Type
Template:ElementalTypes An elemental type is a property for Pokémon and their moves. Each elemental type has three properties: which types of Pokémon it is effective against, which types of Pokémon it is less effective against, and which types of Pokémon it is completely ineffective against. All games before the fourth generation also made a distinction between physical and special moves based on their type, though this is now dependent on the move itself. There are 17 types, each of which is listed to the right.
A Pokémon may have either one or two types. For instance, Charmander is a Template:Type2, while Bulbasaur is both a Template:Type2 and a Template:Type2. A move may have only one type, although the in-game descriptions of some moves may make it seem like the move has two types.
If the type of a move used by a Pokémon is strong against the opponent's type, then the damage done is twice the norm; 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 Template:Type2 move on an Aggron, a Steel/Rock Pokémon), then the move does 4 times the damage.
If a move's type is completely ineffective due to the opposing Pokémon's type, then the damage done by the move is zero. Otherwise, the damage will be at the very least 1HP.
Some weather conditions, abilities, and held items affect moves of a certain type. Sunny Day, for example, causes Template:Type2 moves to increase in power, while Levitate causes Template:Type2 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 Template:Type2 moves by 10% (20% as of Generation IV).
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 be multiplied by 1.5.
Within the anime and the games, most Gym Leaders and members of the Elite Four are designed to have a type-specific theme.
There are several glitch types, such as Bird, Pokémaniac, and 999, which only appear in the earliest games in the series due to the ease at which their code is glitched. The Bird-type also makes a return in Generation II, however, it is solely due to the fact that the coding of the Generation II games was based on that of Generation I, where Bird was, unlike the other two mentioned, initially programmed to be a legitimate type, apparently.
