Type Logic

Type matchups are a common thing to remember across many Pokémon games (and beyond), from the main series to Go. Many of the relationships seem reasonable, making them easy to remember. Others, however, seem to make a little less sense and thus may be a bit harder to keep in mind. Their logic becomes something to be pondered.

I recently discussed one of these relationships with other Pokémon fans. That relationship is Flying-Fighting, which is super effective in the forward direction and not effective in the backward direction. What becomes the question is the logic in how this is so. An "illustrative" image suggests that Fighting-type Pokémon may be scared to death of Flying-type ones, therefore the strong and weak relationship, though this does not appear to jive with the others. I happen to think that the "illustrative" image more resembles a Machoke being bothered and pecked on by a Pidgeotto, which seems to make more sense to me. The discussion was then left hanging.

Though the discussion became inconclusive, there is still the sense that some relationships of types appear to be hard to grasp. The fact that Dragon-type Pokémon can't hit (or at the most are not effective against) Fairy-type ones appear to be extraordinary, given the physical nature of both beings. Ghost types and Dragon types appear to be good at vanquishing others of the same type, and yet their physical entity - or lack of it - does not seem to suggest as such. It may be that these aforementioned relationships are somewhat abstract and therefore challenging to make sense or understand, yet that is the way things are.

Even so, many type relationships are still quite easily understandable. Water types wear away Rock and Ground types, Electric types zap Flying and Water types due to conduction by power lines and fluid, and Flying types munch on Grass types and Bug types, and so on. These relationships, in comparison to the others, appear concrete enough for anyone to agree on, facilitating easy memorization and understanding. These are the ones that cause less doubt for any fan, and I'm sure my fellow fans would agree.

No matter how concrete or abstract they may seem, the relationships are still something that makes the Pokémon games what they are. Altogether, they make up the entire body of type logic that governs how Pokémon interact with one another. Fans and players can make what they will of the type logic, but all its particularities continue to apply regardless.

One year ago: Fun at the Beach... or Water Park