Beginner Guide

Pokémon GO Type Effectiveness for PvP

Type effectiveness is one of the first things you learn in PvP. Water beats Fire. Fire beats Grass. Grass beats Water.

Then dual typings, coverage moves and resistances get involved and it gets less obvious. You don’t need to memorize every matchup on day one — but you do need to understand what the messages on screen mean.

Super Effective vs Not Very Effective

When an attack hits a type that’s weak to it, the game shows Super effective and the attack deals extra damage. If the defender resists it, you see Not very effective. When neither applies, it’s plain neutral damage. In PvP this matters for both Fast and Charged Moves.

Pokémon Type and Move Type Are Different

A common beginner mistake is looking only at the Pokémon’s type. The move has its own type — a Water Pokémon doesn’t deal Water damage with every attack. Always think about:

• the attacker's type
• the move's type
• the defender's type

Plenty of Pokémon carry a coverage move specifically to hit something that would otherwise counter them.

Same-Type Attack Bonus

When a Pokémon uses a move matching one of its own types, the move gets a damage bonus — called STAB, Same-Type Attack Bonus. A Water Pokémon using a Water move gets more out of it than a non-Water Pokémon using the same move. That doesn’t make off-type moves bad; coverage can be extremely valuable.

Dual Types Change Everything

Many Pokémon have two types, and both count. Sometimes both share a weakness, which makes it a particularly dangerous one. Other times one type cancels out a weakness from the other. That’s why “Fire beats Grass” is only the beginning — the actual Pokémon matters.

Type Chart

Pick a type to see what it hits hard, what resists it, and — in defending mode — what it’s weak to.

Loading type chart…

Type Advantage Doesn’t Guarantee the Matchup

A favorable type matchup helps. It doesn’t guarantee a win. Real PvP matchups also depend on:

• moves
• shields
• energy
• IVs
• HP
• Fast Move pressure
• Charged Move timing

A Pokémon can have the type edge on paper and still struggle in the actual battle. That’s why PoGoCoach judges matchups with real battle data, not typing alone.

Use Types to Build Better Coverage

When building a team, check whether several Pokémon share the same weakness. Three strong Pokémon can still make a fragile team if one common type troubles all of them. How to Find Weaknesses in Your PvP Team and How to Build a PvP Team take it from there, or check coverage directly in the Team Builder.