Pokémon types

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Pokémon types represent the strengths and weaknesses of different Pokémon. They lay the foundation of a complex yet mostly logical rock, paper, scissors-system that applies to every Pokémon and their respective moves. Some advantages and disadvantages are based on common sense, like Fire-type Pokémon having weakness to Water-types, while others are not as obvious.

Type chart

Image:Pokemon Type Chart.PNG

The type chart (seen right) lists all Pokémon types and their strengths and weaknesses. Each type has effectiveness against certain types and weakness against others. When a Pokémon's attack has an advantage over the defending Pokémon's type, it is "super-effective" and the damage is doubled. Conversely, the same happens when an attack is used against a type that it has a disadvantage to, in which case it is "not very effective" and the damage is halved. In a few cases, a Pokémon type is completely immune to an attack type, meaning the damage is reduced to zero (although effects of the attack may still take place). When a Pokémon has multiple types, the weaknesses and strengths of each type are considered in determining the amount of damage dealt.

History of the Pokémon types

In Pokémon Red and Blue, there were 15 Pokémon types:

Bug
Dragon
Electric
Fighting
Fire

Flying
Grass
Ghost
Ground
Ice

Normal
Poison
Psychic
Rock
Water

With Pokémon Gold and Silver, two new types were added:

Dark

Steel

There are two types that do not apply to any regular Pokémon:

Bird

Shadow Rush, a move only found in Pokémon Colosseum on Shadow Pokémon, has no type.

Element-specific attacks

Most, if not all Pokémon learn attacks specific to their element as well as basic physical attacks. For example, the Electric-type Pikachu could know basic Normal-type attacks such as Growl and Quick Attack, but also Electric attacks like Thundershock and Thunder Wave. Pokémon receive a bonus to the power of moves of their own type, as compared with equivalent Pokémon of other types learning the same move. This is known as same type attack bonus, or STAB. For instance, a Pikachu (an Electric-type Pokémon) will do more damage with Thunderbolt (an Electric-type move) than would a Raticate (a Normal-type Pokémon) with the same stats. To elaborate, the boost given by STAB is 1.5; that is, an attack with the STAB bonus will do 1.5 times the damage it normally would.

Types

Bug-type

Bug-type Pokémon are generally arthropod-like Pokémon. Bug-type moves use the Attack stat and involve use of the body parts of the bugs. Some examples are Caterpie, Ledyba, and Wurmple.

Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Poison¹, Rock
Resistances: Fighting, Grass, Ground
Effective: Dark, Grass, Poison¹, Psychic
Not effective: Fighting, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Poison², Steel

Dark-type

Darkness sometimes represent evil and crime, but Dark-type Pokémon are quite misunderstood there. Dark-type Pokémon are known for often using sinister moves such as biting and stealing that use the Special Attack stat. Some examples of Dark-type Pokémon are Sneasel, Absol, Poochyena, Umbreon and Houndour.

Weaknesses: Bug, Fighting
Resistances: Dark, Ghost
Immunities: Psychic
Effective: Ghost, Psychic
Not effective: Dark, Fighting, Steel

Dragon-type

Dragon-type Pokémon are, quite simply, dragons. Their moves use the Special Attack stat and involve the use of claws and breathing dragon breath. Examples of Dragon-type Pokémon include: Dratini, Dragonair, Dragonite, Bagon, Shelgon, Salamence, and Flygon.

Not all dragon-like Pokémon are Dragon-type Pokémon; Charizard, for example, is a dual Fire-and-Flying-type, while Gyarados a Water-and-Flying type.

Weaknesses: Dragon, Ice
Resistances: Electric, Fire, Grass, Water
Effective: Dragon
Not effective: Steel

Electric-type

Electric-type Pokémon have electricity-oriented powers. Electric types usually have a high Speed stat, a respectable Special Attack stat, and a decent Special Defense. Some examples include Pikachu, Elekid, Electabuzz, Voltorb and Raikou.

Electric-type attacks often have a chance of causing the Paralyze status effect, which gives the affected Pokémon a severe Speed statistic reduction along with a 25% chance of being unable to move for a turn.

Weaknesses: Ground
Resistances: Electric, Flying, Steel
Effective: Flying, Water
Not effective: Electric, Grass, Dragon
No effect: Ground

Fighting-type

Fighting-type Pokémon learn specifically labeled fighting melee attacks, such as punches and kicks. Examples include Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, Mankey, and Machop.

Weaknesses: Flying, Psychic
Resistances: Bug, Dark, Rock
Effective: Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel
Not effective: Bug, Flying, Poison, Psychic
No effect: Ghost³

Fire-type

Fire-type Pokémon are aligned with heat, often in the form of flames or lava. Examples include Magmar, Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, and Entei.

Fire-type attacks often have a chance of causing the Burn status effect, which causes a reduction in the Attack statistic as well as taking away hit points each turn it is in effect. Fire-type Pokémon are immune to the Burn status effect.

Weaknesses: Ground, Rock, Water
Resistances: Bug, Fire, Grass, Ice², Steel
Effective: Bug, Grass, Ice, Steel
Not effective: Dragon, Fire, Rock, Water

Flying-type

Flying-type Pokémon are Pokémon who can fly. They are normally birds or dragon-like (if not always Dragon-type) Pokémon, but there are exceptions, such as the sea serpent-like Water-and-Flying-type Gyarados. The Flying-type has never appeared on any Pokémon as its only type – all Flying-type Pokémon are dual-types. Examples include Pidgey, Fearow, Doduo, Farfetch'd, Charizard, and Dragonite.

Flying-type Pokémon should not be confused with the glitchy Bird-type Pokémon, Missingno and 'M.

Weaknesses: Electric, Ice, Rock
Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Grass
Immunities: Ground
Effective: Bug, Fighting, Grass
Not effective: Electric, Rock, Steel

Ghost-type

Ghost-type Pokémon deal with the supernatural, specifically the realm of the dead. In the Red, Blue, and Yellow versions of Pokémon, all wild Ghost-type Pokémon required a special item to see them clearly in order to battle or capture them. Examples of the Ghost-type include Duskull, Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, and Misdreavus.

Weaknesses: Dark, Ghost
Resistances: Bug, Poision
Immunitites³: Fighting, Normal
Effective: Ghost, Psychic
Not effective: Dark, Steel
No effect: Normal (see below)

The two exceptions to Normal-type Pokémons' immunity to Ghost-type attacks are the moves Confuse Ray and Nightmare.

Grass-type

Grass-type Pokémon have abilities associated with plant life and nature. Until the Gold and Silver versions, all Grass-type Pokémon (with the exception of Tangela) were dual-type with Poison, negating the Grass-type's advantage over Ground-type attacks. Even in later games, many Grass-type Pokémon have a second element. Examples include Bulbasaur, Chicorita, Treecko, Celebi, Hoppip, and Sunkern.

Weaknesses: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison
Resistances: Electric, Grass, Ground, Water
Effective: Ground, Rock, Water
Not effective: Bug, Dragon, Fire, Flying, Grass, Poison, Steel

Ground-type

Ground-type Pokémon are affiliated with the ground and earth. Examples include Diglett, Dugtrio, Sandshrew, and Sandslash.

Weaknesses: Grass, Ice, Water
Resistances: Poision, Rock
Immunities: Electric
Effective: Electric, Fire, Poision, Rock, Steel
Not effective: Bug, Grass
No effect: Flying

Ice-type

Ice-type Pokémon are affiliated with cold things and areas. Ice-type Pokémon usually have a high Special Defense statistic and a low Defense statistic. Many Ice-Type attacks have a chance of causing the Freeze status effect, which prevents the frozen Pokémon from attacking until it is thawed. Ice-type Pokémon are immune to the Freeze status. Examples of Ice-type Pokémon include Smoochum, Jynx, Articuno, Glalie, and Piloswine.

Weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, Rock, Steel
Resistances: Ice
Effective: Dragon, Flying, Grass, Ground
Not effective: Fire², Ice, Steel, Water

Normal-type

Normal-type Pokémon have moves based on standard attacks, such as tackles and scratches, and do not generally have any of the characteristics assigned to the other types, except in the case of dual-typed Normal-type Pokémon. Examples include Togepi, Munchlax, Snorlax, Teddiursa, Porygon, Chansey, Aipom, Jigglypuff, and Snubbull.

Weaknesses: Fighting
Immunitities: Ghost
Not effective: Rock, Steel
No effect: Ghost³

Poison-type

Poison-type Pokémon have some toxic quality about them, be it because they produce venom (Ekans and Arbok for example), or are poisonous plants (Bulbasaur and Oddish – these are dual Grass-and-Poison types) or have some sort of general toxicity about them (such as Koffing or Grimer).

Many Poison-type moves can cause the Poison status effect, which causes the attacked Pokémon to lose hit points each turn. The Toxic or 'badly poisoned' status effect causes the amount of damage done by the poison to double each turn. Other examples include Weezing, Gulpin, Seviper, Gloom, and Vileplume.

Poison-type Pokémon are immune to the Poison status effect.

Weaknesses: Bug¹, Ground, Psychic
Resistances: Bug², Fighting, Grass, Poison
Effective: Bug¹, Grass
Not effective: Ground, Poison
No effect: Steel

Psychic-type

Psychic-type Pokémon generally have mental abilities associated with psychics in the real world, such as telekinesis, telepathy, and teleportation. Psychic Pokémon are generally very powerful when using attacks that use the Special (Red, Blue, and Yellow) or Special Attack (Gold, Silver, and after) statistics. Examples include Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam, Mr. Mime, and Mewtwo.

Weaknesses: Bug, Dark, Ghost
Resistances: Fighting, Psychic
Effective: Fighting, Poison
Not effective: Psychic, Steel
No effect: Dark

Rock-type

Rock-type Pokémon are affiliated with rocks and mountains. Examples include Onix, Geodude, Graveler, Golem, and Sudowoodo.

Rock-type Pokémon should not be confused with Ground-type Pokémon. Rock-types deal with throwing or breaking rocks, while Ground-types deal specifically with the ground itself, particularly soil. However, many Rock-type Pokémon are dual Rock-and-Ground-types.

Weaknesses: Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel, Water
Resistances: Fire, Flying, Normal, Poison
Effective: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice
Not effective: Ground, Steel

Steel-type

Steel-type Pokémon are made of, or coated with, steel or iron. Examples include Steelix, Scizor, Aron, and Magnemite².

Steel-type Pokémon, as well as being immune to Poison-type attacks, are immune to the Poison status condition.

Weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, Ground
Resistances: Bug, Dark, Dragon, Flying, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Normal, Psychic, Rock, Steel
Immunities: Poison
Effective: Ice, Rock
Not effective: Electric, Fire, Steel, Water

Water-type

Water-type Pokémon live in and around water, and their powers are directly related to this habitat system. Examples include Squirtle, Totodile, Mudkip, Corsola, Staryu, Remoraid, Seaking, and Magikarp.

Weaknesses: Electric, Grass
Resistances: Fire, Ice, Steel, Water
Effective: Fire, Ground, Rock
Not effective: Dragon, Grass, Water

Other types

Bird-type

The Bird-type was the original name for Flying-type Pokémon. Early screenshots of Pokémon Red and Blue show various Flying-type Pokémon listed as Bird-type. Bird-type remained in the games as a result of the 'M and Missingno. glitches. They are the only two Pokémon who are Bird-type.

???-type

??? is the type of the attack Curse, whose effect depends on the type of the Pokémon using it. ??? is also the type given for moves that Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon Colosseum cannot use until the doors to their hearts have started to open.

Ghost-type vs. Psychic-type

In Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, Psychic-type Pokémon were weak to Ghost-type attacks in theory only. In practice, the only Ghost-type attack that caused damage was the low powered Lick move, and it was innefective. To further unbalance the systen, Psychic-type attacks were super-effective against the three Ghost-type Pokémon that existed at the time due to the Ghost-types having a secondary Poison-type. This was odd considering the comment by a trainer in the Saffron City Gym in those games saying that Psychic-types feared only ghosts and bugs (the comment was fixed in Yellow). The anime also had the roles reversed. In Pokémon Gold and Silver, the situation was fixed entirely with the creation of stronger Ghost-type moves and pure Ghost-type Pokémon.

Overall effects on gameplay

The original elemental system in Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow was severely flawed. Due to the Ghost-type vs. Psychic-type conflict, the Psychic Pokémon were left with only one weakness, Bug-type. At the time there were very few Bug-type attacks, and the existing ones were too weak to be effective in high-level tournaments. As a result, Pokémon such as Alakazam, Mewtwo and Mew ruled the tournament scene. The game creators balanced out the type system in Pokemon Gold and Silver. With this installment, Psychic-types were made weak to Ghost-type attacks, and stronger Bug-type attacks were added. The creators also added the Dark-type, which would be super-effective against Psychic-types and immune to Psychic-type attacks, and the Steel-type, which would have resistance to Psychic-type attacks. These changes led to a more balanced game with a steeper learning curve.

Notes

Only in Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow.
Except in Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow.
The attacks Foresight and Odor Sleuth negate Ghost-type's immunity to Fighting- and Normal-type attacks.