Back in 1996, Pokemon Red and Blue were launched with 15 types for the titular creatures found in the games. Two of these were Fire-types such as Charizard and Fighting-types such as Mankey. While the types would eventually be expanded to be as many as 18 over the years, Fire-type and Fighting-type would become rather infamous for an interesting reason.

In the third, fourth, and fifth generations of Pokemon, players who chose Torchic, Chimchar, or Tepig as their starter would be left with rather interesting options around the middle point of the games. All of these Pokemon would evolve into a Fire/Fighting-type at the end of their evolutionary line. Due to how some fans choose one starter type in every new release out of loyalty, players who have dealt with all three have had to support their choice the same way across three new titles in a row. This has made many fans hate the idea of any future Fire/Fighting types being added to the game, but times have changed since Pokemon Black and White.

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Pokemon’s Fire-Fighting Starters

Pokemon Journeys Ash's Infernape Fire Fighting Type Sinnoh

After having three generations back-to-back feature Fire/Fighting-type starter Pokemon, many people have grown to dread the potential of the games including any others down the line. Incineroar and Cinderace in particular had many fans scared that they would be yet another critter to join the ranks of Blaziken, Infernape, and Emboar. The Fire-type starters of Alola and Galar would turn out to be Fire/Dark and purely Fire-type respectively, but many players joke that if it wasn't for the stigma around Fire/Fighting-types, that's what they would have become.

However, the negative reputation that these generations have given to the Fire/Fighting dual-type combination has led many fans to miss something rather important. As much as fans don't want any more Fire/Fighting-types and lament the way that Torchic, Chimchar, and Tepig's final evolutions ended up, those evolutionary lines are the only Fire/Fighting-type Pokemon in the entire series. While wanting more variety in dual-type combos for starters is understandable, it almost feels as if some players have overestimated just how many Pokemon there are with that specific type combination. With the way the series plans to carry itself going forward, this may become more evident with what creatures are available in different titles.

Pokemon Availability

pokemon home national pokedex living

Back when the three Fire/Fighting-type starters were a big concern for players, fans could easily bring their starter from their respective games into newer titles if they truly wanted to play with a creature of that specific type combination. This was one of the big reasons why, at the time, so many Fire-type starters evolving to be Fighting-type as well was something many fans loathed. Now, as Pokemon Sword and Shield removed the National Dex and limited which creatures could be brought into each game, the number of Fire/Fighting-types available has decreased.

Tepig's entire evolutionary line is completely unavailable in every Pokemon Switch game to date. Players who wish to get Blaziken without transferring will need to encounter one in the Dynamax Adventures in the Crown Tundra expansion. Chimchar is the most widely available out of the three Fire/Fighting-types the series has to offer, being found easily in Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Legends: Arceus. The little fire chimp is completely unusable in Sword and Shield, however. The chances of a future Pokemon generation completely excluding these starters is high, as many Pokemon are unobtainable in the current Switch games already. This may end up being a slight problem if Game Freak is aiming to create a game where every type combination possible has a chance to be part of a player's team.

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A Pokemon Game with Every Type Combination

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Pokemon's recent releases seem intent on adding plenty of creatures that either grow the number of a certain type combination or even add one that has never been available before. Rowlet and Dartrix were the first Grass/Flying-types introduced since Generation 3, Hisuian Sneasel and Sneasler became welcome additions to the Fighting/Poison-type that grew the number to four Pokemon instead of just two, and Snom and Frostmoth marked the first Ice/Bug-types for the series as a whole. There are plenty of other creatures that have marked similar milestones in the last few generations, and all of these critters can be caught in the most recent games.

There have been so many rare or new type combos that have finally had a Pocket Monster to represent them in recent releases that some players feel like Game Freak could potentially release a Pokemon game where every type combination possible could appear. In order for this title to exist, however, no combo can be left out of this game's Pokedex. This means at least one Fire/Fighting-type needs to make it into this game, and depending on what other Pokemon also fit in this title, it may be hard to include all the starters specifically.

Even though the Fire/Fighting-type has garnered quite a reputation between generations three through five, becoming a rather hated type by many fans all because of the starters, it has arguably been made much harder to find since the removal of the National Dex. An easy way to make sure that the type remains available while also making sure not to repeat past mistakes is for Game Freak to simply make some sort of new Fire/Fighting-type Pokemon, or even a new evolutionary line. There may be potential in making a relatively common Pocket Monster evolve into a new Fire/Fighting-type in the place of the starter Pokemon.

Having a Fire/Fighting-type that isn't a starter would make the critter much more easily obtainable in a number of games while avoiding an overly familiar starter typing. How Fire/Fighting-types went from having six easy-to-get Pokemon across every game to only two through an evolutionary line proves just how much the series has changed since Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were released. It would also bring an element of surprise back to the combo, as players could possibly catch a Fire-type creature in the wild to have it evolve to be Fire/Fighting-type in a way that a starter could never do, such as friendship or a special item. Players will simply need to wait and see if this type combination gets used in any new and exciting ways in future releases.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release November 18 for Nintendo Switch.

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