I’ve seen the sun theory everywhere linking solgaleo to being a steel type because of the trace amount of iron contained within the sun and it being associated with a dying sun. While I think this is a fine theory, there’s one very simple theory regarding solgaleo’s typing I haven’t seen anywhere!
Solgaleo stands for “the beast who devours the sun.” The alchemic symbol for metal purification is the lion devouring the sun! Hence the steel typing!
Not only does this make sense, it wouldn’t even be the only alchemical reference in Sun and Moon:
See, the alchemical symbol for sulfur (a.k.a. brimstone, as in “fire and brimstone”) is this:
If we take the infinity sign to be eyes, then this looks quite a lot like Litten’s facial markings!
I wonder if alchemical symbols might just be a thing in the new games…
That’s a great observation! Litten definitely has markings resembling the brimstone symbol (note, it is also the alchemic symbol for sulfur!). I wonder if its evolutions will have markings of other alchemic symbols. I for one think the mercury or cinnabar symbols would be good choices.
On another note, I’ve done some more research regarding how lunala could relate to alchemy, and I might’ve found something. If you’ve ever watched full metal alchemist, you might have an idea of where I’m going! The philosopher’s stone as you might know is the ultimate goal in alchemy, as it has 4 steps.
-Nigredo (a state of decay, represented by the color black)
-Albedo (a state of purification, represented by the color white)
-Citrinitas (a state of bringing about solar light, or transmuting silver to gold, represented by the color yellow)
-Rubedo (a state of completion, represented by the color red).
Going by this theory, lunala would represent the first stage well, as nigredo is represented by black (lunala has black themes, is a bat) and it is the state of decay (lunala is a ghost type!)
Solgaleo is represented by albedo, as albedo is represented by white (solgaleo is white).
If this theory is viable, I believe that lunala will be placed before solgaleo in the pokedex for the sole reason that nigredo precedes albedo. This might not be the case, as solgaleo is always showcased before lunala, but that doesn’t have to mean much.
What about the other 2 stages? Maybe they will be legendary pokemon that haven’t been released yet! I could see the pokemon representing rubedo being the cute yet extremely powerful legendary pokemon of the region (mew, celebi, etc).
So much alchemy influence in this region! I love it!
Definitely explains Solgaleo’s ability being Full Metal Body.