Normal attacks as normal, no matter who you fight. Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel will burn in Fire’s blazing light. Water drowns out Fire, Rock and even solid Ground. Those who fly and those who swim, weak to Electric’s sound. Flying pecks at Grass and Bug, and brings Fighting to yield, While Grass, Psychic and Dark are quite sure to be Bug’s field! Grass soaks up the Water type and breaks up Ground and Rock. Fire, Ice, Flying, and Bug are weak to Rock’s hard knock. Ice freezes the earth and air, and snaps shut Dragon’s fangs, While Dragon takes on Dragon, with a fiery, loud bang. Fighting takes out Normal, Ice, smashes Rock, Dark and Steel. Poison comes and causes Fairy, Grass and Bugs to keel. The Ghost will spook the Psychic, sometimes even himself. Steel brings Fairy, Ice and Rock to go up on the shelf. Ground shakes up Electric, Rock, Poison, Fire and Steel. Psychic shall cause Fighting and Poison to always kneel. Dark will scare the Psychic and bring terror to Ghost’s grin. Against Fighting, Dragon, and Dark, Fairy’s sure to win. You’ve memorized weaknesses for all Pokémon types. So now you can do battle without having to gripe!
Flying - Many birds eat bugs. Fire - Burns bugs. Rock - Crushes bugs.
Bugs - Most generally thrive in the darkness, living underground, behind cupboards, etc. . Fighting - Represents the use of noble, disciplined technique, besting the dirty, underhanded tactics of the Dark type (essentially good vs. evil). Note that the Dark type is called the Evil type in the Japanese versions. Fairy - Also represents a force of good that can overcome evil.
Dragon - Often considered to be so powerful that they’re mostly only beaten by other dragons. Fairy - Represents natural forces, which can be strong enough to overpower anyone. Even the most powerful creatures are dependent on nature. Fairy magic is stronger than dragon magic? Ice - Reptiles often become slow and sluggish in cold temperatures[1] X Research source due to being cold-blooded (dragons are often portrayed as being reptiles).
Ground - Electrical grounding creates a low resistance path to discharge current, and is used in circuitry to remove excess charges. [2] X Research source
Poison - Toxic chemicals that pollute nature, harming or even killing plants & animals in the process. Steel - Steel is primarily formed from iron[3] X Research source , which is commonly believed in folklore to ward off supernatural entities such as ghosts and fae creatures. [4] X Research source Additionally, steel could be considered an unnatural human creation, and a direct opposite of the natural forces that fairies represent.
Flying - Airborne targets are generally very fast and nimble, easily dodging melee attacks, then diving in to strike once there’s an opening. Fairy - Natural forces (eg. ageing) cannot always be combated. Psychic - The mind’s ability to find ways to outsmart and overcome raw strength (ie. brains over brawn).
Ground - Sand, dirt, etc. can be used to extinguish fires by smothering and removing their oxygen supply. Rocks - Are incombustible; are also sometimes placed around fires to prevent them from spreading. Water - Extinguishes fires by removing all the heat.
Electric - Lightning (or electric sparks for the matter) is more likely to strike objects that are higher up since it creates a shorter path through air. Ice - Many species of birds cannot survive in winter weather, and instead migrate towards the Equator. Rock - Something about the phrase “Kill two birds with one stone”?
Dark - Necromancy, a branch of magic used to raise and control the dead (ghosts), is often considered evil. Ghost - Ghosts like Beetlejuice that can posses other ghosts?
Bug & Flying - Many animals eat plants. Fire & Ice - Plants are vulnerable to extreme temperatures. Poison - Weedkiller is sometimes used in farming to kill off weeds.
Grass - Plants roots absorb nutrients from the ground. The roots also split the ground while simultaneously holding it together. Ice - Water expands as it freezes, splitting the ground and the pipes that transport it. Water - Turns the ground to mud and can erode it.
Fire - It melts the ice, duh. Fighting - Represents physical force that can chip away at/break the ice. Rock and Steel - Strong materials used to chip ice, generally to sculpt/break up/harvest it.
Fighting - A normal (untrained) person would easily lose against a trained fighter.
Ground - The earth absorbs poison? Psychic - While the body can be poisoned, the mind is something meta-physical and has the upper hand over poison (mind over matter).
Bug, Dark, & Ghost - Common fears that can ruin someone’s concentration, leaving you temporarily unable to function.
Fighting - Physical force that can crack, break, shatter, (etc. ) a rock. Grass - Moss growing on rocks and weeds growing in between the cracks? Ground - Can move (or sometime swallow) rocks during strong enough earthquakes/sinkholes/landslides, causing them to break if they fall hard enough. Steel - Used to make drills and mining picks. Water - Can weather and erode rocks, breaking them up and eventually turning them into dirt and sand.
Fighting & Fire - Steel objects are made by shaping hot metal with physical force. Alternatively, steel may be dented by strikes from a fighter, and its structural integrity lowered by intense heat as it melts. Ground - Sufficiently strong enough earthquakes can destroy steel structures (eg. some buildings). An earthen mould may sometimes be used to shape molten metal?
Grass - Plants absorb water through their roots. Electric - Impure water (ie. water containing dissolved minerals) can conduct electricity, allowing the current to interact/interfere with anything in the water.
Fighting - Bugs are small and nimble targets (especially flying ones such as houseflies), making them hard to hit. Grass - Some bugs may eat through leaves, plants or even grass. Ground - Many bugs already walk/tunnel through the ground (eg. ants, centipedes), and are built to handle the terrain.
Dark - Dark types are already aware of the underhanded tactics their own type uses, and thus are unlikely to fall for them. Ghost - ???
Electric - Some dragons (eg. Cynder from Skylanders) can shoot electricity. Fire - Arguably the most well known element dragons are thought to wield. Grass - The dragon fire burns through leaves, grass and/or other plants. Water - Many dragons, especially Chinese ones, famously have power over water and weather. [5] X Research source
Electric - Their bodies are naturally resistant to large amounts of electricity to protect them from their own attacks, hence why they’re also immune to the paralysis status effect. Flying - Lighting always strikes higher up, making it harder for flying foes to get close enough to deal damage? Steel - Steel is an conductor, meaning electrical charges travel through them.
Bug - Fairies have a higher level of sentience than ordinary bugs, granting them better fighting techniques. Dark - Fairy’s power of nature and purity is stronger than the Dark type’s evil and deceit. Fighting - Fairy magic is stronger than conventional fighting techniques, granting a stronger offense/defense.
Bug - ??? Dark - Good is stronger than evil (the Dark type is called the Evil type in the Japanese versions). Rock - Can easily be caught/deflected by skilled fighters if thrown at them.
Bug & Grass - Both can be burned through, partially if not completely destroying them before they can do their full damage. Fairy - Fires can burn through and destroy nature if they get out of control. They’ve also been used by humans to clear land. Fire - Are already immune to/have a strong resistance to the immense heat their own bodies can generate, hence why they’re also immune to the burn status effect. Ice & Steel- Neither can fully withstand the heat, and may melt before they can do their full damage.
Bug - Are the natural prey of many birds, and as such are much weaker than them. Fighting - Are generally too high up or too agile for melee attacks from grounded foes to affect them.
Bug - Ghosts likely aren’t scared of bugs, with some using them to create nightmares for the people they posses. Poison - Ghosts are incorporeal, lacking physical bodies that can be poisoned.
Electric - Wood is non-conductive, and can be used to safely move live wires. Grass - Plants with competing needs will often “fight” each other by growing out their roots/leaves in an attempt to steal all the nutrients or block the other’s sunlight. Some plants, such as Mistletoe, the Indian pipe, and Dodder, are parasites that leech water and nutrients from other plants, sometimes smothering them in the process. Ground - Plant roots help hold the ground together (ie. why deforestation increases the risk of landslides), which are under the control of Grass types. Water - Plants can absorb the majority of the water from the attack using their roots.
Grass types are firmly rooted in the ground, so things like earthquakes can’t do as much damage as they would to other Pokemon. Ground - Bug types spend a lot of time both on and under the ground, so they’re used to it. Poison - Gradually absorbs and breaks down the poison over time? Rock - Rocks come from the ground?
Ice - It can’t freeze other ice types (as they’re already frozen, and thus, immune to the freezing status effect), nor is it hot enough to melt them either. It can only bang against more ice, breaking both apart in the process. Ice has the fewest resistances of any type (apart from Normal, which has none).
Normal types are the only ones without any resistances or super-effective moves, essentially making them a jack-of-all-trades.
Bug - Insecticide is used to kill bugs and prevent them from attacking plants. Fairy - Weakens/kills off most of the natural energy before it can do it’s full damage. Fighting - ??? Grass - Weedicide kills weeds, preventing them from invading gardens. Poison - Toxic plants and animals (by necessity) have a natural resistance to their own species’ poison/venom (some can resist those from other species aswell) to avoid getting hurt by their own toxins. It’s also why they’re immune to the poison status effect.
Fighting - The power of the mind is often stronger than merely using brute strength. Psychic - ???
Fires - Rocks are non-combustible, and cannot be melted by normal fires. Normal people cannot easily break large boulders. Poison - Rocks cannot be poisoned as they’re not alive.
Bug - Cannot bite/sting through hard metal. Dragon & Fairy - Both attacks get weakened/warded off by the the iron in the steel. Flying - ??? Grass - Scythes and clippers that can cut through the majority of the attacks. Ice & Rock - Both are usually much “softer” than steel Normal - The average person would likely not be able to break through a material like steel without specific tools. Psychic - Tin foil hats? Steel - Can only scratch against more of itself due to being the same material and having the same density.
Fire - Extinguishes most of the fire before it can do it’s full damage. Ice - Water is warmer than ice; although not as hot as fire, it’s enough to cause it to melt. Steel - Steel can become corroded in water, thus weakening steel-type attacks.
Psychic - ???
Dragon - Significantly weaker than fae magic? Balancing reasons?
Ground - Grounded foes simply can’t reach flying targets far above them.
Fighting - Ghosts are incorporeal, causing punches to just pass right through them. Normal - The physical and spirit worlds generally don’t interact under normal circumstances.
Electric - Ground types are naturally insulated against electricity, preventing the charges from travelling into them.
Ghost - The physical and spirit worlds generally don’t interact under normal circumstances.
Poison - Steel isn’t alive, nor is it porous enough for the poison to penetrate it even if it was.
For example, an Aron (Steel) using Metal Claw, or a Venusaur (Grass/Poison) using Leaf Storm or Venoshock. [6] X Research source
For example, Harsh Sunlight buffs Fire-type moves, and debuffs Water-type moves, while Rain does the opposite. Hail and Sandstorms deal small amounts of damage each turn to all non Ice and Rock/Ground/Steel type Pokémon on the field respectively. Castform will change its typing from Normal to Fire/Water/Ice during harsh sunlight/rain/hail respectively.
Levitate is an example of ability that affects the bearer, effectively turning them into a psuedo-Flying type, making Ground-type attacks useless. Intimidate however, lowers the physical attack power of all opponent Pokémon on the field. Don’t be afraid to switch out your Pokémon for different abilities should the situation call for it!
Berries - Some weaken the effects of super effective moves, while others heal or cure status conditions. Mega Stones - Allows the respective Pokémon to Mega Evolve. Memories - Changes the typing of a Silvally with the RKS System ability, along the typing of its Multi-Attack. Plates perform the same role with Arceus and its Judgement move, with the added benefit of working like type-enhancers for all other Pokémon. Type-enhancers - Boosts attacks of the same type by 20% (10% prior to Gen IV). Gems - These work similarly to type-enhancers, providing a one-time 30% boost (50% in Gen V) before being consumed. Z-Crystals - Allows the holder to perform powerful Z-moves.
