 and 2 together.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

I always thought it was meant to be some kind of demonic snake creature from an obscure legend or culture. Most snakes are venomous so I just put 2 and 2 together.

According to Bulbapedia:

Eternatus' extraterrestrial nature and dragon-like appearance may be inspired by Uther Pendragon, King Arthur's father, who acquired his epithet and started using dragons on his standards after witnessing a dragon-shaped comet.

Its overall body shape resembles the skeletal remains of a dragon, with the ribcage shaped like a cannon. Its Eternamax form may be based on the biblical Seven Headed Dragon that, in the Book of Revelation, throws one-third of all stars down to the Earth and is ultimately is banished to Earth with the Nephilim, the Hebrew giants, an event that ultimately leads to the end of time. This account may also be the origin of the item Wishing Star and the Darkest Day.

Eternamax Eternatus may be inspired by Ananta Shesha, the king of Nagas in Hindu mythology who is usually portrayed as a giant, coiled serpent with a thousand heads capable of spewing venom and fire, though some depictions simplify his appearance down to five heads. Shesha bears the deity Vishnu on its coils, similar to how Eternamax Eternatus's core is mounted atop its coiled body.

So Eternatus takes some of its inspiration from Christian and Hindu mythology, especially concerning Armageddon (the end of the world). Ananta Shesha, the Hindu deity upon which Eternatus is partially based, is capable of spewing venom, which could explain Eternatus's Poison typing.

 

[nickdt]

Why isn't Magikarp Fire type? Its red.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Why isn't Magikarp Fire type? Its red.

It's a koi fish.

Here's a pic that explains both Magikarp, Shiny Magikarp and Goldeen simultaneously:

I always thought it should've been part Psychic actually because it was able to mind control Lusamine which is something you'd expect from Psychic Pokemon.

Ah, but it doesn't mind-control Lusamine. All it does is possess her and amplify her emotions to their extremes through toxins. It has no goals of its own.

Another obvious one is Palkia. It's an awesome design but it just doesn't look like a water type.

Palkia is the ruler of space. And how is space often treated in popular culture? As though it were a vast ocean, full of ships and pirates and everything associated with the open water.

Here's something worth mentioning: do you guys think that in Gen 9, Pokémon will rectify some typings, such as when they changed some Pokémon types to Steel (Magnemite) and to Fairy (Snubull, Marill) ? (They didn't change any existing Pokémon to Dark... IIRC)

They may retcon Pokemon with single typings to a new type (Clefairy, Snubbull, etc.), add the new type onto a single-typed Pokemon (Gardevoir, Marill, etc.), or switch out Normal for a new type (Togepi line), but changing a Pokemon's non-Normal secondary type is something they're probably never gonna do.

 

[Red and Blue]

Why isn't Magikarp Fire type? Its red.

It is? Its color looks more orange to me

 

[Monox D. I-Fly]

It is? Its color looks more orange to me

I think so. It doesn't look that red.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Palkia is the ruler of space. And how is space often treated in popular culture? As though it were a vast ocean, full of ships and pirates and everything associated with the open water.

Also, pearls are gems that are from the water, being created inside oysters, and Palkia has pearls on its shoulders.

I think so. It doesn't look that red.

You could say it's scarlet... Or vermilion.

 

[Leonhart]

Why isn't Magikarp Fire type? Its red.

I don't see why a Pokemon's color should dictate what type it is. Buoysel (Buizel) is orange as well just like Koiking (Magikarp), yet it's a Water-type for obvious reasons. It being a sea weasel with Fire-type traits would've been strange even for this franchise.

 

[RedBlastoise]

Porygon should be half Electric because it's a Pokemon that can travel through cyberspace and was created with computers so the Electric type would suit it.

 

[Leonhart]

Porygon should be half Electric because it's a Pokemon that can travel through cyberspace and was created with computers so the Electric type would suit it.

I never really thought of it that way, but I suppose that's fitting. Porygon2 could've easily been made into a Normal/Electric dual typed Pokemon, as could Porygon-Z.

 

[Monox D. I-Fly]

Porygon should be half Electric because it's a Pokemon that can travel through cyberspace and was created with computers so the Electric type would suit it.

It's just like the difference between Machine-type and Cyberse-type in Yu-Gi-Oh!.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Porygon should be half Electric because it's a Pokemon that can travel through cyberspace and was created with computers so the Electric type would suit it.

I've always thought this as well. I think it could even learn Zap Cannon in Gen 2.

 

[DannyDiglett]

These are the Pokémon I think they should have a different typing:

Seel: Water-Ice
Cloyster: pure Water (dude, give your Ice type to that poor Seel! That would make more sense)
Kantonian Ninetales: Fire-Ghost, because of its origin/background and to counter its Alolan form which is dual typed.
Happiny line: Fairy or Fairy-Normal
Trapinch: Bug-Ground
Vibrava: Bug-Dragon
Flygon: Bug-Dragon
Azurill: Water-Fairy (why is it NORMAL-Fairy?)
Swablu: pure Flying
Milotic: Water-Fairy, to make it more equal to Gyarados which is dual typed. Milotic is the serene/elegant counterpart.
Celebi: Grass-Fairy
Lake Trio: Fairy-Psychic

I'm still wondering why all the Kanto Rock types are part Ground. It wasn't until the second generation that we got a pure Rock type with Sudowoodo.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

These are the Pokémon I think they should have a different typing:

Seel: Water-Ice
Cloyster: pure Water (dude, give your Ice type to that poor Seel! That would make more sense)
Kantonian Ninetales: Fire-Ghost, because of its origin/background and to counter its Alolan form which is dual typed.
Happiny line: Fairy or Fairy-Normal
Trapinch: Bug-Ground
Vibrava: Bug-Dragon
Flygon: Bug-Dragon
Azurill: Water-Fairy (why is it NORMAL-Fairy?)
Swablu: pure Flying
Milotic: Water-Fairy, to make it more equal to Gyarados which is dual typed. Milotic is the serene/elegant counterpart.
Celebi: Grass-Fairy
Lake Trio: Fairy-Psychic

I'm still wondering why all the Kanto Rock types are part Ground. It wasn't until the second generation that we got a pure Rock type with Sudowoodo.

I think Celebi is fine just the way it is. It does travel through time which is something fairies don’t typically do. Psychic makes sense as it know all about all timelines past and present and it can predict the future in a way because it has already seen it.

 

[Leonhart]

Swablu: pure Flying

I think a lot of the earlier bird Pokemon should've been pure Flying-type instead of having the Normal-type tacked on for no good reason. It's always irked me.

 

[Monox D. I-Fly]

I'm still wondering why all the Kanto Rock types are part Ground. It wasn't until the second generation that we got a pure Rock type with Sudowoodo.

Well, some types are redundant:
Water and Ice
Rock and Ground
Dark and Ghost
Psychic and Fairy

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Milotic: Water-Fairy, to make it more equal to Gyarados which is dual typed. Milotic is the serene/elegant counterpart.

Gyarados could've been Water/Dark, because of its tendency to rampage and destroy everything around it. Its Mega is Water/Dark, though.

I'm still wondering why all the Kanto Rock types are part Ground. It wasn't until the second generation that we got a pure Rock type with Sudowoodo.

I think that led to the popular misconception that Rock is immune to Electric in the first gen. Remember when Ash tried to beat Brock using only Pikachu?

 

[DannyDiglett]

Well, some types are redundant:
Water and Ice
Rock and Ground
Dark and Ghost
Psychic and Fairy

Hmm, I disagree. I think they are more distinct than you think. Each type has its own characteristics that correspond with the real world. For example, not all Ice type Pokémon live near or in the water. It rather means their habitat has a cold climate. Vice versa: there are Water types that live in tropical waters which means they have nothing to do with ice and cold areas.

Gyarados could've been Water/Dark, because of its tendency to rampage and destroy everything around it. Its Mega is Water/Dark, though.



I think that led to the popular misconception that Rock is immune to Electric in the first gen. Remember when Ash tried to beat Brock using only Pikachu?

Yeah you're right. I remember that. Makes sense.

Speaking about Mega Evolution: in case they bring it back in the future, then they should give Milotic a Mega Evolution with the additional Fairy type.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

I keep thinking Solrock is Rock/Fire, since it's a representation of the sun and it can learn some Fire-type moves, such as Ember. I noticed none of the Pokémon who are associated with the sun are Fire types; aside from Solrock who I just mentioned, Espeon (who is called the Sun Pokémon) is a Psychic type, and Solgaleo is Psychic/Steel.

It's a koi fish.

Isn't koi a member of the carp family, hence Magikarp's name?

 

[Leonhart]

I keep thinking Solrock is Rock/Fire, since it's a representation of the sun and it can learn some Fire-type moves, such as Ember.

I personally don't think it should be half Rock-type to begin with since the Sun isn't rocky or solid. Fire/Psychic would've been a more fitting type combination for Solrock from my perspective, because at least the Fire-type represents heat.