"What's up with Kanto's Poison-Types?"

[bdt2002]

For a long time now, but especially since 2019 when both natural fate and all manner of Pokémon games decided "You're going to be that guy that finds way morer Poison-Type Shiny Pokémon than every other Type combined"- on an unrelated side note, Flying actually has Poison beat in Legends Z-A so far at five to three, yes I know the Zubat family is back in the DLC- Poison has pretty comfortably risen to the point of and become my favorite Type in the Pokémon games, right alongside Water and Psychic for similar reasons to the Poison-Type Shiny craze I went through for a while there. Now that I'm in a noticeably better mood about both that game and the DLC and the idea of getting back into Shiny Hunting now that I've completed everything in the base game, this naturally led me to want to think about which Pokémon I'd like to go after. Not just here, but in other games as well, though Legends Z-A is still my current focus. As I was looking through the list of Poison-Types in each game that could jumpscare me with the Shiny sparkles, I happened to stumble upon a completely unrelated pattern with Kanto's historically high Poison-Type count. You see, normally whether a Type is a Pokémon's first or second Type doesn't really matter that much unless you're the pure Flying Tornadus (as there is no Flying/Flying) or your secondary typing was added or changed in a later generation such as with Gen 5 Rotom's forms or multiple Fairy-Types in Gen 6. Maybe I'm thinking way too hard into this, but I think I might have stumbled upon something that could give me/us a better look into Kanto's development history:

Here you can see a list I made of every fully evolved Kanto-native Poison-Type Pokémon and whether or not that Poison typing was their first ("primary") or second ("secondary") listed Type. The quantity of each category is almost perfectly even, which is fun, but the more important takeaway at least for me comes in the form of the game's Type balancing and Pokémon that are and are not considered viable in competitive play. With the exception of Beedrill, who I placed up at the front so the chart looks better, I would go as far as to say that all of the best Pokémon in this chart are in the Secondary category and all of the worst are in the Primary category. This isn't a competitive thread, of course, but even in single player you can't deny that there is something going on here. 12 out of 13 feels like way, way too high of a percentage for this disparity in power and viability to just be a coincidence. Plus, we know from the Flying-Type that whether or not a Type is chosen as the primary or secondary Type, even all the way back in Gen 1, can and often is an intentional decision. (My leading theory is, the decision to make Flying only a secondary Type for 99 percent of their Pokémon was made after the scrapping of the Bird-Type.) So, that begs the question. Does any of this even matter, and if so, what can we take away from this information?

Whether or not any of this matters is up to you, of course, but I do actually think these specific assignments were given and I have some evidence I'd like to provide in favor of that assumption. Take a look at the Secondary category again. Not only is Venusaur in there, one of the only starter Pokémon ever to begin its life as a dual-Typed Pokémon alongside, fittingly, Gen 7's Rowlet (a subtle Kanto reference, perhaps?), but Vileplume and Victreebel are as well. Those three have always felt like some kind of a trio, and the latter two are specifically designed to be counterparts in Gen 1, but what you might not have known is that the Oddish and Bellsprout families were, aside from Mew, likely the last Pokémon added to the original games, as their index numbers are placed at the very end of the games' files and adding six Pokémon in total would have given the developers a nice-looking total of 150 (plus Mew) as opposed to a sloppier looking 144. The Oddish and Bellsprout families also have strong ties to Kanto's Gym Leaders, most clearly with Erika, of course, but also with Misty's Starmie being Level 21, the same level Oddish and Bellsprout evolve at which could possibly suggest the developers placed these Pokémon in the game world where they did to allow players who did not select Bulbasaur to not be as screwed over against Misty's Gym (note that Pikachu's stats are so weak it can very easily lose to Starmie despite the type advantage). Furthermore, we also know from concept maps of Kanto that the location and level order of the eight Gyms was switched around during development, and the two cities I want to focus on are Celadon, which might not have even been a Grass-Type Gym if it wasn't for Oddish and Bellsprout, and the Viridian Gym which wasn't always going to be a Ground-Type Gym. Grass and Ground. Hmm. What do those Types have in common? Not only do they both interact with Poison, but Grass and Ground are the two best answers in Gen 1 to another Type- Electric, a Type that I believe to have been significantly stronger than in the final release of the games.

Ultimately what I think happened here is that the Poison typing was given as the secondary typing to that category of Pokémon for the same reason as why Nidoqueen and Nidoking become Ground-Types upon fully evolving. Game Freak, wanting to nerf Electric, adds the Ground-Type in late in development similar to what would later happen to Psychic (Dark) and Dragon (Fairy), but with Ground being added and Grass's matchup chart being altered, since the Primary category of Poison-Types was already on the weaker side anyway and thus wouldn't be used often due to the equally overpowered but not yet nerfed Psychic-Type, Game Freak adds the Poison typing onto other Pokémon that were going to be seen as more viable such as Bulbasaur, Tentacool, and Gastly's families with the goal of giving Ground-Types more viable targets to actually hit besides Fire (which is bad in Gen 1), Rock, and of course Electric. Unfortunately, this frame of logic would be and is incredibly short-sighted, since this ultimately also gave Psychic-Types more targets to hit, which in turn means the surplus of Poison-Types in Kanto is ultimately to the Type's downfall as Poison now has to deal with both Ground and Psychic. And finally, while we wouldn't get a Poison/Dark Pokémon for a little while, that Type combination and synergy specifically keeps only the Ground weakness Pokémon was going for while simultaneously fixing the Psychic problem. Hopefully all of that made sense. But what do you think? As usual I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts. Imagine if Erika ended up as Ghost-Type Gym Leader in Lavender Town or something in the final game, that would be something given what later become Johto's Morty

 

[Ironmage]

The pattern seems pretty inconclusive looking at it from the Poison-first side: we have three mono-Poisons, two evolutions of mono-Poisons, and one Poison/the one type that's always secondary. Poison defaulting to secondary seems relatively likely here (particularly since the next Poison/X mon took until gen 4). I definitely wouldn't expect Tentacool (which incidentally has a pretty low index number) to have had its Poison typing added later since that's the main way it's distinct from the many other Water-types. Heck, having a Poison STAB at all puts it ahead of Golbat!

I'd say the relative strength favouring Poison-secondary (i.e. most of the dual-typed poisons) is because of how underdeveloped Poison was for options. Dual-typed mons can use good moves from their other type like Razor Leaf instead of just being restricted to generic options that a Normal probably does better and Poison's own awful attacks. It's also worth noting that most of the X/Poison mons aren't actually weak to Ground because of being Bug or Grass, which would conflict with the goal of giving Ground more positive matchups. This leaves Gengar as the only mon for which this idea is compelling, but that's hardly a trend.

 

[Durant]

The amount of poison types in gen 1 has always sort of baffled more, iirc it was up until gen 5 or 6 that over half the poison types in the franchise were from Kanto. Some Pokemon like Gengar and Tentacruel don't strike me as being poisonous whatsoever, outside of being conditioned to see them because they've been typed as such for the past 29 years. Perhaps Gamefreak felt as if they could not give said Pokemon any Poison type moves unless they were actually Poison typed? There are some exceptions, such as the Sandshrew line learning Poison Sting, Magmar learning Smog and the Drowzee line learning Poison Gas. A lot less examples than some other types though. Moves like Thunderbolt and Fire Blast are seemingly learned by half the roster in gen 1.

 

[Just A Seaking]

I think it’s important to keep in mind that Poison is essentially the designated “bad guy” type of the game before Dark largely co-opted that role in Gens 2, and especially 3, after that. This is obvious with the Zubat line and the mono-Poison mons, who were enemy filler first and catchable species in their own right second, but Id say that this is generally consistent across almost all the poison types. The Gastly line is more overtly malicious in Gen 1 than in future installments, so it’s part Poison; Hypno is the most overtly villainous Psychic type, so it’s the only one to learn Poison Gas; Tentacruel is the Gangster of the Sea, so it’s Poison; the Nidos are used by Giovanni, so their Poison/Ground typing is connective tissue between the rest of Team Rocket and his gym; that kind of thing.

The exception to this is the glut of Grass/Poison types, which frankly confuses me. Bulbasaur certainly isn’t villainous, they’re just a little guy. My understanding is that the Bellsprout and Oddish lines were among the last, if not outright the last, additions made to the game, so this is a design choice they doubled down on all the way throughout development. I have a couple guesses:

1. Fits with the Grass type’s intended playstyle of wearing down opponents through status. From a gameplay standpoint, associating chip damage with the Poison type alongside Grass makes sense.

2. Introduces “good” Poison types to the game, making sure that the type isn’t just strictly evil - and bad/non-viable - through and through. If Zubat and its ilk are losers meant for you to stomp, the Grass/Poison types are meant to be Poison types that the player would A. actually want to use and B. are actually accessible. Gengar mogs every other Poison type, sure, but you’re not getting it with a guide. The Grass/Poisons are much more accessible by comparison.

 

[Karxrida]

Some Pokemon like Gengar and Tentacruel don't strike me as being poisonous whatsoever, outside of being conditioned to see them because they've been typed as such for the past 29 years.

Tentacruel is a jellyfish, which tend to be venomous to various degrees depending on the species. Venom = Poison for the purposes of typing and flavor (see Ekans, Arbok, and basically every Bug/Poison mon) and is a very common designation for RPGs in general, so it's not that odd.

Outside of Gastly being... gas, I'm not entirely sure what the rationale is for its evolved forms being Poison.

The exception to this is the glut of Grass/Poison types, which frankly confuses me. Bulbasaur certainly isn’t villainous, they’re just a little guy. My understanding is that the Bellsprout and Oddish lines were among the last, if not outright the last, additions made to the game, so this is a design choice they doubled down on all the way throughout development. I have a couple guesses:

1. Fits with the Grass type’s intended playstyle of wearing down opponents through status. From a gameplay standpoint, associating chip damage with the Poison type alongside Grass makes sense.

2. Introduces “good” Poison types to the game, making sure that the type isn’t just strictly evil - and bad/non-viable - through and through. If Zubat and its ilk are losers meant for you to stomp, the Grass/Poison types are meant to be Poison types that the player would A. actually want to use and B. are actually accessible. Gengar mogs every other Poison type, sure, but you’re not getting it with a guide. The Grass/Poisons are much more accessible by comparison.

The members of the Bellsprout line are based on pitcher plants, with their Poison typing being a fantastical exaggeration of how said plants eat by dissolving insects with nectar. (Acid = Poison too like the venom thing I mentioned above.)

The Bulbasaur and Oddish lines, meanwhile, are both tied to the rafflesia, which is one of many flowers known for reeking of rotten flesh on top of being parasitic. (As an aside, I can kind of see the logic of parasitism being connected to Poison, though it's admittedly a stretch.) Game Freak seems to consider smelling foul as a potential qualifier to be a Poison-type – see the Stunky and Trubbish lines.

I also think the answer to your hypothesis could be fairly simple: some plants are just toxic to people. Could have influenced how Game Freak made so many Grass-types part Poison. It's not like they knew how to balance the game entirely yet.

 

[Ironmage]

Ran into a youtube video on this topic, but unfortunately didn't bother to save the URL. Their idea was that Poison was overrepresented in gen 1 compared to other games because it was the main type used to convey the idea of a mon being particularly threatening or unnatural, themes that would later be the domains of Dark and Steel respectively.

This got me thinking about how long it took for there to be a Poison legendary or equivalent. Gen 1 Poison is dangerous, but it's also controllable. On the other side of Team Rocket focusing on both Poison types and economic power, we see what gen 1 considers too much for people to manage, and it's Psychic type. Fast forward twenty years of the stories getting grander in scope and Dark taking over the idea of mundane danger, and suddenly Poison-types like Nihilego and Eternatus are alien entities capable of driving the conflict themselves.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Poison from a gameplay standpoint at the time also was rooted in the Poison status condition as much as it represented the "bad guy" villain type imo. A lot of Poison-types in Gen 1 didn't learn any Poison-type moves or attacks, and the ones that did usually only had something like "Acid" if anything, but they usually revolved around spreading the Poison status condition, which passively wears down the target, as much as they did also being immune to the Poison status condition and thus unable to be worn down that way. Poison is the default, most common way in Gen 1 from an RPG standpoint to inflict passive damage on anything and Poison-types were uniquely immune to being worn down that way.

Chief point being the Gastly line. Their Poison type stems from Gastly being a gaseous entity, but while they have no Poison moves they learn naturally, their Ghost-type taking priority, defensively it grants them an immunity to the Poison status and thus they cannot be worn down in that manner. Their schtick at the time was that they were unique enemies, and in Gengar's case a boss fight, that were unable to be defeated by conventional means. They're immune to Normal-type attacks, the standard "melee" skills, and Fighting-type attacks too, making hitting them with such impossible, while their high Special means they can endure special attacks well, and being immune to the Poison status condition means you can't rely on that as passive damage to wear them down.

The Grass/Poison-types, aside from being based on poisonous plants, were designed around spreading the Poison status condition. Bulbasaur is unique among the starters in that it distinctly teaches a player who chooses to use it how to rely on passive damage to wear down the opposition: one of the first moves it learns is Leech Seed, which drains the opponent's HP, but later it also learns Poison Powder, which inflicts poison status. This is even more the case with Bellsprout and Oddish, the poor man's Bulbasaurs, who off the bat learn three status-inflicting powder moves in sequence: Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, and Stun Spore, which makes their schtick obvious both as party members and as enemies: spread status. Those who catch them also have the luxury of having good party members with Victreebel and Vileplume via Leaf Stone.

From a gameplay standpoint the Poison status condition was what many Poison-types were built around, whether it be spreading it (Bulbasaur/Bellsprout/Oddish, Weedle, Grimer, and Koffing) or defensively being immune to it (Gastly, Zubat, and Tentacool). A lot of dual-type combinations in Gen 1 didn't have offensive merit at the time, but defensively created unique properties: even those that had weaknesses stack, with the intention of several of them being hard to kill but having an achilles' heel. Like Grass/Poison types dropping to Twineedle in the mid-game, or the Geodude and Onix lines walling physical attacks but having two severe "magic" weaknesses as an achilles' heel, and the Ground-type granting an Electric immunity to block paralysis and Electric-types. Poison-types as a whole strike as a unique microcosm of Gen 1's rather quirky 90s monster JRPG design.