One of the beauties of Pokémon as a game is the different types that different Pokémon possess. Some Pokémon come as a single type, and others come with two types. Each type dictates its strengths and weaknesses against other Pokémon. These types are essentially the heart of the Pokémon combat system.
But it can be challenging to remember all the Pokémon type strengths and weaknesses — especially with 18 different types to contend with! So, we have a simple, logical Pokémon type chart to get you through their latest console game Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Pokémon effectiveness and weakness type chart
Note: The Pokémon type and the attack type are two different things. A Pokémonn can possess different attacks of types different from their own. So when we talk about the type doing damage, it’s referring to the type of the attack.
| Pokémon Type | Strong Against | Weak Against | Resistant To | Vulnerable To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost | Ghost, Psychic | Dark, Normal (no effect) | Poison, Bug, Normal (no effect), Fighting (no effect) | Ghost, Dark |
| Bug | Grass, Psychic, Dark | Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ghost, Steel, Fire, Fairy | Fighting, Ground, Grass | Flying, Rock, Fire |
| Normal | Rock, Steel, Ghost (no effect) | Ghost (no effect) | Fighting | |
| Flying | Fighting, Bug, Grass | Electric, Rock, Steel | Fighting, Bug, Grass, Ground (no effect) | Rock, Electric, Ice |
| Ground | Poison, Rock, Steel, Fire, Electric | Bug, Grass, Flying (no effect) | Poison, Rock, Electric (no effect) | Water, Grass, Ice |
| Water | Ground, Rock, Fire | Water, Grass, Dragon | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel | Electric, Grass |
| Dragon | Dragon | Steel | Fire, Water, Grass, Electric | Ice, Dragon, Fairy |
| Rock | Flying, Bug, Fire, Ice | Fighting, Ground, Steel | Normal, Fire, Poison, Flying | Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Steel |
| Poison | Grass, Fairy | Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost, Steel (no effect) | Fighting, Poison, Bug, Grass, Fairy | Ground, Psychic |
| Fighting | Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, Steel | Flying, Poison, Bug, Psychic, Ghost (no effect) | Rock, Bug, Dark | Flying, Psychic, Fairy |
| Grass | Ground, Rock, Water | Flying, Poison, Bug, Steel, Fire, Grass, Dragon | Water, Grass, Electric, Ground | Flying, Poison, Bug, Fire, Ice |
| Electric | Flying, Water | Grass, Electric, Dragon, Ground (no effect) | Flying, Steel, Electric | Ground |
| Dark | Ghost, Psychic | Fighting, Dark, Fairy | Ghost, Dark, Psychic (no effect) | Fighting, Bug, Fairy |
| Fairy | Fighting, Dragon, Dark | Poison, Steel, Fire | Fighting, Bug, Dark, Dragon (no effect) | Poison, Steel |
| Steel | Ice, Rock, Fairy | Steel, Fire, Water, Electric | Normal, Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Dragon, Steel, Fairy, Poison (no effect) | Fire, Fighting, Ground |
| Fire | Bug, Steel, Grass, Ice | Rock, Fire, Water, Dragon | Bug, Steel, Fire, Grass, Ice, Fairy | Ground, Rock, Water |
| Ice | Flying, Ground, Grass, Dragon | Steel, Fire, Water, Ice | Ice | Fighting, Rock, Steel, Fire |
| Psychic | Fighting, Poison | Steel, Psychic, Dark (no effect) | Fighting, Psychic | Bug, Ghost, Dark |
Let’s break down some general rules of thumb that will help you understand the Pokémon type chart.
Pokémon Type advantages
Most Pokémon type advantages follow nature’s common sense. Water-type has an advantage over fire-type, fire-type over grass type, and grass-type over water-type.
You can quickly remember most of the advantages on the Pokémon type chart. That’s what the second column of the chart, “strong against,” indicates.
Pokémon Type disadvantages
Every Pokémon type has disadvantages too. That’s what the third and fifth columns for, labelled “Weak against” and “Vulnerable to.” The former shows which Pokémon your given type is weak against, and the latter shows which other types deal 2.0x the damage on your Pokémon’s given type.
The fourth column, called “resistant to,” show the types that don’t do much damage against the type in the given row, making your Pokémon advantageous against those types.
No-Effect Types
If you look closely at the Pokémon type chart, there are some boxes in a few rows that will say “no-effect”. This means an attack of that type will not have any effect on a Pokémon of the other type.
Luckily, there are only a few cases that this happens. A big rule of thumb is that normal-type and fighting-type attacks do not affect ghost-type Pokémon. You can imagine trying to hit a ghost with your fist. It just doesn’t work.
There are only a few type combinations that this rule applies to, so you’d better remember them! You don’t want your opponent to catch you by surprise in your next Pokémon battle.
Dual-Types
As we mentioned earlier, some Pokémon have two types instead of just one. So how do type advantages apply here?
If both your Pokémon’s types are weak to the receiving attack type, it will take 4.0x the damage. While having dual-type Pokémon can be advantageous for variety and flexibility, be wary of combos with a mutual type of weakness.
If this Pokémon type chart confused you, don’t worry about it! It takes time to commit such things to memory. Playing the game often will let you practice and make it second nature to you. Learning Pokémon types is a skill, just like anything else. And once you master this skill, no doubt you will be the next Pokémon master.