Pokémon Types

Before we start today's lesson on Pokémon Types it is very important that we go over and fully understand the following concepts: 

*Glitch: a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or irregularity of equipment.
In other words, the game wasn't made right, so there are parts of the game that doesn't work like it was supposed to.

*Weakness: a quality or feature that is regarded as a disadvantage or fault.
In other words Fire is weak against Water because Water can put a Fire out. Fire will ALWAYS have a disadvantage against Water.

*Resistance: the ability not to be affected by something.
If you use a Fire type attack against a Water type Pokémon the water Pokémon will have a resistance to fire because it is not very effective.

*Immunity: Not influenced or affected by something.
Ghost Pokémon have an immunity to Fighting type attacks because it won't affect them. You can't kick a ghost!

-THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EFFECT & AFFECT-
Effect is a noun. Therefore, in relation to Pokémon, when an attack is used against a specific Pokémon that has a resistance to the attack type it is deemed "Not Very Effective."

Example: A Charizard uses Fire Punch (a fire type move) against a Blastoise (a water type Pokémon); water type Pokémon are resistant to water type attacks, therefore Charizard's Fire Punch will not be very EFFECTIVE.

Affect is a verb. Or to make it easier affect means to cause something to happen.

Example: Ghost type attacks are useless against Normal type Pokémon. The same can be said for Normal type moves against Ghost type Pokémon. Each type is immune to the other.

If Genar uses Night Shade (a ghost type move) on Jigglypuff (a Normal type Pokémon) Night Shade will not AFFECT Jigglypuff.

HOWEVER

If we state it in the past tense, Gengar used Night Shade against Jigglypuff...it had no EFFECT.

So, if you ask if Thunder will AFFECT a Ground type Pokémon you are correct.

(BEFORE THE ACTION TAKES PLACE) {TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE}

If you ask AFTER THE FACT did Thunder EFFECT the ground type Pokémon you are correct.

(AFTER THE ACTION TAKES PLACE) {A RESULT OR CONSEQUENCE OF AN ACTION}

Effect = After

Affect = Before

Pokémon Types:
Pokémon types are properties 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.

In Generation 1 there are 15 types of  Pokémon. However, in the current Generation of Pokémon there are 18 types (adding Dark, Steel, & Fairy types to the mix).

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.

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:
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 (x2). However, if a move's type is not very effective against the opponent's type, the damage done is half the normal amount (x0.5).

For Pokémon that have two types, the overall damage is calculated against both types combined. This means that if a move's type is strong against both of the opponent's types (such as Fireblast, a Fire-type move, used against a Paras, a Bug/Grass Pokémon), then the move does 4 times the damage (x4).

On the other hand, if a move's type is weak against both of the opponent's types (such as Flamethrower, a Fire-type move, used against an Omastar, a Water/Rock Pokémon), then the move does ¼ of the damage (x0.25).

Similarly, if the move is strong against one of the opponent's types but weak against the other (such as Razor Leaf, a Grass-type move, used against a Gyarados, a Water/Flying Pokémon), the move deals normal damage (x1).


If a move's type is completely ineffective due to one of the opponent's types, then the move does zero damage (x0), even if the opponent has a second type that would be vulnerable to it (as in Earthquake, a Ground-type move, used against a Charizard, a Fire/Flying Pokémon). Ground-type attacks are normally super effective against Fire-type Pokémon, however, since Charizard is also a Flying-type Ground-type attacks will not affect it.

Now that we have all that covered, let's look as specific Pokémon types and their weaknesses, resistances, immunities, and whether or not they can AFFECT other types of Pokémon.

 GHOST
-Super Effective Against: Ghost
-Weakness: Ghost
-Resistance: Poison
-Immunity: Fighting & Normal
-No Effect Against: Normal & Psychic
*Won't Affect Psychic In Generation 1 ONLY Due To A Glitch*

ELECTRIC
-Super Effective Against: Water & Flying
-Weakness: Ground
-Resistance: Electric & Flying
-Not Very Effective Against: Electric, Grass, & Dragon
-No Effect Against: Ground

 FLYING
-Super Effective Against: Bug, Fighting, & Grass
-Weakness: Electric, Rock, & Ice
-Resistance: Grass, Fighting, & Bug
-Immunity: Ground
-Not Very Effective Against: Electric & Rock

 PSYCHIC 
-Super Effective Against: Fighting & Poison
-Weakness: Bug
-Resistance: Psychic & Fighting
-Immunity: Ghost
*Immune To Ghost In Generation 1 ONLY Due To A Glitch*
-Not Very Effective Against: Psychic

GRASS
-Super Effective Against: Water, Ground, & Rock
-Weakness: Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, & Bug
-Resistance: Water, Electric, Grass, & Ground
-Not Very Effective Against: Fire, Grass, Poison, Flying, Bug, & Dragon

BUG
-Super Effective Against: Grass, Psychic, & Poison
*Super Effective Against Poison In Generation 1 ONLY!*
-Weakness: Fire, Flying, Rock, & Poison
*Weak Against Poison In Generation 1 ONLY!*
-Resistance: Grass, Fighting, & Ground
-Not Very Effective Against: Fire, Fighting, & Flying

POISON
-Super Effective Against: Grass & Bug
*Super Effective Against Bug In Generation 1 ONLY!*
-Weakness: Ground, Psychic, & Bug
*Weak Against Bug In Generation 1 ONLY!*
-Resistance: Grass, Fighting, & Poison
-Not Very Effective Against: Poison, Ground, Rock, & Ghost

GROUND
-Super Effective Against: Fire, Electric, Poison, & Rock
-Weakness: Water, Grass, & Ice
-Resistance: Poison & Rock
-Immunity: Electric
-Not Very Effective Against: Grass & Bug
-No Effect Against: Flying

WATER
-Super Effective Against: Fire, Ground, & Rock
-Weakness: Grass & Electric
-Resistance: Fire, Water, & Ice
-Not Very Effective Against: Water, Grass, & Dragon

ICE
-Super Effective Against: Grass, Ground, Flying, & Dragon
-Weakness: Fire, Fighting, & Rock
-Resistance: Ice
-Not Very Effective Against: Water & Ice

DRAGON
-Super Effective Against: Dragon
-Weakness: Ice & Dragon
-Resistance: Fire, Water, Electric, & Grass
-Not Very Effective Against: NONE

NORMAL
-Super Effective Against: NONE
-Weakness: Fighting
-Resistance: NONE
-Immunity: Ghost
-Not Very Effective Against: Rock
-No Effect Against: Ghost

FIGHTING
-Super Effective Against: Normal, Ice, & Rock
-Weakness: Flying, & Psychic
-Resistance: Bug & Rock
-Not Very Effective Against: Poison, Flying, Psychic, & Bug
-No Effect Against: Ghost

ROCK
-Super Effective Against: Fire, Ice, Flying, & Bug
-Weakness: Water, Grass, Fighting, & Ground
-Resistance: Normal, Fire, Poison, & Flying
-Not Very Effective Against: Fighting & Ground

FIRE
-Super Effective Against: Grass, Ice, & Bug
-Weakness: Grass & Electric
-Resistance: Fire, Water, & Ice
-Not Very Effective Against: Water, Grass, & Dragon





Summary
-15 different types in Generation 1
-18 types in current Generation (Steel, Dark, & Fairy)
-A Pokémon may have one or two types
-Each type has a set of weaknesses and resistances
-Type match-ups are very important
-X0 if the move will not affect the Pokémon (Normal vs. Ghost, and vice versa)
-X1 is no weakness or resistance is applied (also if one of the Pokémon's types is weak against the attack while the other is resistant, see Razor Leaf used on a Gyarados)
-X2 if the defending Pokémon is weak against the attack
-X4 if the defending Pokémon has two types that are both weak against the attack (i.e. Rock Throw used on a Charizard)
-X0.5 if the defending Pokémon is resistant to the attack
-X0.25 if the defending Pokémon has two types that are both resistant to the attack (i.e. Flamethrower used on an Omastar)

Pokémon Vocab Words

Glitch
Weakness
Resistance
Immunity
Effect
Affect