We’ve compiled a guide to everything trainers need to know about Psychic-type Pokemon.
Most trainers will recall psychic-types based on one particularly frustrating encounter with a generation one Pokemon: Abra. Those who have encountered Abra are likely to have been on the receiving end of an irritating use of teleport — whether in the first few overland games or in the spin-offs featuring this Pokemon in the wild.
There are 98 unique psychic-types in Pokemon making up over 10% of all known species. This makes them the fifth most common type.
Previously, before Generation IV, all psychic-type moves were special attacks rather than physical attacks — much like fire-types.
What is a Psychic-type Pokemon?
A psychic-type Pokemon are among the premier collection of types originally shipped with the first ever generation of Pokemon. They are typically defined by their ability to use special psychic abilities and often share that motif within their designs. Before the introduction of dark and fairy-types, psychic-types also had stronghold on magic-like aesthetics.
Examples include Abra, its evolved forms known for holding spoons, Kadabra and Alakazam, Mew and its cousin Mewtwo, Espeon, any of the three Sinnoh Lake Guardians — Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit — and newer species like Hatenna and Hattrem.
Psychic-type Pokemon Weaknesses
Psychic-type Pokemon suffer super-effective damage from:
- Ghost-types
- Bug-types
- Dark-types
They also deal half damage to:
- Psychic-types
- Steel-types
Their moves are unable to affect dark-types.
Psychic-type Pokemon Strengths and Resistances
Psychic-type Pokemon deal double, super-effective damage to:
- Poison-types
- Fighting-types
They receive half-damage from:
- Psychic-types
- Fighting-types
Trainers can remove dark-type Pokemon’s immunity to psychic moves with the Miracle Eye. Additionally, in newer games, matches afflicted with Psychic Terrain experience a 30% boost to psychic moves as long as the user is on the ground.
Best Counters for Psychic-type Pokemon
Psychic-types are most commonly paired with fairy, dragon, steel, and flying-types. Therefore, the best types to go after a psychic-type would be dark or steel. This would make the best Pokemon for the job Pawniard and/or its evolved form, Bisharp.
Trainers may also be inclined to pick up pure dark-types like Absol and Umbreon, pure steel-types like Perrserker and Klinklang, or hybrid Pokemon like Mandibuzz or Tyranitar.
Those interested in learning more about the different Pokemon types such as the elusive ghost-type can be found on our website.
This article was originally published on dbltap as Psychic-Type Pokémon Weakness and Resistances.