Pokémon is a game with lots of moving parts and one of the most important things to have an understanding of is your team and their resistances and vulnerabilities.
Some Pokémon weaknesses and strengths work logically. Fire Types are weak against Water Types, and Ground Types are Strong against Electric Types. These make sense and they’re easy enough to remember.
However, some advantages are not as obvious. Ghost is immune to Normal, Fighting is weak against Flying, and Steel is immune to Poison.
If you’re a bit confused, rest assured we can help. In this article, you’ll find all Pokémon type strengths & weaknesses in Scarlet & Violet.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Matchups
If you’re brand new to the Pokémon world, Pokémon is a turn-based JRPG with a strong strategy element based on party composition. Each Pokémon has a different type (some have two) and can use a variety of moves. Moves also have types.
Depending on the attack type you’re using and the type of the targeted Pokémon, the damage dealt will vary.
It’s best to try and create a varied, balanced team when trying to complete your Pokédex and take down the various challenges in the game.
The amount of damage your Pokémon can withstand will significantly change depending on whether it is resistant or vulnerable to an attack. There will be an impact on the amount of damage that they can deal, too.
Some Pokémon might take more damage if they are vulnerable to an attack or half damage if they are resistant. There are some Pokémon that take no damage at all from certain attack types.
For instance, Ember, a Fire type attack, deals double damage against Glaceon, an Ice type Pokémon.
Similarly, Water Pump, a Water type attack, deals twice as much damage when used against Cyndaquil, a Fire type Pokémon.
When it comes to immunity, a good example is how Ghost type Pokémon will not take damage from Normal type attacks.
When you are battling a Pokémon, you can see which of your attacks are effective against the enemy.
- Ineffective: doesn’t deal any damage and doesn’t cause any status effect
- Effective: deals damage and causes status effects normally
- Not very effective: causes half as much damage to the target
- Very Effective: causes twice as much damage, or more, to the target
Below, you can check a table with all 18 attack types and how Pokémon of many types react to them.
Pokémon Attack Type Chart
Attack Type | Double Damage to | Half Damage to | Nothing Against |
---|---|---|---|
Bug | Grass, Psychic, Dark | Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ghost, Steel, Fire, Fairy | |
Dark | Ghost, Psychic | Fighting, Dark, Fairy | |
Dragon | Dragon | Steel | |
Electric | Flying, Water | Grass, Electric, Dragon | Ground |
Fairy | Fighting, Dragon, Dark | Poison, Steel, Fire | |
Fighting | Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, Steel | Flying, Poison, Bug, Psychic | Ghost |
Fire | Bug, Steel, Grass, Ice | Rock, Fire, Water, Dragon | |
Flying | Fighting, Bug, Grass | Electric, Rock, Steel | |
Ghost | Ghost, Psychic | Dark | Normal |
Grass | Ground, Rock, Water | Flying, Poison, Bug, Steel, Fire, Grass, Dragon | |
Ground | Poison, Rock, Steel, Fire, Electric | Bug, Grass | Flying |
Ice | Flying, Ground, Grass, Dragon | Steel, Fire, Water, Ice | |
Normal | Rock, Steel | Ghost | |
Poison | Grass, Fairy | Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost | Steel |
Psychic | Fighting, Poison | Steel, Psychic | Dark |
Rock | Flying, Bug, Fire, Ice | Fighting, Ground, Steel | |
Steel | Ice, Rock, Fairy | Steel, Fire, Water, Electric | Poison |
Water | Ground, Rock, Fire | Water, Grass, Dragon |
To simplify things for you, we put together a defense table as well. That way, you can look for your Pokemon’s type and see what kind of damage it can resist.
Pokémon Type Defense Chart
Pokémon’s Type | Takes Double Damage | Takes Half Damage | Immune |
---|---|---|---|
Bug | Flying, Fire, Rock | Fighting, Grass, Ground | |
Dark | Bug, Fairy, Fighting | Dark, Ghost | Psychic |
Dragon | Dragon, Fairy, Ice | Electric, Fire, Grass, Water | |
Electric | Ground | Electric, Flying, Steel | |
Fairy | Poison, Steel | Bug, Dark, Fighting | Dragon |
Fighting | Fairy, Flying, Psychic | Bug, Dark, Rock | |
Fire | Ground, Rock, Water | Bug, Fairy, Fire, Grass, Ice, Steel | |
Flying | Electric, Ice, Rock | Bug, Grass, Fighting | Ground |
Ghost | Dark, Ghost | Bug, Poison | Normal, Fighting |
Grass | Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison | Electric, Grass, Ground, Water | |
Ground | Grass, Ice, Water | Poison, Rock | Electric |
Ice | Fighting, Fire, Rock, Steel | Ice | |
Normal | Fighting | ||
Poison | Ground, Psychic | Bug, Fairy, Grass, Poison | Steel |
Psychic | Bug, Dark, Ghost | Fighting, Psychic | |
Rock | Grass, Ground, Fighting, Steel, Water | Fire, Flying, Normal, Poison | |
Steel | Fire, Fighting, Ground | Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Psychic, Rock, Steel | Poison |
Water | Electric, Grass | Fire, Ice, Water |
The Terastal Phenomenon
Things get more complicated when it comes to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. We can thank the game’s new mechanic, the Terastal Phenomenon, for this extra layer of complexity.
The Terastal Phenomenon, or just Terastal in the Japanese version of the games, refers to the unique mechanic in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet where Pokémon can go through a temporary transformation and change their type to their Tera Type.
Some Pokémon have the same Tera Type as their inherent type, while others can be completely different. Knowing about how Terastallizing works and where to get Tera Shards will make a huge difference on your performance as a Pokémon trainer.
With all that information, you should be ready to be a Pokémon Master. Make a good Pokémon team with a balanced variety of types and become the very best like no one ever was.
What to Do Next
After getting to grips with the different types and match-ups in Pokemon, the next thing to look at to make the most out of your team is how to change Tera types. If you’ve got a team that is strong against every type except one, a smart Tera type can make all the difference and help your Pokemon hit even harder.
It’s also worth looking at Individual Values and how these can affect your team. Being able to check IVs in Pokemon is a good skill to have, especially if you’re someone who wants to play competitively in ranked matches.