Ground Type Pokémon: Weaknesses and Strengths
Ground type Pokémon have a clear set of weaknesses, resistances and attacking strengths that determine how the Ground type behaves in battle. The basic chart is simple once you separate what a Ground move hits from what a Ground-type Pokémon takes damage from.
This page covers the full matchup for Ground type Pokémon, including what they are weak to, what they resist, what Ground attacks hit super effectively and the dual-type interactions that can turn an ordinary weakness into a four-times weakness or cancel it entirely.
Ground type Pokémon weaknesses and resistances
Ground type Pokémon Image The Pokémon Company International.
Ground type Pokémon are weak to Water, Grass and Ice. They resist Poison and Rock and are immune to Electric. Ground is one of the most valuable attacking types because it hits five types super effectively, including Electric and Steel. It also brings a full Electric immunity on defense, which creates obvious switch-in opportunities.
| Matchup | Types |
|---|---|
| Weak to | Water, Grass and Ice |
| Resists | Poison and Rock |
| Immune to | Electric |
| Super effective against | Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock and Steel |
| Attacks resisted by | Grass and Bug |
| Attacks with no effect | Flying |
The defensive side of the Ground type is easiest to remember by separating weaknesses, resistances and immunities. A weakness means an ordinary move of that type deals double damage before other modifiers. A resistance normally halves damage. An immunity means the attack deals no damage through the standard type interaction.
What Ground type Pokémon are strong against
Attacks used by Ground type Pokémon are super effective against Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock and Steel. That describes the move type, not automatically every move the Pokémon knows. A Ground-type Pokémon using a move from another type follows that other move’s effectiveness instead, which is why coverage moves matter.
Ground type Pokémon attacks are resisted by Grass and Bug, and they have no effect on Flying. Knowing the resisted targets is just as useful as memorising strengths because it tells you when to switch moves instead of throwing a powerful attack into a bad matchup.
How dual typing changes Ground type Pokémon
Secondary typing can dramatically change the normal answer for Ground type Pokémon. If both types share a weakness, the incoming attack becomes four-times effective. If one type is weak while the other resists, the modifiers cancel to neutral damage. An immunity normally overrides the ordinary weakness or resistance calculation because multiplying the damage by zero leaves nothing to deal.
Flying is the matchup that prevents Ground from being completely dominant. Standard Ground attacks do nothing to Flying, so Ground users often carry Rock or Ice coverage. This is why checking the complete typing is safer than seeing Ground and immediately choosing the textbook counter.
Using Ground type Pokémon in a team
The best way to use the Ground type is to think in terms of jobs rather than simply matching colours on the type chart. A team may want the type for an immunity, for a resistance that creates a safe switch, or because its attacks cover an opponent the rest of the team struggles to damage.
Coverage matters in the other direction too. If your Ground Pokémon repeatedly attract one of their standard counters, a teammate that punishes Water, Grass and Ice attacks or Pokémon can make the whole group easier to use. Building around predictable interactions is more reliable than expecting one Pokémon to answer every matchup.
Common mistakes with Ground type Pokémon matchups
A common mistake is treating a Pokémon’s own type as if every move it uses shares that type. These Pokémon can learn attacks from many other types, and those moves use their own offensive effectiveness. The Pokémon’s typing still matters defensively, and same-type moves normally receive STAB, but the two ideas should not be mixed together.
Another mistake is forgetting that abilities and special mechanics can change a matchup. Levitate can provide a Ground immunity, abilities such as Flash Fire can alter Fire interactions, and game-specific mechanics can temporarily change a Pokémon’s type. The standard chart remains the starting point, but the battle state gets the final word.
One final point about the Ground type is that type effectiveness and STAB are separate. A Ground-type move used by a Ground-type attacker normally receives STAB, while super-effective or resisted damage is determined by the target. That is why a neutral STAB move can sometimes be stronger than a weaker coverage move even when the coverage move is super effective.
The official Pokémon battling guide covers weaknesses, resistances and dual-type modifiers. The official Pokédex entry for Sandshrew shows a Ground-type example and its listed weaknesses.
