The type chart explained

Updated on 2026-09-02

Every Pokémon and every attacking move has a type. When a hit lands, the game compares the move's type against the target's type (or both of its types) and applies a damage multiplier. It is the single most important mechanic in the game: a well-chosen attack deals double or quadruple damage; a poor one deals half or nothing.

The four possible results

Super effective (2×): Water on Fire, Electric on Water, Ground on Electric.
Neutral (1×): most matchups.
Not very effective (½×): Fire on Water, Grass on Fire, Normal on Steel.
No effect (0×): Normal and Fighting on Ghost, Electric on Ground, Ground on Flying, Psychic on Dark, Poison on Steel, Dragon on Fairy.

Dual types multiply

When the target has two types, the multipliers multiply together. Charizard is Fire/Flying; a Rock move is super effective against both, so it deals 2× · 2× = 4×. A Grass move is ½× on Fire and ½× on Flying: ½ · ½ = ¼×.

Immunity always wins: if one type zeroes the move, damage is 0 even if the other type is weak to it. A Normal move on Gengar is 0×, because Ghost is immune to Normal.

STAB: the bonus that changes everything

If a move's type matches one of the user's types, the damage gets a 1.5× bonus (Same-Type Attack Bonus). A Blastoise using Surf stacks Water STAB on top of the target's type multiplier. That is why competitive teams prioritise moves that match their own typing.

Using it in practice

Before you send a Pokémon in, check its weaknesses on the creature page or the weakness calculator.
Build offensive coverage: as a group, your team should have moves that hit all 18 types super effectively. The team builder flags the gaps.
Watch for 4× weaknesses: a Pokémon with a quad weakness (like Ground/Rock against Water) is almost always knocked out by a single well-chosen hit.

The full chart, row by row, is on the types page.