Pokemon, ‘the simple little game aimed at children’ right? So very wrong, so very wrong. One look at the type chart should be enough to tell you that more casual maths goes on here than in an average game of competitive poker. Yet to get their mathematical fix, well children can’t gamble so they resort to Pokemon. It’s for the best.
There is a reason the Pokemon competitive scene is admirably fierce, and the elemental typing is remarkably not even the second most complicated part about it.
How many different types are there in Pokemon?
There are 18 different elemental types and each one reacts to the other like a huge game of rock-paper-scissors, some are neutral, others are weak or ‘not very effective’ while there are those that are strong against the type or ‘super effective’. Every move belongs to one of those types as well. Yet barring the first generation of games, Pokemon can have up to two types so for those that have two elements you have the massive rock-paper-scissors game going on with a move before the game weighs up the net result.
Now, if Pokemon ever introduces dual-type moves – which while they have done once it doesn’t function in the way you’d expect – then this writer will retire.
How is type damage calculated?
Anyway, let us get into the maths of it all. Let’s take this Pokemon types match-up chart below:
This chart outlines exactly what happens when the elemental affinity of a move, the attacker side, gets used against the type of Pokemon, the defending side. So if the element of an attacking move is super effective against a type, it will do two times the amount of damage, neutral is times one, while not very effective does 0.5 times. But, if the element of a move is super effective against both of a Pokemon’s types it will do four times, while if both are not very effective it’ll do 0.25 times.
Do some type match-ups do zero damage?
As you can see there are quirks to it. Several type matchups simply do not do any damage at all. So normal and fighting types do nothing against ghost for example; any matchup in the above chart that has a 0 is an example of that. These situations trump any other factors, so if you do a poison move to a steel/rock type, then it will still be ineffective.
What are the other type nuances in Pokemon?
An added complication is that Pokemon can have two types. So to translate the above chart into dual types, the attacker side would have to remain the same due to no moves belonging to two types, but then you’d times the two defending numbers together. So a psychic move against a dark/dragon-type Pokemon the defending calculation would be 2 x 0 = 0, a fire move used against an ice/ground-type would result in maths of 2 x 1 = 2.
Actually with that type of chart and the maths it all of a sudden doesn’t seem complicated. Yet, to return to the poker metaphor earlier, it is simple enough to learn everything but it is a whole other thing to assess your opponent using that knowledge during a game.
So, the big question you’re asking…
Are there any Pokemon that have a type combination that means there are no moves that are super effective against it?
Well, there used to be and there is technically one, but not due to its typing combination. Before the introduction of the fairy type in generation six, or the X & Y games, ghost/dark Pokemon had no weakness, so Spiritomb was pretty unique in that regard. Yet the introduction of fairy heinously took that unique aspect away.
From the sixth generation on, no typing combination has an elemental combination which means nothing can be super effective against it.
The inverse is rather long, in that 21 Pokemon have a typing that has seven elements that are super effective against it. The most notable of these are from the second generation, whereby Tyrannitar’s rock/dark and Celebi’s grass/psychic combinations make them very susceptible.
So, what’s the point in dual-type Pokemon then?
Apart from looking cooler (duh), there’s a further calculation involved, because Pokemon is more surprisingly complicated than trying to be a reasonably well-adjusted adult. If a Pokemon uses a move that is the same type as it then the power gets multiplied by 1.5, referred to as a Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB). While dual-type Pokemon have more weaknesses, they also have more strengths. So a ground/ice type Pokemon, if it knows moves of the two types, will have nine elements that it can be super effective against, as well as receiving STAB bonuses for.
In a nutshell, typing can have both a positive and a negative effect.
But, remember how this writer teased you earlier about how there is technically a Pokemon with no weaknesses? Yes, like every great movie script the writer has made you wait before springing it upon you when you least expect it. Well here’s the payoff.
Is there a Pokemon with no weaknesses?
The Eelektross family of Pokemon are all electric-type Pokemon, which only have one weakness, ground-type moves. Yet they all have an ability called Levitate, which means that all ground-type moves will not affect it. So, it sort of does have no moves that are super effective against it, but this can be removed by moves in a battle.
Abilities do provide some immunity to types: dry skin allows a Pokemon to be immune to water moves as it makes those moves heal them instead, but then no Pokemon that have it are weak to water anyway. Levitate, meanwhile, in addition to the Eelektross family, grants immunity to ground moves to a further six Pokemon that would be normally weak. One of this writer’s favourite Pokemon, Wooper, had the rather self-explanatory ability Water Absorb but before Pokemon Scarlet & Violet it was exclusively water-type. Yet those games introduced a poison ground variant which still has that ability, which turns the ability into covering a valuable weakness.
What are Pokemon hidden abilities?
Hidden abilities are an ability that a Pokemon can possess but not when caught under normal circumstances or without a very rare item used on it. Yet Marill, yes that sweet little bowling ball, gets the Sap Sipper ability which kills off its weakness to grass moves and instead, they power its attack up by one. Hidden abilities also grant Goldeen and Seaking immunity to electric-type moves via Lightning Rod.
Oh, and for added fun, there is even an item called Air Balloon that grants Pokemon immunity to ground-type moves, but then it bursts once the holder gets hit.
Could Pokemon types change?
Remember how this article started by saying how this can get complicated? Yes, this writer was surprisingly serious when they said it gets complicated. The thing is, this entire piece could be pointless within a year. One change to the typing structure by default will set off a huge number of changes which would be almost impossible to quickly grasp.
The thing is, with Palworld being one of the most talked about games of the year so far, I’d be surprised if the series didn’t feel under pressure. Yes, the gameplay is deceptively different to Pokemon, but it effectively shows what the series could do if it hadn’t comparatively stagnated. If there’s ever a time Pokemon is going to innovate, it should be in the next few years. Let’s not forget the criticism Scarlet & Violet, as well as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, received.
If it is under pressure then, at least to this writer, it seems obvious that introducing a new type as well as a bolder expansion into the style of gameplay introduced in Pokemon Legends Arceus is forthcoming.
You should hope so, a huge number of gamers will be quietly sad to see their favourite childhood video game fade into a laughing stock online.
The series has a perch, it would be nice to see it back on it.