As is franchise tradition, every Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet has a classification “type.” It’s the basis of their combat identity. Fire, ice, water, poison, flying…you get the idea. Each of those types is strong against other types, and each of those types is weak against other types. That’s the basis of the “rock, paper, scissors” combat system the series has relied on for decades at this point. Even if you’re familiar with the basics of Pokémon’s type system, Scarlet and Violet‘s massive roster, shocking number of type possibilities, and new mechanics will likely throw you for a loop at some point. That being the case, here’s a hopefully handy look at which Pokémon types you should (and shouldn’t) use in which situations.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Terastallizing Explained
Terastallizing is a system that lets you change or modify a Pokémon’s type. By using a special item called a Tera Orb (which needs to be recharged at a Pokémon Center or at a special Terastal crystal after each use), you can change a Pokémon’s type to their special “Tera Type.” It’s basically an optional third type that Pokémon have access to. It’s a fascinating system that completely changes how you’ll approach typical strengths and weaknesses. Properly using the Terastallizing mechanic can either help you change a Pokémon type in order to avoid certain weaknesses or simply make an existing strength even better. You won’t always be able to rely on it, but you should always be aware of when this option is available as it can completely change the nature of pretty much every match-up
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Every Type’s Strengths, Weaknesses, and Counters
There’s a lot of information in this section, but the basics should (hopefully) be pretty simple. Every Pokémon has a type, and those types have strengths and weaknesses. A type’s “Strength” means that it gains damage advantages over the types of Pokémon listed under the Strengths section. A type’s “Weakness” means that it is especially vulnerable to Pokémon types listed under the Weaknesses section. As noted above, you can use Terastallizing to play with that system a bit, and there are quite a few type matchups in the game that are ultimately “Neutral” (meaning that they don’t offer any notable strengths or weaknesses). Generally speaking, though, you’re looking to play types against their strengths and hold them back against their weaknesses whenever possible.
Bug
Strengths – Grass– Dark – Psychic – Fire – Flying – Rock
Dark
Strengths – Ghost– Psychic Weaknesses – Bug– Fairy – Fighting – Dragon Weaknesses – Dragon– Fairy– Ice
Electric
Strengths – Flying– Water – Ground
Fighting
Strengths – Dark – Ice – Normal – Rock – SteelWeaknesses – Fairy– Flying– Psychic
Fire
Strengths Weaknesses – Ground – Rock– Water
Flying
Strengths – Bug– Fighting – Grass Weaknesses
Ghost
Strengths – Ghost– PsychicWeaknesses – Dark– Ghost
Grass
Strengths – Ground– Rock– Water – Bug– Fire– Flying– Ice– Poison
Ground
Strengths – Electric– Fire– Poison– Rock– Steel Weaknesses – Grass– Ice– Water – Dragon– Flying– Grass– Ground Weaknesses – Fighting– Fire– Rock – Steel
Normal
Strengths – None – Fighting
Poison
Strengths – Fairy – Grass Weaknesses – Ground– Psychic – Fighting– PoisonWeaknesses – Bug – Dark – Ghost
Rock
Strengths – Bug – Fire– Flying– Ice Weaknesses
Steel
Strengths – Fairy – Ice– Rock Weaknesses – Fighting– Fire– Ground
Water
Strengths Weaknesses – Electric– Grass
