>>56466760I saw an interesting game design video on the the Gen 1 starter types and how it may have been the intention of separating the types by function as JRPG archetypes... Fire was the all in, offensive type the melts through most of the early to mid-game Bug and Grass types, which usually will deliver solid neutral damage on most opponents, Water as the more defensive, tank type that has only two weaknesses, one of which is the rarer Electric type, and can barrel through the usually more tanky Ground/Rock types that populate the caves and final gym... Grass was meant as a more support/utility class type, seeing as how Bulbasaur's first Grass move being Leech Seed, with Vine Whip coming later, having a near monopoly on almost all the gen 1 status moves, including the 100% accurate Spore, and HP draining moves Mega Drain and Leech Seed to debilitate and make opponents easier for your other team members to defeat
Of course, all of this has changed over the years as movepools expanded and abilities and such make such roles less definitive, but an interesting thought line