Pokemon Sword and Shield: Starting Pokemon type predictions

Pokemon Sword and Shield starters have been announced, so here are some predictions about what type combinations their evolution might be.

One of the most exciting things in every Pokemon generation is seeing the starters, and what they evolve into. The starters for Pokemon Sword and Shield were revealed in February, but we still have no word on what they evolve into, or really anything else concerning generation eight. While this will surely come, all we can do now is speculate.

In both generations six and seven, each starting Pokemon had a dual-type final evolution. In fact, if you exclude Pikachu and Eevee as starters, only seven out of the 21 starting Pokemon have mono-type final evolutions. If the past is to be trusted, we can assume that the starters will gain a second type upon fully evolving. Here are some predictions about what these types will be.

1. Grookey

Grookey is the grass-type starter in Pokemon Sword and Shield and resembles a chimpanzee. While there are a number of directions Pokemon could go with Grookey, the franchise does not yet have a strong gorilla Pokemon yet. I expect that Grookey will evolve into this, despite perhaps not looking the part.

I also suspect that Grookey will gain the fighting-type as its secondary type. Chesnaught from generation six was also grass/fighting, but aside from him there are only two other Pokemon in the franchise with this typing. This would be a fitting typing for a gorilla, and everyone knows how much Pokemon loves giving their starters the secondary fighting-type.

2. Scorbunny

Scorbunny is exactly what it sounds like, a fire-type bunny. This being said, it is easy to expect that it will evolve into a bigger and more intimidating bunny. There is no fire/fairy-type combination in the series yet, and a bunny seems like the perfect candidate for a fairy typing. While this seems obvious, there is always a chance Pokemon decides to troll us all and introduce another fire/fighting-type starter.

3. Sobble

The water-type starter, Sobble, resembles an aquatic lizard. Going off the assumption that Grookey will evolve into a part fighting-type and Scorbunny will evolve into a part fairy-type, it seems likely that Sobble will evolve into something that gains the poison-type. A poisonous water lizard seems to make sense, and it would be the first water/poison-type starter in the franchise.

This is all speculation of course, so we will see how it turns out when we get more information on the upcoming games. It is likely we will hear more at E3 in June. Stay tuned with Viridian Forest for upcoming Pokemon news and stories! What types do you think generation eight starters will become?