Pokémon Archetypes

Nowadays, there are hundreds and hundreds of Pokémon. Each one has particular characteristics that make them all unique. But what if only one needs to be represented, in the case of an example? That's where archetypes come in. An archetype in a general sense is a model or essential example of something, and Pokémon may be considered to have a few as well.

For a general representation of Pokémon without any particular connotations, there's nothing like the de facto series mascot, Pikachu. It's the one that people know, and it's the one popular among many in the know about Pokémon, especially its major fans. Considering its abilities and depiction, it's a pretty powerful one too. Sure, there are Pokémon that are much bigger, more powerful, and can do more things than Pikachu, but in a sense, Pikachu can stand up and equate to that. Because of this fact, it becomes an essential example or an archetype.

Of course, other archetypes can be considered. For a boss or boss-like Pokémon, a suggested archetype is Charizard. It makes sense, since Charizard is big and powerful, looking like a dragon, which most people think of when thinking of a powerful creature. Though it's a Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon, its Mega X variant is also a Dragon type, further affirming the dragon association. Meanwhile, for a lesser-strength Pokémon that could be considered powerful in large numbers, Pidgey seems to fit. One Pidgey can't do much on its own, but when large numbers of Pidgey are involved, many things and even surprising things can happen, like taking down a boss Pokémon as above.

Admittedly, these examples seem familiar, and they are, if you play Go; all these Pokémon are shown in the guides for Gyms and raids when a player navigates to one and taps the icon on the lower left. The thing about archetypes is that they may not be fixed, given the example of the main series games and the very first Pokémon being shown when starting a new game. They too can be considered archetypes, at least for the beginning player. It seems there may be as many archetypes as there are Pokémon.

But then, when it comes to Pokémon, not many archetypes may be needed - perhaps the three examples above suffice, along with a few others. It goes back to the definition of an archetype, being a model or essential example. With hundreds and hundreds of them, Pokémon are decidedly varied. And yet, it may not be that hard to find ones that are exemplary of certain characteristics, or even the entire collection of them altogether.

One year ago: New Paradigms