Poison-type Pokémon matchups: Weaknesses, resistances, and counters

Poison-types sit in an unusual spot in the modern type chart. Defensively, they only fold to two attack types, but offensively, they pressure just two targets in return. That trade-off, plus a deep roster of dual-typings, is why Poison shows up on so many competitive teams despite being one of the weakest pure offensive types in the franchise.

Poison-type weaknesses

Poison has only two weaknesses, which is part of what makes the type so durable. Ground hits hardest because most powerful Ground moves (Earthquake, Earth Power, High Horsepower) are widely distributed and frequently come on bulky physical attackers. Psychic is the second weakness and a more awkward one for Poison-types to dodge, since Psychic, Fairy, and Ghost Pokémon all commonly learn Psychic-type moves.

Dual typings can erase or worsen these weaknesses. A Poison/Flying Pokémon like Crobat is immune to Ground but picks up an Electric weakness. A Poison/Ground hybrid, such as Nidoking or Clodsire, drops the Psychic weakness entirely but becomes vulnerable to Water and Ice. Always read the second type before locking in a counter.

Poison-type resistances and immunities

Five resistances is a lot for a single type. Poison resists Grass, Fighting, Poison, Bug, and Fairy at 0.5× damage. Notably, it resists every type that's super-effective against Dark, which is why Poison pairs so well with Dark-types defensively (Drapion, Skuntank, Alolan Muk).

Poison-type Pokémon are also immune to the poison status condition itself. Switching a Poison-type into battle clears Toxic Spikes off your side of the field, and the move Toxic never misses when used by a Poison-type. The one true immunity in the matchup chart works in the other direction: Steel-types take 0× damage from Poison moves, unless the attacker has the Corrosion ability (Salazzle, Salandit).

Poison-type offensive matchups

Offensively, Poison is narrow. It hits Grass and Fairy for 2× damage and nothing else. That sounds thin, but Fairy is one of the strongest defensive types in the game, so having a clean answer to Clefable, Hatterene, Togekiss, and similar threats is genuinely valuable. Against Grass, dual-types like Amoonguss or Roserade often share the Poison typing, which neutralizes the matchup.

Poison moves are resisted by Poison, Ground, Rock, and Ghost, and do nothing to Steel. The takeaway: a Poison move slot is a Fairy/Grass-killer, not a primary STAB you can lean on for general coverage.

How the chart shifted over the generations

The Poison matchup has moved around more than most. In Gen 1, Poison and Bug were super-effective against each other, and Poison hit Bug for 2× damage. From Gen 2 onward, that interaction was rewritten so Bug resists Poison and Poison does neutral damage to Bug. From Gen 6 (Pokémon X/Y) onward, Fairy was added as a new type, and Poison gained Fairy as a second offensive target while also resisting Fairy moves defensively.

One other quirk worth knowing: in Generations 1–3, all Poison-type moves were physical, regardless of the move's feel. The physical/special split in Gen 4 reshuffled which Pokémon were viable Poison attackers.

Best counters to Poison-type Pokémon

The most reliable counters either resist Poison moves, are immune to them, or hit both weaknesses at once. Ground/Steel Pokémon and Ground/Psychic hybrids are the cleanest answers because they cover the weakness chart from both sides.

Steel-types deserve a special mention. Because they're immune to both Poison damage and the poison status, they shut down stall strategies built around Toxic, Toxic Spikes, and chip damage. The trade-off is that Steel moves only deal neutral damage back, so Steel walls are answers, not finishers.

Why Poison-types stay relevant

The defensive math is the headline: only two weaknesses, five resistances, and immunity to the poison status. Add in mechanics like Toxic's perfect accuracy on Poison-type users, Toxic Spikes absorption on switch-in, and held items like Black Sludge (which heals Poison-types instead of damaging them) and Poison Barb (+20% Poison move power), and you have a type that punches above its offensive weight.

The roster also helps. There are 97 Poison-type Pokémon across the franchise, and 81 of them are dual-types. That spread means Poison can plug into nearly any team archetype, from physical attackers like Toxicroak and Drapion, to special threats like Gengar and Naganadel, to tanks like Toxapex and Amoonguss, to legendaries like Eternatus.

If you're building around Poison, lean into the type's bulk and status game rather than expecting raw offensive coverage. If you're countering one, pick a Ground-type with Earthquake or a Psychic-type fast enough to land Psychic or Psyshock before Sludge Bomb comes back the other way, and always check that secondary type first.

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