One of the most important gameplay mechanics in Pokémon is the typings and their impact on battles; making memorizing and mastering their weaknesses and resistances crucial. In total, there are 18 different types, making a type chart very useful for Trainers looking to find out every Pokémon weakness and resistance. Initially, there were only 15 Pokémon types, with Dark and Steel added in Generation 2, while Fairy was introduced in Generation 6. Though some types have been adjusted since Gen 1, many have kept much of their original properties over the years.
Both logic and science decide a type’s weaknesses and resistances. For example, Fire is weak to Water, Ground, and Rock because those can put out a fire. In contrast, Fire is strong against Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel because it is able to burn/melt those things. These rules have kept the Pokémon games relatively balanced throughout the series, and while some Pokémon Type matchups don’t make sense, the system has largely been successful.
Every Pokémon Type’s Weaknesses And Resistances
Double Damage 
| Half Damage 
| Zero Damage 
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Each type has at least one other it is weak against and a handful of others it can resist or is strong against. There are also immunities that certain types hold against each other, meaning attacks do no damage, whereas resisting the type halves the damage.
Dual-Type Pokémon Weakness And Resistance Effects
Dual-type Pokémon are only slightly more complicated to figure out when it comes to weaknesses and resistances. Whichever two types are combined will offset any weaknesses one may have if the other resists it.
However, if both types are weak to the same type, it will quadruple the damage the Pokémon will take from that type.
A perfect Pokémon to use as an example of these mechanics is the Bug/Steel-type Scizor. By combining these two types, Scizor loses Bug’s weakness to Flying and Rock, as well as Steel’s weakness to Fighting and Ground. However, Bug and Steel are both weak to Fire, meaning that Scizor is 4x weak to Fire.
Scizor may sound strong despite this, and it does have its uses, but a 4x weakness is devastating for any Pokémon, often leading to being taken off the field in one hit.
Type advantages are at the heart of Pokémon battles in both casual and competitive play. In competitive play, switching out Pokémon is commonplace to resist an incoming attack, while casual play revolves more around a trainer’s preferred team composition. Whether trainers only play casually or are looking to enter the competitive scene, learning the weaknesses and resistances of Pokémon‘s types is essential.
Pokemon
- Summary:
- Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the “two-game” trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could “catch ’em all.”
- Created by:
- Satoshi Taijiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda
- First Film:
- Pokemon: The First Movie
- Latest Film:
- Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle
- First TV Show:
- Pokemon
- First Episode Air Date:
- 1997-04-01
- Current Series:
- Pokemon
- TV Show(s):
- Pokemon
- Video Game(s):
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokemon Snap, Pokémon GO
