Remembering every Pokémon type resistance and weakness is one of the most difficult parts of playing Pokémon games. There are 18 different types of Pokémon, and because many of them are dual types, it's difficult to pin down what's effective or not in the middle of a battle. However, there are effective tricks that can help everyone remember what their - and their opponent's - Pokémon are weak and resistant to.
With the exception of Pokémon Yellow, Let's Go Pikachu, and Let's Go Eevee, every game in the main series begins with players choosing a Fire, Water, or Grass-type starter Pokémon. Like rock-paper-scissors, these three Pokémon types are all either weak or resistant to one another. From that point on, Pokémon typings become increasingly difficult to memorize.
A great way to remember every Pokémon type weakness and resistance is to treat the type as if it existed in the real world. For example, wildfires destroy forests, plants, and other sorts of vegetation, and Grass-type Pokémon have a weakness to Fire-type moves. Plants absorb water to grow, and Grass-type Pokémon have resistance to Water-type moves.
Logical Reasons For Psychic-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Psychic-type Pokémon have three weaknesses and two resistances.
Weaknesses
- Dark: The fear of the dark is known as nyctophobia, and it's a common phobia for many people of all ages.
- Bug: The fear of bugs, particularly arachnophobia, is common.
- Ghost: Think of Ghost Busters, Supernatural, etc. Ghosts possess people and their minds.
Resistances
- Psychic: Two strong-minded individuals will butt heads.
- Fighting: When it's brains vs. brawns, brains will always win.
Logical Reasons For Steel-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Steel-type Pokémon have three weaknesses, ten resistances, and one immunity.
Weaknesses
- Ground: Earthquakes destroy buildings.
- Fire: Extreme heat makes metal malleable.
- Fighting: Think of any superhero, like Captain Marvel or Superman, and how they constantly break buildings during fights.
Resistances
- Rock: Rocks will break on steel.
- Grass: Plants can't root themselves in steel.
- Flying: Birds can't fly through steel structures.
- Psychic: Nobody can bend steel with their mind.
- Ice: Ice cannot break steel.
- Fairy: Fairies are depicted as guardians of nature, and man-made structures, like steel, destroy nature.
- Bug: No bug can chew through steel.
- Steel: Two metals of the same density have a hard time destroying the other.
- Dragon: Knights in steel armor are protected from the dragon's claws.
- Normal: Regular animals can't harm a steel structure.
Immunity:
- Poison: Diseases have absolutely no effect on inorganic material.
Logical Reasons For Dragon-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Dragon-type Pokémon have three weaknesses and four resistances.
Weaknesses
- Dragon: The only true match for a dragon is another dragon.
- Ice: Not even a dragon could survive a blizzard.
- Fairies: Magic defeats mythical creatures in fairytales.
Resistances
- Water: Dragons are tough enough to survive tsunamis.
- Electric: Dragons are tough enough to survive lightning storms.
- Fire: Dragons breathe fire, and often live in areas surrounded by heat.
- Grass: Dragons have tough skin. Plants are too brittle to deal any serious damage.
Logical Reasons For Fairy-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Fairy-type Pokémon have two weaknesses, three resistances, and one immunity.
Weaknesses
- Poison: Man-made toxins destroy everything in nature, weakening a fairy's power.
- Steel: Man-made structures replace natural forests, weakening a fairy's power.
Resistances
- Fighting: Not even a world-class fighter could defeat a magic-user.
- Dark: Fairy magic illuminates the dark, ridding them of fear.
- Bug: Fairies are surrounded by all of nature, so they know how to protect themselves from it.
Immunity
- Dragon: Magic defeats mythical creatures in fairytales.
Logical Reasons For Bug-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Bug-type Pokémon have three weaknesses and resistances.
Weaknesses
- Flying: Birds eat bugs.
- Fire: Fire is used to destroy bug nests.
- Rock: Rocks squish bugs.
Resistances
- Fighting: Squishing a bug never solves the pest problem at large.
- Grass: Bugs eat all sorts of plants.
- Ground: Many bugs build their homes underground, loosening the soil.
Logical Reasons For Fire-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Fire-type Pokémon have three weaknesses and six resistances.
Weaknesses
- Rock: Rocks pits prevent fire from spreading.
- Water: Water puts out fire.
- Ground: Fires can't burn on the pure ground when there is nothing flammable around.
Resistances
- Grass: Fire burns grass.
- Bug: Fire burns bugs.
- Ice: Fire melts ice.
- Steel: Fire melts steel.
- Fire: Fighting fire with fire is just a figure of speech that does not work in practice.
- Fairy: Forest fires aren't magically prevented.
Logical Reasons For Rock-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Rock-type Pokémon have five weaknesses and four resistances.
Weaknesses
- Steel: Steel pickaxes are used to mine rocks.
- Ground: Earthquakes destroy the land around them.
- Grass: Plants can root themselves in rocks and cause them to crack.
- Water: Water erodes rocks.
- Fighting: A true martial artist can break rocks with their bare hands.
Resistances
- Fire: Rocks prevent fire from spreading
- Flying: Birds can't fly through solid objects.
- Normal: Boulders are too hard for regular animals to destroy.
- Poison: Toxins don't harm inorganic material.
Logical Reasons For Ground-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Ground-type Pokémon have three weaknesses, two resistances, and one immunity.
Weaknesses
- Ice: Ice freezes the ground and causes it to crack.
- Grass: Plant roots break up the Earth.
- Water: Water erodes ground.
Resistances
- Poison: Toxins don't harm inorganic material.
- Rock: Loose soil and quicksand bury rocks beneath the Earth's surface.
Immunity:
- Electric: Soil grounds out electricity.
Logical Reasons For Grass-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Grass-type Pokémon have five weaknesses and four resistances.
Weaknesses
- Poison: Toxins harm plants.
- Fire: Fire burns plants.
- Flying: Wind uproots plants.
- Ice: Ice freezes plants.
- Bug: Bugs eat plants.
Resistances
- Grass: Plants don't stop other plants from growing.
- Ground: Plants can grow in all kinds of soil.
- Water: Plants absorb water.
- Electric: Plants are poor electrical conductors.
Logical Reasons For Ice-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Ice-type Pokémon have four weaknesses and one resistance.
Weaknesses
- Fighting: Ice can be broken with enough force.
- Fire: Fire melts ice.
- Rock: Rocks break ice.
- Steel: Steel breaks ice.
Resistance
- Ice: Two objects of the same density have a hard time breaking each other.
Logical Reasons For Poison-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Poison-type Pokémon have two weaknesses and five resistances.
Weaknesses
- Ground: Soil absorbs toxins.
- Psychic: Doctors, pharmacists, and others with a certified understanding of toxins can create antidotes to neutralize the poison.
Resistances
- Bug: Pesticides harm bugs.
- Grass: Toxins can destroy plants.
- Fighting: Strong animals can't beat toxins alone.
- Poison: Uncontrolled toxins can't neutralize other uncontrolled toxins.
- Fairy: Toxins harm organic life, and it's safe to say that fairies would be organic lifeforms.
Logical Reasons For Water-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Water-type Pokémon have two weaknesses and four resistances.
Weaknesses
- Electric: Water is a great electrical conductor.
- Grass: Plants absorb water.
Resistances
- Fire: Water douses fire.
- Ice: Water melts ice.
- Steel: Water causes metal to rust.
- Water: Water simply mixes with water.
Logical Reasons For Electric-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Electric-type Pokémon have one weakness and three resistances.
Weakness
- Ground: Soil grounds out electricity.
Resistances:
- Flying: Birds can't fly well in a lightning storm.
- Steel: Steel conducts electricity.
- Electric: Lightning doesn't stop lightning.
Logical Reasons For Flying-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Flying-type Pokémon have three weaknesses and resistances, and one immunity.
Weaknesses
- Electric: Birds can't fly well in a lightning storm.
- Rock: Birds can't fly well if rocks hit their wings.
- Ice: Birds can't fly well in a blizzard.
Resistances
- Grass: Birds use grass and twigs to make their nests.
- Bugs: Birds eat bugs.
- Fighting: Grounded predators have a hard time attacking birds.
Immunity
- Ground: Earthquakes don't shake birds.
Logical Reasons For Ghost-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Ghost-type Pokémon have two weaknesses, resistances, and immunities.
Weaknesses
- Ghost: In their former life, the ghost was afraid of ghosts.
- Dark: In their former life, the ghost was afraid of the dark.
Resistances
- Bug: Bugs no longer scare otherworldly creatures.
- Poison: Toxins affect the dead less than the living.
Immunities
- Normal: Regular animals have no way of fighting ghosts.
- Fighting: Brute strength doesn't matter when a ghost can't be touched.
Logical Reasons For Dark-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Dark-type Pokémon have three weaknesses, two resistances, and one immunity.
Weaknesses
- Fairy: Magic protects fairies from the dark.
- Bug: Many bugs are nocturnal and thrive in the dark.
- Fighting: The fear of darkness has to be physically conquered.
Resistances
- Dark: Darkness can't get any darker when there is absolutely zero light.
- Ghost: In their former life, the ghosts were afraid of the dark.
Immunity
- Psychic: The fear of darkness cannot be conquered with positive thoughts alone.
Logical Reasons For Fighting-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistance
Fighting-type Pokémon have three weaknesses and resistances.
Weaknesses
- Psychic: Brains over brawns.
- Flying: Can't hit what can't be reached.
- Fairy: Magic can't be defeated by sheer force.
Resistances
- Dark: Too tough to be afraid of the dark.
- Bug: Too tough to be afraid of bugs.
- Rock: Strong enough to break boulders.
Logical Reasons For Normal-Type Pokémon Weakness & Resistances
Normal-type Pokémon have one weakness and immunity and resist no types of Pokémon.
Weaknesses
- Fighting: Prey is always at risk from the predator's power.
Resistances
- No resistances, just regularly affected by the elements, magic, mythical creatures, and man-made substances.
Immunity
- Ghost: Perhaps ghosts take pity on the average, or they're envious and wish to leave them alone.