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Pokémon's type system has helped to propel it to the upper echelons of gaming. It is a simple, elegant mechanic that ensures all battles are engaging and unique. Since Pokémon can have one or two types and every type interacts with the others in specific ways, every Pokémon its own strengths and weaknesses. Building a good Pokémon team requires careful consideration of types for both offense and defense, and keeping track of all the types in a battle is absolutely key to success.
In addition to their role in battle, Pokémon types are a useful way to categorize the thousand or so Pokémon out there. Pokémon that share a type also tend to share a lot of other features, and there are some common facts and themes about each type that even superfans might have missed. Poison types tend to have some of the most varied and cool designs among all the types, and they are unique in some very key ways.
9 They Could Be Poisoned In Generation II, And Again In Gen VI
Poison types have, logically, been immune to the poisoned status for most of Pokémon history. However, there have been several instances where this was not true. In Generation II, the Bug type move Twineedle, which can poison the target, was able to poison both Poison and Steel types. This was quickly changed again in Generation III, and Poison types were immune to the condition again until Generation VII introduced the Corrosion ability for Salandit and Salazzle, which allows the Pokémon to poison both Poison and Steel types.
8 They Use A Souped Up Version Of Toxic
The move Toxic has long been a staple of both casual and competitive Pokémon play. It inflicts a more severe version of the poison status which worsens with each turn it lasts. Nearly every Pokémon can learn Toxic, and it is an invaluable tool for walls and tanks of all kinds. However, Poison type Pokémon use an even more powerful version of this move.
Toxic normally has 90% accuracy, but Poison types can never miss with the move. Even beyond that, they are able to hit enemy Pokémon that are in the invulnerable stage of Fly or Dig.
7 They Are Relatively Common
As of Generation VIII, there are a total of 74 Pokémon, making up a total of 8.15% of all Pokémon. This makes Poison types relatively common in the grand scope of things. Poison is tied with Steel as the most common type for Ultra Beasts, as they each have three. 22% of all Poison types are pure Poison types, which is roughly the average proportion. In a bizarre coincidence, only odd-numbered generations have introduced pure Poison types, which means that Generation IX's Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are likely to include a new one.
6 They Were The Most Common Type In Generation I
Generation I introduced the most Poison type Pokémon out of any generation with a total of 33. Generation VI, on the other hand, introduced just two Poison types: Skrelp and Dragalge. Generation I was the only time in Pokémon history when Poison was the most common type, outnumbering the now-most common Water type by just one. Generation I also introduced the most Poison type moves with eight, while Generation II included just one in Sludge Bomb.
5 They Used To Have A Weird Relationship With The Bug Type
The Pokémon types had not quite settled into their final states back in Generation I. There were several type interactions that had to be changed for balance or logical reasons, one of them being the relationship between Poison and Bug types. In Gen I, Poison and Bug were super effective against one another.
This marked the only time in Pokémon history that two different types were super effective against each other. In Generation II, Bug was changed to be not very effective against Poison, but Poison was changed to be neutral when hitting Bug.
4 They Were The Only Type Not Added During Platinum
Generation IV saw a similar structure to Generation III in terms of release schedule. Gen IV started with two paired games, Diamond and Pearl, which were later followed by a third, somewhat improved game in Platinum. In addition to several new areas and graphical improvements, 59 total Pokémon were added to the Sinnoh Pokédex. Despite Poison being one of the more common types, not a single Poison type Pokémon was among those added in Platinum.
3 Poison Was The Only Type Missing From "2.B.A. Master"
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The Pokémon franchise has always found success in areas outside video games, one of the biggest being the Pokémon anime. The show has always featured musical segments, including the iconic theme song and the fan-favorite PokéRap. Some episodes replaced the PokéRap with a segment called Pikachu's Jukebox in which other songs would be featured. Among these songs was "2.B.A. Master," a rap sung, produced, and arranged by Russell Vasquez. One verse in the song has Vasquez listing every type featured in Generation I, but the Poison type is omitted. Instead, the nonexistent "Flame" type is included along with the similarly named (and real) Fire type.
2 Poison Pairs Well With Dark And Ground
Pairing Pokémon types in strategic ways is a key in competitive play, and will help make the main story of any given game easier as well. Poison/Dark is a potent combination, as Poison resists all of the types that are super effective against Dark, while Dark can hit Poison's Psychic type weakness very hard.
Poison types are also well-served by carrying a Ground type move, as both Steel and Rock types resist Poison (Steel types are totally immune) but are hit super effectively by Ground. Ground is also weak to Grass, which Poison hits for super effective damage.
1 They've Bounced Around The TCG
The Pokémon Trading Card Game has a slightly different typing system than the video games. There are fewer types in the TCG, so some types are lumped together under one broad umbrella. Poison has the distinction of having been represented by the highest number of types in the TCG. From the beginning of the game until the 2007 Diamond & Pearl expansion, most Poison types were listed under the Grass type. In 2007 they made the switch to the Psychic type, where they remained until the Sword & Shield expansion in 2020. They are now classified as Dark types, and are subsequently weak to Fighting types.