Monotype (of) Sorts

There is a Pokémon concept that every now and then floats around, in particular when teams of Pokémon are concerned. As can be discerned by the title of this post, that concept is called "monotypes". The concept is simple: to have a team of Pokémon with one type being the same. As it stands, this concept is a novelty; no one in their right mind would conceive a team all of one type and seeing that team go down by the type's weaknesses. Yet aside from that, this concept seems to be workable in other respects.

Some time ago, I entered a Pokémon tournament (which I do believe was this one) and the results were surprising: a team of all Ice types - a monotype Ice, though quite a few are also half other types - took third place. It was intended to be a joke or "troll" team, and yet it worked out so well. The reason why that is the case seems to be tied to the move Sheer Cold, which anyone well-versed in the main series knows is a one-hit KO move that only occasionally works, if at all. The person who made the team can be said to have taken a gamble with the move, and it somehow worked out. While this team is a high-risk-high-return situation, I wouldn't personally create and work on such a team, even if I could, for what it involves. But if such a team could be ably created and worked on, by all means - luck of the draw will decide how things fare.

The concept of monotype teams might fare better in Go, where raids make it possible to battle against one powerful Pokémon, thereby exploiting its weaknesses to a single type. In fact, this may just be necessary for "minimalist" raids with the barest number of participating Trainers, where the weaknesses have to be fully exploited. As for having single Gyms with all the Pokémon having one type, that's a bit hard to do, unless all the Trainers putting in Pokémon are in agreement or know the plan. Even then, a monotype Gym is by and large a novelty, as someone else with enough knowledge of battling can quickly take the Gym down and set up operations, as is typical of any monotype situation.

The concept of monotypes is certainly a unique one, but it is quirky at best and unworkable at worst, unless one knows what one is doing. It may still be a usable and useful concept in some circumstances, so it shouldn't be fully counted out. Given the right situation and knowledge, one can take full advantage of it and implement a possible monotype, which may work just as well as normal teams, albeit and admittedly with quite a bit more flair.

One year ago: 3DS Circle Pad and Pokémon Games... Plus My Experience