When a Pokémon has two types, you work out how an attack does against each type on its own, then multiply the two numbers. If both types are weak to the move, it does 4× damage. If one is weak and the other resists, they cancel out to a normal 1× hit. If either type is immune, the move does nothing.
That one rule explains every dual-type matchup in the games. The rest of this page is examples, plus the combinations worth knowing.
The multiplication table
Each type gives one of four numbers against an attack: 2 (weak), 1 (neutral), ½ (resists) or 0 (immune). Two types give these totals:
| Type 1 | Type 2 | Total | What the game says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2× | 2× | 4× | "It's super effective!" |
| 2× | 1× | 2× | "It's super effective!" |
| 2× | ½× | 1× | (normal damage) |
| 1× | ½× | ½× | "It's not very effective..." |
| ½× | ½× | ¼× | "It's not very effective..." |
| anything | 0× | 0× | "It doesn't affect..." |
The game shows the same message for 2× and 4×, and the same for ½× and ¼×. The numbers behind the message are very different, though.
Worked examples
Garchomp and Ice: 4×
Garchomp is Dragon/Ground. Ice beats Dragon (2×) and Ice beats Ground (2×), so an Ice Beam does 2 × 2 = 4×. Garchomp is also immune to Electric, because Ground's immunity carries over.
Gyarados and Electric: 4×
Gyarados is Water/Flying. Electric beats both, so Thunderbolt does 4×. Its other weakness, Rock, is only 2×, because Water is neutral to Rock and Flying is weak to it.
Swampert and Electric: 0×
Swampert is Water/Ground. Water alone is weak to Electric, but Ground is immune. Anything times zero is zero, so Electric moves can't touch it. Water/Ground ends up with just one weakness, Grass, and that one is 4×.
Scizor and Fire: 4×, and almost nothing else
Scizor is Bug/Steel. Fire beats both, so Fire is 4×. Every other weakness cancels out: Rock beats Bug but Steel resists it, and Fighting beats Steel but Bug resists it. Scizor has exactly one weakness, and it's a big one.
Tyranitar and Fighting: 4×, plus six more
Tyranitar is Rock/Dark. Fighting beats both, so it's 4×. Water, Grass, Ground, Bug, Steel and Fairy are 2× each. Rock/Dark has seven weaknesses, among the most of any type pair. In exchange it resists six types and is immune to Psychic.
Charizard and Grass: ¼×
Charizard is Fire/Flying. Both types resist Grass, so Grass moves do only ¼×. The same goes for Bug. But Rock beats both types, so Rock moves do 4×, and that is the weakness that sinks Charizard most often.
Full profiles for some famous Pokémon
All numbers below come from the type chart used on pokee.si, which matches the games from Generation 6 on.
| Pokémon | 4× | 2× | ½× | ¼× | Immune |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyarados | Electric | Rock | Fire, Water, Fighting, Bug, Steel | none | Ground |
| Charizard | Rock | Water, Electric | Fire, Fighting, Steel, Fairy | Grass, Bug | Ground |
| Garchomp | Ice | Dragon, Fairy | Fire, Poison, Rock | none | Electric |
| Swampert | Grass | none | Fire, Poison, Rock, Steel | none | Electric |
| Scizor | Fire | none | Normal, Ice, Psychic, Bug, Dragon, Steel, Fairy | Grass | Poison |
| Tyranitar | Fighting | Water, Grass, Ground, Bug, Steel, Fairy | Normal, Fire, Poison, Flying, Ghost, Dark | none | Psychic |
| Parasect | Fire, Flying | Ice, Poison, Bug, Rock | Water, Electric, Fighting | Grass, Ground | none |
| Gholdengo | none | Fire, Ground, Ghost, Dark | Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, Rock, Dragon, Steel, Fairy | Bug | Normal, Fighting, Poison |
| Bisharp | Fighting | Fire, Ground | Normal, Grass, Ice, Flying, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel | none | Poison, Psychic |
Gholdengo is worth a second look. Steel/Ghost gives it three immunities and nine resistances, more than almost any other Pokémon.
The combinations to remember
We checked every pair of types that at least one Pokémon has in its standard form. There are 136 of them. 46 have at least one 4× weakness.
Two 4× weaknesses
Only seven type pairs in use have two separate 4× weaknesses:
| Types | 4× weak to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Grass/Bug | Fire, Flying | Parasect |
| Ground/Rock | Water, Grass | Rhydon |
| Fire/Rock | Water, Ground | Magcargo |
| Rock/Steel | Fighting, Ground | Aggron |
| Ice/Rock | Fighting, Steel | Aurorus |
| Psychic/Ghost | Ghost, Dark | Hoopa |
| Ice/Bug | Fire, Rock | Frosmoth |
Only one weakness
These four pairs are weak to just one type:
- Water/Ground, weak only to Grass (4×). Examples: Quagsire, Swampert.
- Bug/Steel, weak only to Fire (4×). Examples: Scizor, Forretress.
- Ghost/Dark, weak only to Fairy (2×). Examples: Sableye, Spiritomb.
- Poison/Dark, weak only to Ground (2×). Examples: Skuntank, Drapion.
Ghost/Dark has a history. Before the Fairy type arrived in 2013, Sableye and Spiritomb had no weaknesses at all.
The most weaknesses
Six pairs have seven weaknesses each: Grass/Psychic (Exeggutor), Rock/Dark (Tyranitar), Grass/Dark (Shiftry), Psychic/Rock (Lunatone), Grass/Ice (Abomasnow) and Fighting/Rock (Terrakion).
Things that change the maths
The type chart is the starting point, and a few things in battle can bend it.
Abilities are the big one. Levitate makes a Pokémon immune to Ground moves, so Bronzong, a Steel/Psychic Pokémon, loses its Ground weakness. Thick Fat halves Fire and Ice damage. Flash Fire, Water Absorb and Volt Absorb go further and turn the hit into a boost or a heal. Always check a Pokémon's Ability before you trust the chart.
In Scarlet and Violet, Terastallization lets a Pokémon switch to a single Tera Type for the rest of the battle, which swaps its weaknesses for that type's. Our Terastallization guide explains how. Held items can soften a hit too: weakness berries like the Occa Berry (for Fire) halve one super-effective attack.
Damage also depends on the move's power, STAB and the stats on both sides, not only the type multiplier. A 4× hit from a weak Pokémon can still do less than a 2× hit from a strong one. Our guide to base stats covers that side.
To check any Pokémon quickly, open its page on pokee.si: the Matchups section shows its full 4× to 0× profile, and the type chart has a dual-type calculator.