Type-effectiveness reasons.

J

Jimlaad43

Razer-Rotom
Joined
Apr 28, 2014
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Different types have different effects on others. For example, the Psychic type is weak against Bug, Dark and Ghost types. However, have you ever thought why?

Here is the place to discuss reasons.

Type chart - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Use the images here to work out which are which.


I'll start with a few that I know, and some I don't.

Psychic is weak to 3 types: Bug, Ghost and Dark. Psychic is based on the human psyche; and the 3 most common human fears are Spiders (Bug), the Dark (Dark) and Paranormal activities (Ghost). Psychic is super-effective on two types, Fighting and Poison. Fighting stems from the phrases Brain vs Brawn and The Pen is mightier than the sword, all which say that fighting is not as good as thinking. Poisons are generally treated by using brains to work out cures, so it makes it stronger.

Grass types are simple. They are weak to Flying and Bug, as Birds and insects often eat plant matter. Poison, Fire and Ice are also used to kill plants. Grass is strong against rock and ground types as plant roots burrow into both the ground and rocks, sometimes breaking them. Grass is also strong against water, as water helps plants to grow.

Some things I don't get. Why is Rock strong against Flying, Bug, Fire and Ice types? Why are Ghost types weak to Ghost type moves?

Feel free to explain any type matchups you know, and ask any you don't understand.
 
Rocks crush bugs, i'm sure i'm not the only one who made a slinglshot to shoot at birds as a kid and used rocks to do so, rocks can put out fires and rocks can break through ice, that's my explanation for the Rock type. Also some type matchups were made just for balancing purposes, they have no explanation behind them.
 
I think Ground types are weak to water because as creatures who live in arid areas with little water the cells in their bodies are very ready to absorb even the smallest amount water to survive. When hit with a vast amount of water their cells absorb too much water and burst due to osmosis.

Fairies weakness to steel and poison come from various European folklore. Mystical beings such as fairies were said to be repelled by cold iron (metal of humans) and it was said in some tales that you can get rid of mischievous fae in your property by leaving a bowl of poisoned milk and honey in your backyard.

Steel is weak to fire because metal easily absorbs heat and melts relatively fast compared to other similarly hard materials like rock. Since steel types are mostly made of metal or have metal skin their body temperature easily rises cooking them as their bodies become a walking oven.

Ghost types are often characterized as childish pranksters but dark types being experienced tricksters and masters of deception aren't easily scared or fooled by ghosts and can trick them back with worse than what a ghost type can cook up. Basically it's a you can't trick a trickster kind of relationship.

Dragons are mostly reptilian so they would be very bothered by the cold from an ice type attack. A dragon type trainer from Hoenn (i think) once said that dragon types are "full of life energy" and since cold is an absence of energy it would sap the life out of them pretty fast. In addition many reptiles live comfortably in hot places like deserts or rain forests which would explain why they resist fire.
 
Norzan said:
AKluthe said:
Norzan said:
Rocks crush bugs, i'm sure i'm not the only one who made a slinglshot to shoot at birds as a kid and used rocks to do so
Click to expand...

Two birds with one stone.
Click to expand...
Damn completely forgot about that one, that's probably the reason why they made Flying weak to Rock.
Click to expand...

Birds also have hollow bones to make them lighter to enable flight. Probably doesn't hold up too well when hit by an object as hard and heavy as a rock.
 
Lets do some more.

Fire: Strong against: Bug (Burns insects), Steel and Ice (Melts them) and Grass (Plant matter is flammable). Weak against: Dragon (Flamethrowing lizards). Affected badly by: Ground (Sand is often used to quell fire), Rock (Ever tried to set fire to a rock?) and Water (Do I need to explain?)

Electric: Strong against: Flying (Electricity is used to clip birds wings) and Water (Water conducts electricity). Ineffective against Ground (Electricity dissipates when it grounds out). Weak to Ground attacks (Grounds the Electricity and releases it).
 
Fire melts ice
Water conducts electricity
Punching rocks breaks them
 
One I've heard for Electric on Flying is that the higher you fly the more likely you are to get struck by lightning.
 
Pretty sure flying is actually weak to rock because hunting small birds with slingshots (using rocks, obviously) is a very common practice.
 
Why is dark weak to bug? I never understood. It's not because bugs can be out at night, because then why not make all nocturnal pokemon good against dark types (Noctowl)?
 
Karpi said:
Why is dark weak to bug? I never understood. It's not because bugs can be out at night, because then why not make all nocturnal pokemon good against dark types (Noctowl)?
Click to expand...

Bugs are representative of some of the greatest heroes of justice sworn to defeat all evildoers!

In case you don't know what I'm referring to:
Kamen_rider_eurodata.png
 
Malva said:
Pretty sure flying is actually weak to rock because hunting small birds with slingshots (using rocks, obviously) is a very common practice.
Click to expand...

Really??? Where? In the US?
 
I think everywhere, but yes, it was popular in the US as far back as the 60s/70s?? Particularly songbirds, quail and pheasants. But then, it's kind of outdated now that shot and BB guns exist and are so much easier (and humane imho). I'm pretty sure it was big in Europe too, though, since my dad is from Germany and that's where he said he grew up doing it.
The adage could also be a contributor too, though.
 
I've always found weird that, while Steel attacks aren't very effective on Water and Electric-type Pokémon, the Steel-type Pokémon themselves receive normal damage from Water and Electric attacks. It'd make a little more sense if the situation was reversed in my opinion.

Also, why Bug-types aren't weak against Water? I mean, poor Bug-types don't need more weaknesses, but I think that them being weak Water would be logical, since bugs are small and most of them are incapable of swimming, so they'd drown. Also, they feel water as sticky surfaces. Although this could be justified with the fact that most Bug Pokémon are larger than real bugs. Joltik would definitively drown if you had a Swampert use Surf on it, nevertheless.
 
Please note: The thread is from 12 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom