Image: Nintendo / Kotaku
A new Pokémon is out in the wild. Well, an old Pokémon is out in the wild, resprayed to look and feel like a new Pokémon. Yes, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, released for the Switch on November 19, are by all accounts faithful but unimaginative remakes of the 2006 generation-IV DS games. That means they operate by the same playbook, including the Pokémon type chart, which is really just series scripture by now.
Since its very first iteration, Pokémon has been governed by a set of rules akin to rock-paper-scissors. Except, rather than just three elements, it’s contingent on more than a dozen, each of which is strong (super effective) or weak (not very effective) against others. For instance, attack a Charmander (fire-type) with the Water Gun move (water-type), and you’ll deal double damage. But try the Razor Leaf attack (grass-type), and your damage will be slashed in half.
The weakness often cuts both ways: A grass-type Pokémon is similarly open to double damage from Charmander’s fire-type moves. But sometimes it’s a one-way street: Fighting-type moves are super effective against normal-type Pokémon but normal-type moves don’t deal reduced damage against fighting-type Pokémon. It can get complicated.
To that end, it’s essential to commit the Pokémon type chart to memory. Or you could just bookmark this resource: a definitive rundown of Pokémon strengths and weaknesses in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Pokémon Attack Chart
Bug beats grass, dark, psychic but is weak against fairy, fire, fighting, flying, poison, steel, fairyDark beats ghost, psychic but is weak against dark, fairy, fightingDragon beats dragon but is weak against steel and doesn’t affect fairyElectric beats flying, water but is weak against electric, grass, dragon and doesn’t affect groundFairy beats fighting, dark, dragon but is weak against fire, poison, steelFighting beats dark, ice, normal, rock, steel but is weak against bug, fairy, flying, psychic and doesn’t affect ghostFire beats bug, grass, ice, steel but is weak against dragon, fire, rock, waterFlying beats bug, fighting, grass but is weak against electric, rock, steelGhost beats ghost, psychic but is weak against dark and doesn’t affect normalGrass beats water, ground, rock but is weak against bug, dragon, fire, flying, grass, poison, steelGround beats electric, fire, poison, rock, steel but is weak against grass, bug and doesn’t affect flying at allNormal beats absolutely nothing, doesn’t affect ghost at all, and is weak against rock, steelPoison beats fairy, grass but is weak against ghost, ground, rock, poison and doesn’t affect steel at allPsychic beats fighting, poison but is weak against bug, steel and doesn’t affect dark at allRock beats bug, fire, flying, ice but is weak against fighting, ground, steelSteel beats fairy, ice, rock but is weak against electic, fire, steel, waterWater beats fire, ground, rock but is weak against dragon, grass, water
Pokémon Defense Chart
Bug loses to fire, flying, rock but is tough against fighting, grass, groundDark loses to bug, fighting but is tough against dark, ghost and isn’t affected at all by psychicDragon loses to dragon, fairy, ice but is tough against electric, fire, grass, waterElectric loses to ground but is tough against electric, flying, steelFairy loses to poison, steel but is tough against bug, dark, fighting and isn’t affected at all by dragonFighting loses to fairy, flying, psychic but is tough against bug, dark, rockFire loses to ground, rock, water but is tough against bug, fairy, fire, grass, ice, steelFlying loses to electric, ice, rock but is tough against bug, grass, fighting and isn’t affected at all by groundGhost loses to dark, ghost but is tough against bug, poison and isn’t affected at all by fighting, normalGrass loses to bug, fire, flying, ice, poison but is tough against electric, grass, ground, waterGround loses to grass, ice, water but is tough against against poison, rock and isn’t affected at all by electricNormal loses to fighting but isn’t affected at all by ghostPoison loses to ground, psychic but is tough against bug, fairy, grass, poisonPsychic loses to bug, dark, ghost but is tough against fighting, psychicRock loses to grass, ground, fighting, steel, water but is tough against fire, flying, normal, poisonSteel loses to fire, fighting, ground but is tough against (deep breath) bug, dragon, fairy, flying, grass, ice, normal, psychic, rock, steel and isn’t affected at all by poison
At the end of the day, you could likely brute-force your way through most of the story battles with a high-leveled team and a healthy supply of healing items. (EV training can help a ton, too.) But the game is just more fun when you adhere to the type chart to fight most efficiently. Pokémon zips by when you’re taking out every member of an opposing team in one super-effective hit. And knowing the chart like the back of your hand is essential for the post-game multiplayer battles that so widely define the Pokémon community. After all, your opponent probably does.
