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Template:ElementalTypes
The Bug type (Japanese: むしタイプ Bug type) is one of the seventeen elemental types. Notable Trainers that specialize in Bug-type Pokémon are Bugsy of Azalea Town, Aaron of the Sinnoh Elite Four, and Burgh of Castelia City. Prior to Generation IV, where moves are designated physical or special based on the move itself rather than its type, all Bug-type moves were physical.
Statistical averages
Overall
Fully evolved
Battle properties
Generation I
| Offensive
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Defensive
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| Power
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Types
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Power
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Types
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| 2×
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½×
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| ½×
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2×
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| 0×
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None
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0×
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None
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Generation II-onward
| Offensive
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Defensive
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| Power
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Types
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|
Power
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Types
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| 2×
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½×
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| ½×
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2×
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| 0×
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None
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0×
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None
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Characteristics
Bug Pokémon are usually amongst the first Pokémon types a Trainer can find in the wild. They generally evolve at very early levels compared to most other Pokémon. The type varies from strong to weak. Depending on the Bug Pokémon, they can prove to be a nuisance with stat altering moves or hit hard with attacks such as Megahorn, X-Scissor, Signal Beam and Bug Buzz.
Offense
Offensively, they are somewhat flawed. They do come in handy against Psychic and Template:Type2s, which are two types common in most teams, but their strength against the very common Template:Type2, is reduced by the common Grass\Poison typing. The Generation I games weren't very kind to this type, having only three very weak damage-dealing moves, but many Pokémon of this type have improved over time. This improvement is lessened by the fact that too many types (six, falling one short of Grass) resist Bug-type moves for them to be a main form of dealing damage. Also, their advantage over Psychic-types is reduced due to the relatively common typing of Bug/Poison types. The fact that they are resisted by Poison, a popular defensive type, causes further problems (though many Poison types also have a subtype that is weak to Bug, which is usually Grass). In addition, their aforementioned advantage against Psychic-types is reduced by the Psychic/Flying, Psychic/Fighting and Psychic/Steel types.
Despite these offensive flaws, the Bug-type pairs very effectively with Water and Ice because, as of Generation V, there are only 6 Pokémon out of 649 resist this combination of moves.
Defense
Defensively, Bug-types are still flawed, because of their low Defense and the fact that there are many that are part Flying, multiplying their weakness to Rock. In this way their resistance to Ground and Fighting, two extremely powerful types, are of little use, as it is common for both types to master Rock moves.
Dual-type Bug/Flying and Bug/Poison Pokémon have an outstanding double resistance to Fighting, which can make up for their low Defense. They also have a double resistance to common Grass moves, meaning they would take very little damage from such notorious moves as Giga Drain, Energy Ball, or Petal Dance.
The Bug/Steel Pokémon are also interesting as they only have one weakness and ten resistances.
Notably, many Bug-type families evolve dependent on unique methods, such as an extra slot in the party, current moveset, gender, personality values, happiness, being traded with an item or even with a specific Pokémon.
When used in contests, Bug-type moves do not favor one contest category.
Pokémon
As of Generation V, there are 63 Bug-type Pokémon or 9.71 % of all Pokémon, making it the sixth most common elemental type.
Pure Bug-type Pokémon
Half Bug-type Pokémon
Primary Bug-type Pokémon
Secondary Bug-type Pokémon
Moves
Damage-dealing moves
Non-damaging moves
Trivia
- Even though Flying is a common secondary type among Bug-type Pokémon, the only Bug-type Pokémon that can learn the move Fly are not Flying types.
- Until Platinum, several Bug-type Pokémon, Shuckle, Kricketot, Burmy, Wormadam, and Combee, were unable to learn any Bug-type moves. Each of them is now able to learn Bug Bite by level, and Wormadam can learn Signal Beam by move tutor.
- Almost all Bug-type Pokémon evolve very early. Reasons for that could be to give the player the opportunity of having a strong evolved Pokémon in the beginning in order to earn the Gym Badge more easily, and that insects in fact can increase their population in short periods of time. Ironically though, Volcarona evolves at level 59, the second highest level needed to evolve, only surpassed by Sazandora. But another method may be due to the fact, that most fully evolved bug type Pokémon's stats are extremely low, being only somewhat higher than most basic, or baby stage Pokémon.
- Despite this, all but one of the very first Gyms are strong against Bug-types, as they specialize in Rock and Template:Type2s, and even the one that isn't has a chance to specialize in Template:Type2s.
- Until Generation IV, the only Bug moves with a power above 25 were Megahorn and Silver Wind, which made them extremely hard to use offensively.
- As of Generation II, the Bug type (along with the Fighting type) are one of only two pairs of different types to share the same interaction against each other (Bug resists Fighting and vice versa). The other pair is Normal and Ghost (Normal is immune to Ghost and vice versa).
- In Generation I, the Bug type and the Poison type also shared the same interaction: they were super-effective against each other. As of Generation II, Poison-type Pokémon now resist Bug-type moves, and Poison-type moves are neutral on Bug-types.
- The Poison type's now neutral matchup against Bug is likely based on insects adapting to Poison in real life.
- The Flying type is one of the two types most commonly paired with with the Bug type (along with Poison). However there are a number of Bug-types, despite being able to fly, that are not Flying-types, nor have the ability Levitate. These include Beedrill, Venomoth, Heracross, Scizor, Dustox, Volbeat, Illumise and Volcarona.
- All mid-evolution Bug Pokémon are based on cocoons.
- String Shot is the only Bug-type status move that can miss.
- Generation V introduced the most Bug-type Pokémon of any Generation, with 18.
- Additionally, Generation V is the only Generation to introduce a Bug-type legendary Pokémon: Genesect.
- Generation V is the only Generation not to introduce a dual Bug/Flying Pokémon.
- All Gym Leaders and Elite Four members that specialize in Bug-type Pokémon are male.
- This could be a reference to the stereotype that girls are afraid of bugs, a stereotype that Misty lives up to in the anime when she first encounters Ash's Caterpie.
- Statistically, Bug-type Pokémon are the weakest, as most fully evolved Bug-type Pokémon have stats that aren't even close to 400. However, Generation IV and V introduced several Bug-type Pokémon with base stat totals over 500, including one at 600 (Genesect).
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