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Best Pokemon Games for a Ground Type Run

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Image result for ground pokemon

Update 12/31/2019: This article now includes Sword and Shield

A top-tier Monotype Run (or Single Type) in Pokemon would be the Ground Type.  There are few types that have a better record in delivering solid team after solid team in the main line games.  Even going back to Pokemon Red and Blue you can craft a team that is sturdy and strong like its namesake.

What makes Ground Type such a fun run to do is the plentiful type combos that neutralize two of its three weaknesses (i.e., Water, Grass, Fire, Dragon, and Steel).  There are a lot of Water/Ground Pokemon while Steel and Dragon duos make a surprisingly strong showing in the later games.  Ironically, some of these duos trade these resistances for 4x weaknesses!  Once you have one of these combos you can pair it with another Pokemon and finish off the last weakness easily.

Only a few games have a poor Ground Type run so in this article, we’re going to cover which games are the very best for a Ground Type run and which Pokemon you should look out for.

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to disregard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed.
  5. Mega Pokémon count as long as you Mega Evolve them as soon as they appear on the battlefield.
  6. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

Best Games
The Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos, Alola, and Galar games all have very nice teams.  The Sun and Moon games you’ll have to wait a little while before your first Pokemon (Alolan Diglett) but it still has a nice set with Palossand being a great new addition.  I also like the “classic” feel in Pokemon Gold with Quagsire, the Nidos, and Gligar making a strong team.  Pokemon ORAS also gives a lot of a late game Ground diversity like Excadrill and it’s nice to have Mudkip right from the getgo.

Subjectively, the best games are probably Pokemon Platinum, Pokemon XY, and Pokemon SWSH.  This is thanks to their huge diversity, early availability and more importantly, Hippowdon!  We’ll talk about Hippowdon in a moment but this hippo makes Ground Type runs extra fun and extra sweet.  Hippowdon has Sand Stream which triggers a sandstorm, because of which you can easily use the Pokemon from these games to take advantage of the storm and go to town on your opponents.  It’s fun!

Worst Games
I would say Pokemon BW and B2W2 are probably the worst games in the series for a Ground Type Run.  In BW there are less than six unique Pokemon on your team and in B2W2 the first Pokemon you can catch is after the second gym. I should say though that all the BW games still neutralize their weaknesses despite the flaws.  The Kanto games are also just okay.  Sure the Nidos are there at the beginning to help you out but after that you have a lot of Ground/Rocks to train which compounds on your Water and Grass weaknesses.  It’s doable but be prepared for some headaches!

Ground Teams in Pokemon Games

Red/Blue/Yellow and FireRed/LeafGreen
Ideal Team: Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhydon, Onix, Dugtrio, Sandslash (Blue, LeafGreen, and Yellow)
Optional: Graveler
First Pokémon: Nidorans in Route 22
Covers weaknesses? No, Water and Ice are not neutralized.

Gold/Silver/Crystal and HeartGold/SoulSilver
Ideal Team: Quagsire, Dugtrio, Rhydon, Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Mammoswine/Piloswine, Gligar (G, HG)
Optional: Graveler, Onix, Donphan (G, C, HG), Sandslash (G, C, HG or by slotmachines in S and SS)
First Pokémon: Geodude via the southern route of Route 46 before the first gym and in Crystal you can catch a Phanpy and Geodude on Route 46.
Via Pokewalker Geodude (Rugged Road in 0+ steps), Onix (Rugged Road in 4000+ steps or Dim Cave in 1000+ steps), the Nidorans (Refreshing Field in 500+ steps), and Wooper (Beautiful Beach in 0+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Regardless of your version, all weaknesses are covered

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphrie
Ideal Team: Swampert, Rhydon, Flygon/Garchomp (ORAS), Krookodile (ORAS), Camerupt, Excadrill (ORAS)
Optional: Graveler, Donphan, Claydol, Whiscash/Seismitoad (ORAS)/Gastrodon (ORAS), Dugtrio (ORAS), Groudon (Ruby and OR)
First Pokémon: Mudkip via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
Ideal Team: Torterra, Hippowdon, Garchomp, Gastrodon/Quagsire/Whiscash, Gliscor (Platinum)/Steelix, Mammoswine (Platinum)
Optional: Graveler, Onix, Wormadam
First Pokémon: Turtwig via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Black/White and Black2/White2
BW Ideal Team: Excadrill, Seismitoad, Stunfisk, Krookodile, Golurk
First Pokémon: Drilbur via Wellspring Cave after first gym
Cover weaknesses?  Yes

B2W2 Ideal Team: Krookodile, Camerupt (W2)/Golurk, Flygon, Gliscor, Excadrill, Claydol
Optional: Sandslash, Onix
First Pokémon: Onix and Drilbur via Relic Passage (Castelia City side) after the second gym
Cover weaknesses? Yes

XY
Ideal Team: Hippowdon, Nidoqueen/Nidoking, Gliscor, Golurk, Steelix, Garchomp
Optional: Diggersby, Marowak, Dugtrio, Rhydon, Quagsire, Graveler, Stunfisk, Whiscash, Mamoswine, Sandslash, Krookodile, Wormadam
First Pokémon: Bunnelby via Route 2, before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and you can even interchange some of these pokemon and still cover weaknesses fine.

Sun/Moon and UltraSun/UltraMoon
SM Ideal Team: Dugtrio, Gastrodon, Mamoswine (scan), Palossand, Krookodile, Garchomp
Optional: Mudsdale, Flygon, Rhydon (scan),
First Pokémon: Diglett in Verdant Cavern after completion of first trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Dugtrio, Gastrodon, Mamoswine (scan), Palossand, Krookodile, Garchomp
Optional: Mudsdale, Flygon, Rhydon (scan), Claydol (UM), Golurk (US), Swampert (scan), Torterra (scan), Onix (scan)
First Pokémon: Diglett in Verdant Cavern after completion of first trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Sword/Shield
Ideal Team: Flygon, Hippowdon, Golurk, Gastrodon, Excadrill, Sandaconda
Optional: Diggersby, Mudsdale, Onix, Whiscash, Steelix, Quagsire, Runerigus, Seismitoad, Rhyperior (Raid), Dugtrio, Claydol, Stunfisk, Mamoswine
First Pokémon:  In the Rolling Fields, you will find Bunnelby in the overworld in every weather except Snowstorm and Thunderstorm; additionally, you will always find them by random encounter.  You can also find Nincada, Mudbray, Baltoy, Golett, and Diggersby in random encounters throughout the Wild Area.  They are most common in Sandstorms and Intense Sun (although Sandstorms won’t be unlocked until after the third gym).  Look for Swinub when it’s Snowing, Barboach fishing in South Lake Miloch, and Tympole and Wooper in West Lake Axewell.  You can also find Ground Pokemon for Den 16/52 in Rolling Fields for Max Raid Battles including the aforementioned Pokemon as well as Diglett and Yamask.  There’s also a chance to find a Trapinch by Max Raid battles in Rolling Fields.  This is before the first gym.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

MVP (Most Valuable Pokemon)

Image result for gastrodon
Water/Ground Pokemon

The Water/Ground combo is one of the best type duos in Pokemon.  Ground’s immunity to Electric attacks and Water’s resistances to itself and Ice make it an acceptable addition to any team.  Water/Ground Pokemon are also quite common and are available pre-Elite Four in every game after Pokemon Yellow except FRLG and B2W2.  I just love these guys in general.  They have a great move diversity and they have some fantastic abilities like Gastrodon’s Storm Drain and Quagsire’s Water Absorb (which further nullify that Water weakness).

Your big issue is that 4x weakness to Grass attacks.  THANKFULLY, and surprisingly, every Pokemon game has a Ground type that neutralizes its Grass weakness.  Whether it’s a Nidoran, Gliscor, or Excadrill, you’ll find a Pokemon that can cover your bases.

Available in: All games except Pokemon RBY, FRLG, B2W2

Image result for torterraImage result for swampert

Torterra and Swampert

A lot of starters evolve into dual types and thankfully, you’ll have a few games with a Ground-based starter.  Enter Mudkip and Turtwig.  Both starters hail from vastly different regions but evolve into your Ground Pokemon.  They also give you handy resistances to a couple of your weaknesses.  Of the two, Torterra seems to get the short end of the stick as there are a lot of weaknesses to watch out for but it makes up for it with its sweet design and recovery moves.  If you have ORAS, you can mega evolve your Swampert which is a nice bonus.  It’s also great that both of these starters are in games with diverse Ground Pokemon so you took your first easy step for your fantastic Ground team!  For you USUM players, use Island Scan and find these respective Pokemon in your game.  How’s that for awesome sauce?

Available in: Pokemon RSE, DPP, ORAS, and USUM (Island Scan)

Trapinch artwork by Ken SugimoriGible artwork by Ken Sugimori

Ground/Dragon Pokemon

Starting in Generation 3 onwards you can find a Ground/Dragon Pokemon in every main series game except FRLG, HGSS, and BW (a track record only exceeded by Ground/Water).  Although the 4x weakness to Ice stinks, the resistances to Fire and neutralization of Water and Grass are appreciated.  Flygon’s Levitate and Garchomp’s Sand Veil are both useful abilities for your team.  Garchomp is also the strongest, non-Legendary, non-Mega, Ground Pokemon so you’ll have the powerhouse on your team.

The real reason why they should be on your team though is there incredible move diversity, especially for move tutoring and TMs.  They can learn at least a dozen strong moves from different types ranging from Crunch to Flamethrower, from Bug Buzz to Shadow Claw, and from Thunderpunch to Steel Wing.  This is essential for your team!  You may be packing a lot of Rock, Steel, and Fighting moves but you’ll be severely lacking in other categories.  Definitely get one of these two.  They’re awesome.

However, besides the 4x Ice weakness, the two other major issues with these guys are their mid to late game availability and their evolution delay.  You’ll be waiting quite awhile before you get some good moves so expect to carry these guys and babysit them for awhile.

Available in: RSE (Flygon), DPP (Garchomp), B2W2 (Flygon), XY (Flygon and Garchomp), SM (Garchomp), USUM (Garchomp and Flygon), and SWSH (Flygon)

Image result for hippowdon

Hippowdon

I’m highly bias towards Hippowdon so take this entry for what you will but I think this beautiful creature is a very important member in any Ground team.  Sand Stream automatically generates a Sandstorm upon battle entry and, if you’re playing before Generation 6, will go on forever until it’s changed for a different weather.  As such, you can incorporate many Ground Pokemon’s abilities that rely on Sandstorm into your team very nicely!  Garchomp and Gliscor have Sand Veil, and Excadrill has Sand Force and Sand Rush.  Sandstorm’s boost towards Rock’s defenses makes it appealing and you can whittle down your opponent’s teams!

Hippowdon does fantastically well as a tank, I have trained one several times in competitive teams for this reason alone.  Teach it Roar and combine it with Stealth Rock via TM in Gen 4 and you have an annoying beast!  Crunch and a STAB Earthquake rounds things off well with your Pokemon.  Hippowdon is also among the strongest Ground Pokemon so it’s going to be pulling its weight well.

Hippowdon does suffer from relatively low game occurrences so the chances of you running into one are unfortunately slim.  Hippowdon additionally suffers from low movepool diversity.  This is not surprising given its monotype nature.  Speaking of which, Hippowdon can’t bestow any additional resistances or immunities to your team so the other members will have to pick up the slack.

But come on, Sand Stream, it more than makes up for it.

Available in: DPP, XY, SWSH

Steelix artwork by Ken SugimoriExcadrill artwork by Ken SugimoriImage result for alolan dugtrio

Ground/Steel Pokemon

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that I placed the Steel type on this list.  They are super defensive and eliminate Ground’s two of three weaknesses without trading it with a 4x weakness.  They are also very common in the later games so expect to find one from Generation 6 and on.  You can even catch Steelix in some of those games!  You don’t need another game to trade an Onix with a Steel Coat, you can get one yourself!  I find this very curious but I’m not complaining!  Alolan Diglet is also among the first Ground Pokemon you can get in the Sun and Moon games so you’re starting strong with a fast attacker.

They’re all nice in their own way.  Excadrill is probably the MVP of the three due to its sandstorm-related abilities and really powerful attack.  The main thing that’s holding all three of them back would be their limited movepool.  Mainly Fighting, Dark, Ground, Rock, and Steel moves.  Which is not bad but a lot of other Ground Pokemon can learn them.  If you have a Steelix for Sword and Shield teach it Body Press as it has a maaaaaaaaasive Defense stat and can use the move extremely well!

Available in: DPP (Steelix), BW and B2W2 (Excadrill), XY (Excadrill and Steelix), ORAS (Excadrill), SM and USUM (Dugtrio), SWSH (Steelix, Stunfisk, Excadrill)

Image result for Nidoking and nidoqueen

Nidoqueen and Nidoking

Bless these rabbit-like, therapsids, for they are glorious and fun to train.  Besides the obvious neutralization of Grass weakness, the Nidos are fantastic as they are among the best Ground Pokemon for move diversity, rivaled only by the likes of Garchomp, Flygon, and Golurk.  They also have decent Special Attack stats, something that other Ground Pokemon lack, and thus are equipped for that Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, or Flamethrower you have prepared for them.  Of course, a Poison STAB means you can handle your Grass Pokemon well (and it pairs nicely with Quagsire in the Johto games) (and don’t forget about Nidoking’s Megahorn too!).

Your biggest drawback is their rarity which almost kicked them off this list.  Although the Nidos save the Kanto games from being almost unplayable for a Ground Type Run, they don’t make many other appearances.  Thankfully, GSC and especially XY are great Ground Type runs and its partially thanks for their inclusions.  Depending on your game, you may additionally have trouble finding a Moon Rock to evolve your respective Nidoran so be prepared for that.

Available in: RBY, GSC, FRLG, HGSS, XY

Image result for krookodile

Krookodile

Krookodile has one of the highest occurrences of Ground Type Pokemon which is the biggest reason it’s on this list.  It’s also here because of its strength and diversity.  Besides it’s own STAB moves, it can learn strong Dragon, Fighting, Water, Ghost, and Poison moves giving it diversity that other Ground Pokemon lack.  It’s Intimidate and Moxie abilities are also top notch and sets itself well for a great revenge killer or wall.  Although that Dark pairing won’t save your team from any weaknesses, it’s still nice to have especially when you have to deal with Psychics or Ghosts.

Available in: BW, B2W2, ORAS, XY, SM, and USUM

Best Monotype Runs for Pokemon X and Y

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If I may be frank, Pokémon X and Y are among the best (if not the best) games to do a Monotype (or Single Type) Run.  Pick almost any type and you’re guaranteed a fantastic time, even Ice and Dragon are doable to a degree.  With over 400 Pokemon available in these games lot of types neutralize their weaknesses and can be caught before the first gym.  So what would your team look like? Let’s take a look but first…

Rules

  1.   You can only catch and train Pokémon of a certain type.  Once you capture your first Pokemon of that type, disregard any previous Pokemon on your team.
  2.   If a Pokémon evolves to said type you may train it but evolve it ASAP.
  3.   No trading allowed
  4.   If a Pokémon changes to said type via Mega Evolution you are allowed to train it provided you Mega evolve it every time.
  5.   Only Pokémon caught before the Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

The Best Types

To give a cop-out answer, almost all the types in these games are great for a Monotype Run.  I’m serious, pick a type and you’re bound to have a good time.  But what if you want the very best? In my opinion, the best of the best are Flying, Water, and Fighting.  What these three types have in common are high diversity of strong Pokemon.  You can have multiple variations of each type and easily cover their weaknesses.  The hardest thing about their runs is picking your final six. I myself did a Fighting Run recently and it was tough for me to narrow it down.  You have Chesnaught, Lucario, Toxicroak, Hawlucha, and so forth who can give you a great diversity of moves. Water Pokemon can give you a healthy team for role diversity in terms of defense, support, and attack (and Greninja is always nice).  Flying Type also has a lot of gems, most notably Gliscor, Charizard, and Honchkrow. All of these types are available very early and consistently give you new Pokemon to play with as you progress.

The Worst Types


Like I said before, even the “worst” types in the game are still not bad, especially compared to the other games.  But the worst would probably be Rock as it’s available relatively late compared to the other types.  The first pokemon you can catch, Dwebble and Binnacle, are available shortly before you get to the second gym.  Still though, this may be one of the best Rock Type runs in Pokemon due to the sheer abundance and diversity of them.  You neutralize your weaknesses right off the bat thanks to the aforementioned Dwebble and Binnacle! So how about that?  Also, when you arrive to Glittering Cave, shortly afterwards, you can catch a Solrock, Lunatone, Onix, and a Rhyhorn! So you go from drought to deluge in almost an instant!  Also, you can’t go wrong with Tyrantrum.

Dragon, Ice, Ghost, and Fire would be the other subpar types in these games but still, not too bad.  For Dragon Pokemon, you get your first Pokemon, whether a Charmander or Axew, after the first gym and you have some weaknesses to watch out for.  Still, this is a pretty solid team. Hydreigon, Garchomp, potentially Mega-Charizard X and Dragalge, and others give you a nice solid, strong team to fight with!  Fire Pokemon also have weaknesses to Rock and, for Y, Water but at least you have Fennekin as your starter so you can play Fire right from the get go.

Ice Pokemon have all their weaknesses covered which is a shock, but your first Pokemon, Eevee, won’t be acquired until after your first gym.  The same goes for Ghost Pokemon who are also available after the first gym but have their weaknesses covered. On Route 6 you can catch a Nincada and a Honedge at the same time which is nice.

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Vespiquen/Yanmega, Shedinja, Scolipede, Crustle, Heracross (Y), Durant
Optional: Beedrill, Butterfree, Viviilon, Ninjask, Masquerain, Pinsir (X), Shuckle, Scyther, Wormadam and its various forms, Mothim
First Pokémon: Scatterbug via Route 2 and Weedle (X)/Caterpie (Y) for Route 2 as well but you can catch them both in both versions at Santalune Forest.
Weaknesses Covered?  Regardless of versions, you’re good!

Dark
Ideal Team: Greninja, Pangoro/Scrafty, Malamar, Honchkrow, Houndoom (X)/Bisharp, Drapion/Skuntank
Optional: Crawdaunt, Sharpedo, Absol, Umbreon, Sableye, Liepard (Y)/Mightyena (X), Krookodile, Weavile, Tyranitar (Y), Hydreigon, Zoroark
First Pokémon: Froakie via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Dragon
Ideal Team: Goodra, Dragonite, Mega Charizard X (X)/Dragalge (Y), Tyrantrum, Garchomp, Hydreigon
Optional: Flygon, Noivern, Haxorus, Salamence, Altaria, Druddigon, Mega-Ampharos
First Pokémon: Axew via Connecting Cave after the first gym or Charmander in Lumiose City after the first gym for Pokémon X.
Weaknesses Covered? No, X is weak to Dragon.  Y is weak to Dragon and Ice.

Electric
Ideal Team: Heliolisk, Lanturn, Rotom, Magnezone, Mega-Ampharos, Stunfisk
Optional: Manectric (Y), Jolteon, Pachirisu, Raichu, Emolga, Dedenne, Electrode, all the other Rotom forms
First Pokémon: Pikachu via Santalune Forest, before 1st gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Fairy
Ideal Team: Azumarill, Gardevoir, Wigglytuff, Dedenne, Mawile, Granbull
Optional: Aromatisse (Y)/Slurpuff (X), Sylveon, Mr. Mime, Carbink, Klefki, Florges
First Pokémon: Azurill via Route 3 before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Fighting
Ideal Team: Chesnaught, Lucario, Gallade, Pangoro/Scrafty, Toxicroak, Hawlucha
Optional: Medicham, Mienshao, Machoke, Hariyama, Throh (Y)/Sawk (X), Heracross (Y), Poliwrath, Gurdurr
First Pokémon: Chespin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Fire
Ideal Team: Delphox, Talonflame, Charizard, Pyroar, Houndoom (X), Chandelure
Optional: Simisear, Flareon, Magcargo, Torkoal, Heat Rotom
First Pokémon: Fennekin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? No, in Pokemon X, Rock is not neutralized.  In Pokemon Y, Water and Rock are not neutralized.

Flying
Ideal Team: Talonflame/Charizard, Gyarados, Gliscor, Salamence/Dragonite, Aerodactyl, Honchkrow
Optional: Ninjask, Mothim, Butterfree, Swanna, Pelipper, Swellow, Vivillon, Jumpluff, Swoobat, Crobat, Drifblim, Emolga, Hawlucha, Sigilyph, Staraptor, Mantine, Fan Rotom, Skarmory, Noivern, Pidgeot, Altaria, Scyther, Yanmega, Delibird
First Pokémon: Pidgey, Scatterbug, and Fletchling via Route 2
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and in more ways than one.  You can have several different team matchups and still have your bases covered.

Ghost
Ideal Team: Shedinja, Aegislash, Rotom, Golurk, Sableye, Chandelure
Optional: Haunter, Phantump/Pumpkaboo, Drifblim, Banette
First Pokémon: Nincada and Honedge via Route 6 after the first gym.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Grass
Ideal Team: Chesnaught, Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Exeggutor, Ludicolo, Mow Rotom
Optional: Wormadam, Simisage, Roserade, Gogoat, Vileplume, Bellossom, Jumpluff, Leafeon, Victreebel, Carnivine, Amoonguss, Phantump/Pumpkaboo, Abomasnow
First Pokémon: Chespin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Ground
Ideal Team: Hippowdon, Nidoqueen/Nidoking, Gliscor, Golurk, Steelix, Garchomp
Optional: Diggersby, Marowak, Dugtrio, Rhydon, Quagsire, Graveler, Stunfisk, Whiscash, Mamoswine, Sandslash, Krookodile, Wormadam
First Pokémon: Bunnelby via Route 2, before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and you can even interchange some of these pokemon and still cover weaknesses fine.

Ice
Ideal Team: Aurorus, Frost Rotom, Cloyster (Y)/Lapras, Mamoswine, Jynx, Abomasnow
Optional: Glaceon, Beartic, Avalugg, Weavile, Vanilluxe, Delibird, Cryogonal
First Pokémon:  Eevee via Trade in Camphrier Town after the first gym.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Normal
Ideal Team: Snorlax, Pidgeot, Tauros/Miltank, Pyroar, Heliolisk, Wigglytuff
Optional: Diggersby, Linoone, Swellow, Staraptor, Dodrio, Dunsparce, Delcatty, Farfetch’d, Furfrou, Furret, Audino, Smeargle, Kecleon, Exploud, Zangoose, Bibarel, Fearow, Watchog, Chatot, Noctowl, Kangaskhan, Spinda, Ursaring, Lickilicki, Ditto
First Pokémon: Bunnelby, Fletchling, Zigzagoon, and Pidgey via Route 2, before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Poison
Ideal Team: Venusaur, Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Drapion/Skuntank, Scolipede, Toxicroak, Dragalge (Y)/Tentacruel
Optional: Beedrill, Roserade, Vileplume, Swalot, Crobat, Seviper, Haunter, Arbok, Amoonguss, Garbodor, Ariados, Qwilfish
First Pokémon: Weedle via Route 2 in X or Santalune Forest in Y.  Both before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Psychic
Ideal Team: Delphox, Gardevoir, Gallade, Malamar, Slowbro, Sigilyph
Optional: Kadabra, Meowstic, Medicham, Grumpig, Lunatone, Solrock, Swoobat, Espeon, Chimecho, Mr. Mime, Wobbuffet, Reuniclus, Exeggutor, Jynx, Gothitelle, Starmie (X)
First Pokémon: Fennekin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Rock
Ideal Team: Tyrantrum, Barbaracle, Crustle, Aerodactyl, Probopass/Aggron (X), Tyranitar (Y)/Lunatone
Optional: Solrock, Aurorus, Relicanth, Rhydon, Onix, Boldore, Carbink, Corsola, Graveler, Magcargo, Shuckle, Sudowoodo
First Pokémon: Dwebble and Binacle via Rock Smash in Ambrette Town.  This is well into the game but is still before the second gym. Get the Rock Smash TM from the girl outside of the Aquarium.  You can then get Rhyhorn, Onix, Solrock, and Lunatone almost immediately afterwards in Glittering Cave with the fossils following shortly afterwards.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Steel
Ideal Team: Lucario, Probopass/Aggron (X), Aegislash, Mawile, Ferrothorn, Durant
Optional: Wormadam, Klefki, Bisharp, Magnezone, Skarmory, Steelix
First Pokémon: Burmy via Route 3, before the first gym.  Don’t worry, you’ll get a Riolu soon after via Route 22, also before the first gym.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes and in more ways than one. Ground is covered by Ferrothorn, Durant, and Skarmory.  Fire by Probopass/Aggron. Fighting by Mawile, Durant, Wormadam, and Skarmory.

Water
Ideal Team: Greninja, Clawitzer (X)/Cloyster (Y), Gyarados, Slowbro, Quagsire, Ludicolo
Optional: Simipour, Bibarel, Crawdaunt, Seaking, Sharpedo, Golduck, Blastoise, Pelipper, Swanna, Wailord, Tentacruel, Starmie (X), Qwilfish, Lapras, Seadra, Relicanth, Vaporeon, Mantine, Octillery, Lanturn, Corsola, Gorebyss, Huntail, Alomomola, Whiscash, Poliwrath, Floatzel, Barbaracle, Azumarill, Wash Rotom
First Pokémon: Froakie via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and in more ways than one, you can interchange some of these pokemon for others and still be fine.

The Pokemon Types with the Best Move Diversity of 70 BP or Greater

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TL:DR-I looked at every fully evolved, non-legendary, Pokémon and noted who can learn moves with 70 BP or greater. I then divided the Pokémon up to their respective types to determine which types had the greatest move diversity. Dragon type Pokémon had the greatest move diversity averaging 11 types per Dragon Pokémon, followed by Fighting (10.39), and Normal (9.93). Grass Pokémon had the least diversity learning on average 6.67 types per Grass Pokémon followed by Electric (6.92), then Bug (6.95). On average, 99% of Pokémon from each type can learn a Normal type move of 70 BP or greater. The next most common type was Ground and Steel (61%). On the opposite end, on average 20% of Pokémon from each type could learn a Fairy move of 70 BP or greater, followed by Dragon (25%), then Flying (28%).

I think a lot of Pokémon fans, whether consciously or subconsciously, are aware how some Pokémon types have a greater move diversity than others. Grass Pokémon don’t seem to expand beyond Grass and Poison moves, Ground Pokémon can learn a lot of Rock moves and vice versa, and Fighting types can learn a lot of elemental punches. But I was wondering, well, which Pokémon does have the greatest move diversity? And furthermore, what are the most common types a Pokémon will likely to learn? This is the question that my project hopefully answers.

Or at least begin to answer because there are a lot of ways to document a Pokémon’s movepool. Going through every different move would be exhausting on my part and will probably lead to a not very satisfying answer. To streamline the process I look at only moves with a 70 base power (BP) or greater a Pokémon can legitimately learn through Leveling Up, TM, Egg, Tutor, or even Transfer. I want to focus on attacking moves as that was what I was most interested in and I wanted to additionally focus on strong moves as most of the time, on a general playthrough of the games, people would probably focus on these moves and get rid of the weaker ones. So this takes away obvious moves like Scratch to Aerial Ace but I also weeded out certain multi-hit moves like Double Slap (which doesn’t guarantee 70+ power), Rollout (which takes time to get to 70+) but left in Dual Chop (as 40 x 2 = 80). I also did not take into account a Pokémon’s ability (like Technician) as that would cause additional headaches and would wobble the playing field a bit.

I also eliminated Legendary Pokémon as they can heavily tilt certain types to much higher type distribution. Types like Dragon, Psychic, and Flying can get an unfair advantage from these heavy hitters while Poison and Bug Pokémon are more likely to miss out. Eliminating these Legendary Pokémon gives us a better idea what the “average” Pokémon can learn.

The information was provided from Pokémon Database with all the information coming from Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon.

Results

Type Versatility Chart Website (EXCEL Download)

Check out the document for the detailed reports but basically, about 99% of Pokémon from each type can learn a Normal move with 70 BP or greater (this is thanks to moves like Façade, Slash, Hyper Beam and more). Much further behind, with very similar scores, is Steel and Ground with 61%. Steel type moves get a boost from random moves like Steel Strike or Iron Head that seem to pepper random Pokémon. 74% of Flying Pokémon can learn a Steel move thanks to Steel Wing (and in fact, if it wasn’t for the Bug Pokémon, that percentage would be much higher). The main reason why Steel is so popular is Iron Tail which has an incredible range of Tutor-potential Pokémon. Meanwhile, Ground type is popular thanks to the ubiquitous Earthquake TM. If you’re a large Pokémon, chances are, you can learn Earthquake! Smaller Pokémon can learn Dig and the new Stomping Tantrum has an incredible range of Tutor-potential Pokémon. Random Pokémon like Delcatty, Komala, and Dodrio can now learn strong Ground moves because of which.

On the flip side, about 20% of Pokémon from each type can learn a Fairy move; this is probably because Fairy was introduced only recently and there are only three moves, Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, and Play Rough that are common enough for a Pokémon to learn. Psychic types have the second highest rate of Fairy moves at 42% which is abysmal! So if it feels like you’re having a hard time trying to find a Pokémon that learns a Fairy move, that’s not you, it’s the games. The second rarest move, Dragon, comes in at 25% because of the extreme rarity of its moves (that are not unique to legendaries). The main reason why they’re peaking at 25% is because of Outrage and Dual Chop. Outrage can be learned via Move Tutor and TM by Pokémon with anger issues; Dual Chop can be learned via Move Tutor by Pokémon with fists. To further illustrate my point, 57% of Fighting Pokémon can learn a Dragon Move of 70 BP or greater primarily because of Dual Chop. Bringing up the rear, we have some Pokémon that can learn Dragon Pulse via Move Tutor or TM like Clawitzer.

Dragon Pokémon had the highest move diversity by far with an average of 11 moves per Pokémon while Grass had the fewest with 6.67 per Pokémon. Let’s take a look at each of these types going from most to least diversity along with each type’s best and worst Pokémon.

Dragon

Average Moves per Dragon: 11

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Steel at 100%

Lowest Type: Fairy at 18%

Most Diverse: Drampa with 16 moves

Least Diverse: Kingdra with 7 moves

Thoughts: Dragon Pokémon being the #1 most diverse type I think should not surprise many people (Drampa is the #1 most diverse Pokémon according to the rules here, we’ll see it again in the Normal section!). They are very strong and they aren’t specified for one gimmick or purpose. So again and again we see Ground, Fire, Rock, and Fighting moves dominate the Dragon Pokémon. The fact that they broke 11 moves as a mean is pretty amazing and only four of the 17 Dragon Pokémon have less than 10 different type moves. They are powerful creatures that can control powerful forces.

Most interesting is Dragon’s 100% rating for Steel moves; what’s going on here? Well a few things give Dragon a perfect Steel rating. First is Steel Wing and the plethora of Dragon/Flying Pokémon. Additionally, Iron Tail makes a strong showing along with Iron Head. This is fantastic given Dragon’s Fairy weakness. Many times, a Dragon can learn more than one Steel Move which further illustrates how diverse they are.

It’s pretty funny how only 18% of Dragons can learn a Fairy move. Man do they dislike the Fae! I mean, Fairy IS the rarest type but still. I guess not many Dragons like to Play Rough or are feeling Dazzling Gleam. Only three Dragons can learn a Fairy move; Altaria, Drampa, and Dragalge. I’m not surprised about Altaria or Drampa but Dragalge? Really??? But yes! They get it by, of all things, breeding with an Azumaril who knows Play Rough. Hilarious to think they’re compatible!

 

Fighting

Average Moves per Fighting: 10.39

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Rock at 100%

Lowest type: Fairy at 4%

Most Diverse: Gallade and Pangoro with 15 moves

Least Diverse: Hitmontop with 5

Thoughts: Another 100%? How exciting! But yes, every Fighting Pokémon can learn a Rock move thanks to Rock Slide which works well against the birds. Additionally, Fighting has such a superb move distribution and not just because of the elemental punches. Earthquake, Dual Chop, and Throat Chop are just some examples. In fact, 82% of Fighting Pokémon can learn a Poison move thanks to Poison Jab.

Again, no surprise on the rarity of Fairy moves, only Gallade can learn a Fairy move. Going up the ladder, only five Fighting Pokémon can learn a Flying move, Hawlucha, Blaziken, Hitmonlee, Toxicroak, and Mienshao and they ALL know Bounce! I’m honestly surprised other Fighters don’t jump on the Bounce-wagon.

 

Normal

Average Moves per Normal: 9.93

Highest Type Learned besides itself: Steel at 80%

Lowest type: Dragon at 20%

Most Diverse: Drampa with 16 moves

Least Diverse: Smeargle and Ditto at 0 moves

Thoughts: I honestly thought Normal would be #1 but Fighting and Dragon had a very strong showing and Normal suffered from some weird Pokémon (no judgment). But regardless, the Normal type had the most consistent move percentages out of any type. Its standard deviation, which shows how diverse a certain set of data points are, was the lowest among all 18 types. To better illustrate what I mean, look at Normal’s graph and now look at Bug, Grass, or Electric’s graph. In those charts we’re seeing a few highs and a lot of lows but for Normal, we’re seeing a lot of type percentages that are near each other. This is showing us that Normal Pokémon don’t really favor one type or another besides itself. Yes, there are a few lows but overall, pretty good consistency.

What this data is telling us is what we all knew for years. Normal Pokémon can learn a huge diversity of moves. They may be lacking in certain areas but overall, when you train a Normal Pokémon you’re more than likely be able to teach it quite a few different type moves.

 

Dark

Average Moves per Dark: 9.52

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Ghost at 76%

Lowest type: Fairy at 21%

Most Diverse: Pangoro with 15 moves

Least Diverse: Spiritomb with 4 moves

Thoughts: I’m honestly shocked that Dark ranks #4. I thought Ghost or Psychic would be up here and Dark would be further down. But Dark consistently ranked over 50% for many types like Ghost (Shadow Ball/Claw), Psychic (Psychic), Bug (U-turn and X-Scissor), Poison (Poison Jab), Steel (Iron Tail), and Ground (Earthquake and Dig). Dark Pokémon also have a lot of type and design variability creating a great concoction to learn a variety of moves. Even it’s lowest type, Fairy at 21%, is still better than the previous three types’ worst move type. I’m not surprised though that Ghost is its third highest as these two types seem almost interchangeable at times. Shadow Claw and Ball fit in neatly with the grim, moody, and nocturnal aspect of Dark Pokémon.

Spiritomb sitting with just four moves shocks me. You’d think that Gamefreak would take pity after Fairy was introduced and give Spiritomb a few more moves. As of right now, it can learn Dark, Psychic, Ghost, and Normal above 70 BP and that’s it. Hey Pangoro, wanna give up one of your moves? I think you got enough!

 

Psychic

Average Moves per Psychic: 9.00

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Bug at 89%

Lowest type: Dragon at 3%

Most Diverse: Gallade with 15 moves

Least Diverse: Wobbufett and Unown with 0 moves

Thoughts: The first thing that stands out here is Psychic’s huge fondness for Bug moves. That’s very odd and I would have never predicted that. But here’s the thing, Signal Beam is the most common move a Psychic Pokémon can learn. Why? I don’t know!   It’s one of those odd attacks that just found a niche in another type’s home. Following Bug we have Ghost (78%) thanks to Shadow Ball, and Grass (67%) with Energy Ball and Giga Drain. I honestly though Ghost would be much higher but you have the likes of Bruxish, Alolan Raichu, Exeggutor, and, of all things, Malamar who do not learn any strong Ghost moves.

Fairy is also a weird type to talk about. First, only 42% of Psychics can learn a Fairy move but that’s the highest percentage an attacker can learn after Fairy itself! I’m honestly shocked it’s not higher, I thought these two types go hand in hand. Still though, Moonblast and Dazzling Gleam are popular moves that fit well in the Psychic mold.

Also, no surprise, that Dragon is Psychic’s worst move. Psychic Pokémon don’t really scream DRACONIC to me. And because we eliminated the likes of Lati@s we lost some good sources for Dragon moves. Only Gallade can learn a Dragon move and even then, it’s Dual Chop.

 

Ground

Average Moves per Ground: 8.77

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Rock at 97%

Lowest type: Fairy at 6%

Most Diverse: Rhyperior and Nidoking with 14 moves

Least Diverse: Mudsdale with 5 moves

Thoughts: We reached the point in our rankings where the types on average learn less than half of available type moves. We’ll start to see types that are either all or nothing for certain learned move types. We are still treading pretty well though and in fact, it will be a gentle decline in stats before we hit the last four types.

You may be wondering who is the one Ground Pokémon who can’t learn a Rock move, well it’s Wormadam-Sand Cloak variant. This is such a weird exception that you can basically guarantee that whoever you’re training, your Ground Pokémon can learn a Rock move whether it’s Rock Slide, Head Smash, or Stone Edge. Good on them! No wonder Flying Pokémon have a hard time surviving. Steel and Fighting moves are very common as well which further protect Ground Pokémon from any potential weaknesses.

There are only two Ground Pokémon that can learn a Fairy move, Donphan with Play Rough and Claydol with Dazzling Gleam. That’s it. This is probably because there’s only one family line of Ground/Psychic and no lines that are Ground/Fairy. I myself trained a Donphan with Play Rough thanks to ORAS’ cool catching mechanism and that was fun.

 

Fire

Average Moves per Fire: 8.73

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Grass at 85%

Lowest type: Water, Ice, and Fairy at 4%

Most Diverse: Charizard, Infernape, and Alolan Marowak with 12 moves

Least Diverse: Magcargo with 5 moves

Thoughts: We reached the middle tier but I’m still surprised how high Fire is on our list. I thought it would be Grass moves and that’s it. But you have that and a strong showing of Ground and Steel moves and more than half of Fire Pokémon can learn a powerful Electric move as well. Back to Grass, we have Solar Beam and Energy Ball that are easy additions to Fire Pokémon thanks to the moves’ sun reliance. Watch out Water Pokémon!

Water, Ice, and Fairy were each learned by one unique Fire Pokémon. Delphox (our Fire/Psychic) can learn Dazzling Gleam via TM. Emboar can learn Scald via TM, which really, why the heck can’t other Fire Pokémon learn Scald??? As far as I can tell, there’s nothing really special about Emboar and steam…it’s odd.

Even odder, and I’m going to get flak from this, is Alolan Marowak, the only Fire type to learn a strong Ice move by a technicality. You see, if you teach a Cubone in Red, Blue, or Yellow Ice Beam by TM, you can transfer it over via Pokémon Bank to the Alola Region and then evolve it into an Alolan Marowak. And it still has the Ice Beam move! These move transfers happen very rarely and Cubone is one of them, thankfully. Other than that, there is no way you can teach a normal Fire Pokémon a strong Ice move.

 

Rock

Average Moves per Rock: 8.53

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Ground at 100%

Lowest type: Flying at 10%

Most Diverse: Rhyperior with 14 moves

Least Diverse: Carbink, Magcargo, and Shuckle with 5 moves

Thoughts: We’re moving into territory where the main type can learn a few types very well but the rest are okay or poor. Rock shows this in spades as Ground and Steel (63%) are common moves for it. Rock’s 100% Ground coverage I think reflects these two types very close relationship (to the point that it can seem interchangeable). Even weaker, smaller Rock Pokémon, like Carbink, can still learn moves like Stomping Tantrum. I’m honestly more surprised that Steel isn’t more common.

The Rock Pokémon overlooked Flying moves even though this would help them against their weaknesses. Archeops and Aerodactyl are your two main Flying-attackers but Relicanth snuck in with a Bounce move that it probably shouldn’t have.

 

Ghost

Average Moves per Ghost: 8.14

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Psychic at 86%

Lowest type: Dragon at 5%

Most Diverse: Golurk with 13 moves

Least Diverse: Spiritomb with 4 moves

Thoughts: Ghost and Psychic Pokémon are basically buddies as they can learn each other’s moves (only Aegislash, Decidueye, and Dhelmise cannot learn any strong Psychic moves). We also see a very high rate of Dark (82%) moves and a surprisingly strong showing from Grass (64%) moves (Energy Ball and Giga Drain are favorites here). Also, Golurk’s Ground/Ghost pairing gives it sooo much variability in its moveset. The humanoid shape throws in some elemental punches as well.

Alolan Marowak is the only Ghost Pokémon that can learn a Dragon move (Outrage). There are also only two Ghost Pokémon that can learn a strong Water move, Jellicent (obviously) and Dhelmise (which makes sense given its shipwreck esthetic).

 

Poison

Average Moves per Poison: 8.07

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Grass and Dark at 66%

Lowest type: Flying at 17%

Most Diverse: Nidoking with 14 moves

Least Diverse: Toxapex with 4 moves

Thoughts: I honestly thought Grass and Dark would be a bit higher for Poison Pokémon given their predilection towards malicious and parasitic tendencies. On that thought, here’s the problem with Poison Pokémon move diversity; a lot of them are paired with Grass or Bug Pokémon which don’t have the best move selection. Most Poison Pokémon that have a great move selection are those that do not belong to this type excepting Scolipede’s 10 moves. Even pure types like Weezing, Arbok, or Muk have a better move selection than those dual types.

That said, Toxapex is the footnote to this idea. Good lord does it not have a good attacking movepool which is fine given its preference towards defense. Other defensive Pokémon have this trait as well. And come on Bug/Poison Pokémon, a lot of you have wings! Use them to learn Flying moves! Ariados has a Flying move and it’s Bounce for Pete’s sake!

 

Water

Average Moves per Water: 8.05

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Ice at 98%

Lowest type: Fire at 8%

Most Diverse: Slowking with 14 moves

Least Diverse: Pyukumuku with 0 moves

Thoughts: The sheer diversity of Water Pokémon buoyant this type as well as it could but it still suffers from low movepool selections.   Regardless, all but Pyukumuku could learn a Normal, Water, and Ice move giving Water Pokémon a leg up against Grass types. Over half can learn a strong Ground move as well, furthering their type coverage (we have a lot of large Water Pokémon and quite a bit Water/Ground types).

There are five Water Pokémon that can learn a Fire move and they’re Octillery, Slowbro, Slowking, Gyrados, and Ludicolo. Ludicolo is the one that surprises me the most out of this bunch. I guess pineapples have fiery fists.

 

Steel

Average Moves per Steel: 8.04

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Rock at 68%

Lowest type: Fairy at 12%

Most Diverse: Lucario and Aggron with 13 moves

Least Diverse: Magnezone and Klinklang with 4 moves

Thoughts: Darling favorite, Lucario stands tall amongst the Steel Pokémon along with ceratopsian-inspired Aggron. I find it interesting that so many Steel Pokémon dropped the Rock Slide ball and just didn’t make an impressive statement for its Earthy counterpart. Hopefully next generation will improve their Rock movepool.

There are just three Steel Pokémon that can learn a strong Fairy move; Klefki, Mawile, and…Probopass? Really? And it’s Dazzling Gleam?? Okay, hold on. If Probopass can learn Dazzling Gleam…why can’t Magnezone or Klinklang learn it as well since they both know Flash Cannon, Signal Beam, and Electric moves?? Odd.

 

Fairy

Average Moves per Fairy: 8.00

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Psychic at 82%

Lowest type: Dragon at 5%

Most Diverse: Granbul with 14 moves

Least Diverse: Comfey and Florges with 4 moves

Thoughts: Fairy is a weird type as there are still not a lot of them available and they’re all so different. The variation in the data is wild as you have a some who know little or some who know a lot. I guarantee you Fairy Pokémon’s move diversity will drastically change the following generation once we get new Pokémon to analyze. I frankly wouldn’t be surprised if Fairy Pokémon found themselves averaging 9 moves. Also, I too was shocked that Granbull was the #1 spot for Fairies. Granbull additionally is the only one to have a Dragon move (Outrage). Clefable has a pretty good move diversity though (13) which is probably a tie over from its days of being a Normal type. A lot of Psychic love here but we also have about 3/4th of the Fairy Pokémon sporting a Grass move. The stories and legends of Fairies and their mushrooms and forests translated well for Pokémon.

Few Poison moves from this type (doesn’t quite bode well with living in harmony of the forest) but 50% of them can learn a Steel move! I guess Fairies are a bit ambivalent when it comes to forged metals.

 

Ice

Average Moves per Ice: 8.00

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Steel at 80%

Lowest type: Fire at 0%

Most Diverse: Alolan Sandslash and Weaile with 11 moves

Least Diverse: Vanilluxe with 4 moves

Thoughts: The fact that Ice Pokémon is not in the bottom three speaks volumes of how restricted other types can be. Ice Pokémon diversity gives them a boost that Electric and Grass types sorely need. The hard and durable Ice type are big fans of Steel moves and we see a lot of Smart Strike, Flash Cannon, and Iron Tail moves among the cold Pokémon. It’s…somewhat useful…I guess but at least over half can have a Ground move. With the abundance of Water/Ice types we also see a plethora of Ice Pokémon that can easily learn Surf (much more useful against the Fire Pokémon).

I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re ready for a Fire/Ice Pokémon. What would it look like? Not sure, maybe an icy volcano? Still, none of the Ice Pokémon in this survey can learn a strong Fire move (a trait that the Fire Pokémon would also have for Ice moves if it wasn’t for Alolan Marowak). Delibird is the only Ice type here that can learn a strong Flying move and that’s about it. None of the agile Ice Pokémon can even learn Bounce.

 

Flying

Average Moves per Flying: 7.66

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Bug at 76%

Lowest type: Fairy at 14%

Most Diverse: Archeops, Charizard, Hawlucha, Noivern, and Salamence with 12 moves

Least Diverse: Oricorio with 4 moves

Thoughts: Diversity did NOT help Flying Pokémon for move variability. The problem is that so many of these Pokémon are just so specialized in design or purpose that they can’t expand outwards. Emolga, Drifblim, and Jumpluff are just a few of the Flying Pokémon sitting with 5 moves. You also have a handicap of consistently being paired up with Bug which also doesn’t have the best move diversity (and they can’t even learn strong Flying moves!). Regardless, Flying Pokémon have a high rate of Bug moves not just because of the insects but because of U-Turn as well, a favorite for fast hitters. And oh man! Steel is at 74% thanks to Steel Wing! A very handy move against Ice and Rock types. And as a quick shoutout, a lot of Flying Pokémon can learn Heat Wave via Move tutor, just found that interesting.

 

Bug

Average Moves per Bug: 6.95

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Grass at 73%

Lowest type: Dragon and Fire at 3%

Most Diverse: Golisopod with 12 moves

Least Diverse: Kricketune with 4 moves

Thoughts: We reached the bottom three of our list with each of these types, on average, learning less than 7 type moves per Pokémon. I look at this graph and I see a few (typical) highs but a lot of lows. Since the beginning of the series, Bug Pokémon have been considered weak, ineffectual, and subpar, and unfortunately, this data does not convince otherwise. But that’s why we can’t always rely on one set of data points. Sure, Heracross, Volcarona, and Scizor does not learn many moves, but are they weak? I definitely wouldn’t say that. And Golisopod and Scolipede have both the diversity and the strength to make for some fun Pokémon to train! And on a personal level, I love Dustox and took one to the Elite Four despite its move limitations.

Grass moves like Giga Drain pair nicely with the sometimes parasite tendencies of Bug Pokémon. Over half of Bug Pokémon can also learn a strong Dark move, like Crunch or Night Slash further countering Psychic Pokémon. On the other end of the spectrum, only Golisopod can learn a Dragon move (Dual Chop) and Volcarona can learn multiple fire moves.

 

Electric

Average Moves per Electric: 6.92

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Bug at 92%

Lowest type: Fairy, Ghost, and Ice at 8%

Most Diverse: Eelektross with 12 moves

Least Diverse: Electrode with 4 moves

Thoughts: Electric Pokémon have the biggest disparity between move abundance, you either know it or you don’t. Electric types love their Bug and Steel moves but everything else is a soft fart. Why? Signal Beam (Bug) and Flash Cannon (Steel) pair nicely with the energy and laser based attitudes of Electric Pokémon. So many of them can learn these moves even by simply Leveling Up which is nice. This is why I’m confused Dazzling Gleam isn’t more popular, especially with this crowd.

Eelektross has a fantastic move diversity and is one of the reasons why I love it so much. In fact, Electivire can learn 11 moves so you don’t need to have a secondary type to boost your diversity. Unfortunately, Electrode did not get that memo and is stuck with only four moves.

 

Grass

Average Moves per Grass: 6.67

Highest Type Learned besides itself and Normal: Poison at 58%

Lowest type: Ice with 5%

Most Diverse: Chesnaught with 11 moves

Least Diverse: Cherrim and Lilligant with 3 moves

Thoughts: And we come to the end of our list, Grass Pokémon have the smallest type diversity movepool of 70 BP or greater. Even Poison moves don’t crack 60% despite the plethora of Grass/Poison types. Beyond that, we have Fighting and Ground peaking above halfway at 51% but everything else is less than half.

So who are the lucky few that can learn Ice or Fire moves? On the Ice side we have Abomasnow (of course) and Ludicolo via TM (thank you Water Type). Then on the Fire side we have Gourgeist (pumpkin theme coming in strong), Alolan Exeggutor (Dragon), and again, Ludicolo (who can already learn an assortment of odd moves). As Sword and Shield arrives to us later this year, I would hope that Grass Pokémon can catch a break. Realistically speaking, Grass Pokémon should be able to learn Fairy moves given their strong ties to nature. I would also like to see more Water moves as well due to their strong desire for water to keep them alive.

 

Final Thoughts

The mean and confidence interval of the average number moves each Pokemon Type can learn of 70 BP or Greater.

Take a look at the above graph, it shows the average different types an attacker can learn. The lines represents a 95% confidence that the mean falls within this zone.  What does this mean? Well there is a looooooot of overlap. I guarantee that by next generation, many of the attacking types’ ranks will change, maybe even drastically. Dragon could fall to 3rd place while Fairy could jump to the upper third. Why is there a lot of uncertainty in the data? Primary, it’s because, after we weeded out all the legendaries and the not-fully-evolved Pokémon, we are left with less-than-robust numbers that lead to shaky data points. Bug and Water have probably the statistically strongest data points due to Water’s vast numbers and the almost consistent number of moves each Bug Pokémon can learn. Fairy is just all over the place as there’s hardly any of them and we see a big range of Fairies learning a few moves or a lot of moves.

70 BP was such a brutal cutoff for a lot of different types. If I had pushed it to 65 BP we would have seen a huge boost in type diversity with Bubblebeam, Knock Off, Fire/Ice/Electric Fang, and Psybeam. But if I had pushed it up to 75 BP then we would’ve lost U-turn, Steel Wing, Sucker Punch, Shadow Claw, and Night Slash. I’m pretty darn sure Flying Pokémon would be dead last in move diversity without Steel Wing and U-turn. Dark and Ghost Pokémon would also tumble downwards in their diversity. Without the Steel move support, Ground moves would be by far the second most learned type. Looking at the data, I still think I did right with that 70 BP cutoff but whose to say? This is, after all, just my point of view and not the tried and true method of measuring a Pokémon’s diversity.

This research took a long time for me to do but I liked it. Just a fun project on the side for me to do without any major stress or deadlines to it. I tried my best to ensure its accuracy but if you have found mistakes in my data let me know and I’ll fix them! I won’t be offended at all.

Future

I can’t imagine myself doing a project like this in a long while but thankfully, this data will be continuously useful to me as I’m still writing my Single Type Run articles. When I’m focusing on a particular type, like Fire for instance, I can go to my data, look at the Fire type, and understand which Pokémon have the best move diversity and which Pokémon you might avoid.

I hope you enjoyed this article and I look forward to hearing about my mistakes!

The Best Pokemon Games for a Grass Type Run

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Update 12/28/2019: This article now includes Sword and Shield.

If you’re looking for a challenging but doable Monotype (or Single Type) Run in Pokémon let me suggest the Grass type. Unlike Ice, Dragon, and other difficult types, Grass Pokémon are (most of the time) available at the game’s beginning due to your starter. As such, you have a companion you can rely on for the entirety of your game regardless of team size or diversity. However, you will have to overcome difficult feats like low movepool and dual-type diversity and a large amount of weaknesses. These difficult feats make Grass a challenging but not impossible run to do. So which games are the best for a Grass type Run? Let’s find out.

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to disregard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed.
  5. Mega Pokémon count as long as you Mega Evolve them as soon as they appear on the battlefield.
  6. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

The Best Games

The good news is that most of the series’ games will give you a full team of Grass types with the bad news being not all of them will cover your weaknesses. But for you die hard fans I recommend looking at Pokémon Sapphire, Emerald, X, Y, AlphaSapphire, and Shield thanks primarily to this beautiful Pokémon right here.

Yep, Ludicolo’s Grass/Water makes him a valuable Pokémon. I’ll go into Ludicolo later but for now understand that if you want a slick Grass type run, find a game that has this dancing Pokémon in it. If this doesn’t bother you, however, consider Ruby, Omega Ruby, Sword, and any of the Sun/Moon games as they have reasonable diversity with some fun Pokémon.

Given the choice I would choose XY as you have a lot of beautiful Pokémon working together. Your starter Chesnaught gives you a strong fighter and learns Rock Slide to handle Bug Pokémon. Mega Venusaur’s Thick Fat ability neutralizes Fire and Ice weaknesses so if you don’t want Ludicolo then you’re fine. I’d still push for Ludicolo as it can learn Ice Beam which is rare among Grass types (and of course Surf takes care of your Fire Pokémon). Exeggutor and Trevenant learn some unique moves featuring Psychic and Ghost which further aid your run. Finally, Ferrothorn rounds off our team by being a wall and shutting down the like of Ice, Flying, and Poison types. If you’re really worried about Flying Pokémon then get a Mow Rotom and zap them down. These Pokémon (and more) are spread nicely throughout the game you have decent progression of your team.

Worst Games

The worst game in the franchise for a Grass type run is probably Pokémon Yellow, Bulbasaur is not a starter and you can get him only right before the second gym (at least in Pokémon Let’s Go you can get a Bulbasaur in Viridian Forest which is leagues better). Even then the Kanto games are not the best as your dealing with a less-than-full team with half of your team being Grass/Poison which is pretty bad considering Psychics reign supreme in those games.

Grass Teams in Pokemon Games

Red/Blue/Yellow and FireRed/LeafGreen
Ideal Team: Venusaur, Exeggutor, Vileplume (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Victreebel (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Parasect, Tangela
First Pokémon: Bulbasaur via starter or Paras via Mt. Moon in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Flying, Ice, or Fire not neutralized.

Gold/Silver/Crystal and HeartGold/SoulSilver
Ideal Team: Meganium, Jumpluff, Victreebel/Vileplume, Exeggutor, Parasect, Tangela/Tangrowth
First Pokémon: Chikorita via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Flying, Ice, and Fire are not neutralized.

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and ORAS
Ideal Team: Sceptile, Brleoom, Shiftry (R, E, OR)/Cacturne, Roserade/Roselia (R, S, ORAS)/Vileplume, Ludicolo (S, E, AS), Cradily
Optional: Tropius, Trevanant (ORAS), Leafeon (ORAS), Sawsbuck (ORAS), Whimsicott (ORAS), Parasect (ORAS), Tangrowth (ORAS), Sunflora (ORAS), Cherrim (ORAS), Lilligant (ORAS), Maractus (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Treecko via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for Sapphire, Emerald, and AlphaSapphire. In other versions, Ice is not neutralized. 

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
Ideal Team: Torterra, Roserade, Wormadam, Abomasnow, Leafeon (Platinum), Tropius (Platinum)
Optional: Carnivine
First Pokémon: Turtwig via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Fire and Flying not covered

Black/White and Black2/White2
BW Ideal Team: Serperior, Ferrothorn, Virizion, Leavanny, Amoongus, Sawsbuck
Optional: Maractus, Lilligant, Whimsicott, Simisage
First Pokemon: Snivy via Starter
Cover weaknesses?   No, Fire is not neutralized

B2W2 Ideal Team: Serperior, Leavanny, Virizion, Roserade, Sawsbuck, Ferrothorn
Optional: Sunflora, Whimsicott, Lilligant, Simisage, Amoongus, Tangrowth, Maractus, Leafeon
First Pokémon: Snivy via starter
Cover weaknesses? No, Fire is not neutralized

XY
Ideal Team: Chesnaught, Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Exeggutor, Ludicolo, Mow Rotom
Optional: Wormadam, Simisage, Roserade, Gogoat, Vileplume, Bellossom, Jumpluff, Leafeon, Victreebel, Carnivine, Amoonguss, Phantump/Pumpkaboo, Abomasnow
First Pokémon: Chespin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Sun/Moon and UltraSun/UltraMoon
SM Ideal Team: Decidueye, Whimsicott (Sun)/Shiinotic, Exeggutor, Roserade (scan), Dhelmise, Serperior (scan)
Optional: Victreebel (scan), Meganium (scan), Parasect, Leafeon, Trevenant
First Pokémon: Rowlet via Starter
Cover weaknesses? No, in Sun and Moon, Grass is weak to Flying and Ice

USUM Ideal Team: Decidueye, Whimsicott (US)/Shiinotic, Torterra (scan), Exeggutor, Venusaur (scan), Cradily (UM)/Chesnaught (scan)
Optional: Sceptile (scan), Dhelmise, Tropius, Parasect, Leafeon, Trevenant
First Pokémon: Rowlet via Starter
Cover weaknesses? No, In Ultra Sun, Grass is weak to Flying and Ice. In Ultra Moon, Grass is weak to Ice.

Sword/Shield
Ideal Team: Rillaboom, Ludicolo (Shield)/Dhelmise, Flapple (Sword)/Appletun (Shield), Roserade, Ferrothorn, Mow Rotom
Optional: Vileplume, Gourgeist, Cherrim, Shiftry (Sword), Eldegoss, Whimsicott, Shiinotic, Bellossom, Trevanant (Raid), Leafeon, Tsareena, Abomasnow, Maractus
First Pokémon: Grooky via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

MVP (Most Valuable Pokémon)

Your Starter

Duh! This is the Pokémon you’ll be hanging out with for all of the game! Doesn’t matter who, you’ll want to take your starter to the Elite Four as they all have great stats. Quite a few of them even have dual typing which further expands their moveset and can counter common weaknesses. Mega Sceptile neutralizes Fire moves (at the cost of 4x weakness to Ice) and Mega Venusaur neutralizes Fire and Ice moves. Torterra can learn Rock and Ground moves while Deceidueye gives you some sweet Ghost moves. Serperior has the rare Coil move which can make it a tank. Meganium is probably the worse out of the bunch but at least you can teach it Earthquake.

Available in: All the games

Ludicolo

As mentioned before, if you want to cover all your Grass’ weaknesses you’ll likely need this pineapple Pokémon.  Ludicolo has okay stats but is boosted by a decent movepool selection. Besides its Water moves it can also learn Ice Beam, Zen Headbutt, and Focus Blast countering the likes of Flying, Poison, and Ice Types (along a host of other Pokémon). If you’re up for it, you can also run a Rain Dance set on it due to its rain abilities (and dampening Fire type’s super effectiveness).

Available In: Sapphire, Emerald, X, Y, AlphaSapphire, Shield

Grass/Poison Pokémon

The dual Grass/Poison combo is the third most common dual type combo and is available in every game. This commonality means you are guaranteed to neutralize Bug and Poison moves. Unfortunately, a Grass/Poison Pokémon for a Grass team is kind of meh due to said abundance and a glaring weakness to Psychic moves. But a lot of these guys can learn Earthquake so it’s not all bad.

Available in: All games

250px-598Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn

Generally speaking, when you do a Monotype run of any type, you’ll want your type paired up with Steel and man is this a fantastic combo! Steel neutralizes Grass’ Poison, Bug, and Flying weaknesses while the favor’s return by neutralizing Ground. I need to doubly stress that Flying weakness as there are very few Grass Pokémon that can do that. Ferrothorn is a fantastic wall thanks to its high Defense and Sp Defense and Iron Barbs ability. Although you won’t get any Spikes or Stealth Rock via leveling up you’ll still have some great Steel moves. Ferrothorn’s biggest flaw might be its lack of move diversity (despite it defending your team against the birds, it doesn’t learn any strong Rock moves to use against them unlike our next candidate…).

Available in: Black/White/B2W2, XY, Sword and Shield

Cradily

Your other major counter against the birds will be Cradily who can actually learn Rock moves but you’ll have to use a TM like Rock Tomb or Rock Slide, bleh! But! At the same time it can learn TM Earthquake! This means Cradily is effective against the like of Fire Pokémon which is quite impressive. However, Cradily suffers from its horrendous speed, its lackluster ability, and a hit-or-miss availability.

Available in: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, ORAS, X, and USUM

Image result for alolan exeggutor

Alolan Exeggutor

By itself, Exeggutor is a fine Pokemon but the real star is its Alolan form.  Alolan Exeggutor boosts the move diversity to a respectable degree.  It’s one of the few Grass types that can learn Flamethrower, which is baller, and it can learn Dragon Hammer which is very rare and can only be learned from A. Exeggutor and Tropius (via breeding).  The Dragon typing it not bad either as it neutralizes the Fire Weakness (but watch out for Ice!).  This neutrality to Fire means you can teach A. Exeggutor Earthquake and go to town against hot opponents.  Also, why wouldn’t you train one?  They’re hilarious!

Available in: SM and USUM, and Let’s Go

Mow Rotom

There’s one more Grass Pokémon that resists Flying moves and it’s one I’m sure you may have forgotten! In its base form, Rotom is Ghost/Electric but after Generation 5, its forms change it to different types. Mow Rotom thus is the only Grass/Electric type out there and it’s strange. You got Levitate, some weird resistances here and there, but most importantly you got Thunderbolt. It’s very rare for a Grass Pokemon to learn an Electric move which is why Mow Rotom deserves to be on this list.  Additionally, the form Rotoms are much stronger than regular Rotom and you get a Pokémon with great Defense, Sp. Attack, and Sp. Defense. Now, it’s going to be a pain to get this Rotom but if you love this Pokémon, then it will be worth it!

Available in: XY, Sword and Shield

Best Monotype Runs for Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum

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As I am writing and submitting this blog post, Pokémon Go is releasing Sinnoh Pokémon onto the streets. Now, I love the different generations for one reason or another but Generation 4 seems to have a special place in my heart as that was when I got back into Pokémon after a long hiatus. In particular, Pokémon Platinum ranks as one of my favorite Pokémon games as they took Diamond and Pearl and improved everything about those games making a stellar classic.

But we’re here to determine which types are the best for a Monotype (or Single Type) Run which is a run where you only catch and train one type of Pokémon. And unfortunately, the Sinnoh games are hit or miss. Although more Pokémon are introduced, Diamond and Pearl only have 150 Pokémon available so you get some pretty average runs. Platinum thankfully adds 60 more Pokémon to Sinnoh which makes a lot of types doable or splendid.

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to disregard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed
  5. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

Without further ado, let’s take a look! A list of full team combinations can be found below as well.

The Best Types

Starting with the top tier I’d say the Water, Poison, Normal, Psychic, Steel, and Fighting types are types you should go for due to their commonality, early availability and type coverage. This is the first time in the series where Poison can defend itself against Psychic attacks thanks to Drapion and Stuntank and when you have Roserade, Toxicroak, Crobat, and Tentacruel backing you up you’re in for a good time. Fighting types meanwhile have a near consistent occurrence-rate as you have Chimchar as your starter and then later you got Medicham, Toxicroak, and, of course, Lucario. Water is splendid as usual but this run is unique as you got Empoleon who is incredibly rare and amazing.  Empoleon’s presence also makes the Sinnoh games a hidden gem for a Steel team, definitely don’t miss it here.

Meanwhile, Platinum improves these types further and make Ground and Flying types entertaining…thanks tooooo Gliscor! Gliscor’s amazing type combo improves both of those types and come-on, it’s Gliscor, they’re the best.  You also can train a Mamoswine for Ground and  a Togekiss and Yanmega for Flying.

The Worst Types

Like routine, Dragon and Ice are types I strongly urge against. Even with Platinum these types suffer due to late game availability (especially Ice), limited selections, and poor coverage. Additionally, if you’re playing Diamond or Pearl, Fire and Electric are pretty abysmal. Sure, you can catch both types early on but there are hardly any of them. Platinum improves their diversity and makes them more doable but it will definitely not be a walk in the park.   Dark types are also rather dismal if your playing Pearl or Platinum as they’re available mid-game at best and there’s a lackluster diversity. Thankfully, in Diamond, you can catch a Murkrow in Eterna Forest after the first gym.

Spiritomb

If you already skipped ahead and looked through the list, you may have noticed Spiritomb is missing from the Dark and Ghost type lists. That’s because he’s one of the hardest non-legendary Pokémon to catch. You need to get the Old Keystone, which itself is not too difficult, but you also have to talk to 32 people in the underground. They have to be actual people too and not NPCs! Thankfully, you’ll only need one other person with Diamond/Pearl/Platinum to do it. However, because you need an additional copy of the game in order to get Spiritomb this technically disqualifies Spiritomb based on our rules. Nevertheless, Dark type still has neutral coverage thanks to Drapion.

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Vepiquen, Wormadam (Steel and Ground form), Heracross, Dustox, Mothim/Yanmega (Platinum)/Scyther (Platinum)
Optional: Kricketune, Beautifly
First Pokémon: Kricketot via Route 202 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? No, Fire not neutralized 

Dark
Ideal Team:  Drapion, Weavile
Optional: Absol (Platinum), Honchkrow (Diamond), Stuntank (Diamond), Houndoom (Platinum), Umbreon (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Murkrow can be caught at Eterna Forest after the first gym in Diamond. In Pearl, you can catch a Skorupi in the Great Marsh well after the third gym. In Platinum, you can acquire an Eevee in Hearthome City just before the third gym.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Dragon
Ideal Team: Garchomp, Dialga (Diamond)/Palkia (Pearl)/Giratina (Platinum), Altaria (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Gible in Wayward Cave. In Diamond and Pearl you need strength which is after the 6th gym. In Platinum, strength is not required and you can catch one after the second gym.
Covers Weaknesses? Only in Diamond thanks to Dialga but in the other two versions, Pearl has a Dragon weakness and Platinum has both a Dragon and Ice weakness

Electric
Ideal Team: Luxray, Raichu, Jolteon (Platinum), Rotom (Platinum), Magnezone (Platinum), Electabuzz (Platinum)
Optional: Pachirisu
First Pokémon: Shinx in Route 202 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Only in Platinum, in Diamond and Pearl the Ground type is not neutralized. 

Fairy (technically doesn’t exist yet but if it did…)
Ideal Team: Mr. Mime, Clefable, Azumarill, Gardevoir (Platinum), Togekiss (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Cleffa/Clefairy in Mt Coronet after the second gym
Covers Weaknesses? No, Steel or Poison not covered

Fighting
Ideal Team: Infernape, Heracross, Toxicroak, Medicham, Lucario, Gallade (Platinum)
Optional: Machoke
First Pokémon: Chimchar via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes 

Fire
Ideal Team: Infernape, Rapidash, Flareon (Platinum), Houndoom (Platinum), Magmar (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Chimchar via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Ground and Water not neutralized 

Flying
Ideal Team: Gyarados, Vespiquen/Yanmega (Platinum), Drifblim, Honchkrow (Diamond), Gliscor (Platinum), Tropius (Platinum)
Optional: Staraptor/Noctowl/Chatot/Togekiss (Platinum), Pelipper/Mantine
First Pokémon: Starly via Route 201
Covers Weaknesses? Only in Platinum, in Diamond and Pearl the Electric and Rock types are not neutralized.

Ghost
Ideal Team: Haunter, Drifblim, Dusclops (Platinum)/Mismagius (Diamond), Rotom (Platinum), Froslass (Platinum)
Optional: Giratina (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Drifloon on Fridays at the Valley Windworks before the second gym
Covers Weaknesses? No, Ghost and Dark moves are not neutralized 

Grass
Ideal Team: Torterra, Roserade, Wormadam, Abomasnow, Leafeon (Platinum), Tropius (Platinum)
Optional: Carnivine
First Pokémon: Turtwig via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Fire and Flying not covered

Ground
Ideal Team: Torterra, Hippowdon, Garchomp, Gastrodon/Quagsire/Whiscash, Gliscor (Platinum)/Steelix, Mammoswine (Platinum)
Optional: Graveler, Onix, Wormadam, Rhydon (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Turtwig via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Ice
Ideal Team: Abomasnow, Weavile, Glaceon (Platinum), Mammoswine (Platinum), Froslass (Platinum), Glalie (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Snover/Sneasel in Diamond and Pearl on Route 216 after the sixth gym or Eevee in Hearthome City in Platinum just before the third gym.
Covers Weaknesses? No, all versions weak to Fire and Steel. Diamond/Pearl additionally weak to Rock and Fighting

Normal
Ideal Team: Starraptor/Togekiss (Platinum), Clefable, Snorlax, Girafarig, Ambipom, Lopunny
Optional: Bibarel, Chatot, Noctowl, Blissey, Purugly (Pearl), Lickilicky (Platinum), Porygon (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Starly and Bidoof in Route 201
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Poison
Ideal Team: Roserade, Crobat, Drapion, Toxicroak, Tentacruel, Dustox
Optional: Haunter, Stuntank (Diamond)
First Pokémon: Zubat via Route 203 and 204 and Budew via Route 204 both of which can be caught before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Psychic
Ideal Team: Mr. Mime/Gardevoir (Platinum), Bronzong, Medicham/Gallade (Platinum), Kadabra, Girafarig, Espeon (Platinum)
Optional: Chimecho
First Pokémon: Abra via Route 203 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes 

Rock
Ideal Team: Graveler, Onix, Rampardos (Diamond and Platinum)/Bastiodon (Pearl and Platinum), Probopass (Platinum), Sudowoodo, Rhydon (Platinum)
First Pokémon: Geodude either Oreburgh Gate or Ravaged Path before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? No, in all versions Water, Ground and Fighting moves are not neutralized. In Diamond, the Rock type is additionally weak to Grass and Steel moves.
Notes: Please be aware that you can only get Rampardos OR Bastiodon in Platinum!  It depends on your Trainer ID number.  If the last digit is even you get a Bastiodon and if it’s odd you get a Rampardos.

Steel
Ideal Team: Empoleon, Bastiodon (Pearl and Platinum [need an ID that ends with an even number])/Probopass (Platinum), Bronzong, Lucario, Steelix, Magnezone (Platinum)
Optional: Dialga (Diamond), Wormadam
First Pokémon: Piplup via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes, provided you get a Bronzong that has the Levitate Ability.

Water
Ideal Team: Empoleon, Quagsire/Whiscash/Gastrodon, Gyarados/Mantine, Tentacruel, Octillery, Vaporeon (Platinum)
Optional: Bibarel, Golduck, Milotic, Azumarill, Floatzel, Lumineon, Palkia (Pearl)
First Pokémon: Piplup via Starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Best Monotype Runs in Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and ORAS

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pokemon-oras-box-art

A lot of fans consistently rate Pokémon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire (ORAS) as among the best (if not the best) Pokémon games in the franchise. The rerelease garnered an intense love of Hoenn, its Pokémon, and, surprisingly, the story. But what makes ORAS so amazing is that it gives trainers a chance to catch Pokémon with Egg moves and hidden abilities but also Pokémon not found in Hoenn. These National Pokémon, unlike a plethora of other games, can be caught before the Elite Four! As such, these games are fantastic for a Monotype Run (or Single Type Run). For this article, I’ve included all Hoenn games so Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and ORAS.

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to discard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed.
  5. Mega Pokémon count as long as you Mega Evolve them as soon as they appear on the battlefield.
  6. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

The Best Types

1200px-260swampert

The Hoenn games may just be the best games in the series for a Water-type run. You have an abundance of Water Pokémon with substantial diversity. Mudkip’s Water/Ground evolutions neutralizes the Electric weakness and gives some strong moveset variety. From there, you can train Magikarp/Wingull, Tentacool, Carvanha/Corpish, and more! If you have Sapphire, AlphaSapphire, or Emerald, you can even catch a Lotad early on and have it alongside Mudkip and Wingull before the first gym!

Ground, Psychic, and Flying are other excellent types as well. Although you won’t get much diversity for Ground Pokémon, you’ll still have the likes of Swampert, Flygon, Claydol, Camerupt, and Rhydon to play around with. The Psychic type has better diversity as you can catch and train Ralts, Meditite, Staryu, Natu, Solrock/Lunatone, and Girafarig. The Flying type, like Water, can give you early diversity but also provide some great hitters later on like Skarmory, Salamence, Gyarados, and Crobat.

From there, there are a plethora of types that you can catch very early on but may lack substantial diversity like Bug, Dark, Normal, Fire, Grass, Fighting, Poison, Fairy, and Ghost. If you have an ORAS game, however, the late game availability of random, national Pokémon, gives these types a fully-fledged out team. I’d say out of these options for an ORAS run I would choose Bug and Dark due to constant availability of these Pokémon throughout the game mixed in with some stellar late game Pokémon like Volcarona, Hydregion, and Drapion.

 

The Worst Types

As Hoenn is a tropical island, Ice types are quite rare (only two families) and available very late in the game making them one of the worst types in the entire series to do a run on. Although not as difficult, Dragon Pokémon are rare and the first Pokémon you can catch would be a Swablu well after the third gym. However, ORAS significantly changes this as Sceptile’s Mega Evolution is Grass/Dragon which makes it available from the start. The Dragon type becomes amazing as you can catch the likes of Hydregion, Garchomp, and the Lati@s in these games (just watch out for Ice moves!). Finally, Electric type is rather poor in these games due to their lackluster diversity and the first one you can catch is after the second gym in ORAS (but you can skip Brawly in RSE by giving Steven the letter, go to Route 110, catch your Electric Pokemon, then fight him).

 

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Dustox/Venomoth (ORAS)/Beedril (ORAS), Heracross, Volcarona (ORAS), Forretress (ORAS), Galvantula (ORAS), Armaldo/Crustle (ORAS)
Optional: Pinsir, Beautifly, Shedinja, Ninjask, Leavanny (ORAS), Parasect (ORAS), Kricketune (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Wurmple via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Dark
Ideal Team: Crawdaunt/Sharpedo, Honchkrow (ORAS), Krookodile (ORAS), Drapion (ORAS), Hydreigon (ORAS), Scrafty (ORAS)
Optional: Absol, Mightyena, Umbreon (ORAS), Zoroark (ORAS), Mega-Gyarados (ORAS), Spiritomb (ORAS), Sabeleye (S, E, AS), Shiftry (R, E, OR)/Cacturne
First Pokémon: Poochyena via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for all versions except Pokemon Ruby

Dragon
Ideal Team: Salamence, Flygon/Garchomp (ORAS), Mega Sceptile (ORAS), Dragalge (OR), Lati@s (ORAS), Hydreigon (ORAS)
Optional: Altaria, Druddigon (ORAS), Haxorus (ORAS), Rayquaza (Emerald)
First Pokémon: Besides Teecko in ORAS, you can catch a Swablu in Route 114 after the third gym
Covers Weaknesses? No, Ice is not neutralized and, unless you have a Mega Altaria, Dragon is not neutralized.

Electric
Ideal Team: Manectric, Magneton/Magnezone, Lanturn, Galvantula (ORAS), Jolteon (ORAS), Eelektross (ORAS)
Optional: Minun/Plusle, Electabuzz (ORAS), Zebstrika (ORAS), Electrode, Luxray (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Electrike, Plusle, and Minun can be caught at Route 110 after the second gym in ORAS (as well as Magnemite by Horde).  In RSE you can skip the second gym by giving Steven the letter, take the boat to Slateport, and capturing your Pokemon on Route 110.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for ORAS but in Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, Ground is not neutralized.

Fairy (ORAS only)
Ideal Team: Gardevoir, Wigglytuff, Mawile (OR)/Klefki, Azumarill, Mega-Altaria, Clefable
Optional: Whimsicott, Sylveon, Mega-Audino
First Pokémon: Ralts via Route 102 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes 

Fighting
Ideal Team: Blaziken, Breloom, Heracross, Medicham (R, S, ORAS), Gallade (ORAS), Scrafty (ORAS)
Optional: Machoke, Hariyama, Hitmonchan (ORAS), Hitmonlee (ORAS), Hitmontop (ORAS), Throh (OR), Sawk (AS), Gurdurr (ORAS), Primeape (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Torchic via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Flying is not neutralized.

Fire
Ideal Team: Blaziken, Camerupt, Magcargo, Ninetales, Volcarona (ORAS), Arcanine (ORAS)
Optional: Torkoal, Flareon (ORAS), Magmar (ORAS), Rapidash (ORAS), Ninetales (ORAS), Darmanitan (ORAS), Primal Groudon (OR)
First Pokémon: Torchic via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Water and Ground not neutralized.  In OmegaRuby, Water can be taken care of due to Primal Groudon’s Ability.

Flying
Ideal Team: Gyarados, Salamence, Swellow, Ninjask, Skarmory, Xatu
Optional: Beautifly, Masquerain (R, S, ORAS), Pelipper, Crobat, Altaria, Tropius, Honchkrow (ORAS), Drifblim (ORAS), Mega-Pinsir (ORAS), Mandibuzz (ORAS), Chatot (ORAS), Unfezant (ORAS), Pidgeot (ORAS), Braviary (ORAS), Rayquaza (Emerald)
First Pokémon: Wurmple via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes 

Ghost
Ideal Team: Shedinja, Sableye (S, E, AS)/Spiritomb (ORAS), Drifblim (ORAS), Trevanant (ORAS), Froslass (ORAS), Jellicent (ORAS)
Optional: Banette, Dusclops, Cofagrigus (ORAS), Mismagius (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Nincada in Route 116 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for Sapphire, Emerald, and ORAS.  However, in Ruby, Ghost and Dark are not neutralized.

Grass
Ideal Team: Sceptile, Brleoom, Shiftry (R, E, OR)/Cacturne, Roserade/Roselia (R, S, ORAS)/Vileplume, Ludicolo (S, E, AS), Cradily
Optional: Tropius, Trevanant (ORAS), Leafeon (ORAS), Sawsbuck (ORAS), Whimsicott (ORAS), Parasect (ORAS), Tangrowth (ORAS), Sunflora (ORAS), Cherrim (ORAS), Lilligant (ORAS), Maractus (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Treecko via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for Sapphire, Emerald, and AlphaSapphire. In other versions, Ice is not neutralized. 

Ground
Ideal Team: Swampert, Rhydon, Flygon/Garchomp (ORAS), Krookodile (ORAS), Camerupt, Excadrill (ORAS)
Optional: Graveler, Donphan, Claydol, Whiscash/Seismitoad (ORAS)/Gastrodon (ORAS), Dugtrio (ORAS), Groudon (Ruby and OR)
First Pokémon: Mudkip via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Ice
Ideal Team: Walrein, Glalie, Glaceon (ORAS), Beartic (ORAS), Dewgong (ORAS), Delibird (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Snorunt via Shoal Cave, before 7th gym
Covers Weaknesses? No, Rock is not neutralized and Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald are additionally weak to Fighting.

Normal
Ideal Team: Slaking, Swellow, Girafarig, Exploud, Wigglytuff, Dodrio
Optional: Linoone, Kecleon, Zangoose (R, OR), Sawsbuck (ORAS), Porygon (ORAS), Delcatty, Spinda, Stoutland (ORAS), Chatot (ORAS), Unfezant (ORAS), Bouffalant (ORAS), Raticate (ORAS), Ambipom (ORAS), Pidgeot (ORAS), Lopunny (ORAS), Braviary (ORAS), Purugly (ORAS), Cinccino (ORAS), Audino (ORAS), Ditto (ORAS), Persian (ORAS), Stantler (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Zigzagoon in Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Poison
Ideal Team: Dustox/Beedril (ORAS)/Venomoth (ORAS), Crobat, Tentacruel, Vileplume, Dragalge (OR), Drapion (ORAS)
Optional: Seviper (S, E, AS), Swalot, Roselia (R, S, ORAS), Muk, Weezing, Garbodor (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Wurmple via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes except for Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald where Psychic is not neutralized.

Psychic
Ideal Team: Gardevoir, Medicham (R,S,ORAS)/Gallade (ORAS), Girafarig, Xatu, Claydol, Slowbro (ORAS)/Starmie
Optional: Lunatone (S, AS)/Solrock (R, E, OR), Lati@s (ORAS), Grumpig, Espeon (ORAS), Bronzong (ORAS), Gothitelle (ORAS), Hypno (ORAS), Beheeyem (ORAS), Musharna (ORAS), Unown (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Ralts via Route 102 before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes, except Emerald where Dark is not neutralized

Rock
Ideal Team: Rhydon, Aggron, Lunatone (S, AS)/Solrock (R, E, OR), Magcargo, Relicanth, Armaldo/Crustle (ORAS)
Optional: Graveler, Cradily, Boldore (ORAS), Barbaracle (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Geodude and Aron (RSE only) via Granite Cave shortly before the second gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Steel
Ideal Team: Aggron, Skarmory, Magneton/Magnezone, Mawile (R, E, OR)/Klefki (ORAS), Bronzong (ORAS), Excadrill (ORAS)
Optional: Forretress (ORAS), Klinklank (ORAS),
First Pokémon: In RSE, Aron via Granite Cave shortly before the second gym.  However, in ORAS, the second floor basement is blocked off and you need a Mach Bike to access it.  As such Aron is acquired after the second gym (as well as Mawile in OR).  The earliest Steel Pokemon you can catch in ORAS is a Magnemite via Horde Encounter on Route 110, also after the second gym.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes 

Water
Ideal Team: Swampert, Gyarados, Ludicolo (S, E, AS)/Lanturn, Tentacruel, Sharpedo/Crawdaunt, Slowbro (ORAS)/Starmie
Optional: Pelipper, Azumaril, Milotic, Whiscash, Relicanth, Walrein, Wailord, Vaporeon (ORAS), Jellicent (ORAS), Seismitoad (ORAS), Gastrodon (ORAS), Kingler (ORAS), Clawitzer (AS), Lumineon (ORAS), Alomomola (ORAS), Dewgong (ORAS), Barbaracle (ORAS), Kyogre (Sapphire and AS)
First Pokémon: Mudkip via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Episode 5: Lostalgia-“Give Yourself Magination Goosebumps”

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In this episode, we explore our lostalgia, nostalgia over media that hasn’t been popular since it debut.  Mary talks about “Magination,” the Gameboy Color game while Andy talks about the Goosebumps spin-off series “Give Yourself Goosebumps.”  We gush about why we love our respective nostalgia and the probable reasons why they haven’t been popular since they debuted.

Best Monotype Runs in Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen

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With the quasi-remake of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, “Pokémon Let’s Go!,” coming out this year I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to write another  Monotype Run article.  As mentioned before, a Monotype (or Single Type) Run in Pokémon is a playthrough where you only train a certain Pokémon type.  And boy howdy the Kanto games are probably the most difficult and/or frustrating games in the main series for a Monotype Run.  A low diversity and a low amount of available Pokémon make some types almost unplayable.  But there’s still some good ones out there so let’s take a look!

Rules

  1.   You can only catch and train Pokémon of a certain type.  Once you capture your first Pokemon of that type, disregard any previous Pokemon on your team.
  2.   If a Pokémon evolves to said type you may train it but evolve it ASAP.
  3.   No out-of-game trading allowed
  4.   Only Pokémon caught before the Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

Best Types

143

The Normal type had its heyday in Generation 1.  Iconic Pokémon like Snorlax, Jigglypuff, and Tauros are all found in these games.  Of course, you have Normal Pokémon available immediately at Route 1 like Rattata and Pidgey so right away you have yourself a team (good luck with Brock, though!).  What’s more, you have a plethora of Flying/Normal Pokémon like Pidgeot, Dodrio, and Spearow that can protect you from fighters.  Normal Pokémon can also learn a diverse array of special moves so you can teach them the likes of Surf, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt to take down any foe that stands in your way.

From Normal, we quickly fall into a range of types that range from pretty decent to meh.  There are tons of Water, Flying, and Poison Pokémon with great move diversity but watch out for their weaknesses.  Zapdos makes an Electric type run interesting but be prepared for low movepool diversity.  If you’re patient, you can catch a Geodude at Mount Moon and do a Rock type run.  The Rock type actually has all its weaknesses covered thanks to the fossil Pokémon but you won’t be playing with a full unique team.  And speaking of Geodude, a Ground type run would be another decent run thanks to the Nidorans being available fairly early on (just watch out for Water moves!).

Worst Types

Pic from Bulbapedia

It may not be a shock to you but Dragon, Ghost, and Ice types are just a generally bad idea all together.  There’s only one Ghost and Dragon family and they’re available mid and late game respectively (plus you would only be dealing with a Haunter if you didn’t trade).  Ice types are a little better as there are some decent Ice Pokémon but they’re available at best mid-game.  And God forbid you decide to do a Steel or Dark type run for FireRed and LeafGreen.  The only Steel type would be the Magnemite line (catchable after you can surf) and Gamefreak decided, for some reason, you couldn’t evolve an Eevee into an Umbreon so there’s no way you can catch and train a Dark type at all.

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Parasect, Venomoth, Scyther (Red, FireRed, Yellow)/Pinsir (Blue, Leafgreen, Yellow), Butterfree, Beedrill (all versions except Yellow)
First Pokémon: Caterpie and/or Weedle (except Yellow) via Viridian Forest.
Cover weaknesses?  No, Flying, Fire, and Rock not neutralized. 

Dark
lol

Dragon
Ideal Team: Dragonite
First Pokémon: Dratini via Safari Zone
Covers weaknesses?  No, Ice and Dragon not covered 

Electric
Ideal Team: Raichu/Pikachu, Electrode, Electabuzz (Red, FireRed), Magneton, Jolteon, Zapdos
First Pokémon: Pikachu in Viridian Forest or Pikachu as a starter in Yellow
Covers weaknesses?  Yes

Fighting
Ideal Team: Machoke, Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan, Primeape (all versions except Blue), Poliwrath
First Pokémon: In Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen it’s Mankey on Route 3 before the first gym.  In Red, it’s Mankey via Route 5, after the second gym.  In Blue, it’s Machop in the Rock Tunnel after the second gym.
Covers weaknesses? No, Flying or Psychic not neutralized. 

Fire
Ideal Team: Charizard, Arcanine (Red, FireRed, Yellow)/Ninetales (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Magmar (Blue, LeafGreen), Flareon, Rapidash, Moltres
First Pokémon: Charmander via starter or via Route 24 after Mt. Moon in Yellow.
Covers weaknesses? No, Rock or Water not neutralized. 

Flying
Ideal Team: Charizard, Dragonite, Aerodactyl, Gyarados, Zapdos, Articuno
Optional: Pidgeot, Fearow, Dodrio, Scyther (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Moltres, Butterfree, Golbat, Farfetch’d
First Pokémon: Charmander via starter or Pidgey (Yellow) via Route 1.
Covers weaknesses? No, Rock is not covered.

Ghost
Ideal Team: Haunter
First Pokémon: Gastly at Lavender Tower
Covers weaknesses? No, Ghost and Dark (and for that matter Psychic and Ground) are not covered

Grass
Ideal Team: Venusaur, Exeggutor, Vileplume (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Victreebel (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Parasect, Tangela
First Pokémon: Bulbasaur via starter or Paras via Mt. Moon in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Flying, Ice, or Fire not neutralized.

Ground
Ideal Team: Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhydon, Onix, Dugtrio, Sandslash (Blue, LeafGreen, and Yellow)
Optional: Graveler (or Golem if you can evolve it)
First Pokémon: Nidorans in Route 22 for RBY (pre-First Gym) and Route 3 for FRLG (just after first Gym)
Covers weaknesses? No, Water and Ice are not neutralized.

Ice
Ideal Team: Lapras, Articuno, Dewgong, Jynx (all versions except Yellow), Cloyster (all versions except LeafGreen)
First Pokémon: In every game except LeafGreen, Shellder via the Super Rod (from Route 12 from a fisherman), attainable after you complete Lavender Tower and move the Snorlax.  Shellder can be fished in various areas of Kanto.  In LeafGreen, use the Super Rod to fish a Poliwhirl (found in various areas) and trade it to an NPC in Cerulean City for his Jynx.
Covers weaknesses? No, Rock is not neutralized.

Normal
Ideal Team: Snorlax, Tauros, Clefable, Pidgeot, Chansey, Kangaskhan
Optional: Porygon, Fearow, Dodrio, Raticate, Persian (Blue, FRLG), Farfetch’d, Lickitung, Wigglytuff, Ditto
First Pokémon: Pidgey and Rattata in Route 1
Covers weaknesses? Yes!

Poison
Ideal Team: Venomoth, Golbat, Venusaur, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Tentacruel
Optional: Vileplume (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Victreebel (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Haunter, Weezing (all versions except Yellow), Arbok (Red, FireRed), Muk
First Pokémon: Bulbasaur via starter or Nidorans via Route 22 in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Psychic not neutralized.

Psychic
Ideal Team: Hypno, Mr. Mime, Exeggutor, Jynx (all versions except Yellow), Starmie (all versions except FireRed), Slowbro (all versions except FireRed)
Optional: Kadabra
First Pokémon: Abra via Route 24 after Mount Moon for all versions except Pokemon Yellow, just before the second gym; in Pokemon Yellow you catch Abra in Route 5 after the second gym.
Covers weaknesses? No, Bug and Ghost are not neutralized.

Rock
Ideal Team: Graveler, Rhydon, Onix, Aerodactyl, Omastar/Kabutops
First Pokémon: Geodude at Mount Moon
Covers weaknesses? Surprisingly, yes.

Steel
Ideal Team: Magneton
First Pokémon: Magnemite via Power Plant through surfing (need the Soul Badge)
Covers weaknesses? No, Ground, Fighting, and Fire not neutralized.

Water
Ideal Team: Blastoise, Slowbro (all versions except FireRed), Poliwrath, Lapras, Tentacruel, Vaporeon
Optional: Starmie (all versions except FireRed), Gyrados, Omastar/Kabutops, Cloyster (all versions except LeafGreen), Dewgong, Golduck (all versions except LeafGreen), Kingler, Seadra, Seaking
First Pokémon: Squirtle via starter or Magikarp via the Pokecenter just before Mt. Moon in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Electric is not neutralized.

 

The Best Pokemon Games for a Poison-Type Run

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Update 1/14/2020: This article now includes Sword and Shield

If you’re looking for a fun, and rather different, Single Type (or Monotype) run in Pokémon I would suggest the Poison Type. This is one of the few types that make a feasible run in Generation 1 due to their extraordinarily high abundance and diversity. Ever since then, these toxic monsters litter the games and make a wonderful monotype run in every generation with the exception of Black/White and its sequels. For this article, we will look at the best games for a Poison Run and the most common and/or useful poison type Pokémon you’ll run into during your playthroughs (along with some helpful moves to look out for).

As usual, the rules are as stated. You must catch the first Pokémon of that type ASAP and disregard all other types. A Pokémon that evolves into your type may be trained as long as you evolve it ASAP. Only Pokémon you can catch in your game are counted (i.e., no traded Pokémon). And only pre-Elite Four Pokémon are counted for the run.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

The Worst Games

Just avoid Black and White. You can train only three unique Pokemon (Scolipede, Garbodor, and Amoongus), which all have subpar typing.  And the first Poison type you catch is after the second gym.  No thanks!  At least its sequels are much better for Poison.

The Best Games

Honestly, pick virtually any other game in the series and you’ll have a fun time. If you want more information, consult my type chart as seen here. Now, you’re going to watch out for Psychics, especially in early games, as Poison/Dark Pokemon are uncommon and unfortunately there’s no Poison/Steel or Poison/Psychic yet.

Nostalgia paints a rosy picture for all of us so take this for what you will but one of the best Poison-Type games would be Red, Blue, and Yellow. You can get a Bulbasaur as a starter (or get it later in Yellow), catch a Weedle in the forest and from there, pick up the Nidorans, catch a Zubat in Cerulean Cave, pick up a Bellsprout or Oddish if you’re feeling it, and then find a Gastly/Haunter in the Lavender Tower. Later on, you can find your Tentacool in the seas, Venonat in the Safari, and finally catch a Muk or Koffing in the Cinnabar Mansion. Lots of good choices!

But what if you hate Psychics and realllly want to defend yourself?

Generation 6, 7, and 8 are fantastic but the best games are Pokemon XY.  All these games have diversity and coverage necessary to block attacking types and give you great type coverage.  Sword and Shield have the wonderful Wild Area to give you a plethora of Poison Pokemon, while Sun and Moon can give you Alolan Muk (’nuff said).  XY though are the best as they have the highest diversity of Poison Pokemon in any game and the Pokemon they have are amazing!

I think if I had to choose I would go for Pokémon Y as you can catch a Skrelp and evolve it into a Dragalge! I love this Pokémon but it’s unfortunately rare. You can also get a Bulbasaur (with a mega bonus too!), Venipede, Croagunk, and Zubat fairly early on so that already gives you a good wide base of moves and abilities. Later on you can catch a Nidoran, Stunky, and Tentacool which further expands your movesets. Drapion fans are in luck as Skorupi is catchable with the setback that you won’t find one until late in the game. I’m not even counting other Poison Pokémon as well! So you got a lot of great choices going into it.

Poison Teams in Pokemon Games

Pokemon RBY and FRLG
Ideal Team: Venomoth, Golbat, Venusaur, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Tentacruel
Optional: Vileplume (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Victreebel (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Haunter, Weezing (all versions except Yellow), Arbok (Red, FireRed)
First available Pokémon: Bulbasaur via starter or Nidorans via Route 22 in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Psychic not neutralized.

Pokemon GSC and HGSS
Ideal Team: Haunter, Venomoth, Tentacruel, Victreebel/Vileplume, Crobat, Nidoking/Nidoqueen
Optional: Muk, Weezing, Arbok, Ariados (G, C, HG), Beedril (S, C, SS)
First Pokémon: Weedle (S, C, SS) or Spinarak (G, C, HG) in Route 30.
Via Pokewalker Grimer and Koffing (Town Outskirts at 1500+ steps), Tentacool (Blue Lake at 0+ steps), Gastly (Dim Cave at 1000+ steps), Zubat (Dim Cave at 0+ steps), Venonat (Noisy Forest at 700+ steps), Oddish (Noisy Forest at 0+ steps), Bellsprout (Noisy Forest at 3000+ steps) and the Nidorans (Refreshing Field in 500+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Psychic is not neutralized.

Pokemon RSE and ORAS
Ideal Team: Dustox/Beedril (ORAS)/Venomoth (ORAS), Crobat, Tentacruel, Vileplume, Dragalge (OR), Drapion (ORAS)
Optional: Seviper (S, E, AS), Swalot, Roselia (R, S, ORAS), Muk, Weezing, Garbodor (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Wurmple via Route 101
Covers Weaknesses? Yes except for Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald where Psychic is not neutralized.

Pokemon DPP
Ideal Team: Roserade, Crobat, Drapion, Toxicroak, Tentacruel, Dustox
Optional: Haunter, Stuntank (Diamond)
First Pokémon: Zubat via Route 203 and 204 and Budew via Route 204 both of which can be caught before the first gym
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Pokemon BW and B2W2
BW Ideal Team: Scolipede, Garbodor, Amoongus
First Pokémon: Venipede via Pinwheel Forest after second gym
Cover weaknesses?  No, Psychic is not neutralized.

B2W2 Ideal Team: Scolipede, Weezing, Muk, Crobat, Drapion, Roserade
Optional: Amoongus, Seviper, Garbodor
First Pokémon: Venipede via Route 20 in dark grass after the first gym
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Pokemon XY
Ideal Team: Venusaur, Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Drapion/Skuntank, Scolipede, Toxicroak, Dragalge (Y)/Tentacruel
Optional: Beedrill, Roserade, Vileplume, Swalot, Crobat, Seviper, Haunter, Arbok, Amoonguss, Garbodor, Ariados, Qwilfish
First Pokémon: Weedle via Route 2 in X or Santalune Forest in Y.  Both before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Pokemon SM and USUM
SM Ideal Team: Muk, Crobat, Tentacruel/Toxapex, Gengar (S.O.S. by Haunter in Thrifty Megamark after the Ula’ula Trials), Roserade (scan), Scolipede (scan)
Optional: Victreebel (scan), Ariados, Garbodor, Salazzle
First Pokémon: Spinarak via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Muk, Dragalge (UM)/Salazzle, Crobat, Tentacruel/Toxapex, Gengar (S.O.S. by Haunter in Thrifty Megamark after the Ula’ula Trials), Venusaur (scan)
Optional: Garbodor, Arbok, Salazzle, Ariados, Beedril (scan)
First Pokémon: Spinarak via Route 1
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Pokemon SWSH
Ideal Team: Drapion, Roserade, Toxapex, Weezing, Toxicroak (Shield)/Toxtricity, Gengar
Optional: Vileplume, Skuntank, Garbodor, Salazzle (Shield), Qwilfish, Toxtricity, Eternatus
First Pokémon:  You can always find Stunky in random encounters at North Lake Miloch.  Keep an eye out for Oddish, Gastly, Budew, and Roselia as they can be found throughout the Wild Area.  Finally, Den 29/86 at East Lake Axewell will always spawn Poison Pokemon for Max Raid Battles.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and it’s taken care of before the first gym!

MVP (Most Valuable Pokémon)

Crobat Line

Considered one of the most pestilent, annoying Pokémon, Zubat, and its evolutions, can be found in almost every single game naturally except BW and SWSH. There’s a reason many players dread going into the caves! But to the Poison Type fan, Zubat is a blessing. Not only are they usually found early on but they offer a valuable immunity to Poison’s hated Ground weakness. Zubat’s final evolution, Crobat, is also a solid Pokémon to train. Incredible speed and a wide range of support moves makes Crobat a great partner when tackling your respective region. Oh, and Crobat has the highest stats of any non-Mega, non-Legendary Poison Pokémon. That’s pretty awesome! Plus, Crobat gets a subjective boost as you need to love and support your bat to be its very best! Love it.

Available in: RBY and FRLG (Golbat), GSC and HGSS, RSE and ORAS, DPP, B2W2, XY, SM and USUM

Tentacruel

Similar to the ubiquitous Zubat, you can find Tentacool in almost every game. Unlike Zubat though, Tentacool does not neutralize any weaknesses but the trade-off is pretty great. Tentracruel is a great wall that has decent special attack. Teaching Tentacruel Surf and Ice Beam is a smart way to handle Ground types (and Giga Drain as well in some games!). Tentacruel also learns Toxic Spikes which really hones in that Poison mentality.

Available in: RBY and FRLG, GSC and HGSS, RSE and ORAS, DPP, XY, SM and USUM

Poison/Grass Pokemon

Unfortunately from here, Poison Pokémon are more scattered throughout the games so any I list from now on must be taken with exceptions. That being said, these four itchy and allergenic Pokémon you will more than likely find on your journey. Grass/Poison Pokémon serves as a decent wall for different types and offers a nice neutralization towards Ground moves. Poison status and Leech Seed/Drain moves can make short work of walls while gaining you a nifty HP boost in return. Venusaur is obviously the top choice here as it’s the strongest of the four and, if you’re playing in later generations, can go Mega. That being said, if you want to venom-up your creepy Poison team, I would get a Victreebel ASAP!

Available in: Every game

Poison/Dark Pokemon

One of the best type combos in the games, Poison/Dark is a fantastic combination for Poison Pokemon as that Dark type makes them immune (!) to Psychic attacks!  But the other reason why they’re here on our list is their prevalence.  Drapion, Skuntank, and Alolan Muk are catchable in every game starting from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl onwards with the exception being Pokemon Black and White.  These three can also fight your enemies well.  For instance, Alolan Muk can learn Rock Slide and Flamethrower, Drapion can learn Fire Fang, Aerial Ace, Iron Tail, and Rock Slide, and Skuntank can learn Iron Tail and Flamethrower.

Disadvantages?  Hm, well, they sometimes show up late in the games.  Um, Muk and Drapion’s move diversity is good…but Skuntank’s is okay.  They also have a…Ground weakness…?  But it’s just the one so just…not fight against a Steelix?  These Pokemon are also strong (Muk and Drapion have 500 Total Base Stats while Skuntank has 479) but nothing to write home about.  Really, the only major qualm I have is they don’t show up in earlier games.  At least you can train an Alolan Muk in Let’s Go Pikachu!

Available in: DPP (Skuntank in Diamond and Drapion for all), B2W2 (Drapion), XY (Drapion and Skuntank), ORAS (Drapion), SM and USUM (Muk), SWSH (Drapion and Skuntank)

Nidoking/Nidoqueen

As much as I love the Nidorans, they are unfortunately not that common in the main games; Kanto, Johto, and Kalos are pretty much the main regions you can catch them. That being said, they are great for their nice stats, lovely designs, and a STAB Earthquake bonus. The Nidorans also learn a bunch of moves through TMs like Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Surf. Finally, they both learn moves naturally that can combat weaknesses like Nidoking’s Megahorn and Nidoqueen’s Crunch (but only for Generation 3 and on).

Available in: RBY and FRLG, GSC and HGSS, XY

Scolipede (and other Bug/Poison Pokémon)

Bug/Poison Pokémon are honestly a mixed bag. On the one hand, they’re (usually) available early on, they neutralize Ground weakness and have a STAB, super effective move against Psychics. On the other hand, their stats range from average to poor and what Bug moves they do learn are usually weak (or in early Generations practically nonexistent). Scolipede is the exception to this rule, although mainly available in Black/White and X/Y, Scolipede is a fast, hard-hitting Bug Pokémon that can learn Megahorn naturally and learn some decent TMs, like Earthquake. If you can’t catch a Venipede but still want a Bug, go for the likes of Venomoth or even Dustox. In later generations, they can learn Giga Drain along with Bug Buzz and the incredible Quiver Dance.

Available in: Every game

gengar

Gengar/Haunter

So I honestly hesitate to put Gengar on here as although it is a strong Pokémon, there’s some unfortunate setbacks. First, trading. If you’re going solo you’re basically stuck with a Haunter. Now if you love Haunter that’s not a big deal! I honestly have taken Haunter to the  Elite Four several times and I love that creepy ghost. So if that doesn’t bother you then good!  Fortunately, in Sun/Moon and USUM you can catch a Gengar in the Thrifty Megamart!! After the Ula’ula Trials, go back to the mart, find a Haunter, and have it call for a Gengar via S.O.S.  It may take a few tries but it’s definitely going to be worth it.  Gengar is amazing.  You can also catch a Gengar in the Wild Areas which is amaaaaaazing.

Second, the game appearances. Gengar has a spotty record of locations as it’s entirely absent from Hoenn and basically nonexistent in Unova. Other than that you’re looking at a Pokémon that surprisingly has some early-in-game locations as seen in Johto, Sinnoh, Alola, and Galar.

There’s also a weird sticking point for its ability. Gastly and Haunter have Levitate which is amazing for those Ground moves. Gengar though lost its Levitate ability in Generation VII so be prepared to suffer a OHKO from an Earthquake attack as Gengar’s defenses are low. However, Gengar is a beast! He can learn an amazing array of moves like Shadow Ball, Psychic, Thunderbolt, Dazzling Beam, Energy Ball, and the list goes on. He’s fast as well and that special defense is pretty good. If you can get your hands on a Gengar you’re going to have a stellar time on your Poison Run!

Available in: RBY and FRLG (Haunter), GSC and HGSS (Haunter), DPP (Haunter), XY (Haunter), SM and USUM (Gengar), SWSH (Gengar)

Best Monotype Runs in Pokemon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HG, and SS

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Update 12/5/2019-This article now contains links to my other Single Type Run articles located at the bottom of this page.  I also added more details on the Pokewalker routes.

Pokémon Gold and Silver remains one of the top rated and favorite games in the Pokémon franchise for fans all around. Their popularity was heavily boosted with Heartgold and Soulsilver which, at the time, modernized the games and brought with it Pokémon that could follow you wherever you go. And now, with the rerelease of Pokémon Gold and Silver on the Virtual Console, I thought it was time to revisit these games but this time ask the crucial question, what are the best types for a Monotype (or Single Type) Run?

The full list of teams are located below but first, let’s set some rules

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to discard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed.
  5. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

Best Types

Image from bulbapedia

Generation 2 has an advantage over its predecessor as it’s building off of most of the original 150 Pokémon with the addition of a 100 new Pokémon that bring more type diversity. As such, there are a lot more fun runs to choose in these games compared to Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen. The best type for a Single Type Run is probably the Water type. A huge diversity of Water Pokémon available throughout the game makes this a fun type to play as there are many different team combinations. Most notably, this generation introduced Quagsire which neutralizes Water’s weakness to Electricity and can be caught after the first gym. The Flying type is probably the second best as you can catch about ten different type combinations and there’s a new catchable, Flying Pokémon after each gym battle. If you have HGSS, evolve that Togepi and get a Togekiss for some sweet elemental attacks!  Other types do very well including Ground, Bug, Normal, Poison, and, if you are generous, Grass, Psychic and Rock. Check out the list of team combinations below.

Worst Types

Image from bulbapedia

The usual suspects for a bad Single Type Run are found here namely Dragon and Ice. Dragon’s especially bad as you can only catch a Dratini after the final gym and you can’t get a Kingdra unless you trade for one. Ice is very funky though as although the weaknesses are neutralized regardless of the game, the first Ice Pokémon you can catch is the Union Cave Lapras after you get the Surf HM (which is activated after the 4th gym). So you’ll be playing awhile without any Ice Pokémon. Ghost is also not that swell as despite Gastly’s pre-first gym availability, the next Ghost Pokémon you can catch is Misdreavus at Mount Silver, so basically at the end of the game!  However, if you’re playing HGSS, you can catch one in the Safari Zone but still…not that good of a team.

Since Gold and Silver introduced Dark and Steel it’s no surprise that there is a rather low and late diversity of them in these games. You have some pretty big handicaps as Steelix and Scizor are basically off the table unless you have a trading partner. Then there’s poor Dark as many of the famous Dark Pokémon (Houndoom, Tyranitar, and Sneasel) are available after you beat the Elite Four.  Although once you finally catch that Murkrow, you won’t have to worry about Fighting and Bug attacks (also you can catch a Larvitar in HGSS via the Safari)!

Pokewalker

Before I list Type Team Combinations, I should talk about the Pokewalker. As mentioned before, HG and SS are basically the same game as Gold and Silver with some tweaks, graphics update, and other gameplay features which doesn’t affect a route’s Pokémon. But the Pokewalker, Arceus bless this device, makes it so you can catch some Pokémon as early as the first route. Sure, you might have to do a lot of walking but it will be worth it! The Pokewalker makes it so you can catch Electric, Steel, Psychic, Fighting, Dark, Ice, and even Dragon Pokémon right from the get-go! All these Pokémon are Pokémon you can still catch before the Elite Four so you won’t change your team diversity but at least you can get them earlier. This means you can do a feasible Ice type Run as you can catch a Shelldar and a Smoochum fairly early on. If you still have your Pokewalker, give HG and SS a go because a lot of types become more fun for a Monotype Run. I’ll make special mention of the types that are affected by the Pokewalker below.

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Heracross, Venomoth, Shuckle, Parasect, Scyther/Yanmega, Forretress
Optional: Butterfree (G, C, HG), Beedril (S, C, SS), Ledian (S, C, SS), Ariados (G, C, HG)
First Pokémon: Caterpie (G, C, HG)/Weedle (S, C, SS)/Ledyba (S, C, SS)/Spinarak (G, C, HG) in Route 30 before the first gym. Venonat and Paras via Pokewalker in Noisy Forest at 700+ steps.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Dark
Ideal Team: Murkrow, Umbreon, Tyranitar (HGSS via Safari)
First Pokémon: Eevee given by Bill in Goldenrod after the third gym or Murkrow via Pokewalker in Suburban Area at 1000+ steps.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes, thanks to Murkrow and Fairy not being introduced yet

Dragon
Ideal Team: Dragonite
First Pokémon: Dratini via Dragon Den after the eighth gym or bought at the Goldenrod Game Corner after the second gym. Via Pokewalker in Blue Lake at 5000+ steps.
Covers Weaknesses? No

Electric
Ideal Team: Raikou, Ampharos (G, S, HG, SS), Magneton, Lanturn, Electrode, Jolteon
First Pokémon: Mareep via Route 32 after first gym (except Crystal which would be Magnemite Route 38 after the second gym).  Via Pokewalker Magnemite (Suburban Area at 1000+ steps), Elekid (Suburban Area at 5000+ steps), and Voltorb (Town Outskirts at 3000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Ground is not neutralized.

Fighting
Ideal Team: Primeape (C, G, HG)/Machoke, Poliwrath, Heracross, Hitmontop, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee
First Pokémon: Heracross via headbutting trees after the second gym, Poliwag in Crystal via Route 30 before the first gym, or Machop via Pokewalker (Rugged Road at 1000+ steps and Dim Cave at 0+ steps).
Covers Weaknesses? Psychic and Flying not neutralized.

Fire
Ideal Team: Typhlosion, Magmar, Ninetales (S, SS)/Arcanine (G, C, HG), Flareon/Magcargo (HGSS), Rapidash, Ho-Oh (G, HG), Entei
First Pokémon: Cyndaquil via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No; Rock, Water, and Ground (besides Ho-Oh) are not covered
Note: In HGSS, you can get a Slugma Egg from Primo in Violet City center.  You’ll need to give him a phrase which is dependent on your Trainer ID which you can receive here.

Flying
Ideal Team: Gyarados, Dragonite, Gligar/Gliscor (G, C, HG)/Skarmory (S, C, SS), Murkrow/Honchkrow, Jumpluff/Togekiss (HGSS), Xatu
Optional: Dodrio, Pidgeot, Spearow, Mantine (G, C, HG), Crobat, Yanma/Yanmega, Scyther, Ledian, Butterfree (G, C, HG), Farfetch’d, Ho-Oh (G, HG), Lugia (S, SS)
First Pokémon: Pidgey and Hoothoot via Route 29 before the first gym.
Via Pokewalker Pidgey (Refreshing Field at 0+ steps), Doduo (Refreshing Field at 2000+ steps), Spearow (Noisy Forest at 0+ steps), Hoothoot (Rugged Field at 0+ steps and Suburban Area at 0+ steps), Murkrow (Suburban Area at 1000+ steps), Zubat (Dim Cave at 0+ steps), and Dratini (Blue Lake at 5000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes, regardless of your version

Ghost
Ideal Team: Haunter, Misdreavus (HGSS via Safari Zone)
First Pokémon: Gastly via Sprout Tower (or at night via Route 30 in Crystal) before the first gym; Gastly can also be caught on the Pokewalker in Dim Cave at 1000+ steps.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Ghost and Dark not neutralized

Grass
Ideal Team: Meganium, Jumpluff, Victreebel/Vileplume, Exeggutor, Parasect, Tangela/Tangrowth
First Pokémon: Chikorita via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Flying, Ice, and Fire are not neutralized.

Ground
Ideal Team: Quagsire, Dugtrio, Rhydon, Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Mammoswine/Piloswine, Gligar (G, HG)
Optional: Graveler, Onix, Donphan (G, C, HG), Sandslash (G, C, HG or by slotmachines in S and SS)
First Pokémon: Geodude via the southern route of Route 46 before the first gym and in Crystal you can catch a Phanpy and Geodude on Route 46.
Via Pokewalker Geodude (Rugged Road in 0+ steps), Onix (Rugged Road in 4000+ steps or Dim Cave in 1000+ steps), the Nidorans (Refreshing Field in 500+ steps), and Wooper (Beautiful Beach in 0+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Regardless of your version, all weaknesses are covered

Ice
Ideal Team: Piloswine/Mammoswine, Lapras, Dewgong, Cloyster, Jynx, Delibird (S, C, SS)
First Pokémon: Lapras in Union Cave after the fourth gym or Smoochum (Dim Cave at 5000+ steps) and Shelldar (Blue Lake at 500+ steps) via Pokewalker
Covers Weaknesses? Surprisingly yes

Normal
Ideal Team: Pidgeot, Clefable (HGSS via Safari)/Wigglytuff, Dodrio/Togekiss (HGSS), Girafarig, Miltank, Tauros
Optional: Stantler, Urasaring (S, C, SS), Fearow, Noctowl, Kangaskhan (HGSS via Pokewalker and Safari Zone), Lickitung/Lickilicki (HGSS), Ambipom (HGSS)/Aipom, Persian, Furret, Raticate, Ditto, Dunsparce, Farfetch’d
First Pokémon: Pidgey, Rattata, Sentret, and Hoothoot via Route 29 before the first gym. Via Pokewalker Pidgey (Refreshing Field at 0+ steps), Doduo (Refreshing Field at 2000+ steps), Spearow (Noisy Forest at 0+ steps), Hoothoot (Rugged Field at 0+ steps and Suburban Area at 0+ steps), Rattata (Suburban Area and Town Outskirts at 0+ steps), Sentret (Refreshing Field at 0+ steps), Furret (Town Outskirts at 0+ steps), and Kangaskhan (Refreshing Field at 3000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Poison
Ideal Team: Haunter, Venomoth, Tentacruel, Victreebel/Vileplume, Crobat, Nidoking/Nidoqueen
Optional: Muk, Weezing, Arbok, Ariados (G, C, HG), Beedril (S, C, SS)
First Pokémon: Weedle (S, C, SS) or Spinarak (G, C, HG) in Route 30.
Via Pokewalker Grimer and Koffing (Town Outskirts at 1500+ steps), Tentacool (Blue Lake at 0+ steps), Gastly (Dim Cave at 1000+ steps), Zubat (Dim Cave at 0+ steps), Venonat (Noisy Forest at 700+ steps), Oddish (Noisy Forest at 0+ steps), Bellsprout (Noisy Forest at 3000+ steps) and the Nidorans (Refreshing Field in 500+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Psychic is not neutralized.

Psychic
Ideal Team: Espeon, Exeggutor, Girafarig, Xatu, Jynx, Starmie/Slowbro
Optional: Lugia (S, SS), Kadabra, Hypno, Wobbufett, Mr. Mime (HGSS via Safari), Unown
First Pokémon: Unown at the Ruins of Alph before the first gym; after Unown you can get a Slowpoke at the Slowpoke well before the second gym.
Via Pokewalker Abra (Town Outskirts at 5000+ steps), Wobbufett (Noisy Forest at 4000+ steps), Slowpoke (Beautiful Beach at 1000+ steps), Smoochum (Dim Cave at 5000+ steps), and Staryu (Beautiful Beach at 5000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Dark is not neutralized

Rock
Ideal Team: Tyranitar (HGSS via Safari), Rhydon, Shuckle, Sudowoodo, Corsola, Magcargo (HGSS)
Optional: Graveler, Onix
First Pokémon: Geodude via southern portion of Route 46 before the first gym; via Pokewalker Geodude (Rugged Road in 0+ steps) and Onix (Rugged Road in 4000+ steps or Dim Cave in 1000+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Yes
Note: In HGSS, you can get a Slugma Egg from Primo in Violet City center.  You’ll need to give him a phrase which is dependent on your Trainer ID which you can receive here.

Steel
Ideal Team: Magneton, Forretress, Skarmory (S, C, SS)
First Pokémon: Pineco via headbutting trees after the second gym or Magnemite in Suburban Area at 1000+ steps via Pokewalker.
Covers Weaknesses? No, Fire is not neutralized

Water
Ideal Team: Feraligatr, Gyarados, Quagsire, Slowbro/Starmie, Tentacruel, Lanturn
Optional: Lapras/Dewgong/Cloyster, Vaporeon, Seaking, Golduck, Azumarill, Kingler, Corsola, Poliwrath, Octillery (S, G, HG, SS), Mantine (G, C, HG), Suicune
First Pokémon: Totodile via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Other Pokemon Games
Red/Blue/Yellow
Gold/Silver/Crystal
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
FireRed/LeafGreen
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
HeartGold/SoulSilver
Black/White/Black2/White2
X/Y
OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire
Sun/Moon
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee
Sword/Shield

Types
Bug
Dark
Dragon
Electric
Fairy
Fighting
Fire
Flying
Ghost
Grass
Ground
Ice
Normal
Poison
Psychic
Rock
Steel
Water