---
title: "Pokémon Type Chart Explained for Kids: What Beats What | pokee.si"
url: "https://pokee.si/articles/pokemon-type-chart-for-kids"
description: "The Pokémon type chart made simple: what super effective means, the Fire, Water and Grass triangle, all 18 types in one table, and the 8 immunities."
last_updated: "2026-10-21"
publisher: "pokee.si: a Pokédex for families (unofficial fan site)"
published: "2026-10-21"
---

# Pokémon Type Chart Explained for Kids: What Beats What

Every Pokémon and every move has a type, like Fire, Water or Grass. When a move hits a Pokémon, the two types decide how much damage it does. A strong matchup does double damage, a weak one does half, and a few do nothing at all.

There are 18 types. You don't need to learn the whole chart at once. Start with three, and the rest will come.

## Start with the triangle

Fire, Water and Grass beat each other in a circle:

- Water beats Fire, because water puts fire out.
- Fire beats Grass, because fire burns plants.
- Grass beats Water, because plants drink up water.

That is why the [starter Pokémon](https://pokee.si/articles/starter-pokemon-by-generation) in every main game are one Grass, one Fire and one Water type. Whichever you choose, it beats one of the other two and loses to the other.

Lots of the chart makes sense like this if you picture real life. [Electric](https://pokee.si/types/electric) zaps [Water](https://pokee.si/types/water) and [Flying](https://pokee.si/types/flying) things, but it can't hurt the [Ground](https://pokee.si/types/ground). [Ice](https://pokee.si/types/ice) freezes [Grass](https://pokee.si/types/grass) and [Dragon](https://pokee.si/types/dragon) types. [Rock](https://pokee.si/types/rock) knocks [Flying](https://pokee.si/types/flying) Pokémon out of the sky.

## The four words the games use

| The game says | What it means | Damage |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "It's super effective!" | A strong matchup | 2× (double) |
| (nothing) | A normal hit | 1× |
| "It's not very effective..." | A weak matchup | ½× (half) |
| "It doesn't affect..." | The Pokémon is immune | 0× (none) |

## All 18 types in one table

Read across a row. The middle column says which types that type's moves hit for double damage. The last column says which move types hit Pokémon of that type for double damage.

| Type | Its moves are strong against | It is weak to |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Normal](https://pokee.si/types/normal) | nothing | Fighting |
| [Fire](https://pokee.si/types/fire) | Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel | Water, Ground, Rock |
| [Water](https://pokee.si/types/water) | Fire, Ground, Rock | Electric, Grass |
| [Electric](https://pokee.si/types/electric) | Water, Flying | Ground |
| [Grass](https://pokee.si/types/grass) | Water, Ground, Rock | Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, Bug |
| [Ice](https://pokee.si/types/ice) | Grass, Ground, Flying, Dragon | Fire, Fighting, Rock, Steel |
| [Fighting](https://pokee.si/types/fighting) | Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, Steel | Flying, Psychic, Fairy |
| [Poison](https://pokee.si/types/poison) | Grass, Fairy | Ground, Psychic |
| [Ground](https://pokee.si/types/ground) | Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel | Water, Grass, Ice |
| [Flying](https://pokee.si/types/flying) | Grass, Fighting, Bug | Electric, Ice, Rock |
| [Psychic](https://pokee.si/types/psychic) | Fighting, Poison | Bug, Ghost, Dark |
| [Bug](https://pokee.si/types/bug) | Grass, Psychic, Dark | Fire, Flying, Rock |
| [Rock](https://pokee.si/types/rock) | Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug | Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Steel |
| [Ghost](https://pokee.si/types/ghost) | Psychic, Ghost | Ghost, Dark |
| [Dragon](https://pokee.si/types/dragon) | Dragon | Ice, Dragon, Fairy |
| [Dark](https://pokee.si/types/dark) | Psychic, Ghost | Fighting, Bug, Fairy |
| [Steel](https://pokee.si/types/steel) | Ice, Rock, Fairy | Fire, Fighting, Ground |
| [Fairy](https://pokee.si/types/fairy) | Fighting, Dragon, Dark | Poison, Steel |

Two things jump out. [Normal](https://pokee.si/types/normal) moves aren't super effective against anything, but Normal Pokémon have only one weakness. [Grass](https://pokee.si/types/grass) and [Rock](https://pokee.si/types/rock) Pokémon have five weaknesses each, the most of any single type.

## The 8 immunities

These matchups do no damage at all. They're worth learning by heart, because using the wrong move here wastes a whole turn.

| This move type | does nothing to | Why it makes sense |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Normal | [Ghost](https://pokee.si/types/ghost) | You can't punch a ghost |
| Fighting | [Ghost](https://pokee.si/types/ghost) | Same reason |
| Ghost | [Normal](https://pokee.si/types/normal) | Normal Pokémon don't get spooked |
| Electric | [Ground](https://pokee.si/types/ground) | The ground soaks up electricity |
| Ground | [Flying](https://pokee.si/types/flying) | Flying Pokémon are off the ground |
| Poison | [Steel](https://pokee.si/types/steel) | Metal can't be poisoned |
| Psychic | [Dark](https://pokee.si/types/dark) | Dark Pokémon block mind tricks |
| Dragon | [Fairy](https://pokee.si/types/fairy) | Fairies are immune to dragon power |

## When a Pokémon has two types

Many Pokémon have two types. Of the 1,025 Pokémon on pokee.si, 526 do. Then the game works out the damage for each type and multiplies the two together.

Here is the classic example. [Gyarados](https://pokee.si/pokemon/gyarados) is Water and Flying. Electric moves are super effective against Water (2×) and against Flying (2×), so a [Thunderbolt](https://pokee.si/moves/thunderbolt) hits Gyarados for 2 × 2 = 4 times the damage. One [Pikachu](https://pokee.si/pokemon/pikachu) with an Electric move can be enough to beat it.

It can work the other way too. If one type is weak and the other resists, they cancel out to a normal hit. Our [dual-type weaknesses guide](https://pokee.si/articles/dual-type-weaknesses-explained) has more examples.

## Your move matters too

The chart uses the type of the move, not the type of the Pokémon using it. A Water Pokémon can learn an Ice move like [Ice Beam](https://pokee.si/moves/ice-beam), and that move hits Dragon types for double damage, even though the Pokémon using it is Water.

There's one bonus for matching, though. When a Pokémon uses a move of its own type, the move gets 1.5× stronger. Players call this STAB, short for same-type attack bonus. Our guide to [types and STAB](https://pokee.si/guide/mechanics/types-and-stab) explains it with numbers.

## A few type facts

- [Water](https://pokee.si/types/water) is the most common type, with 154 Pokémon. [Ice](https://pokee.si/types/ice) is the rarest, with 48.
- Fairy is the newest type. It was added in Pokémon X and Y in 2013, and it helped balance Dragon types, which had very few weaknesses before then.
- No type is best at everything. Every type has at least one weakness.

When you're ready for the full 18 by 18 grid, the [interactive type chart](https://pokee.si/types) lets you tap any type to see its matchups.

## Questions people ask

### How many Pokémon types are there?

18: Normal, Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel and Fairy.

### What does super effective mean?

It means the move does double damage, because the move's type is strong against the Pokémon's type. Water moves are super effective on Fire Pokémon, for example.

### What beats Dragon type?

Ice, Dragon and Fairy moves are super effective against Dragon Pokémon. Fairy Pokémon are also completely immune to Dragon moves.

### What is the strongest type?

No type wins against everything. That is the whole point of the chart. Some types have fewer weaknesses than others, though. Normal is weak to only Fighting, and Electric is weak to only Ground.

### Has the type chart ever changed?

Yes. The Fairy type was added in Generation 6 (Pokémon X and Y, 2013), and a few matchups changed in Generations 2 and 6. This page uses the chart from Generation 6 onwards, which is the one in every game since.

## Sources

- [Bulbapedia: Type](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Type)
- [Bulbapedia: Ghost (type)](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ghost_(type))
- [Bulbapedia: Fairy (type)](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Fairy_(type))
- [Serebii: Pokémon type chart](https://www.serebii.net/games/type.shtml)

---

Source: https://pokee.si/articles/pokemon-type-chart-for-kids (HTML page). pokee.si is an unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company. Pokémon and all related names and images are © their respective owners.