Flying types take double damage from Electric, Ice and Rock moves. They also hold the only clean immunity to Ground attacks, which keeps them on teams that would otherwise fold to Earthquake. Three resistances round out the spread. The tables below cover both directions, plus the second typings that push a 2x hit up to 4x.
How to Beat Flying Type Pokemon
Rock gives the widest answer. Tyranitar, Rhyperior and Nihilego hit for 2x while resisting Flying moves in return, so the exchange runs one way. Stealth Rock uses the same effectiveness and clips a bird for 25 percent on entry.
Electric coverage is quicker. Thunderbolt and Volt Switch sit on a huge share of special attackers, and most Electric Pokemon outspeed the bulkier Flying builds outright.
Ice is the highest ceiling of the three. It reaches 4x against Dragon and Ground pairings, which covers Dragonite, Salamence and Gliscor from one move slot.
What Is Flying Type Weak To
A pure Flying Pokemon carries three weaknesses, three resistances and one immunity. The immunity is what earns the typing a slot on defensive cores.
| Attacking type | Damage taken | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Rock | 2x | Weak |
| Electric | 2x | Weak |
| Ice | 2x | Weak |
| Bug | 0.5x | Resists |
| Fighting | 0.5x | Resists |
| Grass | 0.5x | Resists |
| Ground | 0x | Immune |
| All other types | 1x | Neutral |
Earthquake is the most used physical move across most formats, and a Flying Pokemon removes it from the calculation. That single line explains most of the type’s usage, and the wider type effectiveness chart shows how rare a clean 0x is.
The Fighting resistance matters just as much in practice. Hawlucha and Tornadus switch into Close Combat without risk, while a Fighting attacker loses its main route in.
Flying Type Pokemon With a 4x Weakness
A second typing decides whether the hit lands at 2x or 4x. Some pairings stack a weakness, others erase one.
| Pokemon | Typing | Takes 4x from |
|---|---|---|
| Charizard | Fire / Flying | Rock |
| Talonflame | Fire / Flying | Rock |
| Gyarados | Water / Flying | Electric |
| Dragonite | Dragon / Flying | Ice |
| Gliscor | Ground / Flying | Ice |
| Articuno | Ice / Flying | Rock |
Skarmory sits outside that list. Its Steel half resists Rock and drops the weakness to neutral, leaving Fire and Electric as the only 2x routes, and the Steel matchup notes explain why it walls so much.
Gliscor trades one problem for another. The Ground typing cancels the Electric weakness and adds a second immunity, then hands Ice a 4x opening.
What Flying Type Moves Are Strong Against
Flying hits Bug, Fighting and Grass for 2x. Brave Bird and Hurricane run off that spread alone and still cover a large slice of the metagame.
| Defending type | Damage dealt | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Bug | Super effective | 2x |
| Fighting | Super effective | 2x |
| Grass | Super effective | 2x |
| Electric | Not very effective | 0.5x |
| Rock | Not very effective | 0.5x |
| Steel | Not very effective | 0.5x |
| All other types | Neutral | 1x |
Nothing blocks Flying outright, which puts it ahead of most attacking types on reliability. A Normal move gets blanked by Ghost, and Fighting gets blanked by the same wall.
The three resistances line up with the three weaknesses, so Rock and Electric attackers beat Flying on both sides of the turn. Teams usually pair a bird with a Water partner to soak that coverage.
Ways to Remove the Ground Immunity
Gravity grounds every Flying Pokemon on the field for five turns. Earthquake then lands at neutral, and accuracy on moves like Hurricane climbs at the same time.
Smack Down and Thousand Arrows do it to one target. Roost removes the Flying typing for a single turn, so a Ground move connects if the user predicts the recovery.
Ingrain and Iron Ball work on the holder’s own side. Each strips the immunity in exchange for a benefit, and a Rock attacker paired with Smack Down turns the trick into a two-move sequence.
FAQs
What is flying type weak against?
Flying types take 2x damage from Electric, Ice and Rock moves. Those are the only three weaknesses. A shared second type can raise one of them to 4x, as with Gyarados against Electric.
Are flying types immune to Ground moves?
Yes. Ground attacks deal 0x damage to any Pokemon with a Flying typing, including Earthquake and Earth Power. Gravity, Smack Down and Thousand Arrows remove that immunity.
What does Flying hit for super effective damage?
Flying moves deal 2x to Bug, Fighting and Grass types. Electric, Rock and Steel halve the damage. No type blocks Flying attacks completely.
Why does Stealth Rock hurt flying types so much?
Stealth Rock uses Rock effectiveness. A Flying Pokemon loses 25 percent of its health on entry, and a Fire or Ice second typing raises the loss to 50 percent.
Which flying Pokemon has the fewest weaknesses?
Skarmory. Its Steel and Flying combination takes 2x from Fire and Electric only, resists nine types, and blocks Ground and Poison moves entirely.
