Since the first generation of the Pokemon franchise, you can find Dual-Type Pokemon up until now. While these creatures have been around for more than 20 years now, it begs the question. Were Dual-Type Pokemon supposed to exist?
Out of the 151 total Pokemon in the first generation, 89 of them were mono-typed. With a large lead of Dual-Type Pokemon, it makes you wonder why that is the case. It definitely makes you wonder if Game Freak really meant for the beloved Dual-Type Pokemon to exist.
The Dual-Type Anomaly in Gen 1
To those who remembered playing in the Kanto Region, did you ever wonder why Venusaur was weak to Ground-types? As a Grass/Poison Pokemon, Venusaur should only receive the neutral amount of damage from, let’s say, Dig.
Venusaur is a Grass-type Pokemon with Poison as its second type. As we all know, Grass Types are resistant to Ground, and Poison Types are weak to Ground.
Having both types should cancel things out so it should produce a neutral amount of damage. However, in Generation 1, when Venusaur tanks an Earthquake, the message displays, “It’s Super Effective!”
You can make a case that this is just due to poor coding on Game Freak’s part. However, maybe this error was because they were not ready for Dual Types at all.
Dual Types could have been a late adjustment close to the game’s release. This would be a plausible reason why glitches and errors happen in Dual Types.
Dual-Type Pokemon’s Designs Passes Off as a Monotype
Another factor that could help the case of Dual Type Pokemon should not have existed is its design. At the risk of being redundant, again let’s use Generation I’s 151 Pokemon. The original 151 Pokemon designs passed the eye test of being monotype Pokemon.
One example of this case is Pidgey. Pidgey definitely looks like a bird, so the first thought in your head would be Pidgey is a Flying type. However, its true typing is Normal with a second element of Flying.
Nearly every Pokemon of the first generation passes off as a monotype. You can clearly see that the fire-type Pokemon Charizard is a Fire Type. You could also argue that it deserves its Flying Type because of its wings. However, your first thought when you look at Charizard is, “Oh, that looks like a Fire Type.”
This reasoning also applies to Onyx (clearly a Rock Type), Gyarados (clearly a Water Type), and many others. While the Dual Type Pokemon are beloved due to their combat prowess, wondering whether they should have existed is valid.
