Knowing your team’s strengths and weaknesses is half the battle in Pokemon. On the one hand, you should always know which monsters to keep in your party (of up to six) when deciding which weaknesses you’re trying to exploit on your opponent’s squad. However, for your own team’s well-being — and for your own sanity — you should also be aware of which Pokemon types are resistant to which attacks. That way, you’ll always know which creatures to send out at the right moment and when to reel them back in.
There are (currently) a total of 18 types in the Pokemon universe. Each pocket monster has an affinity for one or two different types, which makes putting together a team of six an exercise in variety. You want to cover all your bases and make sure that you’re prepared for whatever your adventure may throw at you.
As an inverse of our Pokemon Strengths and Weaknesses chart, this is what each Pokemon type is most resistant to, so you won’t ever get caught fighting with the wrong Pokemon on your team.
Pokemon Resistance Chart
| Type | 50% Resistant Against | 100% Resistant Against |
| Normal | N/A | Ghost |
| Fire | Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel, Fairy | N/A |
| Water | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel | N/A |
| Grass | Water, Electric, Grass, Ground | N/A |
| Flying | Grass, Fighting, Bug | Ground |
| Fighting | Bug, Rock, Dark | N/A |
| Poison | Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug, Fairy | N/A |
| Electric | Electric, Flying, Steel | N/A |
| Ground | Poison, Rock | Electric |
| Rock | Normal, Fire, Poison, Flying | N/A |
| Ice | Ice | N/A |
| Bug | Grass, Fighting, Ground | N/A |
| Dragon | Fire, Water, Grass, Electric | N/A |
| Ghost | Poison, Bug | Normal, Fighting |
| Dark | Ghost, Dark | Psychic |
| Steel | Normal, Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Dragon, Steel, Fairy | Poison |
| Fairy | Fighting, Bug, Dark | Dragon |
| Psychic | Fighting, Psychic | N/A |
Pokemon logic tends to mirror that of our own world, but it obviously doesn’t translate perfectly. For instance, the fact that ghost-type attacks are utterly useless against normal-type Pokemon and vice versa clearly adheres to the idea that corporeal and incorporeal objects can’t affect one another. But that doesn’t exactly explain why a ghost can be affected by a grass, bug, steel, rock, or water-type attack.
Thinking too hard about Pokemon probably negates the whole point of enjoying it, so it’s nice that other basic logic applies here – at least most of the time. Ground-type Pokemon are entirely resistant to electric attacks because, like in the real world, electricity simply runs through the ground instead of electrocuting it. Thank modern physics for that one. Otherwise, we’d have far less luck plugging in a microwave, let alone playing a video game on a Nintendo Switch.
Fire is also resistant to fire. This is pretty sound logic if you think of fighting fire-type Pokemon as basically dousing an open flame, rather than destroying a creature with the ability to emit fire. Pokemon is a bit literal in its metaphors, so let’s assume fire-type Pokemon are literally made of fire, water-type Pokemon are made of water, and so forth. That way, it totally makes sense!
Some of these are a bit weirder, however, and don’t track well to the real world — simply because there’s no such thing as a fairy or a dragon in real life. At least as far as you know… Also, why are fighting-type and bug-type their own thing? One could argue that both are just off-brand normal-type Pokemon with slight quirks.
But anyway, now you know which Pokemon to bring out when it’s time to do a little resisting. Remember that the “Same-Type Attack Bonus,” or “STAB,” is also a thing. This gives moves more power when used by Pokemon of a matching type. Fire-types do more damage when using fire attacks, for example.
The rule mentioned above stacks multipliers and resistances when accounting for total damage output, too, so your best bet is always to bring out a Pokemon with the highest total number of resistances against the one you’re facing, who is also able to deal damage through attacks of its own type. These, in turn, should ideally hit several weaknesses at once.
As a further example, a fire-type Pokemon using a fire-type attack against a bug/steel-type Pokemon, like Scizor, will deal extra damage from Same-Type Attack Bonus, hitting a bug-type (which is weak to fire), and hitting a steel-type (which is also weak to fire). All at the same time!
And there you have it: another quick rundown of type effectiveness in Pokemon. Happy hunting out there in the Paldea region and beyond!
