Types 101

The 18 types, what “super effective” means, and the eight immunities. Tap the matchups to learn the chart.

Starter lesson · 4 minutes · 6 steps and a 5-question quiz

Every Pokémon has a type

There are 18 types, from Normal to Fairy. Every Pokémon has one or two of them, and every move has exactly one.

Pikachu is Electric. Charizard has two types: Fire and Flying.

The very first games had 15 types. Dark and Steel arrived in Generation 2, and Fairy joined in Generation 6, making 18.

Strong, weak or nothing at all

When a move hits, its type is compared with the type of the Pokémon it hits. There are four results:

2× super effective: double damage.
1× normal damage.
½× not very effective: half damage.
0× no effect at all.

Water puts out fire, so a Water move does 2× to a Fire type. Turn it round and a Fire move only does ½× to a Water type.

Try it: Tap the matchups

Tap every type the attacking type is super effective against, then check. (interactive on pokee.si)

The first partner triangle

Fire beats Grass. Grass beats Water. Water beats Fire.

That loop is why every main region gives you a choice of a Grass, a Fire and a Water first partner, like Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle in Kanto. Whichever you pick, one choice is strong against you and one is weak.

Quick check

An Electric move hits a Ground-type Pokémon. What happens?

Answer: 0× no effect. Ground soaks up electricity completely: Electric moves do nothing to Ground types. It is one of the eight immunities.

The eight immunities

Eight matchups do no damage at all. Learn these and you will never waste a turn:

Normal and Fighting moves do nothing to Ghost.
Ghost moves do nothing to Normal.
Electric moves do nothing to Ground.
Ground moves do nothing to Flying.
Poison moves do nothing to Steel.
Psychic moves do nothing to Dark.
Dragon moves do nothing to Fairy.

Some Abilities bend these rules. Levitate, for example, makes a Pokémon immune to Ground moves.

Quiz

The lesson ends with a five-question quiz built from the Pokédex data, and earns the Type Scholar badge.

Sources

Next lesson: Reading a stat card