Out of all the mystical and strange Pokémon types in the franchise, Fighting-type arguably feels the most realistic. Fighting-type Pokémon are usually heavy-hitting tanks or agile, acrobatic creatures, trading in magical attacks for the ability to kick, punch, and chop their way to victory.
With exceedingly high average attack stats and a variety of secondary types on offer, Fighting-type Pokémon can be tricky to deal with, no matter whether you’re playing Go or Scarlet and Violet. Despite appearances, these punchy Pocket Monsters are not indestructible.
Here, we’ve examined every Fighting-type Pokémon weakness, along with tips on how to beat this type in battle and which Pokémon you should bring to your next match.
How to beat Fighting-type Pokémon
Understanding type advantages and weaknesses is crucial if you want to win matches in a Pokémon game. Matchups like Fire-types and Water-types are easy enough to understand—which is why they’re part of the starter trio, generally—but other type pairings can seem odd.
You can see Fighting-type weaknesses and strengths in the table below. It has five super effective pairings, with three weaknesses and one completely nullified pairing.
| Fighting is super effective against … | Fighting is weak to … | Fighting doesn’t hit … |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Fairy | Ghost |
| Rock | Flying | – |
| Dark | Psychic | – |
| Ice | – | – |
| Steel | – | – |
Visualizing some of these match-ups can be handy. Punching a ghost would be impossible, for example, and Rock Smash is an early game Fighting-type move that literally smashes rocks to bits. Trying to hit a pigeon would also likely be quite difficult.
Additionally, the term “mind over matter” can be helpful for remembering how Psychic-type attacks can easily dispatch Fighting-type critters. There are close to 20 types in the Pokémon world, after all, so having tips and tricks to help with matchups can make team-building much simpler.
To help you pick the strongest Fighting-type Pokémon counters, we’ve gone into its three weaknesses in more depth below, including some examples of strong moves and powerful Pokémon picks.
Fairy
Fairy is the newest type to join the Pokémon world and ever since its introduction in Generation VI, it’s made a splash in the competitive scene.
These Pokémon may look unassuming and cute for the most part, but they’re lethal if you find the right build for them, whether you’re looking at Scarlet and Violet or Pokémon Go.
There are some heavy-hitters topping community VGC tier lists that have Fairy as a primary or a secondary type, like Galarian Weezing (Poison-Fairy), Whimsicott (Grass-Fairy), Clefable (Fairy), and Primarina (Water-Fairy).
These mystical creatures don’t usually have the tankiest builds, but they can be incredibly effective with the right moves, training, and held item—especially if you’re playing against a Fighting-type Pokémon.
Additionally, the Fairy Tera-type is a decent defensive choice that can you can grab in Scarlet and Violet matches to cover for weaknesses. It’s not the punchiest, but picking this up for a non-Fairy Pokémon that knows a move like Play Rough can make a big difference in a battle.
Psychic
Psychic-types are known for being powerful and competitively viable, in VGC, Pokémon Go, and even the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Popular TCG decks like Gardevoir ex can make quick work of Fighting-type critters.
In Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon like Indeedee (Psychic-Normal), Hatterene (Psychic-Fairy), and Gallade (Psychic-Fighting) are popular picks that feature the Psychic-type.
Indeedee is a riskier bring for a VGC match as it also has the Normal typing, so we’d suggest looking at Hatterene for a double-shot of super-effective damage against Fighting-type critters. Viable strategies that feature Hatterene include Healing Wish builds, Trick Room teams, and Calm Mind builds.
In the mainline Pokémon games, Psychic ‘mons are typically lower in defense stats with the ability to act as both damage dealers and support Pokémon. Attacks like Psychic and Psyshock can ruin a Fighting-oriented team, while moves like Trick Room can help swing a battle in your favor.
Psychic-types can often be seen stomping the competition in Pokémon Go, too. Malamar saw plenty of play at LAIC 2025 during Championship Sunday, highlighting how effective the dual typing of Dark and Psychic is.
Pure Psychic-type Pokémon can be incredibly powerful, but more often than not, Pokémon with Psychic as part of a dual typing are the best picks for defeating Fighting-type creatures.
Flying
When you dive into Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for the first time (or any other mainline game, for that matter), one of the first types that you’ll come across is Flying. Flying-type Pokémon often pop up on early routes, like Fletchling, for example, and they remain useful for the majority of the game.
Flying-types can make quick work of Fighting-types in matches, provided you don’t pick one that has Normal as a secondary type.
Normal-Flying dual type Pokémon are common in the franchise, both in Pokémon Go and Scarlet and Violet, and the Normal-type being present can completely negate how effective Flying-type is. It’s not impossible to win with this type, of course, but it’s worth treading carefully.
Look for Pokémon like Dragonite (Flying-Dragon) to deal immense damage and Pelipper (Water-Flying) to act as support for specific comps like Rain teams. The former has access to a great move pool, while the latter can pair perfectly with popular picks like Archaludon in VGC matches.
Best Fighting-type counters to add to your team
The perfect Fighting-type Pokémon counter will depend on what Pokémon you’re specifically facing off against, but generally speaking, Pokémon like Dragonite are a great pick. This behemoth may look goofy, but it’s one of the strongest Pokémon in the franchise, with a Flying-Dragon dual type.
Clefable is another solid solution to a Fighting-type problem. It’s surprisingly tanky for a Fairy-type and has access to both useful support/set-up moves (like Follow Me) and lethal attacks (like Moonblast) that can quickly get rid of punchy opponents.
Sylveon is also worth considering. It’s relatively easy to get in both Scarlet and Violet and Go, and it can fit in a variety of different team compositions. Not only is it a strong Fairy-type, it can also pick up plenty of Psychic-type moves.
While Fighting-types might seem intimidating at first glance, they’re not completely impervious to damage. It’s worth considering which other Pokémon types resist Fighting-type damage while you’re team-building, too.
Poison and Bug-types resist Fighting damage—while they might not be the best offensive options for defeating a Fighting-type team, they can help you stall and look for other win conditions if you’re low on Fairy, Flying, and Psychic-types.
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