Pokémon Type Effectiveness Briefly Explained
Written by Jameson (Rubiksguy) O'Connor
Pokémon GO is no different, with 18 different types of Pokémon; Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Steel, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Dark, and Fairy. Inevitably the Pokémon franchise will, at some point, introduce new types, but this is all we currently have.
As I mentioned above, Pokémon always are at least one of the above types, and are at most dual-typed. In addition, every single attack that any Pokémon can use in battle has a specific type. I will use Pikachu as an example again. This mouse Pokémon is an Electric Type, and has several possible Electric Type moves that it could learn, like Thunderbolt or Wild Charge, however it can also use Normal Type attacks, like Quick Attack. Similarly, most Pokémon are able to utilize an arsenal of attacks both of their typing and of types other than their own. This can be a blessing or a curse. For example, if your Pokémon goes into battle with an attack that is the same as its type, your Pokémon will get a damage bonus. However, it can also be an interesting strategy to throw your opponent off guard by using a super effective move against them that is not of your Pokémon’s type when they didn’t expect it.
One of the best type attackers to have in Pokémon GO at the time of this writing is the Fighting type. Specifically, try to catch and power up as many good IV Machamp as you can, especially those with a 15 ATK stat. Some of the best gym defenders, like Blissey, Snorlax, Slaking, and Rhydon, are all weak to Fighting type attacks. This means that having an army of powerful Machamp will be very useful in taking down and reclaiming lost gym territory for your team; it's an excellent Swiss army knife of a Pokémon.
Machamp are also great to use in certain raid battles. At the time of this writing, we have experienced many different raid bosses, like Rhydon, Absol, Golem, as well as some legendaries to come, like Regice, Registeel, and Regirock, all of which have been, or will be upon their release, weak to the mighty Machamp.
Some of the common type match ups in Pokémon, and Pokémon GO as well, are as follows. While I can't get into all of the counters in this post, this will get your started.
Note how cyclical these are. Also, note that if a Pokémon is weak to a certain type of attack, they are likely to do reduced damage to that Pokémon type as well. (as in Fire Pokémon are weak to Water, and as such they will take extra damage from Water types, but this also usually means that Fire type attacks will deal less damage to Water Pokémon)
Grass is strong against Water, but weak again Fire.
Fire is strong against Grass, but weak to Water.
Water is strong against Fire, but weak to Grass.
Electric is strong against Water, but weak to Ground.
Water is strong against Fire, but weak to Electric.
Fire is strong against Ice, but weak to Water.
Ice is strong against Ground, but weak to Fire.
Ground is strong against Electric, but weak to Ice.
The link I used to write those type effectiveness combos from above. Keeping it simple to start:
https://rankedboost.com/pokemon-go/type-chart/
Additionally, if you want to get complicated and learn all of the combinations, here is a great resource for the full set of type effectiveness relationships:
https://pro-rankedboost.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/type-chart.jpg
Most Pokémon types are strong and weak against many different types, and since we have 18 different Pokémon types in the game right now, there are many combinations to remember. Luckily, Pokémon GO is a social game, and finding the right answer of what's strong or weak against what is never further away than asking the members of your group, or a quick google search.
One of the best type attackers to have in Pokémon GO at the time of this writing is the Fighting type. Specifically, try to catch and power up as many good IV Machamp as you can, especially those with a 15 ATK stat. Some of the best gym defenders, like Blissey, Snorlax, Slaking, and Rhydon, are all weak to Fighting type attacks. This means that having an army of powerful Machamp will be very useful in taking down and reclaiming lost gym territory for your team; it's an excellent Swiss army knife of a Pokémon.
Machamp are also great to use in certain raid battles. At the time of this writing, we have experienced many different raid bosses, like Rhydon, Absol, Golem, as well as some legendaries to come, like Regice, Registeel, and Regirock, all of which have been, or will be upon their release, weak to the mighty Machamp.
Some of the common type match ups in Pokémon, and Pokémon GO as well, are as follows. While I can't get into all of the counters in this post, this will get your started.
Note how cyclical these are. Also, note that if a Pokémon is weak to a certain type of attack, they are likely to do reduced damage to that Pokémon type as well. (as in Fire Pokémon are weak to Water, and as such they will take extra damage from Water types, but this also usually means that Fire type attacks will deal less damage to Water Pokémon)
Grass is strong against Water, but weak again Fire.
Fire is strong against Grass, but weak to Water.
Water is strong against Fire, but weak to Grass.
Electric is strong against Water, but weak to Ground.
Water is strong against Fire, but weak to Electric.
Fire is strong against Ice, but weak to Water.
Ice is strong against Ground, but weak to Fire.
Ground is strong against Electric, but weak to Ice.
The link I used to write those type effectiveness combos from above. Keeping it simple to start:
https://rankedboost.com/pokemon-go/type-chart/
Additionally, if you want to get complicated and learn all of the combinations, here is a great resource for the full set of type effectiveness relationships:
https://pro-rankedboost.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/type-chart.jpg
Most Pokémon types are strong and weak against many different types, and since we have 18 different Pokémon types in the game right now, there are many combinations to remember. Luckily, Pokémon GO is a social game, and finding the right answer of what's strong or weak against what is never further away than asking the members of your group, or a quick google search.
Notes for further expansion
-when it’s good for a Pokémon to know a move not of its type
