Some Pokémon have one type. Most have two. The second type is where the magic happens, because the two charts stack: a weakness on one half and a resistance on the other cancel out, and two resistances become a quarter-damage wall. The best Pokémon type combinations are the pairs where almost everything cancels in your favor.
Here are the pairs worth knowing, what each one is weak to, and the catch that comes with it. All numbers use the current type chart, the 18-type one with Fairy.
Steel / Fairy
Weak to: Fire, Ground. Resists nine types. Immune to Poison and Dragon.
This is the pair people point to first, and for good reason. Steel already resists ten types. Adding Fairy takes away Steel's Fighting weakness (Fairy resists Fighting) and adds a Dragon immunity on top of the Poison one. Fairy's own weaknesses, Poison and Steel, get swallowed: Steel is immune to Poison and resists Steel.
What's left is Fire and Ground. Two weaknesses, both at 2×, and nothing at 4×. Tinkaton and Mawile carry this pair. The catch: Earthquake is one of the most common moves in the game, so it still needs a Flying or Water teammate.
Water / Ground
Weak to: Grass (4×). Resists Fire, Poison, Rock and Steel. Immune to Electric.
Water is weak to Electric and Grass. Ground is immune to Electric and weak to Water, Grass and Ice. Put them together and Electric does nothing, Water and Ice cancel to normal damage, and the only thing left standing is Grass, doubled twice.
One weakness is as good as it gets. The problem is that it is a 4× weakness, and Grass moves are everywhere. Swampert, Quagsire and Gastrodon are all great until a Leaf Storm shows up. Pair any of them with a Fire or Flying type and the pair becomes very hard to break.
Ghost / Dark
Weak to: Fairy. Resists Poison. Immune to Normal, Fighting and Psychic.
Before Fairy existed, this pair had no weaknesses at all. It still has only one. Ghost is immune to Normal and Fighting; Dark is immune to Psychic. Ghost's weaknesses (Ghost and Dark) are resisted by the Dark half, and Dark's weaknesses (Fighting and Bug) are blocked or resisted by the Ghost half.
Sableye and Spiritomb have this pair. They are not strong attackers, but three immunities mean they switch in for free more often than almost anything. Keep a Steel or Poison move on the team for the Fairy types that do get through.
Bug / Steel
Weak to: Fire (4×). Resists eight types. Immune to Poison.
Bug on its own is weak to Fire, Flying and Rock. Steel resists Flying and Rock, so those two cancel. Steel's Fighting and Ground weaknesses are both resisted by Bug, so those cancel too. The one thing that survives is Fire, which both halves are weak to.
Scizor and Forretress are the classic examples. Scizor has been a competitive staple for years because it resists so much and hits hard. The catch is as plain as it gets: one Fire move does four times the damage. Never leave Bug / Steel in against a Fire type.
Steel / Flying
Weak to: Fire, Electric. Resists eight types. Immune to Ground and Poison.
Flying is weak to Electric, Ice and Rock. Steel resists Ice and Rock and cancels them. Steel is weak to Fire, Fighting and Ground. Flying resists Fighting and is immune to Ground. Only Fire and Electric remain.
Skarmory and Corviknight are the big names here, and both are built to wall physical attackers. This is the pair to reach for when your team keeps losing to Ground and Rock moves. Watch Electric: Thunderbolt is common and it hits this pair for double damage.
Dragon / Steel
Weak to: Fighting, Ground. Resists nine types. Immune to Poison.
Dragon is weak to Ice, Dragon and Fairy. Steel resists all three, so every Dragon weakness is wiped out. Steel's Fire weakness is cancelled by Dragon's Fire resistance. Fighting and Ground are what remain.
Dialga and Duraludon carry this pair. It is unusually good against the typical Fairy and Ice moves people bring to beat Dragon types. Like Steel / Fairy, it still needs a teammate that handles Earthquake.
How to use this on your team
A great type pair does not make a great team. What matters is the whole six together.
- Count your 4× weaknesses. Water / Ground, Bug / Steel and Dragon / Flying each carry one. Every 4× weakness on the team needs a teammate that resists that type.
- Look for repeated weaknesses. Three Pokémon weak to Ground is a problem even if each one is fine on its own.
- Check the gaps. The type that nobody on your team resists is the one that will beat you. The team builder finds those types for you and suggests Pokémon that fill them.
If you want to check a pair that isn't on this list, open the type chart, tap two types, and it shows the combined weaknesses, resistances and immunities in one place. Then put your six in the builder and see how they cover each other.