These 2 Pokemon Are Officially The Only Ones of Their Kind After Almost 20 Years

by

I’ve been a fan of Pokemon for over 27 years, and I’ve probably spent close to 11,000 hours playing the games – especially recently with Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen. What I love most is the ability to catch and train creatures I discover while exploring, and then battle them against computer opponents or other players. That level of freedom is really appealing, although it’s not without some constraints. Each Pokemon has unique strengths, weaknesses, and moves, and while you can customize them somewhat, you can’t change their core type.

While you can temporarily change a Pokémon’s type with Terastallization in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it’s not a permanent solution. This isn’t a major issue, though; the key is to build teams that cover a variety of types and minimize shared weaknesses. However, some of the strongest type combinations in Pokémon are surprisingly rare, appearing on only a handful of Pokémon, or even just one. Over time, some types have become more common, but a few remain represented by a single Pokémon – Empoleon and Heatran are examples of this.

Say Hello to The Only Pokemon of Their Kind

Okay, so as a Pokémon player, I always thought Empoleon and Heatran were seriously strong in Generation 4. It’s all down to their types – Empoleon’s Water/Steel and Heatran’s Fire/Steel. These combinations are amazing because…

  • Empoleon
    • Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Electric (x2)
    • Resistances: Normal, Flying, Rock, Bug, Water, Psychic, Dragon, Fairy (x0.5); Steel and Ice (x0.25)
    • Immunities: Poison
  • Heatran
    • Weaknesses: Ground (x4); Fighting, Water (x2)
    • Resistances: Normal, Flying, Psychic, Dragon (x0.5); Bug, Steel, Grass, Fairy, Ice (x0.25)
    • Immunities: Poison
New Questions Added!

TopMob Quiz

Easy (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)Permadeath (5s)

—

QUESTION 1/1

Results

0

—

More Games

Steel is widely considered one of the strongest types in Pokémon, thanks to its excellent defenses and numerous resistances, even if it doesn’t excel at attacking. When combined with types like Water and Fire, it becomes even more powerful. This combination is particularly effective for Pokémon like Empoleon and Heatran, due to their unique abilities.

Empoleon has the typical ability for Water-type starter Pokémon, Torrent, but its hidden ability, Competitive, is what makes it stand out. Competitive boosts Empoleon’s Special Attack when its stats are lowered, making it a strong counter to Pokémon that use Intimidate. Heatran, on the other hand, has two abilities: Flash Fire and Flame Body. While Flame Body can burn opponents, Flash Fire is more useful, giving Heatran immunity to Fire-type attacks and actually restoring health when hit by them.

Okay, so when I’m battling in Pokemon Champions, Incineroar can be a real pain. Empoleon can help take it down, but honestly, I usually go with Milotic instead. It’s just tankier and has that Competitive ability, which makes it way better at handling tough fights.

Empoleon and Heatran Are The Only Water/Steel and Fire/Steel Types

Empoleon and Heatran are special Pokémon because they’re the only Water/Steel and Fire/Steel types created so far. It’s uncertain if the new starters in Pokemon Winds and Waves or future Pokémon will add to this, but for nearly 19 years – since the release of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl – these two have remained the sole representatives of their unique type combinations.

Mega Altaria isn’t the only Pokémon facing this problem – it’s the sole Dragon/Fairy type in the entire series. It’s odd that both it and the Water/Steel or Fire/Steel type combinations have been absent for nearly 20 years. It’s uncertain if the upcoming Pokémon Winds and Waves will introduce a Pokémon with either of these types, and it’s unlikely the Generation 10 starters will feature them.

Read More

2026-05-12 01:06