Pokemon gets a lot of things right. Let's face it, it didn't become one of the largest media franchises in the world by screwing things up. However, the truth is that there are plenty of improvements that can be made in the games, and one of the major ones is balancing the type chart. Many Pokemon types are simply too powerful, while others suffer from a major lack of development.
Every Pokemon creature and move has an elemental type associated with it. Each of these eighteen types has various strengths and weaknesses in both attack and defense. These differences can be quickly referenced by checking out the Pokemon Type Chart. However, looking at the Type chart shows the glaring differences that need to be immediately corrected to restore balance in the games.
6 Steel-type Changes
Steel is easily one of the best types in the game. With 10 resistances, an immunity, and only 3 weaknesses to Fire, Fighting, and Ground, it is the best defensive type by far. In fact, it's almost overwhelmingly good. In addition to its incredible defenses, it's not a bad attacking type, either, being able to hit Rock, Ice, and Fairy for super effective damage.
A simple way to lessen Steel's power is to make it weak to Electric-type damage. This helps out both types, as Electric could use another offensive strength (it currently has only two), and Steel needs another weakness, to help balance out its monstrous resistances. This makes sense logically too. Steel is an electric conductor, which is the same logic behind Water-type's weakness to Electric.
In addition to a new weakness, Steel should also lose its resistance to Ice and Psychic, allowing both of them to hit it for neutral damage. Ice is easy to explain: cold makes metal brittle, so this fits logically. Psychic, however, requires a bit more context. The reason Steel resists Psychic is a remnant from Gen 2 changes to the type chart. Steel (and Dark) were created for the sole purpose of countering the Psychic-type, the best type in Gen 1. Logically, though, this resistance never made sense. The Psychic-type represents the mind, the mental state. It's not a physical thing, so Steel resisting it doesn't add up.
5 Electric-type Changes
The Electric-type needs another weakness, as it is only one of two whole types (the other being Normal) that are only currently weak to a single type. At a glance, there doesn't seem to be any logical type that could hit Electric super effectively, but there is actually an obvious one: Ghost.
Electric becoming weak to Ghost hinges on two common clichés in ghost stories: ghosts being able to possess electronics (the Pokemon Rotom is based on this very idea), and technology acting strange whenever a ghost is nearby. It's common in ghost stories to see a TV randomly turning to static, lights beginning to flicker, a radio changing stations on its own, and more. Obviously, ghosts can cause electrical inference, making it a logical weakness for Electric-type Pokemon.
4 Ghost-Type Changes
Additionally, because of the reasons listed above, Ghost-type Pokemon should also resist Electric-type attacks. Furthermore, the Electric resistance should replace the Bug-type resistance. Ghosts and insects don't inherently have much of a relationship. The only way to justify Ghost-type getting its Bug resistance is to say that Ghosts are incorporeal; however, that argument can be used against almost every type except Psychic.
Possibly the most exciting thing this change would bring, however, is that it would finally make Ghost and Dark different types offensively. Ghost and Dark both hit the exact same types for super effective damage, Ghost and Psychic. If this change were to be implemented, Ghost and Dark would finally feel different for players to use in battle.
3 Grass-type Changes
One change should be made to the Grass-type that would have a massive impact on the game if it were to become a reality. Grass should be immune to the Fairy-type. Fairy, like Steel, is in some desperate need of being knocked down a peg or two. It is a very powerful type despite how new it is, having three strengths, only two weaknesses, and three resistances. Additionally, only three types resist Fairy-type attacks, making it even stronger.
The Grass-type would also benefit from this change. Resisted by seven different types and having five defensive weaknesses, the Grass-type struggles, to say the least. Giving Grass immunity to a rather prevalent type would be a huge boon for it. This makes sense logically too. In a great deal of folklore, fairies are nature spirits, meaning they're not supposed to harm plants. Thus, dealing damage to a Grass-type completely goes against their purpose.
2 Poison-type Changes
Much like with Grass, just one change will make a huge difference. Water should become weak to Poison. The Poison-type leaves a lot to be desired offensively, as it only hits Grass and Fairy for super effective damage. The Fairy strength is an advantage, as that's a very strong type, but the Grass strength is negligible, as Grass already has four other weaknesses.
Water, on the other hand, is a lot like Fairy and Steel in that it's overwhelmingly good. With only two resistances and three offensive strengths, the Water-type is a force to be reckoned with. If it were weak to Poison, however, things could get interesting.
This one change would boost Poison's offensive value tremendously, as Water is not only one of the best types in the game, it's also the most common. Thus, Poison would suddenly have a ton of new Pokemon it can deal real damage to. Like others mentioned on this list, the logic behind this change is also appropriate. Poison is the pollution type, and water pollution is, unfortunately, both common and devastating.
1 Bug-type Changes
Bug is the type most in need of a big overhaul (aside from Ice). While it's not bad defensively, with three resistances and three weaknesses, the Bug-type falls apart offensively. Like Grass, it is resisted by a whopping seven different types, and it only hits three for super effective damage.
The types that resist Bug are Fire, Flying, Poison, Steel, Fighting, Ghost, and Fairy. There isn't a problem with those first four, they all make sense. The last three however, feel like they were picked arbitrarily. As mentioned above, Ghost makes no sense, and Fighting and Fairy aren't much better. If a fairy gets stung by a bee or bitten by an ant, it will still hurt; this damage should at least be neutral. Meanwhile, Fighting is the closest thing Pokemon as a species has to a "human" type, and bugs can easily deal neutral damage here. Ghost, Fairy, and Fighting should all lose their Bug-type resistance, allowing Bug to hit them for neutral damage. This would bring the number of types Bug is resisted by from seven to four, a much more respectable number.
Bug's defensive side also needs help. Bug has a Fighting resistance which, much like the other way around, makes no logical sense. The resistance should become neutral. With this change, Bug now only has two resistances, Ground and Grass. To balance this, add Psychic and Fairy to Bug's resistance list. This would further weaken the Fairy-type, which is much needed, and give Psychic another type that resists it.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is currently available for Nintendo Switch. Pokemon Legends: Arceus will be released on January 28, 2022.
