Theories Behind Pokemon Weaknesses

[TechSkylander1518]

I get the feeling that Bug's weakness are more about what usually kills bugs, not what can. You could make a case for a lot of types being super effective against Bug-dragons could eat bugs, bugs could die of electrocution, or drown, or freeze to death-but that's not the most common threat to them.

 

[Tomix9tomix]

I get the feeling that Bug's weakness are more about what usually kills bugs, not what can. You could make a case for a lot of types being super effective against Bug-dragons could eat bugs, bugs could die of electrocution, or drown, or freeze to death-but that's not the most common threat to them.

I used to think that bugs were weak to water because bugs drowned all the time, so I don't think bugs being weak to water would be all that weird.

 

[DestinyBond]

I know that the bug weak to fire was explained, but in my head cannon, the weakness is from the idiom 「燈蛾撲火, 自取滅亡」, which according to yahoo! answers, "A moth attracted by flame should cause an event of self-destruction." is the best translation. I just saw that the entire bug type spectrum as an extent of the moth drawn to the fire. And also because of how many dumb bugs get stuck in the lampshades during summer time and burns to death.

 

[LeoLionHeart]

I think That Poison is weak to Psychic is because the mind is stronger then the body so if the mind already knows the poison it can erase it

 

[Mozart]

I like the Poison being strong against Fairy = pollution idea (so that would follow for Grass too).
-Rock and Ground are strong against Fire because both smother out the oxygen used to make fire and aren't easily burnt.
-Normal is resistant to Ghost (not necessarily strong) because of Normal = Average = Probably doesn't even believe in ghosts.
-Water erodes Ground and Rock.
-Dragon is weak against itself because of dragon rivalries?? idek

 

[zarexraze]

@Mozart
Dragons were basically the only things that could beat another Dragon in Japanese mythology. It also adds to the extra connotations of royalty and emperor-hood, what with Outrage being in Japanese "Imperial Rage": thus only another imperial power could defeat another power. Which is why they had to go for a more European-inspired typing (Fairy) to nerf the Dragon-type. In fairy tales and many European lore, dragons were seen as evil and not majestic. While it is true that those same tales also said that dragons were immune to magic, Fairy also has the affinities of supernatural Light, thus bringing in the "holy" connotations from a theoretical Light-type to justify Fairy being immune to Dragon.

My ramble about the Dragon-type also brings onto the table another point of possible discussion. It's not just the literal connotations of a typing, it can also be the extensions of logic that can be found in typings, like Fairy carrying supernatural Light-connotations.
For example, Electric is the most fitting type to carry the scientific and literal sense of Light, and it also matches up successfully well with Electric's type effectiveness.
Lets say that there was an Electric-type move called Light Ray.
Under the type chart, this move would be:

Super-effective to Water and Flying.
Water - Direct light can evaporate water.
Flying - Light can easily blind and frighten many bird species, plus the sun's ray heating the air causes it to circulate constantly.

Resisted by Grass, Electric, and Dragon.
Grass - Plants absorb light easily.
Electric - adding the same element just makes more of the original substance, and also solar panels.
Dragon - Dragons in Japanese lore were commonly associated with the rising sun and candles, and in other cultures general lore, if you could see it, it can see you.

Blocked by Ground because the earth easily absorbs the light, and this benefits all inhabitants of the earth, including plants, earth-feeders and tons of dirt-related bacteria. Plus early common materials like sand and mud were used to build houses and protect the skin from harsh sunlight.


It's really interesting when one explores the other connotations that a typing brings to the table. I'd love to talk more about this when I have time, like how Bug is technically the Alien-type what with the move Signal Beam, or how Ground could be compared to mass armies or war tactics, or even how Fire is the old Christian connotations of hell and punishment, what with Inferno being called "Purgatory" in Japanese, but for the mean time, I'd really like to see what other people think about these sort of things.




Or maybe I'm just reading into this too much, lol.