Type (TCG)
The type (Japanese: タイプ type) is a property of Pokémon and Energy cards in the Trading Card Game. It is based on the type mechanic from the Pokémon games.
Available types
Most Pokémon have a single type. However, some Pokémon may have more than one type, a feature introduced in the EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua expansion.
Pokémon often also have one Weakness and one Resistance. Some special Pokémon such as Pokémon-ex have multiple Weaknesses and/or Resistances.
Unlike in the games, there are only eleven known types. Originally, there were only seven known types: Grass 
, Fire 
, Water 
, Lightning 
, Fighting 
, Psychic 
, and Colorless 
. In later expansions, four more types have been added: Darkness 
, Metal 
, Dragon 
, and Fairy 
. The Fairy type was later retired.
Because of the limited number of types, many of the 18 types found in the games have been combined in the TCG, such as Fighting-, Rock- and Ground-type from the games being featured as Fighting-type cards. The Weakness and Resistance of certain Pokémon are also similar to their weaknesses in the games; for example, even though Ice counts as Water-type in the TCG, most Ice-type Pokémon cards are weak to Metal, much like how in the core series Ice-type is weak to Steel. Despite this standard categorization, however, some Pokémon may be featured as a different type than they would.
Few effects may also change or add types, Weaknesses and Resistances to Pokémon in play.
Damage type
Each Pokémon card needs certain Energy cards in order to use an attack. However, when a Pokémon attacks, the type of damage it does is based on the Pokémon's own types and not the type of Energy the attack requires. For example, although Dark Golduck uses Psychic energy to power both of its attacks, these only do double damage against a Pokémon weak to Water, which is Dark Golduck's card type in this instance.
Another difference between the games and the TCG is how damage is calculated according to Weakness and Resistance. Beginning with Base Set, if a Pokémon had a Weakness to another Pokémon's type, that damage done was doubled, and if a Pokémon had a Resistance to another Pokémon's type, that damage was reduced by 30 damage points. Then, beginning with the Diamond & Pearl set, the Weakness and Resistance of newer cards were changed slightly to allow for variation for how damage was adjusted, such as a Weakness that added 30 damage instead of doubling it, or a Resistance reducing damage by 20 instead of 30. Starting with the Black & White series, most Pokémon with a Weakness once again take double the damage, while most Pokémon with a Resistance reduce the damage by 20, and Sword & Shield returned the resistance of newer cards to reducing 30 damage.
In the video games
Trading Card Game series
In Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!, there are seven available Pokémon types: Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Fighting, Psychic, and Colorless.
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This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. |
