A Pokémon battle looks like luck from outside, but good trainers follow a few habits. These six should help you win more. Every example below comes from the pokee.si data, and we checked the rules against Pokémon Database and Serebii.
1. Check the type chart first
Every move has a type, and every Pokémon has one or two. The match-up decides how much damage the move does: 2× if it is super effective, half if it is not very effective, and none at all if the defender is immune. Here are six pairs worth knowing.
| Attacking type | Defending type | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Fire | Super effective (2×) |
| Fire | Grass | Super effective (2×) |
| Grass | Water | Super effective (2×) |
| Electric | Ground | No effect (0×) |
| Normal | Ghost | No effect (0×) |
| Ground | Flying | No effect (0×) |
If the defender has two types, the two numbers are multiplied. Gyarados is Water/Flying, and both of those types are weak to Electric, so it takes 4× from Electric moves. To learn the whole chart, read the type chart for kids.
2. Use moves of your own type
When a Pokémon uses a move that matches its own type, the move gets a 1.5× bonus. This is STAB, the same-type attack bonus. It stacks with the type match-up. The Pokémon Database example is a Water move used by a Water-type on a Ground/Rock Pokémon. That is 2 × 2 × 1.5, or six times normal damage.
| Attacker | Move | Defender | Type match-up | STAB | Total multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pikachu | Thunderbolt (Electric) | Gyarados (Water/Flying) | 4× | 1.5× | 6× |
| Charizard | Flamethrower (Fire) | Venusaur (Grass/Poison) | 2× | 1.5× | 3× |
| Blastoise | Surf (Water) | Charizard (Fire/Flying) | 2× | 1.5× | 3× |
| Blastoise | Surf (Water) | Venusaur (Grass/Poison) | 0.5× | 1.5× | 0.75× |
| Gengar | Shadow Ball (Ghost) | Snorlax (Normal) | 0× | 1.5× | 0× |
| Snorlax | Body Slam (Normal) | Pikachu (Electric) | 1× | 1.5× | 1.5× |
| Snorlax | Earthquake (Ground) | Pikachu (Electric) | 2× | none | 2× |
Look at the Pikachu row. Thunderbolt hits Gyarados for 6×. Now look at the Gengar row. Shadow Ball is Gengar's own type, but Snorlax is Normal, so the result is 0×. A STAB move that has no effect still does nothing.
The last two rows compare Snorlax's Body Slam, which gets STAB, with its Earthquake, which does not. Earthquake is the better choice against Pikachu. As a rough score, multiply the move's power by the total: Body Slam is 85 × 1.5, which is 127.5, and Earthquake is 100 × 2, which is 200. That rough score ignores the stats of both Pokémon, so treat it as a guide only. For the full story on same-type moves, see what STAB means.
3. Know who moves first
Speed is a stat, and the faster Pokémon generally moves first in a turn. Serebii says Speed decides when a Pokémon attacks within a turn. Here are three pairs, using base Speed from the data.
| Pokémon | Base Speed | Pokémon | Base Speed | Usually moves first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gengar | 110 | Snorlax | 30 | Gengar |
| Pikachu | 90 | Charizard | 100 | Charizard |
| Blastoise | 78 | Venusaur | 80 | Venusaur |
Base Speed is only a guide, because a Pokémon's level and other things change the real number. A few moves ignore Speed altogether. They have priority, and a move with higher priority goes first. Pokémon Database says moves with higher priority always go first, regardless of Speed. In our data, 42 moves have a priority above zero. These are four of them:
| Move | Type | Power | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Attack | Normal | 40 | +1 |
| Extreme Speed | Normal | 80 | +2 |
| Fake Out | Normal | 40 | +3 |
| Protect | Normal | – | +4 |
Quick Attack lets a slow Pokémon strike before a faster one that uses a normal move. It is a good way to finish a Pokémon with almost no HP left. The lessons page has more on how the order works.
4. Use status moves
Not every move does damage. In our data, 271 of the 919 moves are status moves. Two good ones for beginners:
| Move | Type | Accuracy | What it does | Who it cannot hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Wave | Electric | 90% | Paralyses the target: its Speed is cut in half, and it has a 25% chance of being unable to move each turn. | Ground types (Electric moves have no effect on them) and Electric types (they cannot be paralysed) |
| Will-O-Wisp | Fire | 85% | Burns the target: it loses 1/16 of its maximum HP every turn and its Attack is cut in half. | Fire types (they cannot be burned) |
Paralysis halves Speed, so a Pokémon you paralyse tends to move later. A burn drains HP every turn and halves the Pokémon's Attack. Serebii's status page says the burn drain has been 1/16 of max HP since Sun and Moon, and was 1/8 before that. Both numbers in that table are for the current games. Check who the move cannot hit before you use it: Electric moves have no effect on Ground types (0×). The status conditions article covers burn, poison, sleep and more.
5. Switch when the match-up is bad
You can swap in a different Pokémon during a battle. Serebii says a switch takes the whole turn and happens before any moves. That means the opponent attacks the Pokémon you switch in. So switch early, when the Pokémon coming in resists the attack you expect. If your Pokémon is about to faint anyway, a switch can still save it.
6. Bring a team with different types
One type cannot do everything. A team of different types gives you more good switches. The guide to building a Pokémon team shows how to check one.
Practise
- Try a belt exam in the Dojo, which is a 3 against 3 battle, and switch on Hints to see the matchup on each move.
- Read what STAB means to pick same-type moves.
- Test yourself with the Battle Mechanics quiz pack.
- Brush up on the matchups in the Types 101 lesson.