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Gen 2's legendaries are also rendered permanently weird and incongruous by Light being scrapped.
Gold was the light (and sun)-themed game. Ho-oh, Gold’s mascot, is still in the dex as the Rainbow Pokemon. Its design and backstory make repeated references to rainbows, the entire visible spectrum of light. Ho-oh is only Flying-type in the spaceworld beta, fire-typing was not originally intended. Because it’s partially phoenix-inspired, Fire-type would’ve been an easy substitute for a scrapped Light-type.
Silver, then, was the dark-themed game, silver being in reference to the color of the moon.
Am I suggesting that Lugia was initially Dark-type? Yes, absolutely. The earliest official art consistently has Lugia bent into a crescent moon. It’s sharp, angular, perpetually glaring, and while later designs pushed it towards dark blue, its earliest art is white with black highlights.
Scrapping the Light-type would have undermined any reason for Lugia and Ho-oh to be counterparts. They came up with some shit about the sea being the opposite of the sky, then made Lugia inexplicably Flying/Psychic despite the water theme.
I rest my case. You are now free to foam at the mouth. I will do my best to address your concerns.