Flying-type Pokémon Weaknesses and Strengths Explained

If you’re finding your battles disrupted by Flying-type Pokémon, here’s a guide to leveraging their vulnerabilities and effectively countering them in combat.

Flying-type Pokémon can be notably evasive and quite irksome to face in Pokémon games. Their ability to soar into the sky allows them to evade incoming attacks before countering with pinpoint precision.

Which Types Are Flying Pokémon Weak Against?

Flying-type Pokémon exhibit three key weaknesses in battle, making them susceptible to specific move categories and opposing types:

Rock
Electric
Ice

To effectively take down a Flying-type Pokémon, assemble a roster with Pokémon that have these types and equip them with appropriate moves.

Strengths of Flying-type Pokémon

In addition to their weaknesses, Flying-type Pokémon also possess resistances to certain types: they resist Fighting, Bug, and Grass moves and are completely immune to Ground moves. Therefore, it’s wise to steer clear of Ground-type attacks or utilize moves like Gravity to negate the immunity.

On the flip side, unleash your Flying Pokémon against Grass, Fighting, and Bug-type entities to inflict super effective damage.

Weaknesses of Flying-type Pokémon

In addition to being vulnerable to Electric, Ice, and Rock-type attacks, Flying Pokémon also fare poorly against Electric, Rock, and Steel-type moves when they have pure Flying movesets due to low damage output.

Effective Types Against Flying Pokémon

When facing Flying-type Pokémon, opt for Pokémon that are purely of the Electric, Ice, or Rock types. Combining two of these types increases your advantage significantly.

Here are some of the top Pokémon to deal with Flying-types:

Alolan Golem (Rock/Electric)
Aurorus (Rock/Ice)
Iron Thorns (Rock/Electric)
Arctozolt (Electric/Ice)
Hisuian Avalugg (Ice/Rock)

Remember, while these Pokémon are formidable choices, their effectiveness may vary based on the opposing Pokémon’s resistances stemming from their primary and secondary types.

Alolan Golem pokemon dexerto — THE POKEMON COMPANY

Powerful Moves Against Flying Pokémon

There is a wealth of super-effective Electric, Rock, and Ice moves available for battling Flying-type Pokémon. Here are some suggested moves due to their effectiveness:

Bolt Strike (Electric)
Zap Cannon (Electric)
Thunder (Electric)
Rock Wrecker (Rock)
Meteor Beam (Rock)
Stone Edge (Rock)
Ice Burn (Ice)
Blizzard (Ice)
Ice Beam (Ice)
Icicle Spear (Ice)

Bolt Strike is a powerful physical move, delivering 130 damage with a 20% chance to paralyze the target, a typical effect of Electric attacks. Meanwhile, Zap Cannon guarantees paralysis at the cost of lower accuracy, whereas Thunder has better accuracy but lower paralysis chances.

Rock Wrecker stands out as the strongest physical Rock move, inflicting 150 damage with 90% accuracy, ensuring it rarely misses. However, the user must recharge after using this attack. Alternatively, Stone Edge has an increased critical hit ratio, making it a solid choice.

As for Ice moves, Ice Burn is the most powerful special Ice attack with 140 power and a charge-up turn required. It also comes with a 30% chance to burn the opponent. Icicle Spear, while not as potent, hits 2-5 times per turn with guaranteed accuracy and a significant PP count, allowing for frequent use.

Optimal Tera Types

The introduction of Tera Types in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has shifted battle dynamics; consider these types to enhance your Flying Pokémon:

Flying: Increases the potency of Flying moves due to STAB
Ground: Provides immunity against Electric-type moves and boosts resistance to Rock-type attacks
Steel: Nullifies vulnerabilities to Ice and Rock moves

Corviknight in the Pokemon anime — The Pokemon Company

Top Flying-type Moves

There are 30 different Flying-type moves available, but we’ve handpicked the most powerful special, physical, and status moves for use in battles:

MOVE	CATEGORY	POWER	ACCURACY	PP	EFFECT	GEN
Hurricane	Special	110	70%	10	May confuse the opponent	Gen V
Aeroblast	Special	100	95%	5	High critical hit ratio	Gen II
Bleakwind Storm	Special	100	80%	10	May lower the opponent’s Speed	Gen VIII
Oblivion Wing	Special	80	100%	10	User recovers most HP inflicted on the opponent	Gen VI
Sky Attack	Physical	140	90%	5	Takes a turn to charge. High critical hit ratio, may cause flinching	Gen I
Brave Bird	Physical	120	100%	15	User takes recoil damage	Gen IV
Dragon Ascent	Physical	120	100%	5	Reduces user’s Defense and Sp. Defense	Gen VI
Fly	Physical	90	95%	15	Takes a turn to charge	Gen I
Feather Dance	Status	X	100%	15	Sharply reduces the opponent’s Attack	Gen III
Roost	Status	X	X	5	User recovers half of its max HP but loses Flying type temporarily	Gen IV