Question about weaknesses

[Drakon]

I have noticed that most of the weaknesses of the elements make sense but some don't.

Like:

Why is Fighting super effective against Steel?

 

[PDL]

Fighting types have enough strength to bend steel. Probably.

 

[Shinx3000]

I was about to ask this question before but here is my analogy to this:

Water is weak to grass as grass absorbs water and becomes strong

Steel is weak to water as steel can rust

Rock is weak to water as it can corrode rocks

Rock is weak to grass as grass can cover rocks and get into cracks in rocks and break them eventually.

Flying is weak to electric as it can make flying types stop in air and make them crash, same with ice, may also freeze.

Fighting is weak to flying types as flying can hit fighting types and dodge fighting attacks.

Steel is weak to fire as fire can heat up steel causing to to become super hot and hurt the steel types

Steel is weak to fighting as fighting types can dent steel? (only theory I have)

Fire is weak to water for obvious reasons, water puts out fire.

Fighting is weak to psyschic as psyschic moves can impare fighting types concerntration as I assume fighting types need to concerntrate to use moves well.

Dark is weak to psyschic as it blocks or messes up dark thoughts?Similar to how ghost is weak to psyschic moves too (only theory I have)

Ground is effective against ground as pokemon on ground can be easily hurt by ground moves as they can't move (jump well or fly) to avoid the attacks.

Ground is weak to water and ice because ground is usually dry and moves like those impare that and make them wet, which is not how its meant to be.

Rock moves smash up ground, so thats why rock moves are supereffective to ground types. Same with Flying, rocks can knock flying types out of air, so slowing them and hurting them more.

Ice is weak to fire as fire melts ice.

Ice freezes green grassy things like plants and can kill them in real life, so I assume this is why ice is strong against grass?

As for other tyep weaknesses, i don't really know

 

[The Fool on the Hill]

Steel is weak to water as steel can rust

Dark is weak to psyschic as it blocks or messes up dark thoughts?Similar to how ghost is weak to psyschic moves too (only theory I have)

Rock moves smash up ground, so thats why rock moves are supereffective to ground types.

???

Water isn't super effective against Steel.

Psychic isn't super effective against Ghost (except in Gen I), and Psychic doesn't effect Dark at all.

Rock isn't very effective against Ground.

 

[Shinx3000]

Ah, I was thinking of gengar for psyschic weaknesss... its part poison, duh! And I should have meant that Rocks can be smashed up by ground, is that right?

Actually, dark thoughts can impare psyschic thought then, so it hurts them.

And I was probably thinking on how water is effective against onix,then thought it would be the same for steelix, but I forgot its not.

 

[Amethyst Dream]

I actually made a similar analogy list like that a couple years ago. Let's see if I can remember.

-Fire burns grass, melts ice and steel, and incinerates bugs.
-Water softens the ground into mud, erodes rock and puts out fires.
-Electricity is conducted by water, and lightning strikes birds out of the sky.
-Grass grows through the ground, absorbing water. Moss covers rocks.
-Ice freezes and kills plants, casts frost over the ground, makes weather too harsh to fly in. Ice even freezes dragons into myths of time.
-Fighting is the only tactic that hits simpletons not tuned with special forces. Raw strength breaks through ice, rock, steel, and their blind fury pierces even the deepest darkness.
-Poison makes toxic the plants and kills them
-Sand douses fire, can't conduct electricity, absorbs and shrugs off poison, crushes the stone that forms from it, and tears down even steel buildings with its quakes
-Flying types um, eat bugs. They make homes out of Grass, and stand little chance of being hit by Fighting type moves, which require close distance.
-Psychic stops fighting from even getting close to them, and purges poison.
-Bugs tear apart and eat grass, creep out psychics, disturbing their focus, and crawl dumbly into the darkness, surviving evil in R-strategies.
-Rock stops fire from burning, can smash through ice, knock birds out of the sky, and crush bugs.
-Ghosts, striking from the spirit world, one of energy are best at hitting themselves, but also use their special powers to affect those of psychics.
-Dragons, of course, are the only ones strong enough to stand up to their own kind.
-Darkness consumes spiritual energy, devouring both psychics and ghosts
-Steel tools can cut into Ice and Rock

Also immunities:

-Normal types lack the mental development to even see ghosts
-And ghosts lack the physical presence to even affect normals
-Fighting again, lacks mental development for ghosts
-Ground can never conduct electricity. Lightning strikes it, and it doesn't care.
-Metal cannot be poisoned. In fact, that would be dumb.
-Ground cannot even think of reaching flying types in the sky
-Raw psychic energy is barred by the blinding darkness

Some of them are eh descriptions, but it actually makes sense in my head. >.< Sorry.

 

[ShinjiLover]

Hmmm, here's what I have to offer to that. =]

Fire > Grass, Bug Ice Steel : Grass - Fire burns it. Bug - No clue, but it just seems right. Also, ever realize how the only way to kill a tick is to burn it? That could've contributed. . Ice - Fire melts it. Steel - Fire heats it.

Grass > Water, Ground, Rock : Water - I dunno. I think it was to complete the Fire > Grass > Water > Fire cycle in the starter Pokemon. Ground - Weeds, duh. Rock - Moss can cover rocks, but I'm not really so sure.

Rock > Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice : Bug - . . . Fire - I guess fire really doesn't do anything to rock. Maybe throwing pebbles on fire would put it out!? XD Flying - Don't you think a bird would get hurt if you threw rocks at it? Ice - I guess Ice really doesn't do anything to rock. I think the fact that rock can break ice so easily contributes.

Bug > Dark, Grass, Psychic : Dark - Hey, dark types need weaknesses, too! Grass - Some bugs eat grass. Psychic - . . .

Psychic > Fighting, Poison : Fighting - Shinx3000 is right, psychic may break Fighting-type's concentration. Besides, psychic attacks beat muscle-heads any day. Poison - . . .

Poison > Grass : Poison kills weeds and grass. Think weed-killer.

Fighting > Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel : Dark - Dark-types need weaknesses, too! Ice - Karate Chopping ice would probably break it. Normal - See Dark. Rock - See Ice. Steel - Steel would definitely get detended by Fighting.

Steel > Ice, Rock : Ice - . . . Rock - . . .

Water > Fire, Ground, Rock : Fire - Water puts out fire. Ground - Water would turn ground types into mud? XD Rock - . . . I have no idea.

Ground > Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock, Steel : Electic > Trying shocking ground and see what happens. Really, though, I don't know why it's super effective against it. Fire - Throwing dirt on fire puts it out, so that's a contributor. Poison - Moving along. Rock - See Poison. Steel - See Rock.

Electric (My favorite!) > Flying, Water : Flying - The closer you are to the sky, the more likely you'll be struck by lightning. Sooo. . Yeah. Water - Water conducts electricity.

Flying > Bug, Fighting, Grass : Bug - Duh? Birds eat bugs. Fighting - ??? Grass - Birds scratch up grass in real life when finding food.

Normal > None

Ghost > Ghost, Psychic : Ghost - ?? Psychic - Psychic energy just go right through ghosts in real life.

Dark > Ghost, Psychic : Ghost - ?? Psychic > I guess Psychic is supposed to be the equivalent of good, which holds no candle to evil. Is that the message the creators are trying to send to our impressionable viewers? XD

Ice > Flying, Dragon, Grass, Ground : Flying - Flying-types wouldn't be able to fly if they were struck with ice attacks. Dragon - See Flying, since most have wings. Those that don't? I dunno. Grass - Ice freezes grass, causing it to die in the winter. That would contribute. Ground - Ground-types would not be able to move, as the ground in winter is frozen solid.

Dragon > Dragon : Dragon - ???

 

[PDL]

Grass > Water, Ground, Rock : Water - I dunno. I think it was to complete the Fire > Grass > Water > Fire cycle in the starter Pokemon. Ground - Weeds, duh. Rock - Moss can cover rocks, but I'm not really so sure.

Plant life absorbs water, and breaks soil and rocks with their roots.

Rock > Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice : Bug - . . . Fire - I guess fire really doesn't do anything to rock. Maybe throwing pebbles on fire would put it out!? XD Flying - Don't you think a bird would get hurt if you threw rocks at it? Ice - I guess Ice really doesn't do anything to rock. I think the fact that rock can break ice so easily contributes.

You smash bugs with rocks. Also, fire smothers easily, hence why rock and ground beats it.

Bug > Dark, Grass, Psychic : Dark - Hey, dark types need weaknesses, too! Grass - Some bugs eat grass. Psychic - . . .

Psychic types are weakened by fear. Fear of ghosts, fear of the dark, fear of bugs.

Psychic > Fighting, Poison : Fighting - Shinx3000 is right, psychic may break Fighting-type's concentration. Besides, psychic attacks beat muscle-heads any day. Poison - . . .

Psychic types have power over the weak-minded like muscle-bound brutes and "poisonous" individuals.

Fighting > Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel : Dark - Dark-types need weaknesses, too! Ice - Karate Chopping ice would probably break it. Normal - See Dark. Rock - See Ice. Steel - Steel would definitely get detended by Fighting.

With Dark's weakness to fighting, think hero against villain. But yeah, fighting types possess the brute strength to smash all kinds of stuff.

Steel > Ice, Rock : Ice - . . . Rock - . . .

Think steel hammer against stone or ice. What happens?

Water > Fire, Ground, Rock : Fire - Water puts out fire. Ground - Water would turn ground types into mud? XD Rock - . . . I have no idea.

Water puts out fire, and water erodes rock and ground.

Ground > Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock, Steel : Electic > Trying shocking ground and see what happens. Really, though, I don't know why it's super effective against it. Fire - Throwing dirt on fire puts it out, so that's a contributor. Poison - Moving along. Rock - See Poison. Steel - See Rock.

Lighting usually hits the tallest object, and the ground is not usually the tallest thing in the area. With poison, certain types to soil can neutralize toxins.

Flying > Bug, Fighting, Grass : Bug - Duh? Birds eat bugs. Fighting - ??? Grass - Birds scratch up grass in real life when finding food.

Ghost > Ghost, Psychic : Ghost - ?? Psychic - Psychic energy just go right through ghosts in real life.

Ghosts are only scared off by other more meanacing ghosts. Psychic types are also scared of ghosts.

Dark > Ghost, Psychic : Ghost - ?? Psychic > I guess Psychic is supposed to be the equivalent of good, which holds no candle to evil. Is that the message the creators are trying to send to our impressionable viewers? XD

Dark types are menacing and can strike fear into ghosts and psychics.

Ice > Flying, Dragon, Grass, Ground : Flying - Flying-types wouldn't be able to fly if they were struck with ice attacks. Dragon - See Flying, since most have wings. Those that don't? I dunno. Grass - Ice freezes grass, causing it to die in the winter. That would contribute. Ground - Ground-types would not be able to move, as the ground in winter is frozen solid.

Ice freezes alot of things. birds, reptiles, plant-life, even the ground.

Dragon > Dragon : Dragon - ???

The only thing that scares dragons are other dragons.

 

[PanicAttack]

I could go through every single type matchup and try and justify it. In fact, I've got nothing better to do so why not? =D

Normal:
Good vs. none: They don't have anything special about them. Ergo, no real strengths.
Bad vs. Rock/Steel: Tougher than the average, by quite a degree. Thus, less damage.
No effect vs. Ghost: Lack of ability to detect Ghosts. Once they can sense them, they can hit them (hence Foresight/Odor Sleuth/Scrappy ability)

Fire:
Good vs. Grass/Ice/Bug/Steel: Plants burn easily, Ice melts easily, Bug probably works on the ants + magnifying glass principle, metals (including iron and thus Steel) conducts heat easily.
Bad vs. Fire/Water/Rock/Dragon: How can you burn something already on fire? Or water? Or a stone? As for Dragon, it's dragons. They're magical.

Water:
Good vs. Fire/Ground/Rock: Water puts out fires, ground and rock are eroded by water.
Bad vs. Water/Grass/Dragon: Mixing water with water does nothing whatsoever, grass absorbs water, dragons are dragons. In canon, many of the Dragons have an access to a Water-type move of some kind (even Bagon).

Electric:
Good vs. Water/Flying: Water conducts electricity. As for flying, ask Benjamin Franklin.
Bad vs. Electric/Grass/Dragon: Many Electric-types power up on electricity - see "Volt Absorb" and "Motor Drive". Some feed on electricity (e.g. Magnemite, Electrode). Grass works on a similar principle to Ground's immunity - by being rooted to the earth, they can avoid a lot of damage - iirc a Bellsprout illustrated this beautifully in one of the Indigo League episodes. As for Dragons, magic.
No effect vs. Ground: Electricity is channeled to the earth, making Electric attacks useless.

Grass:
Good vs. Water/Ground/Rock: Plants absorb water and grow on earth. As for Rock, moss.
Bad vs. Fire/Grass/Poison/Flying/Bug/Dragon/Steel: Plants burn. They also compete with each other for sunlight, water and space, which can weaken them severely. As for Poison, blame pesticides. Plants have a limited reach, which limits their effectiveness against airborne opponents (see also Ash's Staravia vs. Gardenia's Cherubi). Bugs eat plants. Dragons are magic (don't worry, this is the last time you'll see that one!). Steel is just plain sturdy - I won't mention this one again since it goes without saying.

Ice:
Good vs. Grass/Ground/Flying/Dragon: Cold weather damages plants. Ice is frozen water and can do just as good a job at soil erosion as liquid water. Flying in a blizzard is suicide. Dragon seems kinda random, but probably just the achilles heel of Pokéverse dragons.
Bad vs. Fire/Water/Ice/Steel: I'd assume that because of the heat of Fire-type Pokémon, Ice attacks melt or vapourise before they hit their targets, reducing their effectiveness. Water-types can (usually) use Ice-type attacks so can probably counter them effectively. Also, have you ever tried banging two ice cubes together? Not a lot happens.

Fighting:
Good vs. Normal/Ice/Rock/Dark/Steel: Compared to Normal-types, they have more physical strength and/or skill, thus the advantage. They also use "honourable" strategies which work well against the underhanded tactics of Dark attacks. As for the rest, they're just that strong.
Bad vs. Poison/Psychic/Flying/Bug: Like you would punch a venomous snake in the chops. The Fighting type's reliance on their physical body makes them (mostly) lack mental training, making Psychic-types a strong counter. Flying-types counter the strength of Fighting-types with their agility and ability to avoid attack. As for Bug, I'd imagine that that their odd movements make them difficult to employ "Poké-kata" against.
No effect vs. Ghost: You can't punch or kick something that doesn't have a physical form.

Posion:
Good vs. Grass: Weed killer. 'Nuff said.
Bad vs. Poison/Ground/Rock/Ghost: I'd imagine poisoning any of those would be very difficult.
No effect vs. Steel: Not as difficult as poisoning metal, though.

Ground:
Good vs. Fire/Electric/Posion/Rock/Steel: Earth smothers fire and doesn't conduct electricity. Toxins don't work well against the earth. Rocks and metals come from the earth.
Bad vs. Grass/Bug: Plants are rooted into the planet whilst many insects can burrow easily.
No effect vs. Flying: Because moves that affect the ground are really useful against the sky. [/sarcasm]

Flying:
Good vs. Grass/Fighting/Bug: Earth vs. sky. 'Nuff said. As for Fighting, see what I said before.
Bad vs. Electric/Rock/Steel: Again, see what I said before.

Psychic:
Good vs. Fighting/Poison: Psychic powers, innit? =P
Bad vs. Psychic/Steel: Part of using psychic powers would be training to resist the psychic power of others.
No effect vs. Dark: Dark-types use very different tactics which allows them to elude Psychic-type attacks altogether. These tactics are uncounterable without special training, which led to the discovery of the Miracle Eye move.

Bug:
Good vs. Grass/Psychic/Dark: Bugs eat plants and many are nocturnal. As for Psychic, look up "Uri Gellar Bush Tucker Trial" on YouTube. =D
Bad vs. Fire/Fighting/Flying/Ghost/Steel: To be honest, these are all self-explanitory imo.

Ghost:
Good vs. Psychic/Ghost: Ghosts use different magic to Psychic-types, giving them an advantage in battle. Being comprised of ectoplasm, they also create their attacks from it, leading them to do more damage to each other.
Bad vs. Dark/Steel: Dark-types are just plain sneaker than Ghosts. Metals are reflective, leading them to deflect most attacks from Ghosts.
No effect vs. Normal: Normal-types can't detect Ghosts to such a degree, they can't be harmed by their attacks.

Dragon:
Good vs. Dragon: Noble creatures, those dragons. This leads them to fight with extra passion when using their attacks. This crosses over to other Pokémon when they use Dragon attacks.
Bad vs. Steel: Knights in shining armour. Enough said.

Dark:
Good vs. Psychic/Ghost: Their moves are made for countering magic. So yeah...
Bad vs. Fighting/Dark/Steel: Tactics used against magic-wielders aren't any good against practitioners of Poké-kata, or other Dark-types. Also, sneaky tactics don't help against armour.

Steel:
Good vs. Ice/Rock: Being sturdier, it just cuts through them.
Bad vs. Fire/Water/Electric/Steel: The laws of conduction apply for Fire and Electric. You can't harm water by hitting it with lumps of metal. Steel-types have bodies so sturdy, they just kinda knock on each other.

Note: Poké-kata is a generic name I came up with for the fighting styles of Fighting-types.

 

[GigaHand]

Bad vs. Poison: Like you would punch a venomous snake in the chops.

I lol'd.

 

[Master_Sirifax]

Midori no Nebula
you forgot rock

 

[MaxInfernoSakura!]

I could go through every single type matchup and try and justify it. In fact, I've got nothing better to do so why not? =D

Normal:
Good vs. none: They don't have anything special about them. Ergo, no real strengths.
Bad vs. Rock/Steel: Tougher than the average, by quite a degree. Thus, less damage.
No effect vs. Ghost: Lack of ability to detect Ghosts. Once they can sense them, they can hit them (hence Foresight/Odor Sleuth/Scrappy ability)

Fire:
Good vs. Grass/Ice/Bug/Steel: Plants burn easily, Ice melts easily, Bug probably works on the ants + magnifying glass principle, metals (including iron and thus Steel) conducts heat easily.
Bad vs. Fire/Water/Rock/Dragon: How can you burn something already on fire? Or water? Or a stone? As for Dragon, it's dragons. They're magical.

Water:
Good vs. Fire/Ground/Rock: Water puts out fires, ground and rock are eroded by water.
Bad vs. Water/Grass/Dragon: Mixing water with water does nothing whatsoever, grass absorbs water, dragons are dragons. In canon, many of the Dragons have an access to a Water-type move of some kind (even Bagon).

Electric:
Good vs. Water/Flying: Water conducts electricity. As for flying, ask Benjamin Franklin.
Bad vs. Electric/Grass/Dragon: Many Electric-types power up on electricity - see "Volt Absorb" and "Motor Drive". Some feed on electricity (e.g. Magnemite, Electrode). Grass works on a similar principle to Ground's immunity - by being rooted to the earth, they can avoid a lot of damage - iirc a Bellsprout illustrated this beautifully in one of the Indigo League episodes. As for Dragons, magic.
No effect vs. Ground: Electricity is channeled to the earth, making Electric attacks useless.

Grass:
Good vs. Water/Ground/Rock: Plants absorb water and grow on earth. As for Rock, moss.
Bad vs. Fire/Grass/Poison/Flying/Bug/Dragon/Steel: Plants burn. They also compete with each other for sunlight, water and space, which can weaken them severely. As for Poison, blame pesticides. Plants have a limited reach, which limits their effectiveness against airborne opponents (see also Ash's Staravia vs. Gardenia's Cherubi). Bugs eat plants. Dragons are magic (don't worry, this is the last time you'll see that one!). Steel is just plain sturdy - I won't mention this one again since it goes without saying.

Ice:
Good vs. Grass/Ground/Flying/Dragon: Cold weather damages plants. Ice is frozen water and can do just as good a job at soil erosion as liquid water. Flying in a blizzard is suicide. Dragon seems kinda random, but probably just the achilles heel of Pokéverse dragons.
Bad vs. Fire/Water/Ice/Steel: I'd assume that because of the heat of Fire-type Pokémon, Ice attacks melt or vapourise before they hit their targets, reducing their effectiveness. Water-types can (usually) use Ice-type attacks so can probably counter them effectively. Also, have you ever tried banging two ice cubes together? Not a lot happens.

Fighting:
Good vs. Normal/Ice/Rock/Dark/Steel: Compared to Normal-types, they have more physical strength and/or skill, thus the advantage. They also use "honourable" strategies which work well against the underhanded tactics of Dark attacks. As for the rest, they're just that strong.
Bad vs. Poison/Psychic/Flying/Bug: Like you would punch a venomous snake in the chops. The Fighting type's reliance on their physical body makes them (mostly) lack mental training, making Psychic-types a strong counter. Flying-types counter the strength of Fighting-types with their agility and ability to avoid attack. As for Bug, I'd imagine that that their odd movements make them difficult to employ "Poké-kata" against.
No effect vs. Ghost: You can't punch or kick something that doesn't have a physical form.

Posion:
Good vs. Grass: Weed killer. 'Nuff said.
Bad vs. Poison/Ground/Rock/Ghost: I'd imagine poisoning any of those would be very difficult.
No effect vs. Steel: Not as difficult as poisoning metal, though.

Ground:
Good vs. Fire/Electric/Posion/Rock/Steel: Earth smothers fire and doesn't conduct electricity. Toxins don't work well against the earth. Rocks and metals come from the earth.
Bad vs. Grass/Bug: Plants are rooted into the planet whilst many insects can burrow easily.
No effect vs. Flying: Because moves that affect the ground are really useful against the sky. [/sarcasm]

Flying:
Good vs. Grass/Fighting/Bug: Earth vs. sky. 'Nuff said. As for Fighting, see what I said before.
Bad vs. Electric/Rock/Steel: Again, see what I said before.

Psychic:
Good vs. Fighting/Poison: Psychic powers, innit? =P
Bad vs. Psychic/Steel: Part of using psychic powers would be training to resist the psychic power of others.
No effect vs. Dark: Dark-types use very different tactics which allows them to elude Psychic-type attacks altogether. These tactics are uncounterable without special training, which led to the discovery of the Miracle Eye move.

Bug:
Good vs. Grass/Psychic/Dark: Bugs eat plants and many are nocturnal. As for Psychic, look up "Uri Gellar Bush Tucker Trial" on YouTube. =D
Bad vs. Fire/Fighting/Flying/Ghost/Steel: To be honest, these are all self-explanitory imo.

Ghost:
Good vs. Psychic/Ghost: Ghosts use different magic to Psychic-types, giving them an advantage in battle. Being comprised of ectoplasm, they also create their attacks from it, leading them to do more damage to each other.
Bad vs. Dark/Steel: Dark-types are just plain sneaker than Ghosts. Metals are reflective, leading them to deflect most attacks from Ghosts.
No effect vs. Normal: Normal-types can't detect Ghosts to such a degree, they can't be harmed by their attacks.

Dragon:
Good vs. Dragon: Noble creatures, those dragons. This leads them to fight with extra passion when using their attacks. This crosses over to other Pokémon when they use Dragon attacks.
Bad vs. Steel: Knights in shining armour. Enough said.

Dark:
Good vs. Psychic/Ghost: Their moves are made for countering magic. So yeah...
Bad vs. Fighting/Dark/Steel: Tactics used against magic-wielders aren't any good against practitioners of Poké-kata, or other Dark-types. Also, sneaky tactics don't help against armour.

Steel:
Good vs. Ice/Rock: Being sturdier, it just cuts through them.
Bad vs. Fire/Water/Electric/Steel: The laws of conduction apply for Fire and Electric. You can't harm water by hitting it with lumps of metal. Steel-types have bodies so sturdy, they just kinda knock on each other.

Note: Poké-kata is a generic name I came up with for the fighting styles of Fighting-types.

How about for the Flying types immunity to ground? Or Maybe I didn't see it..
here's my explanation:
Flying-immune to Ground: because Ground is the lowest place while sky the highest.

 

[System Error]

Fire:
How can you burn...a stone?

I dunno. The intense flames from a giant fucking fire dragon, maybe? (Actually, that's more of a flaw with a Pokemon.)

Grass:
Plants have a limited reach, which limits their effectiveness against airborne opponents (see also Ash's Staravia vs. Gardenia's Cherubi). Bugs eat plants.

Birds eat plants too (birds of prey notwithstanding)

Ice:
Also, have you ever tried banging two ice cubes together? Not a lot happens.

Actually, yes. Something did happen: one of them chipped, depending on the force I used. Also, consider that banging two rocks together doesn't cause a lot to happen either, but they are normally effective against each other. In other words, that's faulty logic you're using here.

Fighting:
The Fighting type's reliance on their physical body makes them (mostly) lack mental training, making Psychic-types a strong counter.

Uhh...last I checked, pretty much every fighting style relies on using your mind as well as your body. Maybe not ones like military combat or street fighting (not like in the game, mind you), but definitely ones like ancient combat styles and such. A better explanation would be mind over matter.

Ground:
No effect vs. Flying: Because moves that affect the ground are really useful against the sky.

Still doesn't explain how projectiles like Mud-Shot and Bone Club don't work.

Poison:
I'd imagine poisoning [Ground] would be very difficult.

Not true. Haven't you ever heard of land-based sludge, or whatever the term is? For that matter, why isn't poison super effective on water, if we're going by the literal poisoning logic? Last time I checked, toxic waste fucks up the ocean pretty bad.

Psychic:
Good vs. Fighting/Poison: Psychic powers, innit? =P

wat. This makes no sense. It explains nothing. It's good versus fighting because like I said, mind over matter. Poison is more interesting, though. There have been several reported cases of people being able to use mental tricks like self-hypnosis to make it through diseases and the like. It can be anything from a meditation like state to a positive attitude to the sheer will to live. Even the placebo effect can be considered a trick like that. Whatever it is, you're using your mind to help make it through the condition.

Bug:
...many are nocturnal...

So what does this have to do with them hurting Dark types?

Bug:
As for Psychic, look up "Uri Gellar Bush Tucker Trial" on YouTube.

Or, you know...the much simpler explanation of you need to concentrate to use psychic powers, and bugs are a distraction. >_>

Dark:
Also, sneaky tactics don't help against armour.

A leg sweep or anything that kicks out the leg begs to differ (bringing the turtle effect into play - see Bender). Even an eye rake could work, since most good armor has eye holes. What's with associating "dark" with "sneaky"?

Steel:
The laws of conduction apply for Fire and Electric.

Then why isn't electric super-effective on Steel? And for that matter, why don't they take into consideration that only pure metals conduct electricity?

Steel:
You can't harm water by hitting it with lumps of metal.

Or the much simpler rusting principle. Of course, this brings up why water isn't super effective on steel.

I'd point out more flaws, but i'm too tired to at the moment. Some of it is pretty good, though (the knight in shining armor allegory was a surprising one I hadn't thought of).

 

[VeggiePopper]

Well, most of you say that Ghosts inmunity to normal and fighting types is because they lack concentration, but I have a better explanation for that:

Ghosts are supposed to be body-less spirits, so there's no matter involved (that's why Ghastly and Haunter have almost no weight at all). When you use fire, water or a rock to hit them, these attacks are matter, but they have some special kind of energy, so the hits land; instead, normal and fighting attacks are just your bare body (except Hyper Beam, of course), so its pure matter, and as ghosts have no matter, the attacks which lack that special energy pass through the ghosts and don't hit them.

 

[System Error]

Ghosts are supposed to be body-less spirits, so there's no matter involved (that's why Ghastly and Haunter have almost no weight at all). When you use fire, water or a rock to hit them, these attacks are matter, but they have some special kind of energy, so the hits land; instead, normal and fighting attacks are just your bare body (except Hyper Beam, of course), so its pure matter, and as ghosts have no matter, the attacks which lack that special energy pass through the ghosts and don't hit them.

And Aura Sphere. And Focus Blast. And Weather Ball. And Uproar. And Hyper Voice. And Tri Attack. And Swift. And Sonicboom. And Snore. And Selfdestruct. And Explosion. And Judgment. And Egg Bomb. And Present. And...you know what? Forget it. Forget the fact that there are several moves like Wing Attack or Bite that are matter-based but have no signs of special energy too (and ones like Swift or Aura Sphere obviously do have special energy but don't affect the ghost anyway).

Personally, I would like to think normal and ghost not being able to affect each other is a representation of the living and spirits being on different planes of existence. As for fighting...well, you can't exactly hit ghosts, can you? Well, you might, but the most you'll do is make them break up. And speaking of which, this argument breaks up too, when you consider the point above.

I guess the best explanation is not a logical one, but an explanative one: game design that seemed good at first but has become faulty as everything changed around it. The same could be said for pre-evos and incense (they needed to make an excuse as to why breeding before didn't result in the Pokemon being made). In that sense, even if Nintendo decides to get off their asses and make a pre-evo for the one Pokemon that deserves it above all else (Kangaskhan), you'll have to use Incense, so as to preserve the older games from becoming retroactively wrong. And similarly, even though a magical/energy based attack like Hyper Beam or Aura Sphere would make sense to hit a ghost, since they want to preserve their older games saying normal fighting moves don't hurt ghosts, they will continue to not hit. Ignore the fact that Ghost moves were uneffective against Psychic types in the original too - that was likely a programming error, since the manual, show, and the one guy in Sabrina's gym (only in Red and Blue) claim otherwise. So it was more than likely meant to be that way. They may have corrected this to balance out the game - that or it came before the era of obsessive retroactive preserving (seeing as how some moves changed type between RBY and GSC, it wouldn't surprise me), or it was obsessive, in the sense that they wanted to stick to their original plan, but couldn't after the mistake wasn't caught, since it would throw all sorts of things off when it came to link battles.

If it wasn't for that, the arguments above would make sense. But since logic was blown to hell (well, blown to hell more) over a matter of retroactivity, they do not and will not, unless the series gets a reboot. Or to put it one way: the series is collapsing into its own illogical, nonsensical, mistaken, retroactivity-hating, hypocritical asshole.

The lack of concentration, but Foresight/Odor Sleuth being able to detect them argument was an interesting one, I'll admit. How something that loves to fight (Scrappy) lets the moves hit is beyond me. Either way, in lieu of a formal logical explanation, it seems to make more sense than anything else. Certainly a lot more pleasant to think about than the whole thing being a result of some OCD freaks at Game Freak, too.

 

[Shinx3000]

There is one thing the games messed up, some attacks should be able to hit pokemon, but because they are a certian type, they don't. Like... Bonemerang should be able to hit a levitate or flying type, but because its a ground move, it does not affect them the throwing a bone like that should be able to hit them as its a thrown move, not a move using the ground, also mud shot/ mud bomb should do the same.