Best to Worst Pokémon Types – Offense and Defense

Ready for another ranked list? What about two ranked lists? That’s what I’m going to cover today. And this one is on something more widely recognized – Pokémon!

These ranked lists aren’t my subjective lists on my favorite and least favorite types. They’re more about the gameplay and strategy. As of today, there are 18 different elements, which are Normal, Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel, and Fairy. The lists are ranked based on the following factors:

• How many types one type is SE (super-effective) or NVE (not very effective) towards.
• How many elemental resistances and weaknesses said type has.
• The frequency of moves used in a resistance or weakness.
• The frequency of Pokémon that are strong or weak to a type.
• The average base power and accuracy of the moves.
• The average base stats of the Pokémon.
• Status conditions.

These lists may not be the very best like no list ever was…oh wait! That’s not the Pokémon theme. The real Pokémon theme song is the title music in almost every game, like in Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Let’s Go Eevee, after your Nintendo Switch loads the game, but you didn’t press start. It’s been played in many different scales.

An interesting fact about each type is that they got their own interesting quirks. Examples:

• Nearly all Flying-Type Pokémon are dual-typed, and it’s their secondary type.
• Bug-Type Pokémon have been weighed down by their low base stats.
• More than half of all Poison-Type Pokémon were Gen 1 Pokémon (at least within the first 20 years).

Best to Worst Types Offensively:

Starting with the first list, the best types in terms of attacking capabilities depend on how many types one is super-effective against, how often the Pokémon weak to them are used, and their attack and special attack stats. Trends may change over time, but these are the general details:

• #1 – Ice: Out of all types as an attacking type, the Ice type is the best type offensively. Given that it’s super-effective against three common types (Grass, Ground, Flying) and the most powerful type (Dragon), it’s the king of the types on type-effectiveness. Additionally, double weaknesses to the Ice type are very common (especially the move Freeze-Dry, which is super-effective against Water Pokémon). And a cherry on top, some of the moves (Ice Beam being the most common) can cast a powerful status condition that makes Pokémon unusable for an indefinite amount of turns. Now there are just as many types resistant to Ice (Water being one of them) as there are types weak to it, but it’s still a solid type.
• #2 – Rock: Coming at number 2 is the Rock type. In terms of type-effectiveness, it’s one of the best types. It’s only resisted by three types (Fighting, Ground, Steel), while super-effective towards four types (Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug), making Rock more super-effective than not-very effective. Double resistances to Rock are rare, while double weaknesses to Rock are common. The biggest flaw with the Rock type is that most of the moves do not have a 100% accuracy. The most powerful move to have a 100% accuracy is Power Gem, which is a special move. But Rock type Pokémon are primarily physical sweepers.
• #3 – Ground: The second runner-up is a related type, which is the Ground Type. For type-effectiveness, five types are weak to Ground, while only two types resist Ground. The types that are weak to Ground are pretty good defensively, while the types that resist Ground aren’t very good defensively. The one flaw with Ground is that it has no effect on the Flying type. It also has no effect on Pokémon with the ability Levitate, Pokémon holding an Air Balloon, or Pokémon using Telekinesis or Magnet Rise. Now its most well-known move, Earthquake, is pretty good for single battles because it’s the only common move with a 100 Base Power, 100% Accuracy, 10 PP, and has no drawbacks towards the user. But in double battles, it wouldn’t be as powerful towards opponents, as it can hurt allies too.
• #4 – Fire: Of the three starter types, the best type offensively is Fire. It’s super-effective against four different types (including Steel), resisted by no other type besides Water, Rock, Dragon, or itself, and can leave the burn status condition (which damages the opponent every turn while weakening its attack stat). It also has a good attack stat and good special attack stat on average, and Fire-type moves have their power boosted during harsh sunlight. But in the rain, it’s not as powerful.
• #5 – Fairy: The last type to be introduced, Fairy is a pretty good type offensively. While not the best type, one advantage it has over others is that it’s super-effective against both Dark and Dragon, as well as Fighting. Now Poison, Steel, and Fire, not so much, but these three types have plenty of resistances. But being super-effective against Dark and Dragon is a big deal, because the other two types Dark are weak to (Fighting and Bug) have several disadvantages offensively, while Dragon types are only weak to Ice and Dragon. The three best moves are Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, and Play Rough.
• #6 – Dragon: In the type-effectiveness chart, unless if you’re going against a Steel-type or Fairy-type Pokémon, Dragon-type moves practically work on any Pokémon. The problem is that they’re only super-effective against the Dragon type, so the type isn’t a good type for fighting outsiders. If anything, it’s the Dragon-type Pokémon’s average base attack and base special attack stats that make it such a good type offensively. To be fair, this is probably because of the pseudo-legendary Pokémon and the legendary Pokémon that boosted these stats, but it’s still higher in the list in terms of offensive capabilities.
• #7 – Water: As an attacking type, Water isn’t too bad. I can’t speak much for the base stats of the Pokémon or the moves, but in regards to type-effectiveness, there’s a strength. Water is super-effective against Fire, Ground, and Rock, but it’s not very effective against Water, Grass, or Dragon. However, most Water-type Pokémon have access to Ice-type moves, which are already super-effective against Grass and Dragon. There are also some Water-type Pokémon like Starmie and Lapras that have access to Electric-type moves, which is super-effective against Water. As a result, they can practically attack any Pokémon, whether if their moves are super-effective or not. Water-type moves may become more powerful in the rain, but doesn’t do well in harsh sunlight.
• #8 – Flying: As an attacking type, Flying is so-so on the type-effectiveness ratings. They can deal with Grass, Fighting, and Bug Pokémon well, but are useless against Electric, Rock, and Steel Pokémon. But they have one competitive advantage in the offensive sector. No, not the attack or special attack stats. It’s the speed stat. Flying type Pokémon have more guarantee to attack first.
• #9 – Fighting: Let’s start with the strengths. It’s super-effective against five different types, three of them are Normal (which has only one weakness), Dark (which doesn’t have many weaknesses), and Steel (which has ten resistances). Also, their base attack stat is high in the sky, so they can knock out enemies quite well. Now for the weaknesses. One of them is that Fighting has no effect on Ghost-type Pokémon. The other is that there are five types that resist them (Poison, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Fairy). There’s also an issue with moves and their accuracy, like the infamous Focus Blast (also known as Focus Miss).
• #10 – Psychic: Back in Gen 1, it used to be the king of all types. But now, it’s been nerfed hard from the start, so there’s more balance in the types. Type-effectiveness, it’s not that bad. It’s only super-effective against Fighting and Poison, while it’s resisted by Psychic and Steel (while also having no effect on Dark-type Pokémon, which are common). But the advantages are that they have good special attack stats and wider movepools.
• #11 – Dark: I would tie Ghost and Dark with each other, but ultimately, Dark gets the edge. Both of them are good against Psychic and Ghost, but Dark is resisted by Fighting, Dark, and Fairy, while Ghost has no effect on the Normal type. So that’s a point for the Dark type. Another point for the Dark type is that Dark-type moves are more accessible to many species than Ghost-type moves.
• #12 – Ghost: While it’s a cool type, Ghost suffers the fact that it has no effect on Normal-type Pokémon, which are very common. If you want to fight a Normal/Psychic dual-type Pokémon, Ghost-type moves will have no effect on them. But at least there’s only one type that resists it, which is Dark. Another advantage is that the Ghost type lacks moves with an accuracy below 100%, making it most likely to hit any Pokémon once used.
• #13 – Electric: As an attacking type, it’s rather so-so. It’s super-effective against Water-type and Flying-type Pokémon, but not very effective towards Electric, Grass, or Dragon, thus making it more NVE than SE. Not only that, but it has no effect on Ground-type Pokémon. One upside to the Electric type is that Water-type and Flying-type Pokémon are pretty common, and unless if the Water-type Pokémon or Flying-type Pokémon is a Ground-type Pokémon, an Electric-type move is going to cause a lot of damage, especially if it’s a Water/Flying type Pokémon. There is one other strength of the Electric type as an attacking type. It has a chance of paralyzing the opponent, which slows them down and makes them less likely to attack.
• #14 – Grass: Of the three starter types, Grass is the worst one offensively. The problem with the Grass type is that there are seven different types that resist Grass-type moves. That’s a sign that Grass-type Pokémon aren’t going to be that effective. However, they are super-effective against Water, Ground, and Rock, which are common and sometimes might be the only type super-effective against these Pokémon. Grass also has more drain moves and healing moves. Examples include Leech Seed and Giga Drain.
• #15 – Normal: As an attacking type, Normal seems pretty neutral. Unless if the opponent is a Ghost-type, Rock-type, or Steel-type, the moves will deal a good amount of damage, and it’s quite powerful. Normal-type Pokémon won’t generate super-effective moves, so there’s one other strategy to use. They must rely on Same Type Attack Bonuses. They also have more moves that have over 120 Base Power, and some abilities, like Refrigerate and Pixelate, can change the type of the move.
• #16 – Steel: While it’s a good type defensively, it’s not really good on the offensive sector. Before the Fairy-type was introduced, the only two types it was good against were Rock and Ice, which are rarely used defensively due to their bad defensive capabilities. Also, along with the Steel type, it’s resisted by Fire-type Pokémon, Water-type Pokémon, and Electric-type Pokémon. Therefore, it’s more disadvantaged than advantaged.
• #17 – Poison: As an attacking type, it’s not much of a super-effective type, but rather used to inflict the poison status condition. Before the Fairy-type was introduced, the only type it was super-effective against was Grass, which already has four other weaknesses. It also doesn’t fare well when going against Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost, and especially Steel Pokémon. But when it goes against a Fairy-type Pokémon, it’s going to be tough.
• #18 – Bug: Due to Bug-type Pokémon having low base stats, and due to the Bug-type being resisted by seven different types, the Bug type is the worst type offensively. However, Bug-type Pokémon have improved since the 5^th generation, with some like Volcarona, Vikavolt, and Ribombee all proving this point. My advice is that if you’re going to bring a Bug-type Pokémon to competitive play, refrain from using a Gen 1 Bug Pokémon.

Best to Worst Types Defensively:

On the other side of the coin, each type has different strengths and weaknesses as a defensive type. They depend on how many resistances there are, how many weaknesses there are, and how much the weaknesses and resistances matter.

• #1 – Steel: Out of all of the Pokémon types, Steel is the best type defensively. It can resist ten different types, while it’s immune to Poison. It has three weaknesses though, which are Fire, Fighting, and Ground, which are all commonly used. But their high defense and special defense stats can also remedy that.
• #2 – Poison: Another good type defensively is the Poison type. It has only two weaknesses, Psychic and Ground, while it’s resists Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug, and Fairy moves. Poison/Dark Pokémon have it even better, as they are weak to only the Ground type, which can be nullified by the air balloon. They are also immune to the poison status condition by all means.
• #3 – Ghost: Although it only have two resistances, which don’t matter much since they’re the worst types offensively, Ghost-type Pokémon have the benefit of having two type immunities. They’re immune to both Normal and Fighting moves, which are commonly used in battle. Also, they are only weak to Ghost and Dark moves, which are both super-effective against the same two types.
• #4 – Fairy: In terms of base stats, Fairy-type Pokémon have the highest special defense stats, making it a very good type on the special sector. They also resist Fighting, Bug, and Dark moves, while being immune to Dragon moves. The two weaknesses they have are Poison and Steel, which are still not good types offensively.
• #5 – Water: As a defensive type, Water has four resistances (Fire, Water, Ice, Steel), while the only two weaknesses they have are Grass and Electric. Water-type Pokémon may have access to Ice-type moves, which makes Electric the only true threat to the Water type.
• #6 – Dark: While I’m not too fond of Dark as an attacking type, it’s much better as a defending type. Given its immunity to Psychic Pokémon and its resistance to Ghost and Dark Pokémon, Dark can actually stay on the battlefield for a while, unless if it goes against a Fighting-type or Fairy-type move, which are commonly used and easily accessible.
• #7 – Dragon: As the king of the types, it’s notorious for its resistance to all three starter types, plus Electric. They also have good base defenses and special defenses. But they better watch out! Once they’re in the battlefield with an Ice-type Pokémon or Fairy-type Pokémon, they are history. It’s also worth noting that Fairy-type Pokémon don’t have too many weaknesses, so they can go hard on Dragon Pokémon.
• #8 – Normal: As a defensive type, it’s more of a mixed bag. Despite being immune to Ghost-type Pokémon, they have no resistances at all, and it has one weakness, which is Fighting. However, it doesn’t have any other weaknesses either. But Fighting-type moves are commonly used in battle.
• #9 – Fighting: They may be strong in battle, but one problem they have is speed. They also don’t have access to high-priority moves, which makes them more vulnerable to Flying-type Pokémon. They are also weak to Psychic and Fairy. But on the bright side, Fighting Pokémon resist Bug, Rock, and Dark moves.
• #10 – Flying: As a defensive type, the only weaknesses they have are Electric, Ice, and Rock, which the former two are bad news since they are good types offensively. The other problem is that most Flying-type Pokémon are dual-type, which makes them vulnerable to other types. Of the three types they resist, Bug and Grass aren’t good as attacking types, but Fighting is. And if Flying is paired with Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, or Steel, it will lose its Fighting-type resistance.
• #11 – Electric: The good news is that it has only one weakness, Ground. It also resists Electric, Flying, and Steel. The bad news is that Ground-type moves are commonly used, as they are super-effective against four other types. The only other benefit Electric-type Pokémon have is that they’re immune to paralysis.
• #12 – Bug: Being weighed down by their low base stats, Bug-type Pokémon aren’t good as a defensive type. They are only weak to Fire, Flying, and Rock, while they resist Grass, Fighting, and Ground. But given how commonly used Fire and Rock are as offensive types, that can squash the Bug Pokémon quite easily.
• #13 – Ground: As a defensive type, Ground-type Pokémon need to be more careful. Their base defense stats are very good, but their base special defense stats are poor. And the three types they are weak to (Water, Grass, Ice) are primarily special movers. It doesn’t help that Ice and Water moves are commonly used in battle. However, Ground-type Pokémon have an Electric-type immunity and resistances to Poison and Rock.
• #14 – Fire: On one hand, Fire-type Pokémon have six resistances and three weaknesses, while they are immune to the burn status condition. On the other hand, type effectiveness makes it a mediocre type. The three types Fire-type Pokémon are weak to (Water, Ground, Rock) are all commonly used in battle. Even worse, Fire-type Pokémon have low defense stats, and two of these types are primarily physical movers. They may have six resistances, but half of them (Grass, Bug, Steel) are of little use because Grass is resisted by seven different types, Bug is resisted by seven different types, and two of the three types Steel is super-effective against are rarely used as a defensive type.
• #15 – Grass: Grass-type Pokémon may have something to boast about since they resist Water, Grass, Electric, and Ground moves, but they have five different weaknesses. They are weak to Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, and Bug. However, they should only be more concerned about three of these types since Poison and Bug aren’t as good offensively.
• #16 – Psychic: Psychic-type Pokémon may not be the worst type in defense, but their defensive capabilities are poor. While they are only weak to three types, which aren’t super-effective against many types, when they’re weak to them, they’re really weak to them. Psychic-type Pokémon have low defense stats, and the three types they’re weak to are primarily physical movers. One Crunch or X-Scissor can knock them to their grave. Even their Fighting-type resistance isn’t useful, because Fighting-type Pokémon have high attack stats.
• #17 – Rock: Just like the Grass type, Rock-type Pokémon have five different weaknesses. Not like the Grass type, four of the types Rock are weak to are quite powerful. Water and Grass are primarily special types, which is bad for their low special defense stats, while Fighting and Ground are commonly used. They also have a low speed stat in general. Fortunately, they are one of the two types to resist Normal-type moves.
• #18 – Ice: Arguably the worst type defensively, Ice-type Pokemon struggle with type effectiveness. They only have one resistance – itself. Meanwhile, it has four weaknesses, three of them are commonly used in battle. The types they are weak to also are super-effective against many-other types, which make double weaknesses among Ice-type Pokémon pretty common. Some of the worst ones are Ice/Bug, Ice/Rock, and Ice/Grass. Fortunately, they are immune to the freeze status condition, and several Ice-type Pokémon tend to have high HP stats or high defense stats.

And that’s all for today’s entry. If you have any comments, feel free to correct some. But these are based on my observations.