With almost 900 Pokémon (and over 1,000 if you include form-changes, Mega Evolutions, and regional variants), it can be extremely hard to remember all of their type combinations. Even something as simple as differences within an evolutionary family can be confused (Shellder is Water, while Cloyster is Water/Ice, for example).
With so many type combinations to remember, it’s easy to mix things up or get it wrong, even for the most veteran experts in the series. Most of these Pokémon have sensible reasons for being the types that they are, of course, but it doesn’t change that it’s confusing to remember at times. Here are some Pokémon with confusing or hard-to-remember type combinations that people get wrong all the time.
10 Incineroar
Starting in Generation III with Blaziken, the developers grew a seemingly-endless obsession with adding Fighting-type to the Fire starters. Blaziken, then Infernape, then Emboar were all granted the Fire/Fighting-combo, to much ridicule and frustration from fans. Delphox would finally break this trend in Gen VI, being a Fire/Psychic-type.
Then, Fire-type starters returned to being Fire/Fighting in Gen VII with Incineroar. Or, did they? Despite the trend of Fire/Fighting and Incineroar’s design being a boastful wrestler and being added to Smash with a promo inside a wrestling ring, Incineroar is a Fire/Dark-type.
9 Dhelmise
Dhelmise, the anchor-like Pokémon from Generation VII, is very confusing, thanks largely in part to its appearance. At first glance, one might consider it a Water/Steel-type. Others might think it’s a Grass/Steel-type or a Grass/Water-type.
However, it’s none of the above. Dhelmise’s true body is actually the seaweed. It’s said that Dhelmise is born when a bit of seaweed merges with debris from a ship. As a result, it’s a Ghost/Grass-type.
8 Fossils
Fossil Pokémon have been a mainstay of the series since Generation I, though they haven’t always appeared in each passing generation. Regardless, they typically always have the Rock-type as their primary type with something else as their secondary type.
Sometimes, these can be confusing to remember. Anorith and Armaldo seem like Water-types, but they’re Rock/Bug. Lileep and Cradilly seem like sea coral, and could also be Water-types, but they’re Rock/Grass.
The newest fossils, Arctovish, Dracovish, Arctozolt, and Dracozolt, are the first to not be Rock-type. They have a rotating list of type combinations, being Ice/Water, Dragon/Water, Ice/Electric, and Dragon/Electric, respectively.
7 Drapion
Drapion is a pretty cool Pokémon with an interesting type combination, but that combination can be confusing sometimes. Before evolving, Skorupi is a Bug/Poison-type, which makes total sense for a Pokémon that’s basically just a scorpion with swapped claws and stinger.
Upon evolution, though, Skorupi trades its Bug-typing in for Dark, meaning Drapion is a Poison/Dark-type. Its appearance still suggests that it’s a Bug-type, but it no longer is. The type mismatch between the two doesn’t help, either.
6 Jigglypuff
Jigglypuff and Clefairy have always kind of been counterparts. They’re both Normal-types that evolve with a Moon Stone, introduced in Generation I, with fairy-like pink designs. In Generation VI, both were reclassified to have the Fairy-type. Seems simple, right?
Unfortunately, there’s some confusion still. While Clefairy and its evolutionary relatives were changed from pure Normal-types to pure Fairy-types, Jigglypuff and its relatives were changed to Normal/Fairy dual-types. Retaining its Normal-type changes Jigglypuff’s type matchups differently from Clefairy’s.
5 Flygon
The Flygon family is another line that has an appearance suggesting one typing when it’s in fact a different typing altogether. Trapinch, the base stage, is a pure Ground-type, while Vibrava and Flygon are both Ground/Dragon-types. It’s easy to think that they’d be Bug-types, though, given their appearance and seeming dragonfly-inspired design.
However, this line is actually based on the antlion. The larvae of these insects dig into the ground and trap prey, which explains why Trapinch’s ability is Arena Trap. In the real world, antlions are frequently confused for dragonflies, so the confusion in the Pokémon universe is no surprise.
4 Galarian Birds
The newest DLC expansion, the Crown Tundra, brought with it regional variants for the original Legendary Birds of Kanto. These new Galarian forms look similar to the original designs, obviously.
But, they look close enough to retain the same typing. Articuno still has a flowy, elegant blue design, so one could assume it’s still an Ice/Flying-type. Zapdos still has a yellow, jagged design, which would make sense for an Electric/Flying-type like its original incarnation. Finally, Moltres is still literally cloaked in flames, so it could be reasonably assumed that it’s still Fire/Flying.
However, they’ve each taken on new types. Articuno is Psychic/Flying, Zapdos is Fighting/Flying, and Moltres is Dark/Flying.
3 Dragalge
Dhelmise isn’t the only sea-faring creature floating around in the oceans with a confusing type combination. Joining it is Skrelp and its evolution, Dragalge, the Gen VI Pokémon that resembles a Leafy Seadragon. Due to their appearance and the fact that there’s a type change on evolution, it can be confusing to remember the types of these two.
Skrelp is a Poison/Water-type, though one could be forgiven for thinking it’s Dark- or Grass-type, too. When it evolves, it becomes a lot more dark and grassy, reinforcing that idea. One might also think it’s still Water/Poison or at least Water/something. However, it’s Poison/Dragon.
2 Azurill
Azurill was always a bit of a strange type but it got much worse in Generation VI. Marill and its evolution, Azumarill, were introduced very early before the release of Gen II and were known to be pure Water-types. They received a strangely non-Water Baby Pokémon in Gen III — Azurill, which is pure Normal-type.
Now, though, the entire line has been given the Fairy-type, making it even more confusing. To clear it up: Azurill is Normal/Fairy, while Marill and Azumarill are Water/Fairy.
1 Lugia
Now for the granddaddy of all confusing type combinations: Lugia.
To review, Lugia is the “Guardian of the Seas,” and the “Diving Pokémon.” It lives in the ocean (in the Whirl Islands, specifically). It’s shown in its signature movie, The Power of One, to control, protect, and inhabit the seas. It’s known to cause long-lasting storms and is frequently depicted as Water-type in the TCG. It’s the counterpart to the Fire-type Ho-oh, and it has a sleek Plesiosaur-like design with different shades of blue.
So, Lugia is obviously a Water/Flying-type, right? Nope. It’s a Psychic/Flying-type.
NEXT: Pokémon GO: 5 Shinies That Are Surprisingly Not in the Game Yet (& 5 You Forgot Were)