With 18 main elemental types, there is no shortage of Pokémon affinity combinations. One might assume that, over the course of 30 years, the monster collecting series has already tried every possible combination of those types. I mean, wasn’t the last true new Pokémon type back in 2013? Surely, after so many installments and remakes of the main series, the well of Pokémon types has dried up.
Surprise: it is not like that.
There are actually ten type combinations we’ve never seen before in a Pokémon game. Some of these absences make sense. Combos like Normal/Ice, Normal/Bug, Normal/Rock, and Normal/Steel could also be the secondary type. “Normal” adds nothing to those descriptions. However, it cannot be completely ruled out that they will ever happen: both Hisuian Zorua and Hisuian Zoroark are the oxymoron that is Normal/Ghost.
But there are five combinations that are more reasonably in play in Pokémon Winds and Waves: Ice/Poison, Earth/Fairy, Insect/Dragon, Rock/Ghost and Fire/Fairy. I know, some of these inclusions don’t sound right. I could have sworn I’d seen a Rock/Ghost guy before: there’s a haunted flying coffin, for crying out loud.
So what are the chances that we’ll see any of these new type combinations? To start, we have the fiery Pombon as a potential candidate for the legendary Fire/Fairy combination. Based entirely on the start of his evolutionary line, I’m skeptical that Pombon will eventually give us the rare monster type. Little about Pombon’s design looks magical, sparkly or pink, which are typical characteristics of fairy types. But it is also unknown what direction the designs could take.
In 2013, I would never have imagined that Pokémon X and ANDFennekin would end up looking like a regal witch. Then again, based on Delphix’s vibe, I would have expected her to be a Fire/Fairy! But as Charizard fans know, a Pokémon’s design can be tricky when it comes to writing. And if Popplio proves anything, it’s that Game Freak can and will take evolutionary lines to unexpected places. We cannot rule out Pombon’s brush-like tuft of red hair, which could lead to a more capricious evolutionary line than one might expect.
Beyond their scarcity, one of the reasons fans are still crossing their fingers for a Fire/Fairy monster is that the duo could become strong Pokémon. As our friends at Game Rant point out, a Fire/Fairy Pokémon would have only a handful of weaknesses but a whopping 8 resistances. A Fire/Fairy would be super effective against seven different types and completely immune to at least one. Assuming the creature has good base stats, a Fire/Fairy combination could be monstrous. I wouldn’t get too excited though. As cool (and potentially overwhelming) a Fire/Fairy Pombon can be, Game Freak loves to burden us with the final Fire/Fighting starter evolutions.
Given the theme of the games, it seems reasonable to expect legendaries to feature some combination of flying or water types rather than a combination of types we haven’t seen yet. However, there are reasons to be hopeful. through the initial winds and Waves In the trailer, we can detect biomes such as jungles and volcanic caves. These locations could be strong candidates to introduce us to Bug/Dragon, Ground/Fairy, or perhaps some of the other unused types.
Maybe my imagination is too limited here. For all we know, Game Freak will throw us a curveball and debut a whole new guy in Pokémon Winds and Waves. (At least one fan is convinced we’re getting one type of sound.) I’m not sure if that fringe theory will catch on, but I feel compelled to remind people about the old leaks that accurately predicted what types of games Pokémon Winds and Waves I would be.
In late 2025, leakers alleged that Game Freak’s internal documents referred to a new type of monster called Pokémon Seed. “A baby Pokémon of the Seed species that can be found in tourist areas… is a rare sight on this earth, and no one has ever seen it in its evolved form. When it travels to the island where the main legendary resides, it begins to evolve. Its evolved appearance is said to have infinite variations.”
The caveat here is that Pokémon Winds and Waves It is still in production and the documents that were leaked were never intended for public consumption. There’s a good chance that even if Game Freak were playing with something called Pokémon Seed, the studio could decide against it. Game Freak could make Seed Pokemon work differently than described. The term could refer to a temporary state like Mega Evolution rather than a permanent affinity. Seed Pokémon could eventually appear, but in another game entirely. But if “infinite variations” occur, perhaps the days are numbered for that long list of unused Pokémon types.
Soruce: polygon.com