Let's be honest. If you’ve been playing Pokémon since the Game Boy days, you probably think you have the gen 9 type chart memorized. Fire beats Grass. Water douses Fire. Ground ignores Electricity. It’s muscle memory at this point, right? But then you jump into a Ranked Battle in Pokémon Scarlet or Violet, and suddenly that Dragonite is turning into a Normal-type and blasting you with an Extreme Speed that hits like a freight train. Or maybe a Gholdengo just sat there and soaked up a Status move that should have shut it down.
The fundamentals haven't shifted—the core 18-type grid is the same one we’ve had since Fairy-type crashed the party in Gen 6—but the context has changed. Gen 9 isn't just about knowing that Ice is weak to Rock; it’s about understanding how the Terastal phenomenon rips the type chart apart and lets players rewrite the rules of engagement on the fly. You're not just playing a game of elemental rock-paper-scissors anymore. You're playing a game where the rock can suddenly turn into paper right as you're trying to cut it.
The Basic Grid Still Matters (Mostly)
Before we get into the crazy stuff, we have to respect the foundation. The gen 9 type chart remains the structural backbone of Paldea. If you’re coming back after a long hiatus, the biggest thing to remember is that the Fairy-type is still the absolute king of the meta. It resists Fighting, Bug, and Dark, it’s immune to Dragon, and it only fears Poison and Steel. Steel remains the best defensive typing, boasting a massive ten resistances and one immunity.
But here’s where it gets tricky. In previous generations, a Pokémon’s type was its identity. If you saw a Tyranitar, you knew it was Rock/Dark. You knew a 4x Fighting-type move would send it packing. In Gen 9, that Tyranitar might suddenly become a Ghost-type. Now, that Close Combat you just clicked? It does zero damage. Nothing. Total turn waste.
Defending Against the Paldean Powerhouses
The power creep in Gen 9 is real. We are dealing with monsters like Flutter Mane and Iron Valiant. If you don't know your resistances, you’re done in three turns.
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Ghost-types are arguably the best offensive type in the game right now. Why? Because only Normal and Dark resist them. And since Normal-types aren't exactly dominating the high-level ladder (outside of the occasional Blissey or Maushold), Shadow Ball is basically a free "press this button to win" move. This is why you see so many people running the gen 9 type chart with a specific focus on Dark-type pivots. You need something that can switch into a Ghost move without losing 70% of its HP.
Terastallization: The Type Chart's Mid-Life Crisis
Terastallization is the biggest mechanic shift we’ve ever seen. Period. Better than Megas. More balanced than Z-Moves. More tactical than Dynamax. When a Pokémon Teras, it adopts a single type. It loses its old defensive profile and takes on a new one. However, it keeps its original STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) and gains a new one for its Tera type. If the Tera type matches its original type, that bonus jumps from 1.5x to 2x.
Think about that for a second. A Water-type using Hydro Pump usually hits for 110 power plus the 50% STAB. If it Teras into a Water-type, that STAB doubles. It’s a nuke. But the real high-level play isn't offensive. It’s defensive.
Imagine you have a Volcarona. It’s 4x weak to Rock. Stealth Rocks ruin its life. But you Tera into a Grass-type. Suddenly, you resist Ground and Water, and that Rock Slide only does neutral damage. You’ve completely flipped the script. This makes the gen 9 type chart a dynamic, living document rather than a static table. You have to predict not just what the Pokémon is, but what it wants to be.
The Rise of the Tera Blast
Tera Blast is the move that made every Pokémon viable—sort of. It’s a Normal-type move that changes to your Tera type upon transformation. It also checks whether your Attack or Special Attack is higher and uses the better stat. This means a physical Fire-type can suddenly have a high-powered Tera Blast Fairy move to deal with pesky Dragons. It has completely removed the "coverage" problem that used to hold certain Pokémon back.
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Why Dual-Typing is Riskier Than Ever
In the past, having two types was almost always better. More resistances! More STAB! In Gen 9, dual-types are a double-edged sword. Take Great Tusk, the Paradox version of Donphan. It’s Ground/Fighting. That’s incredible offensive pressure. But it also gives it six weaknesses, including common types like Fairy, Water, and Grass.
In the current meta, players are using the gen 9 type chart to exploit these "holes" in dual-type defenses. Since everyone has access to a Tera transformation, your opponent is constantly looking for that one 2x or 4x weakness to exploit. If you don't Tera at the right moment, your dual-type tank becomes a liability.
Surprising Type Synergies in Paldea
Some of the best Pokémon in the game right now use weird type combinations that shouldn't work but do.
- Gholdengo (Steel/Ghost): This thing is a nightmare. It has nine resistances and three immunities. Its ability, Good as Gold, makes it immune to status moves. It’s basically the gen 9 type chart personified as a golden surfer.
- Ting-Lu (Dark/Ground): A massive wall. It’s designed to sit there and soak up hits. Its Vessel of Ruin ability lowers the Special Attack of everyone else, making its weaknesses to Fairy and Ice much more manageable.
- Amoonguss (Grass/Poison): Still here. Still annoying. It uses its defensive typing to survive just long enough to put your lead to sleep with Spore.
The "Hidden" Rules of the Gen 9 Meta
If you want to win, you have to stop looking at the chart as a 1:1 interaction. You have to look at the "hidden" rules. For example, did you know that Electric-types can't be Paralyzed? Or that Ice-types are immune to being Frozen and take no damage from Sandstorms (wait, no, that was Gen 4, they get a Defense boost in Snow now!).
That's a huge change. In Gen 9, Hail was replaced by Snow. Snow doesn't do chip damage. Instead, it boosts the Defense of Ice-types by 50%. This made Ice-types, historically the worst defensive type on the gen 9 type chart, actually somewhat tanky. If you see a Baxcalibur in the snow, don't expect a physical move to knock it out easily. You need Special Fire or Fighting moves to break through that frosty shell.
Don't Forget the Immunities
Immunities are the most powerful tool in your kit.
- Ground is immune to Electric.
- Flying is immune to Ground.
- Fairies are immune to Dragon.
- Steel is immune to Poison.
- Dark is immune to Psychic.
- Ghost is immune to Normal and Fighting.
In a game where Terastallization exists, you can bait an opponent into using a Choice-locked move and then Tera into an immunity. If a Choice Banded Dragonite locks into Outrage, you swap to a Fairy-type (or Tera into one), and they are stuck doing zero damage for two turns while you set up a Dragon Dance or a Nasty Plot. It’s a brutal way to win, but it’s the most effective way to use the gen 9 type chart to your advantage.
Practical Steps for Mastering the Paldean Types
You can't just memorize the chart; you have to feel it. But since we aren't all pro players, here is how you actually get better at this.
First, get a dedicated "type calculator" app or keep a tab open. Even the pros do it. When you're in a match and you see a Pokémon you don't recognize—like one of the Paradox forms—check its typing immediately. Don't guess. Is Roaring Moon Dragon/Dark or Dragon/Flying? (It's Dragon/Dark, but it looks like a Salamence, so it's easy to mess up).
Second, look at your team's "Defensive Core." You should have at least one Pokémon that resists the common "big" types: Fairy, Ghost, and Ground. If your entire team is weak to Earthquake, you're going to have a bad time. Find a Flying-type or something with the Levitate ability (like Orthworm with its Earth Eater ability, which is even better because it heals from Ground moves).
Third, experiment with "Defensive Tera." Don't just Tera your strongest attacker to do more damage. Try giving a Tera-Steel type to your support Pokémon. It can turn a losing matchup into a winning one by erasing your weaknesses at the push of a button.
The gen 9 type chart is a tool, not a cage. The players who treat it as a suggestion rather than a rule are the ones who end up at the top of the Master Ball tier. Go out there, transform your types, and stop letting those 4x weaknesses ruin your day. The Paldea region is unpredictable, and your strategy should be too.
Check your team's synergy now. Look for "Type Overlap." If you have three Pokémon weak to Fire, you're asking for a Tera-Fire Chi-Yu to sweep your entire squad. Swap one out for a bulky Water-type or a Flash Fire user like Ceruledge. Small tweaks to your type coverage are the difference between a frustrating loss and a clean sweep.
Next time you’re in a battle, don’t just look at what’s on the screen. Look at what could be there after a Tera. That’s the real secret to Gen 9.