Pokémon type chart: Strengths and weaknesses for all types

By Dayna McAlpine

Published: Tuesday, 06 September 2022 at 12:00 am

Every Pokémon in every game across the franchise and its moves are assigned a ‘type’ – with each having several strengths and weaknesses in both attack and defence – and knowing the type chart can mean the difference between winning and losing a battle.

By using a Pokémon with moves that have an advantage over your opponent you can inflict far more damage than normal and by playing with a team of mixed type Pokémon you’re guaranteed a leg-up in battles.

Almost every Gym Leader and member of the Elite Four is also designed to have a type-specific theme, so it pays to know which types of Pokémon you should be armed with before heading into battle.

However, with 18 different types of Pokémon out there, remembering every single one of them as well as their strengths and weaknesses can be incredibly hard to keep up with while playing.

Read on below for your full guide on everything you need to know about Pokémon types.

Why is the Pokémon type chart important?

Just as Pokémon are assigned a type, each of their moves also has an assigned type – for instance, Cyndaquil, one of the three starter Pokémon in Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, SoulSilver and Arceus, is a Fire-type Pokemon but its move Rollout is a Rock-type move.

Moves that are effective against your opposing Pokémon’s type will result in increased damage, while using a move that isn’t as effective against the same Pokémon will inflict decreased damage. The same goes for attacks made against your own Pokémon by an opponent, for instance, if you choose a Fire-type Pokémon to battle against a Water-type you’re likely to watch your Pokémon faint.

But how does this translate in practice? Well, it’s all down to maths.

A single-type advantage such as a Fire-type attack against a Grass-type Pokémon will give you double the normal damage.

However, a double-type advantage, such as Fire-type attack against a Grass AND Bug-type Pokémon will let you inflict an impressive four times the normal damage on your opponent.

If a Pokémon resists a certain type (such as a Fire-type attack on a Water-type Pokémon), you’ll inflict just half the normal damage and you’ll receive the dreaded message ‘it’s not very effective’ following your attack.

The same applies to a double-type disadvantage – if you use a Fire-type attack on a Water AND Rock-type Pokémon you’ll inflict a measly quarter of the normal damage.

Another type strategy you can take advantage of is STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) – as the name suggests, if you use a move from a Pokémon that matches its type (for example a Fire-type Pokémon using a Fire-type move) you can achieve 1.5 times the normal damage.

Add that to your double-type advantage method, i.e. a Fire-type Pokémon using a Fire-type move against Grass/Bug-type Pokémon, and you’ll bag a whopping six times the amount of normal damage.

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