There are 18 Pokémon types, and one extra special type called Stellar, which makes 19 in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Only the 18 regular types belong to Pokémon and moves. Stellar is a Tera Type, which means only a Terastallized Pokémon can have it.
A type is a label like Fire, Water or Grass. Every Pokémon has one or two types, and every move has one. The numbers on this page come from the pokee.si Pokédex data.
The 18 types, and when each arrived
Fifteen types were there from the start, in Red, Green, Blue and Yellow. Two more came later, and then one more:
| Games | Number of types | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Generation 1 (Red, Green, Blue, Yellow) | 15 | The first 15 types |
| Generation 2 to 5 | 17 | Dark and Steel added in Gold and Silver |
| Generation 6 onwards | 18 | Fairy added in X and Y |
| Scarlet and Violet (Terastal only) | 18 + Stellar | Stellar is a Tera Type only; no Pokémon or move has it naturally |
A generation is a group of games that introduced a new batch of Pokémon. If you want to learn what each type is good against, start with the type chart for kids. The full list of types has more detail on each one.
How many Pokémon have each type?
Most Pokémon have one type, and some have two. Of the 1,025 Pokémon, 499 have one type and 526 have two. Because a dual-type Pokémon is counted under both of its types, the numbers below add up to more than 1,025.
| Type | Added | Pokémon with it | Pure (only this type) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Gen 1 | 131 | 75 |
| Fire | Gen 1 | 81 | 36 |
| Water | Gen 1 | 154 | 74 |
| Electric | Gen 1 | 69 | 35 |
| Grass | Gen 1 | 127 | 47 |
| Ice | Gen 1 | 48 | 16 |
| Fighting | Gen 1 | 73 | 28 |
| Poison | Gen 1 | 83 | 16 |
| Ground | Gen 1 | 75 | 17 |
| Flying | Gen 1 | 109 | 3 |
| Psychic | Gen 1 | 102 | 39 |
| Bug | Gen 1 | 92 | 23 |
| Rock | Gen 1 | 74 | 17 |
| Ghost | Gen 1 | 65 | 16 |
| Dragon | Gen 1 | 70 | 13 |
| Dark | Gen 2 | 69 | 13 |
| Steel | Gen 2 | 65 | 10 |
| Fairy | Gen 6 | 64 | 21 |
Water has the most Pokémon, 154, with Normal (131) and Grass (127) next. Ice has the fewest at 48, then Fairy (64) and Ghost (65). Flying is a special case. It is a very common second type, with 109 Pokémon, but only 3 Pokémon are pure Flying.
Moves are different. In our data there are 200 Normal moves, far more than any other type, and only 26 Rock moves.
The Stellar type
Stellar arrived with Terastallization in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. When a Pokémon Terastallizes, it sparkles like a gem, gets a jewel on its head, called a Tera Jewel, and takes on a Tera Type. Stellar is one of the choices. Bulbapedia's Type page says there are "19 types, with 18 regular types and the special Stellar type."
No Pokémon is born Stellar, and no move is Stellar by itself. Read about it in Tera types explained or the Terastallization guide.
Pokémon that changed type
When a new type arrives, a few old Pokémon switch to it.
Steel
Two Pokémon were changed to be part Steel when it arrived. In our data they are Magnemite and Magneton.
Fairy
Twenty-two Pokémon were changed to Fairy in Generation 6. Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Togepi, Marill, Mr. Mime and Gardevoir are some of them. Bulbapedia says more Pokémon were changed to Fairy than to Dark or Steel. Dark did not change any Pokémon when it arrived. Bulbapedia says it changed one move instead.
Types that are not real types
Some odd "types" show up in the games, but they are not among the 18.
The ??? type
This type existed in Generations 2, 3 and 4 and was removed in Generation 5. It was neutral against every type, and every type was neutral against it. The move Curse had the ??? type until Generation 5, when it became Ghost. In Generation 3, Pokémon Eggs showed ??? as their type too, to keep the Pokémon inside a secret.
The Bird type
This one exists only in the code of the Generation 1 and 2 games and was never given to a real Pokémon. In the English Red and Blue games, the glitch Pokémon MissingNo. has the Bird type.
Shadow moves
In Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD, Shadow Pokémon know Shadow moves. Those moves have no type at all, and a blank space shows where the type would go. That is why Shadow isn't a type.
A funny rule from the first games
In Generation 1 only, Ghost moves had no effect on Psychic Pokémon. Today Ghost moves are super effective against Psychic. Several type matchups have changed over the years, which is one reason to check the chart for the game you play.
Where to go next
- Learn all 18 in the Types 101 lesson.
- Test yourself in the Type Master game or the quizzes.
- Open the types page to see every type, with its strengths and weaknesses.
- Read dual-type weaknesses explained to see how two types work together.