Pokémon Types
There are 18 Pokémon types, such as Fire, Water, and Grass. Every Pokémon has one or two types, and those types decide how much damage each move does.
A move that matches the target's weakness deals double damage, while a resisted move deals half, and some matchups deal no damage at all. Types are the core of every Pokémon battle.
Last updated
- Total types
- 18
- Dual-typed species
- 526
- Most common type
- Water (154)
- Rarest type
- Ice (48)
- Newest type
- Fairy (2013)
How many Pokémon types are there?
There are 18 Pokémon types. The original games in 1996 had 15 types, then Dark and Steel were added in Generation 2 (2000), bringing the total to 17.
The newest type, Fairy, arrived in Generation 6 (2013) and brought the total to 18. No new type has been added since, as of August 2026.
How do types work in battle?
Every move has a type, and every Pokémon has one or two types. When a move hits, the game compares the move's type against the target's type or types to decide the damage.
A move that is super effective deals double damage (2x). A move that is not very effective deals half damage (0.5x). A few matchups deal no damage at all (0x), such as Electric moves against Ground-type Pokémon.
For example, Water is super effective against Fire, so a Water move does double damage to a Fire-type Pokémon. Against a Grass-type, though, the same Water move is not very effective and does only half damage. Choosing a move your opponent is weak to is the heart of Pokémon strategy.
All 18 Pokémon types
Every type, with its species count as of August 2026. Select a type for its full weakness chart and species list.
- Normal131 speciesNormal-type Pokémon are the everyday, physically grounded species of the games, and their moves hit most types for standard damage but cannot touch Ghost-types at all.
- Fire81 speciesFire-type Pokémon deal heavy damage to Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel, which makes them a classic offensive pick, but they struggle against Water and Ground.
- Water154 speciesWater is the most common type in the games, and Water-type Pokémon are reliable all-rounders that beat Fire, Ground, and Rock while resisting several strong attacking types.
- Electric69 speciesElectric-type Pokémon are known for speed and for having only a single weakness, Ground, which also happens to be the one type their own moves cannot hit.
- Grass127 speciesGrass-type Pokémon are strong against Water, Ground, and Rock but are tied with Rock for the most weaknesses of any type, which makes them powerful attackers that are fragile on defense.
- Ice48 speciesIce-type Pokémon hit Grass, Ground, Flying, and Dragon for heavy damage, giving them some of the best offensive coverage in the game, but they are the rarest type and defensively fragile.
- Fighting73 speciesFighting-type Pokémon specialize in raw physical power, hitting Normal, Rock, Steel, Dark, and Ice hard, but their moves cannot touch Ghost-types.
- Poison83 speciesPoison-type Pokémon are defensively sturdy against several common types and are the main way to hit Fairy-types hard, but their attacks do nothing to Steel.
- Ground75 speciesGround-type Pokémon are the only type that deals double damage to Electric while also being completely immune to Electric attacks, and they threaten Fire, Poison, Rock, and Steel.
- Flying109 speciesFlying-type Pokémon are almost always a second type layered onto another, and their signature trait is complete immunity to Ground-type attacks.
- Psychic102 speciesPsychic-type Pokémon are powerful special attackers that beat Fighting and Poison, but Dark-types were introduced specifically to check them and take no damage from Psychic moves.
- Bug92 speciesBug-type Pokémon are usually available early in every game and specialize in hitting Grass, Psychic, and Dark, though many of their other matchups deal reduced damage.
- Rock74 speciesRock-type Pokémon are heavy hitters with high physical defense, strong against Fire, Ice, Flying, and Bug, but they carry five weaknesses.
- Ghost65 speciesGhost-type Pokémon and Normal-type Pokémon cannot touch each other at all, a unique mutual immunity, and Ghost moves instead threaten Psychic-types and other Ghosts.
- Dragon70 speciesDragon-type Pokémon are famous for high stats, and for years only Ice and other Dragons could deal super-effective damage to them, which kept the type dominant until Fairy arrived.
- Dark69 speciesDark-type Pokémon were created to counter Psychic, which they resist and cannot be hit by, and they specialize in hitting Psychic and Ghost.
- Steel65 speciesSteel-type Pokémon have the best defensive typing in the game, resisting ten different types and being immune to Poison, though their attacks favor Ice, Rock, and Fairy.
- Fairy64 speciesFairy is the newest type, introduced in 2013 to rebalance the game, and Fairy-type Pokémon shut down Dragon, Fighting, and Dark while being weak only to Poison and Steel.
What is the best Pokémon type?
There is no single best type. Every type has strengths and weaknesses, and the right choice depends on what you are up against.
On defense, Steel is the standout: a pure Steel-type resists 10 different attacking types and is immune to 1 more, more than any other type. On offense, Ground, Fighting, and Ice hit a wide range of types for double damage, while Fairy and Dragon have powerful matchups against each other and against several other types.
Water is the most common type and one of the most flexible, which is why it shows up so often, but flexibility is not the same as being strongest. In practice the best type is the one that covers your opponent's weaknesses, so a balanced team of several types beats leaning on any one.
Dual-type Pokémon
A dual-type Pokémon has two types at once, and it combines the matchups of both. Of the 1025 Pokémon, 526 are dual-typed as of August 2026, a little over half.
Two types can stack a weakness into a four-times weakness when both types are weak to the same thing, or cancel a weakness out when one type resists what the other fears. Charizard is a well-known example: as a Fire/Flying Pokémon it takes four times damage from Rock, because Rock is super effective against both Fire and Flying.
Browse every type
Related
Frequently asked questions
How many Pokémon types are there?
There are 18 Pokémon types. The most recent, Fairy, was added in Generation 6 (2013); before that there were 17, and originally just 15 in Generation 1.
What is the most common Pokémon type?
Water is the most common type, with 154 species as of August 2026. Ice is the rarest, with 48.
Can a Pokémon have two types?
Yes. A Pokémon can have one or two types. 526 of the 1025 Pokémon have two types as of August 2026, and a dual-type Pokémon combines the weaknesses and resistances of both.
What is the best Pokémon type?
There is no single best type. Steel has the strongest defensive matchups, Water is the most flexible and common, and Dragon and Fairy have powerful offensive matchups, but the best choice always depends on the specific matchup and team.
Sources
- Species and type data compiled from the National Pokédex.
- Official Pokémon website
- Gameplay of Pokémon - Wikipedia
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