Type Match-Ups

Learn how Pokémon types interact in Sword and Shield! Understand super-effective, not very effective, and no-effect moves to dominate battles.

Alright, let's talk about something super important in Pokémon battles: Type Match-Ups! Every Pokémon and every move has a Type, and knowing how they interact is key to winning. Think of it like rock-paper-scissors, but with 18 different options!

You'll see a Pokémon's Type(s) listed pretty much everywhere – in its menu, in the Pokédex, you name it. There are 18 Types in total, like the classic Fire, Water, and Grass, plus some darker ones like Dark and Steel, and the magical Fairy-type. Usually, the Type just makes sense with how the Pokémon looks. See a flower? Probably Grass-type. A fiery creature? You guessed it, Fire-type.

Moves work the same way. A move called 'Water Gun' is obviously a Water-type move. Pokémon can learn moves that match their own Type, but they can also learn moves of completely different Types, which is where strategy really comes in.

So, how do they interact? Basically, some Types are strong against others, and some are weak. Water puts out Fire, so Water moves wreck Fire Pokémon. Fire struggles against Water, so Fire moves aren't great against Water Pokémon. It's a simplification, but you get the idea.

When a move is strong against a Pokémon's Type, it deals super-effective damage – that's double the normal amount! If it's weak, it's not very effective damage, which is only half. And sometimes, a move just has no effect at all, dealing zero damage. Seriously, knowing these match-ups can make or break a battle!

With 18 Types, there are a whopping 324 possible combinations! Thankfully, most of them are neutral, meaning they do the standard amount of damage. But there are still over a hundred interactions to learn. To help you out, we've got a handy chart that breaks it all down. If you're just starting, focus on learning Fire, Water, and Grass first, and build from there. You can always print out the chart to keep handy!

What about Pokémon with two Types? It's a little more complex, but not too bad. You just multiply the damage multipliers together.

For example, let's say you're fighting a Centiskorch, which is both Fire and Bug type. Ground-type moves normally do 2x damage to Fire-types. But Ground moves only do 0.5x damage to Bug-types. So, if you use a Ground move against Centiskorch, it's 2x multiplied by 0.5x, which equals 1x damage – neutral! Ground is neutral against Centiskorch.

Now, what if you hit it with a Rock-type move? Rock moves do 2x damage to Fire, and also 2x damage to Bug. So, 2x multiplied by 2x equals 4x damage! That Centiskorch is going to take a massive hit from Rock-type moves.

Keep in mind, though: The Type chart isn't the *only* thing that matters. Sometimes, a Pokémon's Ability or the item it's holding can mess with Type interactions. For instance, the 'Levitate' Ability makes a Pokémon completely immune to Ground-type moves, even if it's not normally weak to them. Similarly, 'Dry Skin' makes a Pokémon immune to Water-type moves. On the flip side, Normal and Fighting moves usually don't affect Ghost-types, but if a Ghost Pokémon has the 'Scrappy' Ability, those moves will hit them just fine! Moves like Foresight and Odour Sleuth can also help you hit Pokémon that would normally be immune.