Summary
With over 1,000 companions for players to choose between, Game Freak’s widely popularPokemonfranchise continues to make quite the challenge for itself whenever it is time to reveala new generation of creatures. In between balancing existing types, introducing new creature designs and typings, and preserving the competitive metagame, a new generation ofPokemoncan drastically affect the overall game experience for players.
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An integral aspect ofPokemonis, of course, its typing system, which dictates what a Pokemon isstrong, weak, and neutral against. At the outset, the franchise included 15 types, with two more introduced a generation later and a third much later, making the revealing of a new type extremely rare and exciting for fans of the franchise. Each generation of Pokemon introduced ultimately adds numerous instances of each Pokemon type, with some being much more prevalent than others.
9Generation 1 - Kanto
The Generation 1 region of Kanto was the birthplace of the franchise, with many staunchly defending its title as the greatest region of all time. Regarding typings, the Poison type sits on top with 33 Pokemon followed swiftly by the ever-abundant Water type. On the contrary, the Ghost and Dragon types tie for the least amount introduced, including only the Gastly and Dratini evolution lines respectively.
8Generation 2 - Johto
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The region of Johto in Generation 2 saw the first-ever addition of new Pokemon to the franchise, with 100 new creatures making their debuts. The Normal type was the most abundant with 20 new instances, whilst Ghost and Dragon only received one new Pokemon each. Two new types, Dark and Steel, saw their introduction in Generation 2 also, with each type gaining 6 Pokemon each, although in the case of Steel, Generation 1 Pokemon Magnemite and Magneton count as they wereretroactively given the typing.
7Generation 3 - Hoenn
Having hovered around the top for the previous two generations, the Water-type finally seized the top spot when Generation 3 and the Hoenn region came around. In contrast, after steadily declining in new instances since Kanto,the Electric typesits at the bottom of the Generation 3 pile with only 4 new Pokemon receiving the typing.
6Generation 4 - Sinnoh
With entriesPokemon Diamond & Pearlcame the Sinnoh region and Generation 4 of thePokemonfranchise. When looking at new instances of types, the Generation 4 games do little to stir up the pot, with the Normal type being most introduced for the second time after Generation 2. The Grass type does manage to secure a joint second place with the consistently high-placing type Water. Interestingly,the third starter type Firefinds itself lacking in new instances, with Sinnoh only giving 5 new Pokemon the typing.
5Generation 5 - Unova
It was four yearsbefore Generation 5 camein swinging with the Unova region and the Grass-type managed to dethrone the Normal type for the top spot, with the usually abundant Water type being at 5th place, an all-time low for the type. At the bottom of the list sits the Poison type with 7 new instances, making it the only type to have both the most and the least new inclusions in individual generations.
4Generation 6 - Kalos
Generation 6 and the Kalos region was the generation to introduce the Fairy type into thePokemonfranchise. As is expected, the Fairy type was the most abundantly introduced in Kalos, with a whopping 52 Pokemon receiving Fairy as their pure type or one of their dual typings. This is more impressive when one learns that Generation 6 introduced the least amount of Pokemon overall out of all generations with only 72. Fighting for last place are the Electric and Poison types, the latter being there for the second time in a row.
3Generation 7 - Alola
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The Hawaii-inspired Alola region of Generation 7 began the more modernPokemontradition of giving existing Pokemon regional forms, subsequently changing the existing creatures' typing. Generation 7 is also the only region whose title of most abundant type is stuck in a three-way tie. The Water, Grass, and Fairy types all have 14 new Pokemon with their typings, with the rarer Steel type managing to snag second place with 13. At the tail end, one can find thefrequently forgotten typeIce with 5 new instances.
2Generation 8 - Galar & Hisui
The mainline region of Generation 8 is the United Kingdom-inspired Galar region, but also introduced an additional region in the form of Hisui. Together, the type these regions introduced the greatest number of was the Psychic type, with both the Fighting and Ice types finally breaking the top five. At the bottom sits the Ground type with a number of 6, although only two of those are not linked with already existing Pokemon.
1Generation 9 - Paldea
Generation 9 and the Paldea region were first teased to fans in 2022, and players got to experience them first-hand inPokemon Scarlet & Violet. By being the most abundant in Generation 9, the Normal type is the only type to have done so in three separate generations. Last place is a massive tie of four Pokemon types that all have a total of 7: Ice, Ground, Bug, and Rock.
