An essay on Pokemon taxonomy
The other types in Pokemon are very clear about what they represent (besides maybe Dark), but Normal is different. At first glance it looks like it represents, like, regular animals. But if you look closer, it actually encompasses a wide range of weird shit. In this essay, I will exhaustively describe all the different things the Normal type represents.
Before we get into the actual Pokemon, I want to examine the type effectiveness of Normal moves. Normal moves deal half damage to Rock and Steel types, and no damage to Ghost types. This indicates that normal moves involve physical impacts and strikes, since Rock and Steel are the two types that represent the materials most difficult to damage by brute force, and since ghosts are typically depicted as intangible. It’s important to note that Normal moves represent unfocused, untrained, brute force, or animalistic bludgeoning or cutting damage, as opposed to Fighting type moves. Fighting type moves also involve physical force, but are conversely doubly effective against Rock and Steel, because they are able to concentrate the attack in a way that breaks the rock or bends the steel.
With that in mind, let’s look at the list of all the things a Normal typing on a Pokemon can represent. First, we’ll focus on the most common rationales for Normal typing and then we’ll look at specific uses of the Normal type in dual type Pokemon. Most often, Normal type indicates the following three kinds of Pokemon:
Pokemon without elemental powers: Rattata, Aipom, Dunsparce, Pidgey
Pokemon with sound based powers: Exploud, Audino, Jigglypuff, Meloetta
Pokemon whose normal type represents “potential” of other types: Eevee, Ditto, Arceus, Regigigas
Pokemon without elemental powers
I think most people believe that the most common thing the Normal type indicates is “this pokemon is basically just a regular animal”. I actually disagree — I think it more generally indicates “this Pokemon has no special elemental qualities”. In other words, they didn't qualify for any other type. Of course, many Pokemon that are basically just regular animals are Normal type, such as the early route Normals like Rattata, Sentret and Zigzagoon, but this is because they fit into the wider category of “no elemental qualities”.
If Normal indicates a lack of other types, then dual type Normal pokemon wouldn't really make sense (and they kinda don't!). But we'll get into that later. The one thing I do want to address is Normal/Flying, since this is the most common dual typing for Normal. For these Pokemon, it looks like the Normal type is indicating “regular animal” as opposed to something like Zubat. But the thing about the Flying type is (until Rookidee made things inconsistent), it was a quality a pokemon could have, rather than a fully independent type of its own. The fact that Normal/Flying was the only dual type Normal combo in gen 1 says more about the Flying type than it does about the Normal type. Normal indicated a lack of typing, and Flying wasn't a "real" type in the sense that it was just a description of something the Pokemon could do. A Normal/Flying type combo says “I have no special elemental qualities AND I can fly”.
Side note: I think Tornadus is really cool for being the first pure-Flying pokemon because it’s an air elemental. That typing makes sense — “flying” is being used to represent air as an element rather than just the trait of “being able to fly”. But rookidee and corvisquire’s pure Flying typing makes no sense to me. They should definitely be Normal/Flying.
Anyway, this categorisation allows us to explain the typing of more varied Pokemon than just regular rodents and birds. It explains pokemon that are much more monsterlike, like Chansey, Lickitung, Kangaskhan, Dunsparce, Snorlax, and Ambipom.
Pokemon with sound based powers
Since Normal type moves are generally indiscriminate kinetic impacts and slashes, it makes sense that sound-based attacks are the main type of Normal type special attack, because sound is a kinetic impact that doesn’t make contact. Besides some exceptions for signature and gmax moves, and other moves covered by the “type potential” category, almost all Normal-type special moves are sound based.
We can see this most clearly in the Whismur line, but also Audino (who interestingly also has aspects of “type potential” with its signature move Secret Power). This categorisation can also be used to explain Normal typing on dual-type Pokemon, such as the Jigglypuff line, Mega Audino, and Meloetta. In these cases, Normal doesn’t represent a lack of typing but a “sound” typing.
The final category of common Normal typing is used to represent what I’m calling “type potential”. This is a little more abstract, but it generally means that the Normal type represents either the ability to change types, or many different types at once, or a generic type that other types can come from. There aren’t too many Pokemon in this category and I think it’s the most interesting, so I’ll list them all out and explain why they fit into this category.
Ditto: Normal type is a placeholder type, since it transforms into other Pokemon.
Eevee: Represents untapped typing potential due to multiple branched evos. Also fits into the “no elemental powers” category.
Porygon line: Able to change types with signature moves Conversion and Conversion 2.
Smeargle: Can copy any move with signature move Sketch.
Castform: Can change type based on weather, and signature move Weather Ball can change type as well.
Kecleon: Can change type with signature ability Color Change.
Regigigas: Is the progenitor for a series of mono-typed legendaries. Similar vibes to Eevee but in reverse.
Arceus: Can change type with signature ability Multitype, and signature move Judgment can be any type.
Audino: Signature move Secret Power has different effects associated with other types based on the environment.
Type Null and Silvally: “Type: Null was developed with cells taken from all known Pokémon types”. Silvally’s signature ability RKS System allows it to change type, and signature move Multi-Attack can be any type.
Arboliva: Signature move Terrain Pulse changes type based on terrain.
Grafaiai line: Can copy any move with signature move Doodle.
Terapagos: Terastal form shows symbols on shell representing each Pokemon type. Responsible for the “terastal phenomenon” which allows pokemon to change type.
Moves fit in this category as well: besides the signature moves mentioned above, Hidden Power and Nature Power change type; Metronome can be any move; and Tri Attack can inflict statuses associated with three different types (I assume this move is only Normal type because a move couldn’t be multiple types at the time it was released).
Besides Normal/Flying, Normal dual types sometimes require a little more explanation than those above. Since Normal most often represents a lack of elemental powers, dual types that aren’t sound-based or potential-based don’t seem like they would make sense. However, the various implementations of these typings come with rationales that do make sense (sometimes)! In order of how deserving I think each rationale is of actually having the Normal type:
Pokemon that are literally half elemental: Girafarig, Sawsbuck
Pokemon that require environmental assistance to use their second type: Bibarel, Helioptile, Grafaiai
Pokemon that represent things from real-world domestic life: Indeedee, Cyclizar, Arboliva, Bewear
Pokemon that are elderly-coded: Oranguru, Drampa, Wyrdeer
“Inherited” normal typing: Diggersby, Alolan Rattata, Galarian Zigzagoon, Ursaluna, Azurill, Mega Lopunny
Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark and Pyroar
Pokemon that are literally half elemental
Girafarig requires no elaborate justification for its dual type. Its head is normal, and its tail is psychic. It even has a perfect dividing line down its body. Just a really beautiful and elegant way of creating a dual type Normal pokemon.
Sawsbuck and Deerling are kind of similar - Sawsbuck’s antlers seem to be the only elemental part of it, but I don’t see this explanation for its typing as nearly as clean as Girafarig’s.
Pokemon that require environmental assistance to use their second type
Besides birds and girafarig (which is kind of a special case), Bibarel was the first dual type Normal, so I see this as the default case for Normal dual types. Bibarel makes its home in water, it swims well, but it doesn’t seem to have the same water based powers that, for example, fish pokemon do. It works with water, but is otherwise non-elemental.
This is true also for Helioptile and Heliolisk, which require solar power in order to use their electrical abilities, and Shroodle and Grafaiai, which are implied to produce toxic saliva based on their diet.
Pokemon that represent things from real world domestic life
These pokemon are “normal” in the sense that they represent something we, the audience, consider a “normal” part of life.
Indeedee represents childcare and household chores.
Stufful and Bewear represent teddy bears.
The Arboliva line represents farming.
Cyclizar represents modern motorcycle travel (Since it was designed in a way that its motorcycle aspects are organic rather than metal, it received the Normal type to represent its domestic use rather than Steel to represent its biological composition).
I don’t know why Pokemon designers decided to make “old” = Normal type. But that’s the best explanation I can come up with for these otherwise unexplainable dual types (though you could argue a case for inherited Normal typing for Wyrdeer).
Perhaps the normal type represents a fading-away of the original type with age. Idk.
There’s no reason for these Pokemon to have the Normal type other than the fact that a past version, evolution, or form of them had the Normal type. Azurill is the only interesting case, it being a “powerless” Normal which evolved into Water types, which was then retconned into having the Fairy type. However, making it pure Fairy would remove the gimmick of it being powerless, which is why I believe the Normal type was kept.
Worth noting that I don’t consider the Jigglypuff line to be in this category because they have sound-based powers.
Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark and Pyroar
I just can't understand why these Pokemon are Normal type. Is it because they kind of represent an emaciated corpse (old, weak)? I can't explain it. They should just be Ghost, or maybe Ghost/Dark or Ghost/Ice. If any Pokemon should be Normal/Ghost it's Sinistea (because it's domestic). That said, I don't hate them! They're some of my favourite designs in the whole pokedex. I just don't think their Normal typing is consistent with how it's used on other Pokemon.
Also Pyroar, which I do actually hate. Litleo fits into the Bibarel category but Pyroar can apparently breathe fire so I can't imagine any reasonable explanation for its Normal type. Maybe inheritance from Litleo I guess.
Thanks for reading! If you have a different interpretation to mine, I'd be interested to hear it!
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