Each type has different strengths and weaknesses in Pokémon GO . Effectiveness is crucial in battle. Here we show you a table with the type effectiveness overview and reveal all strengths and weaknesses.
What is type effectiveness? There are 18 types in total. Each of these types is strong or weak against other types. When you want to defeat a Pokémon in a raid or the arena, it is best to choose a type that is effective against your opponent. This way, you will defeat your opponent faster and deal more damage.
Type effectiveness is incredibly important in Pokémon GO, as often the attack bonus given for an effective type makes the difference between victory and defeat.
Effectiveness Table – Strengths and Weaknesses of All Types
This is the table: We keep the table quite simple. We list the respective type and then show the strengths and weaknesses, that is, what the respective type is effective against or what can effectively attack this type.
| Type | Effective against | Weak against |
| Normal | Fight | |
| Fight | Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, Steel | Flying, Psychic, Fairy |
| Flying | Grass, Fight, Bug | Electric, Ice, Rock |
| Poison | Grass, Fairy | Ground, Psychic |
| Ground | Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel | Water, Grass, Ice |
| Rock | Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug | Water, Grass, Fight, Ground, Steel |
| Bug | Grass, Psychic, Dark | Fire, Flying, Rock |
| Ghost | Psychic, Ghost | Ghost, Dark |
| Steel | Ice, Rock, Fairy | Fire, Fight, Ground |
| Fire | Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel | Water, Ground, Rock |
| Water | Fire, Ground, Rock | Grass, Electric |
| Grass | Water, Ground, Rock | Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, Bug |
| Electric | Water, Flying | Ground |
| Psychic | Fight, Poison | Bug, Ghost, Dark |
| Ice | Grass, Ground, Flying, Dragon | Fire, Rock, Fight, Steel |
| Dragon | Dragon | Ice, Dragon, Fairy |
| Dark | Psychic, Ghost | Fight, Bug, Fairy |
| Fairy | Fight, Dragon, Dark | Poison, Steel |
Use this infographic: We are also including a table created by Niantic here. There you can see all strengths and weaknesses, as well as the resistances and immunities of the respective types:
How effective are attacks really? Here we show you the exact numbers of how effectiveness impacts your attacks. Attacks that are very effective deal damage x 1.4. Less effective attacks, on the other hand, only deal damage x 0.714. While this might not seem dramatic at first, in raids it often makes a difference of many seconds or, in extreme cases, even several minutes.
What exactly does immunity mean? This usually exists in the Pokémon games, but in Pokémon GO, it is implemented differently. A type that is immune to another type takes no damage at all. You could use as many attacks as you like, but the Pokémon takes no damage. However, in Pokémon GO, immunity is not as drastic.
A type that is immune simply receives even less damage than from attacks that are not very effective, but still takes some damage. All immunities are marked with a black X in the infographic. You should avoid attacking with any type against which the other type is immune, as this will deal the least damage.
Here’s how a battle works: Above, we explained the theory of types. In practice, however, it is a bit different. For example, you might be fighting against a Pokémon that has two different types. A Charizard, for example, is of the Flying and Fire type. Ice is effective against Flying, but Ice is not effective against Fire. Therefore, Ice is ultimately only normally effective against Charizard. The effectiveness cancels out in this case.
Conversely, the Rock type is effective against both Flying and Fire. This is why Charizard has a double weakness to Rock. In Pokémon GO, that means that the Rock type does even more damage to Charizard than a type that is only normally effective.
Here’s how to increase your damage: Additionally, there is STAB. This stands for “Same Type Attack Bonus” – a bonus when your attacking Pokémon has the same type as the attack it uses. Here’s the example of Charizard. It possesses the types Fire and Flying and knows the move Heat Wave of the Fire type. Since both Pokémon and attack are of the same type, STAB applies here.
However, Charizard also knows the move Dragon Claw of the Dragon type. This move does not benefit from STAB with Charizard, as Charizard does not possess the Dragon type.
This is very important in battle: Effectiveness is the most important thing in battle. Before each battle, think about what weaknesses the opponent’s Pokémon has and whether your Pokémon know the right attacks.
Also consider whether your opponent may have two types and whether you can benefit from a double weakness.
We will show you which Pokémon you should attack with. This includes the best attackers of each type:
Pokémon GO: These are the best attackers by type – as of 2021
