Highlights

• Being a good Pokemon trainer is about personal attachment, not just strength.
• Diversity in Pokemon types is key to success in the metagame.
• New Pokemon types like Stellar bring exciting changes to battle strategies.

The philosophy of the Pokemon series states that everyone should be able to use whatever Pokemon they want. A good trainer doesn't care about what's weak or strong but rather what feels good to them. It's about becoming personally attached to the digital animal enough to care for it. That's a beautiful notion, but unfortunately flawed.

The reality of Pokemon as a semi-competitive game is that, of course, some Pokemon are better than others. This includes Pokemon types, which are vitally important to the metagame. The rock-paper-scissors element of battles is part of what makes them so engaging. Some types are useful in any team composition. Other types are lacking and fulfill niche roles. They're all useful, but some are much more versatile.

Updated April 17, 2024, by Blaise Santi: It's not often that a new type enters the Pokemon franchise to switch up the metagame. The last time a type was added to the series was in Gen 6, when Fairy-type was introduced as a counter to Dragon-types. However, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet seemed to indicate that Pokemon types were front and center, as the new Terastallization mechanic emphasized type advantages and disadvantages by strenghtening STAB moves. With the release of the final DLC for Scarlet & Violet, players may be surprised to discover a natural evolution of this mechanic with a unique typing, though it may not change many previous thoughts about how good each type was compared to each other. As such, the latest Pokemon typing has been added to this list in its latest update, and the rest have been fleshed out with new stats and examples of related Pokemon.

19 Stellar

There's Not Much Use For Terapagos' Type

The final DLC expansion for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, The Indigo Disk, introduces a brand-new type to the series for the first time since Fairy-type debuted in Gen 6: Stellar. However, this type is not like others in the franchise. As of the Gen 9 games, no Pokemon are naturally Stellar-typed, nor are any moves. Instead, Stellar-types are super-effective against Tera Pokemon.

With Stellar as a potential Tera-typing, Pokemon can Terastallize into the Stellar-type in Scarlet & Violet, taking advantage of two moves that are usually Normal-type: Tera Blast and Tera Starstorm. Given how mechanics like Dynamaxing, Mega Evolution, and Z-Moves have been left in the past, Stellar probably won't have any relevance to the series beyond Scarlet & Violet.

18 Bug

Their Frequency Early On Is A Disadvantage

Despite having some powerful Pokemon in their midst, the Bug type is by far the worst of the traditional eighteen. While moves like Megahorn and Bug Buzz hit fairly hard, they hit resistances far more often than they do weaknesses. It also doesn’t help that many fully-evolved Bug Pokemon have fairly weak stats overall, especially those met early in each game.

Bug types are a fairly common, particularly in grassy areas, and can be quite useful in the early game grind; however, most players don't carry these guys through to the end. Although considered the weakest Pokemon type, some Bug types give their class a good name, and the typing has even been held by some powerful Mythical Pokemon like Genesect.

17 Ice

Ice-Types Easily Crack Under Pressure

Ice is by no means a bad type offensively, but unfortunately, it has many weaknesses, and its only resistance is against itself. Some examples of powerful Ice types exist, but they typically have a good secondary typing to cover their plethora of weaknesses. All in all, slapping an Ice move onto a Pokemon with a better type combination usually does the job.

Ice-types are some of the few Pokemon capable of taking down a Dragon, so it is always beneficial to have at least one of these glacial contenders around, if they can be caught. These extremely rare Pokemon generally hang out near water sources or high mountains, and generally occur later in the game, so it may be hard to fit one on a team.

16 Rock

Their Use Is Limited, But They Still Rock

Many Rock-type Pokemon have bulky defenses to reflect their stony origins. However, they often lack potency against Water and Grass, both of which find ample representation in Pokemon teams. They also tend to have poorer Special Defense stats, though this gets boosted by fifty percent during a Sandstorm.

Despite the common misconceptions, the relatively rare Rock-types are only immune to Electric attacks due to their common Duel-Ground-type abilities. While all Fossil Pokemon used to also fall into this category, up until the Galar Region creations mixed things up.

15 Grass

Their Many Weaknesses Can't Counter Healing Moves

While Grass is fairly common, it still has its weak points. For starters, it has five weaknesses, many of which are abundant in the competitive meta. Its attacks demolish Ground, Water, and Rock types but fare poorly against many others, including Fire and Steel. Some dual-type Pokemon work as walls, but the Grass type struggles to find much offensive representation.

These nature-loving Pokemon are quite easy to find, as each Generation so far has included a Grass-type among their starter Pokemon options. Their HP draining capabilities can be quite advantageous, with several options available, namely Leech Seed, Absorb, Mega Drain, Horn Leech, and Giga Drain, among many other useful status Attacks.

14 Normal

They Rely On Other Types Far Too Much

On one hand, Normal-type Pokemon have access to many moves of widely varying types that make them unpredictable offensively. However, their lack of STAB for these moves makes them weaker than the types they try to emulate, since Normal-type attacks also don’t deal any super-effective damage against any Pokemon, but they still fill some niche roles competitively.

In Pokemon terms, the word "Normal" is not synonymous with average, as there are some formidable forces within this category capable of utilizing an extensive variety of skills that have stolen the spotlight on more than one occasion. Interestingly enough, these guys receive a classification change-up in the Pokemon TCG, whereby they get grouped in the Colourless class.

13 Poison

As Long As Opponents Aren't Steel-Type, They're Toxic

Ever since Gen 6, Poison has received a boost in popularity as a counter against Fairy types. Even so, it remains fairly weak offensively, as four types resist it, and Steel is immune to it. Defensively, however, it serves as a viable option thanks to its minimal weaknesses, as well as status moves such as Toxic and Toxic Spikes that whittle away at the opponent’s health.

These toxic Pokemon can be found in an assortment of places but generally prefer to gather around marshy or industrial areas and are about as common as Fire-types. Thankfully, the broken mechanics promptly got fixed after Generation One, whereby Bug- and Poison-types were super-effective against each other, making battles rather redundant.

12 Dark

It Was Designed To Nerf Psychic-Types

Dark is average both offensively and defensively, but its type has a wide array of useful moves at its disposal, from status moves like Taunt and Torment to attacks such as Knock Off and Throat Chop. While these can cause great hindrance to opponents, Dark types still lose out to more commonplace types like Fighting and Fairy.

The relatively rare types do not follow the evolution process with ease, so trainers have their work cut out for them if they wish to see these Pokemon reach their full potential. Their main purpose in life is to balance out the overpowered Psychic forces, for which they have immunity.

11 Psychic

Special Attackers Reign Supreme

Psychic-types tend to be frail physically, but many Pokemon belonging to this type are special-attacking powerhouses. Their mysterious powers deal heavy damage despite their overall lack of longevity, and Psychic types make short work of opposing physical walls; just be wary of opposing Dark, Bug, and Ghost Pokemon.

Pychic-type Pokemon were originally so overpowered that they were practically invincible, so the creative team had to come up with some new categories (Steel and Dark) in Gen 2 just to counteract these guys. Of course, the Mythical Mew and Legendary Mewtwo take the cake as the strongest Psychics ever, as is the versatile Necrozma, a Legendary from Gen 7.

10 Flying

Not Many Pokemon Are Purely Flying For A Reason

While Flying can take out Grass and Fighting types handily, it struggles against other common types like Rock and Electric. However, most Flying-types have a secondary typing to circumnavigate this. Roost is a great recovery move and can nullify Flying weaknesses until the end of the turn, but it also leaves the user susceptible to Ground attacks.

Generally speaking, a Pokemon's Flying-type duality is often secondary to another class, seemingly as a last-minute inclusion in the character design. Nevertheless, some worthwhile competitors have emerged from the Flying class, including the newbie Iron Jugulis, the incredible Corviknight, and the Drizzle-happy Pelipper, among many more.

9 Fighting

Normal-Types Should Be Very Afraid Of Them

Fighting is the only type capable of causing super-effective damage to Normal types and also hits hard against defensive types like Rock and Steel. Many Pokemon with this type have moves and stats that accentuate physical strength. Some drawbacks include their weakness to Fairy, their inability to affect Ghost Pokemon and their general predictability.

Still, a heavy-hitting Fighting type can make for a great physical sweeper on any team. They should, however, be left out of Double Battles, as Fighting attacks can only target one Pokemon at a time, as opposed to more broad-ranged moves such as Electroweb.

8 Ghost

A Ghost's Greatest Enemy Is Itself

The mischievous Ghost type has plenty going for it. Not only is it immune to Normal and Fighting attacks, but it also does decent damage to anything aside from Dark- and Normal-type Pokemon. Many Ghost Pokemon also learn useful status moves like Will-O-Wisp and Destiny Bond, and fill a wide array of combat roles but often get shut out by Dark types.

These "spirits" prefer to stay hidden; trainers brave enough to go searching will need to keep their eyes peeled! Since Generation Six has come around, Ghost-types have received substantial updates, most notably, their ability to Flee a battle, and those empowered with accuracy are guaranteed to hit their target every time.

7 Electric

Its Lack Of Weaknesses Helps It Stay Alive

For the most part, Electric-type Pokemon are all about hitting fast and hard. As a defensive type, it'ss fantastic; only Ground attacks are super-effective against it. Unfortunately, most Electric Pokemon are frail, making even one powerful hit enough to threaten them. Still, they provide solid coverage against common Flying and Water Pokemon.

Most Electric Pokemon either resemble some kind of rodent or are mechanical in nature, while the majority of this class are purists by nature (consisting of less Dual-type forms.) Although quite scarce, Generation Five introduced the largest quantity of Electric Types to the franchise, despite the typing's scarcity in more recent generations.

6 Dragon

It Was Once The Strongest Type, But Not Anymore

For a long time, Dragon-type Pokemon reigned supreme in the competitive meta, but even with the addition of the Fairy type, Dragon representatives remain prevalent choices for trainers. While it only hits its own type for super-effective damage, only Steel and Fairy types resist its attacks, making it a good offensive presence.

The World Coronation Series in Pokemon Journeys features a multitude of Dragons (and two Dragon Masters, Iris and Lance), which suggests that ambitious trainers should make a spot for these winged beasts on their team; although, as one of the rarest types around, that is easier said than done.

5 Water

One Of The Most Frequent And Diverse Typings

The Water type is as versatile as its namesake. Whether it be a bulky support Pokemon or a fast sweeper, at least one Water Pokemon exists to fill that role. It also helps that they only have two weaknesses and an extensive movepool that offers great physical, special, and status moves, making them unpredictable in the hands of experienced players.

The most common Pokemon available are also some of the strongest types around, as Water move sets often dominate on the battlefield. Pokemon TCG adds even more individuals to this class, as Ice types are grouped with the Water types (and simultaneously mess with the overall system.) With so many to choose from, standing out of the crowd is a challenge.

4 Ground

It Threatens Everything But Flying-Types

Ground overlaps with Rock in many ways but is by far the better standalone type, with far fewer weaknesses. A good number of Ground types are bulky tanks despite not receiving the same stat boost as Rock types in a Sandstorm, with access to good attacks like Earthquake and Earth Power that are super-effective against Steel types.

For some unknown reason, another Pokemon TCG mash-up inserts Ground-types (and Rock) into the Fighting category, breaking the mechanics once again. Ground-type Pokemon are not often selected by Pokemon specialists, with only four major experts to speak of in the franchise (Bertha, Clay, Hapu, and Giovanni).

3 Fairy

The Newest Official Type Still Shines

Despite being one of the newest types, Fairy has cemented itself as a must-have in many teams. Its ability to decimate Dragon types is key, as is its super-effective damage against Fighting and Dark types. Few have moves to threaten Fire and Steel types, unfortunately, but with the right team setup, they still hold their own.

Pokemon "pixies" are more potent than they appear, and their perky, pink-loving personalities should not be taken lightly. Much like in real life, finding a Fairy is a real treat, as they are some of the rarest types around but are certain to bring blessings of good fortune on the battlefield.

2 Fire

Its Starters Are Popular And Powerful

Fire is the final starter type to appear on the list and arguably the best. It tears through Grass, Bug, and Steel types with ease, with some having Grass coverage to challenge opposing Water, Rock, and Ground types. They also have a bevy of resistances to help their otherwise average defenses, making Fire a solid secondary typing.

Video game beginners should pick a Fire-type as their starter if they wish to have a painless first attempt at becoming a Pokemon master, as these no-nonsense elementals have a high level of damage-based attacks. There's even a good library of Fire-type Legendary Pokemon to choose from.

1 Steel

Its Sturdiness Against Other Types Makes It Superior

Nothing comes close to challenging the durability of the Steel type. With ten resistances and an immunity to Poison, Steel is the go-to option for a defensive Pokemon. Even with weaknesses to Fire, Ground, and Fighting, they will soak up damage more often than not. Steel types also serve as one of the few counters to the Fairy type, making them essential in one’s lineup.

The somewhat rare Steel Pokemon has grown in popularity since Generation Seven, as their Poison immunity is very advantageous against the phenomenal Ultra Beasts. There's also been some incredible Steel-types in recent years, including Aegislash, who dominated the Uber tier after it was originally introduced in the sixth generation.