Type
- If you were looking for the property of a Pokémon called type in The Official Pokémon Handbook, see species.
A type (Japanese: タイプ Type) is a property for Pokémon and their moves. Each type has three properties: which types of Pokémon it is super effective against, which types of Pokémon it is not very effective against, and which types of Pokémon it is completely ineffective against. There are 17 types, each of which is listed to the right. In Generation I, types are sometimes referred to as elements.
A Pokémon may have either one or two types. For instance, Charmander is a Fire type, while Bulbasaur is both a Grass type and a Poison type. With the current 17-type system, there are a possible 289 different type combinations; however, since order is unimportant, there are 153 effective type combinations. Currently there are 108 different type combinations. A move may have only one type.
Within the anime and the games, most Gym Leaders and members of the Elite Four are designed to have a type-specific theme.
Type effectiveness
- Main article: Type chart
If the type of a move used by a Pokémon is strong against the opponent's type, then the damage done is twice the normal amount; if a move's type is weak against a specific type, then the damage done is half the normal damage done. Note that this effect is multiplied; e.g. if a move's type is strong against both of the opponent's types (such as Dig, a Ground-type move, on an Aggron, a Steel/Rock Pokémon), then the move does 4 times the damage. If a move's type is not very effective against both of the opponent's types (such as Wake-Up Slap, a Fighting-type move, on a Sigilyph, a Psychic/Flying Pokémon), then the move does ¼ of the damage.
If a move's type is completely ineffective due the opposing Pokémon's type, then the damage done by the move is zero. Otherwise, the damage dealt will always be at least 1HP.
Type-affected game mechanics
All games before Generation IV also made a distinction between physical and special moves based on their type; as of Generation IV, this is dependent on the move itself.
When the type of an attack corresponds with one of the types of the Pokémon using it, the attack power will be increased by 50%. This type advantage is referred to as same-type attack bonus, or STAB for short. A good example is an Aron that knows Metal Claw and Cut. Both attacks are physical attacks and both have a base power of 50. However because Aron is a Steel/Rock Pokémon, the power of its Metal Claw move will effectively be 75.
Some weather conditions, Abilities, and held items affect moves of a certain type. Sunny Day, for example, causes Fire-type moves to increase in power, while Levitate causes Ground-type moves to not work on the Pokémon with this Ability. Likewise, each type has a specific item that can be given to a Pokémon to hold that will power up one of the specific types, such as the Metal Coat, which powers up Steel-type moves by 20% (10% prior to Generation IV).
??? type
The ??? type is the only type to have been removed from the main series games. The ??? type only existed from Generation II to Generation IV, and was primarily used as the type of the the move Curse. It was removed in Generation V, and Curse changed to a Ghost-type move.
Shadow
While not generally regarded as a type, Shadow moves have their type listed as "------". Shadow Pokémon can be considered to be of this type, but they still retain their regular typing as well. In Pokémon XD, Shadow moves are super effective against non-Shadow Pokémon and not very effective against Shadow Pokémon.
Glitch types
- Main article: List of glitch types
There are several glitch types, such as the Bird type, which only appear through the use of glitches. Other than the Bird type, glitch types are the result of the game reading other data as if it were types. The Bird type was programmed into the code of the Generation I and II games, but was not given to any real Pokémon; however, several glitch Pokémon use this type.
In the TCG
- Main article: Type (TCG)
See also
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This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |
