Evergreen
Dual-Type Pokémon in Pokémon GO: How Two Types Combine
How dual-type Pokémon take damage in Pokémon GO: the multipliers behind double weaknesses, cancelled matchups and double resistances, with examples.
Plenty of Pokémon have two types, and that second type changes far more than the color of the label. When a dual-type Pokémon is hit, Pokémon GO checks the move's type against each of the defender's types separately and then multiplies the two results together. Our type chart gives every single matchup; this page is about what happens when two of them combine.
The combination table
At the time of writing, GO uses 1.6× for super effective, 0.625× for not very effective and about 0.39× (0.390625×) for the matchups that are a full immunity in the main series games. Multiply the two matchups and you get one of these results:
| Against the first type | Against the second type | Combined | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super effective (1.6×) | Super effective (1.6×) | 2.56× | Double weakness: the highest type multiplier possible |
| Super effective (1.6×) | Neutral (1×) | 1.6× | An ordinary weakness |
| Super effective (1.6×) | Not very effective (0.625×) | 1× | The two cancel out exactly: neutral damage |
| Neutral (1×) | Not very effective (0.625×) | 0.625× | An ordinary resistance |
| Not very effective (0.625×) | Not very effective (0.625×) | ~0.39× | Double resistance |
| Super effective (1.6×) | Mainline immunity (~0.39×) | 0.625× | Works out as an ordinary resistance: the immunity outweighs the weakness |
| Neutral (1×) | Mainline immunity (~0.39×) | ~0.39× | The immunity on its own |
| Not very effective (0.625×) | Mainline immunity (~0.39×) | ~0.24× | The lowest type multiplier possible |
A double resistance (0.625 × 0.625) lands on exactly the same 0.390625× as a mainline immunity, so a Pokémon resisting twice shrugs off a move just as well as one that is "immune" to it. And because each attacking type has at most one of those mainline no-effect matchups, and no Pokémon has more than two types, 2.56× and roughly 0.24× are the hard ceiling and floor for type effectiveness.
Well-known examples
| Pokémon | Types | Attacking type | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gyarados | Water/Flying | Electric | 2.56×: Electric beats both types |
| Scizor | Bug/Steel | Fire | 2.56×, and its only weakness |
| Garchomp | Dragon/Ground | Ice | 2.56× |
| Lapras | Water/Ice | Fire | 1×: Water resists what Ice is weak to |
| Quagsire | Water/Ground | Electric | 0.625×: Ground's immunity outweighs Water's weakness |
| Skarmory | Steel/Flying | Grass | ~0.39×: both types resist |
| Gengar | Ghost/Poison | Fighting | ~0.24×: an immunity plus a resistance |
Scizor (Fire) and Quagsire (Grass) each end up with a single weakness: their two types cover each other's gaps so well that only one attacking type still gets through, and it gets through twice. Swampert shares Quagsire's Water/Ground typing; our Hoenn page covers it and the rest of its generation.
Working out any dual type in four steps
- Split the defender into its two types, for example Rock and Electric for Alolan Golem.
- Look up the attacking type against each one separately on the chart.
- Multiply the two numbers. Ground against Rock (1.6×) and against Electric (1.6×) gives 2.56×, while the original Rock/Ground Golem takes only 1.6× from the same move. That is why a regional form needs its matchups checked from scratch.
- Only then think about the extras: the same-type attack bonus (from the attacker's types) and, in raids and Gym battles, a weather boost (from the move's type) don't depend on the defender at all, and apply on top of this number.
The attacking side works differently
A Pokémon's two types set the type multiplier on the damage it takes. How much it deals depends on the type of each move it uses, so a dual-type attacker can hit super effectively with a move that matches neither of its types. What the two types do add on offense is the same-type attack bonus, which applies to moves of either type, so a dual-type Pokémon has two move types that can earn the bonus.
Weather follows a similar rule. A dual-type Pokémon counts as weather boosted when you encounter it if the current weather boosts either of its types, while in raids and Gym battles the boost goes to moves of the boosted types (weather doesn't affect Trainer Battles). Our weather boosts page lists which weather favors which type.
Practical takeaways
- When choosing raid counters, look for an attacking type that hits both of the boss's types: 2.56× is a huge edge over a single weakness.
- Don't trust a single "weak to" label. A weakness can be cancelled by the second type, as Lapras shows against Fire.
- For your own team, a dual type that resists or cancels the moves you expect to face is often worth more than raw CP.
More reference pages, from single types to raid tiers, are linked from the Trainer Hub homepage.