5 New Pokémon Types That Could Change The Franchise Forever

Published Jul 24, 2026, 4:30 PM EDT Yuliya Geikhman has been writing professionally for over 17 years. She started out in the MMO scene with Pando Media Booster and now dives into everything gaming at Screen Rant. She's a lifelong gamer, a relentless industry sleuth, and a passionate follower of everything happening in the games industry. When the first Pokémon games were released in 1998, they included the now-all too familiar Types. Every one of the 151 original Pokémon had a Type that influenced the moves it could learn and its strengths and weaknesses. Some were obvious—water is strong against fire—while others were less so—electric is strong against flying. Either way, the Pokémon Type chart is now internalized in every Pokémon fan's mind. Of course Grass is strong against Ground and Psychic is strong against Fighting. That's just how it's always been. Over time, the number of Types has grown from the original 15 to 18 (or 19 if you count the special Stellar). Now that the 10th generation Pokémon Winds & Waves is surfing our way, it might be time for another shakeup. Fans speculate that the upcoming title will introduce a new Type. It's about time, and we have five excellent ideas for what Types would fit right into the franchise. Earth Would Combine Two Other Types The Ground and Rock Types are two separate categories in Pokémon, with their own strengths and weaknesses. This is arguably unnecessary, since there are so many overlaps between the two. In fact, many Rock Types are also Ground Types especially in the first generations. This made them a whopping four times weaker against Grass and Water Pokémon, putting them at a huge disadvantage in many situations. Both Ground and Rock represent Pokémon that exist in or near the earth, so it would make perfect sense to finally unite the two into one overall Earth Type. This would bring the total number of Types down rather than up, so it's unlikely to happen. It would also mean having to change many things retroactively to accommodate the new combined type. That said, having the two be separate never really made much sense in the first place. An Earth type could encompass all Rock and Ground Types but have its own overall strengths and weaknesses. This would also unite the different attack types, which are split between the two types—like sand-based attacks such as Sand Stream and Sand Force. These attacks can be learned by some Rock and some Ground Types, but could theoretically be used by all Earth Types. Cosmic Is For Pokémon Out Of This World When Team Rocket said they'd extend their reach to the stars above, they weren't speaking metaphorically. The Pokémon franchise has definitely risen to the stars and beyond in its 30 years. This has included several Pokémon that were out of this world—literally. A new Cosmic Type would include all Pokémon that come to our world from a galaxy far, far away. There are plenty of Pokémon already in the series that would easily fall into this category. For instance, Clefairy, Deoxys, Lunatone and Solrock, Staryu and Starmie, Kyurem, and a handful of others are canonically said to originate in outer space. Other Pokémon are even said to have connections to space in other ways, like Cosmog and its wormhole-making abilities, or the Ultra Beasts of Sun & Moon. As the series continues to expand to different worlds and dimensions, Cosmic would make perfect sense as a new Type. Adding a Cosmic or "Alien" Type could also make an interesting story element if the franchise ever wanted to move away from the Earth. A Pokémon game set on another planet is a potential direction the franchise could go in, and it could all start with a Celestial Type. Cyber For All Things Sci-Fi The Pokémon franchise has a history of humans meddling with nature in a way straight out out of a Sci-Fi story. The earliest examples of these are Mewtwo (created through gene splicing) and Porygon (created in a lab with AI), both of which were man-made Pokémon. Plenty of other Pokémon fall under the umbrella of human and technologically created and modified creatures. Turning these creatures into their own Type would open up some interesting possibilities in the universe. A Cyber Type could open new story paths into battles between nature and technological advancement, which is already a heavy theme in the games. It would also potentially give Fairy Types one more weakness, as man-made tech creatures would naturally be strong against the close-to-nature Fairy Pokémon. Introducing a Tech Type would also create the opportunity to make some Pokémon games set in the future. So far, the franchise has gone into the present and the past, but it has yet to take the bold step into the future. The ninth generation has already played with this idea through Paradox Pokémon, but there is so much more to explore here. A future where Pokémon and humans continue to coexist would feature a lot more modified creatures, making it an interesting potential addition to the Pokémon universe. Ancient Works For Legendaries And Beyond The Ancient category has been proposed by fans for a long time, under a variety of other names including Primal and Beast. No matter what you call it, Ancient Pokémon would include the Pokémon that have withstood the test of time, like legendaries, fossils, guardians of the world, and many more. Of course, this category would include existing Legendary Pokémon like Arceus, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, and others like them. But this Typing could also include Pokémon like Unown, Regigigas, Paradox Pokémon, Hisuian and some other regional variations, and more. Not only would an Ancient Type work in terms of story, but it would also work for gameplay purposes. These Pokémon could potentially be weak against Dragon (fellow ancient beings) and strong against Fairy (newer magical-like creatures). The idea would be to unite the ancient and powerful creatures of the Pokémon world into one category that would be a challenge to defeat with ordinary, modern-world Pokémon. Sound Has Some Undeniable Potential It seems like the most random idea, but Sound makes perfect sense as a Type in Pokémon. It's also been long-requested by many fans for years, making it one of the most likely new Types to be potentially added in future titles like Winds & Waves. Sound would be similar to Fairy: There are already so many Pokémon and moves that would fit into this category, that adding a label for them would just make natural sense. The Sound type could replace Normal or pair with other Types in many existing Pokémon, whose designs are already based around the idea of sound or music. For instance, Pokémon like Chatot, Loudred, Chimecho, Noiverne, and Meloetta would become Sound Types. So, too, would moves based around sound like Roar, Hyper Voice, Supersonic, Screech, Relic Song, and so many more. A Sound Type could be strong against Water since sound carries in water. It could also be weak against ice and resistant to fire, since sound waves also move slower in cold temperatures and faster in hot ones. Even more interestingly, introducing a Sound Type in Pokémon could open up the possibilities for music-based spinoffs and features. Imagine a future game duo titled Pokémon Treble & Bass, or even a Theatrhythm-style rhythm game. We don't know yet if Pokémon Winds & Waves will add a new Type, but if it does, Sound is a likely contender. TV Show(s) Pokémon Video Game(s) Pokemon Red and Blue, Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Crystal, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, Pokemon Sapphire, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Pokemon Platinum, Pokemon Black and White, Pokemon Black and White 2, Pokemon X and Y, Pokemon Sun and Moon, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pokemon Winds and Waves, Pokemon Legends Arceus, Pokemon Legends Z-A First Film Pokemon: The First Movie First TV Show Pokémon First Game Pokemon Red and Blue Genres RPG