Summary
- Mastering type matchups is crucial in Pokemon battles. Choose Pokemon with minimal weaknesses for victory.
- Exceptional Pokemon with limited vulnerabilities have a strategic advantage in battles, making them formidable.
- Understanding the weaknesses and strengths of Pokemon can unlock new strategies and increase the chances of victory.
In the captivating realm of Pokemon battles, mastery of type matchups is crucial for success. It is important to have a Pokemon with few weaknesses to ensure victory on the battlefield. Within the vast Pokemon universe of creatures, it is a common trait for Pokemon to have multiple type weaknesses. However, an exceptional group of individual Pokemon possesses a remarkably limited number of vulnerabilities.
The advantageous typing and unique characteristics of such Pokemon grant them a strategic advantage, making them formidable contenders in any battle they partake in. By delving into the secrets behind their exceptional battle prowess, trainers can unlock new strategies and increase their chances of triumph.
Updated January 10, 2025, by Ben Painter: When it comes to selecting Pokemon to use throughout a trainer's journey, one thing to look at is the weaknesses of each Pokemon. There are a select few creatures who have only one type that deals super effective damage to them, and this is key for selecting a roster of just six Pokemon, as their versatility will be major for harder battles in the Elite Four and beyond. Some types of Pokemon are a lot better than others. The Steel type, for example, has a lot of weaknesses and resistances. So, this list has been updated to include five more Pokemon that have the fewest weaknesses.
20 Forretress
Weakness: Fire (4x)
|
HP: |
79 |
|---|---|
|
Attack: |
90 |
|
Defense: |
140 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
60 |
|
Sp. Def: |
60 |
|
Speed: |
40 |
|
Total: |
465 |
This Bug/Steel Pokemon was made famous by Brock in the anime and by Koga in his Elite Four team in Pokemon Gold & Silver and its remakes. Forretress is an awesome Pokemon to use in the games, and that is largely in part to it only having one weakness (albeit a 4x one) to the Fire type.
However, it has a staggering 140 Defense stat, so if it is hit with a Physical Fire move, it may just survive it. A great strategy for facing off against a tough Fire-type Pokemon would be to counter this weakness with a powerful Explosion move, which may knock out Forretress, but it will certainly take the enemy Pokemon with it.
19 Whiscash
Weakness: Grass (4x)
|
HP: |
110 |
|---|---|
|
Attack: |
78 |
|
Defense: |
73 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
76 |
|
Sp. Def: |
71 |
|
Speed: |
60 |
|
Total: |
468 |
Water and Ground separately don't have a lot of weaknesses. But, the two combined means that it is only left with one weakness: Grass. As both of the types share the same weakness to Grass attacks, it becomes a 4x weakness, but having just one type to be afraid of is still great.
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One of these Water/Ground-type Pokemon is Whiscash, which was first introduced in Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire and is a terrific Pokemon with decent all-around stats, but its excellent HP stat truly shines — meaning it can be used as an effective wall, especially considering it can learn the move Rest.
18 Swampert
Weakness: Grass (4x)
|
Swampert |
Mega Swampert |
|
|
HP: |
100 |
100 |
|
Attack: |
110 |
150 |
|
Defense: |
90 |
110 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
85 |
95 |
|
Sp. Def: |
90 |
110 |
|
Speed: |
60 |
70 |
|
Total: |
535 |
635 |
Another Pokemon who shares just one weakness with Grass is Swampert, the final form of Mudkip, the Water Hoenn Starter Pokemon. Swampert is fantastic in all attributes, apart from Speed, and will be a fantastic choice for a Hoenn playthrough — especially considering the first gym is a Rock-type one.
Some Mega Pokemon receive different types when they transform, but Swampert keeps his original typing. Therefore, Mega Swampert has the same weaknesses, but with an improvement across all the stats. As far as Starter Pokemon go, Swampert is the best as it is the only one out of the lot to have just one weakness.
17 Trash Cloak Wormadam
Weakness: Fire (4x)
|
HP: |
60 |
|---|---|
|
Attack: |
69 |
|
Defense: |
95 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
69 |
|
Sp. Def: |
95 |
|
Speed: |
36 |
|
Total: |
424 |
Surprisingly, Wormadam makes this list despite it not being that great of a Pokemon. But, there is only one out of the three who have the sole weakness, the Bug/Steel-type Trash Cloak form, who is just susceptible to Fire.
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This Pokemon thrives on Defenses, but it doesn't have a whole lot going for it otherwise, and it is seldom used in playthroughs. There are better examples when it comes to Bug/Steel types. Nonetheless, the Bagworm Pokemon has just one weakness. If fans are choosing which way to evolve Burmy, if they choose to use it, the Trash Cloak version is probably the best.
16 Quagsire
Weakness: Grass (4x)
|
HP: |
95 |
|---|---|
|
Attack: |
85 |
|
Defense: |
85 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
65 |
|
Sp. Def: |
65 |
|
Speed: |
35 |
|
Total: |
430 |
Looks may be deceiving when it comes to this Pokemon. This odd-looking Quagsire is amazing in battle with just a weakness to the Grass-type being present. It is, of course, a 4x weakness, meaning a powerful Grass move will most likely knock this Water/Ground-type out.
However, Quagsire can learn a few Ice moves such as Ice Beam, Blizzard, and Ice Punch which can help to counter its one weakness. Other Water/Ground-types that share this one weakness are Swampert, Seismitoad, and Whiscash but Quagsire takes the cake because of how it is favored across the Pokemon fandom.
15 Scizor
Weakness: Fire (4x)
|
Scizor |
Mega Scizor |
|
|
HP: |
70 |
70 |
|
Attack: |
130 |
150 |
|
Defense: |
100 |
140 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
55 |
65 |
|
Sp. Def: |
80 |
100 |
|
Speed: |
65 |
75 |
|
Total: |
500 |
600 |
When Scyther was first introduced in Generation 1 it was a fan-favorite, but it had a lot of weaknesses, including a 4x weakness to the Rock type. This was redeemed starting in Pokemon Gold & Silver with a new evolution in Scizor. This Bug/Steel-type takes away a lot of its predecessors' weaknesses and leaves it with just one, a 4x Achilles heel to Fire.
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It can't learn much to counter this typing but it can use Rain Dance, which will weaken the effect of Fire-type moves for five turns of battle. Another strategy is to just use U-Turn and get out of the battle while dealing a little bit of damage, switching to a Pokemon who can handle Fire types much better.
14 Genesect
Weakness: Fire (4x)
|
HP: |
71 |
|---|---|
|
Attack: |
120 |
|
Defense: |
95 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
120 |
|
Sp. Def: |
95 |
|
Speed: |
99 |
|
Total: |
600 |
Another Bug/Steel-type Pokemon, meaning Genesect has just one weakness to the Fire-type. But what this Mythical Pokemon has as an advantage is the use of its forms, which change depending on what drive it is holding. In this case, a Douse Drive can be inserted, which changes the type of its signature move, Techno Blast, to a Water-type move. Perfect for dealing with Fire types.
Other than that move, it has no other real options to counter its weakness. It does have immunity to Poison moves, which can form a decent strategy when dealing with Pokemon of that type, especially in online battling.
13 Drapion
Weakness: Ground (2x)
|
HP: |
70 |
|---|---|
|
Attack: |
90 |
|
Defense: |
110 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
60 |
|
Sp. Def: |
75 |
|
Speed: |
95 |
|
Total: |
500 |
Shining in defense, but with great all-around stats (apart from Special Attack), Drapion is an excellent choice for a playthrough of a Sinnoh game. What makes it even sweeter is the fact it has one weakness, and this is to Ground, and it is just a 2x weakness to make it even better.
Poison has a big weakness to Psychic, but this is completely neutralized by Dark typing thanks to its immunity. Drapion is a particularly hard Pokemon to train as it evolves from Skorupi at level 40, which happens in a large chunk of the main story, meaning a weaker Pokemon will need to be carried for a large part of the campaign.
12 Skuntank
Weakness: Ground (2x)
|
HP: |
103 |
|---|---|
|
Attack: |
93 |
|
Defense: |
67 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
71 |
|
Sp. Def: |
61 |
|
Speed: |
84 |
|
Total: |
479 |
With its high HP, Skuntank can become a reliable tank Pokemon, but surprisingly for high HP Pokemon, this Poison/Dark-type 'mon is not slow with an 84 base speed. Thanks to its type combo, the Fighting and Bug weakness to Dark are nullified by the Poison typing and the Psychic-type weakness likewise is rendered invalid by its Dark-type.
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This leaves the Skunk Pokemon with just a 4x weakness to Ground, and this can be counteracted by its ability to learn the Grass-type move Trailblaze by TM in the later generations. Skuntank can be a really good 'mon for use in Pokemon team, especially in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.
11 Overqwil
Weakness: Ground (2x)
|
HP: |
85 |
|---|---|
|
Attack: |
115 |
|
Defense: |
95 |
|
Sp. Atk: |
65 |
|
Sp. Def: |
65 |
|
Speed: |
85 |
|
Total: |
510 |
Overqwil is an evolution of Hisuian Qwilfish, which is Dark/Poison as opposed to Water/Poison. First introduced in Pokemon Legends: Arceus the Pin Cluster Pokemon has just one weakness and, thanks to its history of being a Water-type, it counters this beautifully with a whole barrage of Water-type moves such as Brine, Waterfall, and Water Pulse.
This essentially means that Overqwil has no real weaknesses as it can deal with its only adversary with super effective moves. Combining this with its immunity to the Psychic type and its resistance to Poison, Ghost, Grass, and Dark moves, this 'mon is spectacular in battle.