Tyranitar Holds a Record That’s Gone Unbroken Since 2000

2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Pokemon series, with over 1,000 unique critters introduced over nine generations of games. Despite these massive milestones, there are some type combinations that have yet to be introduced, such as Fire/Fairy, Bug/Dragon, and Rock/Ghost. Not only that, but there are also type combinations with just one representative out of over 1,000 Pokemon, even after 30 years. For example, Empoleon and Heatran are the only Pokemon of their kind, respectively, with Water/Steel and Fire/Steel as type combinations, and have been since their introduction in Pokemon Gen 4. Yet, Tyranitar reigns supreme with its unbroken record set all the way back in October 2000.

Pokemon Gold and Silver are some of the most beloved games in the series, to the point that their remakes are ranked very high, and even higher than the originals. With no Johto remakes or games in sight, one might argue that Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver should be on the Switch 2 sooner rather than later, but regardless of availability, Gen 2 Pokemon remain some of the best and most beloved of the series. Tyranitar is an interesting case because its Rock/Dark type combination is, to this day, both unique and arguably pretty bad, but it remains one of the most used Pokemon ever in regular playthroughs and competitive.

Pokemon Gen 2 Introduced The First and Only Rock/Dark Pokemon Ever

Before delving in further, it’s important to explain some context. Technically, Tyranitar is the only Pokemon to retain the unbroken record of no other Pokemon being introduced with the same type combination as Tyranitar, so Rock/Dark. However, Crobat holds the same record for Poison/Flying, albeit with a caveat. Zubat and Golbat were the only Poison/Flying Pokemon in the series before Gen 2, then Crobat was added as a cross-gen evolution in Gen 2, the same as when Tyranitar was added. The thing is, this technically means that another Poison/Flying Pokemon was added to the series, breaking Zubat and Golbat’s potential record immediately.

So yes, it is true that the Crobat line also makes up for the only Pokemon ever to be Poison/Flying, but Tyranitar was the first Rock/Dark Pokemon ever, and it remained such after 26 years. Pokemon Winds and Waves launch in late 2027, if leaks are true, and they may add another Rock/Dark critter for the first time since Gen 2. If that doesn’t happen, then Tyranitar’s record may hold for 30 or more years total, which is incredible.

Every Record Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Broke

Gen 9 broke a few of these records, interestingly:

• Nidoking and Nidoqueen were the first and only Poison/Ground Pokemon ever for the longest time, but Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Clodsire (and its pre-evolution Paldean Wooper) broke the record.
• Gengar and its pre-evolutions, Hunter and Gastly, were the first and only Ghost/Poison Pokemon in the series since Gen 1, but Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Pecharunt was released as the DLC’s Mythical Pokemon, and the first since Gen 1 with that same type combination.I
• Cyclizar was the first Dragon/Normal Pokemon since Gen 7’s Drampa.
• Glimmet and Glimmora were the first Rock/Poison critters since Gen 7’s Nihilego.
• Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Annihilape was the first Fighting/Ghost Pokemon since Marshadow in Gen 7.
• Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Kingambit was the first Dark/Steel Pokemon since its pre-evolutions’ introduction in Gen 5, and they remain the only critters with this type combination so far.
• Flutter Mane in Gen 9 was the first Ghost/Fairy-type since Mimikyu in Gen 7.
• Iron Moth was the first Fire/Poison Pokemon since Gen 7’s Salandit and Salazzle.
• Sandy Shocks was the first Electric/Ground critter since Stunfisk in Gen 5.
• Iron Thorns was the first Rock/Electric Pokemon since Gen 7’s Alolan Golem line.
• Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Baxcalibur line was the first Dragon/Ice series of Pokemon since Gen 5’s Kyurem.
• Gholdengo in Gen 9 was the first Ghost/Steel Pokemon since the Aegislash line in Gen 6.
• Chien-Pao was the first Dark/Ice-type since Sneasel and Weavile in Gen 2.
• Koraidon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet was the first Dragon/Fighting Pokemon since Gen 7’s Hakamo-o and Kommo-o.
• Iron Boulder was the first Rock/Psychic Pokemon since Gen 3’s Solrock and Lunatone.

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Considering how many records Gen 9 broke, though admittedly most are from Gen 7 Pokemon, it’s not unlikely that one of the new Pokemon in Pokemon Winds and Waves will eventually take on the mantle of the first Rock/Dark-type since Tyranitar, or even the first Poison/Flying since Crobat. Still, there is also a chance this doesn’t happen, and the reason is that there are nine unused type combinations in Pokemon games, and of those that have been used, several have only been used by Legendaries, Mythicals, Ultra Beasts, Regional Forms, Paradox Pokemon, and even Mega Evolutions.

Every Rare and Unused Type Combination in Pokemon Games

These are:

• Unused type combinations in Pokemon:
  • Normal/Rock
  • Normal/Bug
  • Normal/Steel
  • Normal/Ice
  • Poison/Ice
  • Ground/Fairy
  • Fire/Fairy
  • Rock/Ghost
  • Bug/Dragon
• Exclusive to regional forms, Mega Evolution, or form changes:
  • Ice/Fairy — Alolan Ninetales
  • Ice/Steel — Alolan Sandslash and Sandshrew
  • Ice/Fire — Galarian Darmanitan (form change)
  • Electric/Psychic — Alolan Raichu
  • Electric/Fire — Rotom Heat
  • Ghost/Normal — Hisuian Zoroark and Zorua
  • Dragon/Fairy — Mega Altaria
• Exclusive to non-regular Pokemon:
  • Fighting/Fairy — Iron Valiant
  • Fighting/Ground — Great Tusk
  • Fire/Water — Volcanion
  • Fire/Steel — Heatran
  • Dragon/Psychic — Latias, Latios, Mega Latias, Mega Latios, Ultra Necrozma
  • Psychic/Ghost — Hoopa (Confined), Lunala, Dawn Wing Necrozma, Calyrex Shadow Rider

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Then, there are several type combinations that are only used by one Pokemon, much like Tyranitar. A few were added recently, such as Bug/Dark for Lokix in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and others have been around for a long time, such as Normal/Fire for Pyroar or Ice/Ghost for Froslass. These types aside, Tyranitar is a standout case because Rock/Dark is not a great combination:

• Rock/Dark is four times weak to Fighting-type moves, and two times weak to Ground, Bug, Steel, Water, Fairy, and Grass.
• Rock/Dark resists Normal, Flying, Poison, Ghost, Dark, and Fire, and it’s immune to Psychic.
• Offensively, Rock/Dark only hits Flying, Bug, Fire, Ghost, Ice, and Psychic for supereffective damage with STAB moves, and neither type hits Fighting for neutral damage.

Why Tyranitar is OP Despite Its Type Combo

And yet, ever since competitive Pokemon started on a larger scale, Tyranitar has always been one of the best Pokemon ever. This is because of a few factors, such as its incredible stats, its sandstorm-setting ability (which also boosts its Special Defense), its large move pool with good coverage, its great pairing with items like Assault Vest, and the fact that it also has a powerful Mega Evolution that can be used to control weather in Pokemon Champions or VGC in general. So, even if future games add another Rock/Dark Pokemon, it may never be as good as Tyranitar.