In the world of Pokémon, type matchups are the secret sauce of battle strategy. Most of the time, a Pokémon’s appearance makes its typing obvious. Take Magmar, it’s a walking volcano. Lucario oozes Fighting and Steel aura. And Gengar? That mischievous grin screams Ghost Poison perfection.
But then there are the others. The oddballs. The Pokémon whose typings feel like a practical joke from the developers. They look the part of one type but fight with the identity of something totally different.
Like cosplayers channeling powers that don't match the costumes they’re wearing.
1. Solgaleo (Psychic / Steel)
Let’s start with the legendary Solgaleo, the literal embodiment of the sun. This majestic lion is blazing with radiant light and is central to a game called Pokémon Sun.
Surely, a Fire type? Nope. Psychic Steel. That’s right. No flames. No burn. Just mind powers and metal. It’s like if the sun decided to become a metal-loving psychiatrist instead of a ball of burning gas.
Sure, the Steel typing ties into the idea of a celestial machine, but no Fire at all? That’s just solar trolling.
2. Lugia (Psychic / Flying)
Now, shift your gaze to the depths of the ocean with Lugia, the guardian of the sea. It lives underwater, controls storms, and is worshipped by marine life.
Naturally, you’d expect a Water type. Instead, it’s Psychic Flying. The Flying part? Okay, it does have wings. But Psychic? And no Water? Lugia is more Mewtwo than Manaphy in the Pokémon typing department. It’s like scaly Poseidon decided to moonlight as a mind reader instead of a water god.
3. Gyarados (Water / Flying)
Then there’s Gyarados, the fearsome sea serpent Pokémon clearly inspired by legendary Chinese dragons. This thing looks like it should be slapping everything around with Dragon or Water Dragon moves. But no, it’s Water Flying.
To make things worse, this typing gives it a 4x weakness to Electric, making it hilariously vulnerable to a random Pikachu with Thunderbolt. This dragon-level threat can be zapped out of existence by a yellow rodent. Brutal.
4. Charizard (Fire / Flying)
And what about Charizard? A classic. A fan favorite Pokémon. A fire-breathing winged monster that absolutely looks like a Dragon. But it’s not. It’s Fire Flying, and it’s weak to Rock moves so badly that a Stealth Rock setup can take out half its health before it even attacks.
A dragon that gets shredded by pebbles. The injustice, but then again, it's not a dragon. Thankfully, Game Freak listened to the cries of trainers everywhere and gave us Mega Charizard X, a form that’s finally Fire Dragon. Sweet redemption.
5. Psyduck & Golduck (Water)
Now for one of the weirdest: Psyduck and Golduck. These two have been shown unleashing uncontrollable bursts of psychic energy in both games and anime. They clutch their heads, channel telekinesis, and even get hyped up as latent psychic beasts.
But their type? Just Water. That’s it. No Psychic subtype. So while they act like mini psychic disasters, the typing says they’re just slightly confused ducks.
At the end of the day, Pokémon is a game where logic often takes a back seat to flavor and lore. And while mismatched typings can be frustrating, they’re also part of what makes the series so wonderfully strange.
These oddball combos keep fans guessing, theorizing, and sometimes laughing in disbelief. In the world of Pokémon, looks can be deceiving — and typings can be even more so.