Once upon a time, Poison-type Pokemon were practically a joke. Psychic-type Pokemon dominated Generation 1, and Poison-type Pokemon could only hit a scant few Pokemon for super-effective damage. Nowadays, Poison-type Pokemon are a force to be reckoned with. Let’s break down how to counter Poison Pokemon.
Poison Pokemon weaknesses and strengths
Poison Pokemon are weak against the foll💖owing types in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and they take more damage in a fight from these types of Pokemon:
- Ground
- Psychic
Poison𓃲 Pokemon will take neutral damage from the f⛦ollowing types:
- Steel
Poison poꦅkemon are resistant to the following types, and take reduced damage♈ against them:
- Grass
- Fairy
- Fighting
- Poison
- Bug
Steel-type Pokemon, in particular, are immune to Poison-type damage. If you’re up against multiple Poison-type Pokemon, bring a Steel-type Pokemon into the mix to make it much harder for them to weaken your team.
Now that you know all of the strengths and weaknesses of Poison-type𓆏 Pokemon, how do you effectively beat them? It ult𒁏imately depends on the Pokemon in question, but you have a few options.
Option 1: Nuke it with its weaknesses
Poison-type Pokemon have two weaknesses: Ground and Psychic. This presents an interesting dilemma. Psychic-type Pokemon typically excel as Special Attackers, with Pokemon like Gallade acting as✱ rare exceptions. Meanwhile, Ground-Type Pokemon are predominately physical attackers. Earthquake is one of the most powerful moves in the game, and monsters like Garchomp have the high stats to deal destructive damage with it.
In other words, the Type of Pokemon you want to use will depend on your enemy’s stats. Clodsire is a great example, since it’s a tanky Pokemon with especially high Special Defense. While you can use Psychic-type moves, you’ll have a greater chance of scoring a one-hit✃ KO with a Ground-type Pokemon. Meanwhile, Psychic-type Pokemon will be the preferred option against Po��kemon like Toxapex.
It should be noted that many Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet favor Special Defense over Defense. This is especially true of Pokemon like 🦹Gengar, who can nuke a Psychic-type Pokemon before it can even act. This isn’t to say Psychic-type Pokemon aren’t effective, but consider this when you’re planning to counter a poison type.
Option 2: Prioritize your own defense
Since the Poison type excels at Defense, you may encounter Pokemon that prefer to prioritize defense and harass you with status ailments. The move Toxic is parti♊cularly deadly, as its damage increases the longer your Pokemon is on the field. If you’re looking to keep all your Pokemon healthy, sometimes the best offense is a good defense.
Steel-type Pokemon are a great answer to this problem. Not only are they immune to Poison-type attac✨ks, but they’re also immune to the Poison status effect altogether. That said, since Steel-type moves only do neutral damage to Poison, you may have a hard time breaking down a bulky opponent with this strategy. Poison-type Pokemon ꧙are also immune to the Poison status effect, though they’ll have an even harder time fighting back since the Poison-type resists itself.
It’s worth noting that a Pokemon already suffering from a status ailment can’t be affected by another ailment aside from Confusion. A Pokemon that knows Poison Heal, like Breloom, can also turn the tables and get healed by being affected with Poison. However, these strategies are extraordinarily risky and unreliable, so only take a gamble like this if you are in an incredibly niche situation.
Option 3: Look at its other type
Of all the Poison-Type Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet, only two are pure Poison-Type. These Pokemon are Muk 🍎and Swalot, and neither is dangerous enough for you to plan around sp🧔ecifically.
This gives you the freedom to counter Poison-type Pokemon by considering its secondary type. For example, Amoonguss is a 🍸Grass/Poison-type Pokemon that has appeared on many🦂 competitive teams. While Psychic is effective against it, you can hit it hard with Fire, Flying, and Ice-type attacks by targeting its Grass-type. In another example, Gengar’s Ghost-type attacks will deal less damage to a Dark-type than a Ground-type, meaning it would need a move like Focus Blast to deal any notable damage.
For many Poison Pokemon, Ground-type attacks will be the best way to dispatch them quickly. Just remember to take your opponent and their team into account when considering your counterplay. In the competitive scene, your opponent will surely be trying to cover their common weaknesses with items like Air Balloon. There is no catch-all option to defeat a Poison-type Pokemon, b𝕴ut if you keep all your potential options in mind, you’ll be able to come out on top.
Pokemon that counter Poison Pokemon
Here are some Pokemon Scarlet and Violet counters for Poison Pokemon:
Garchomp
| Stat | Value |
| HP | 108 |
| Attack | 130 |
| Defense | 95 |
| Sp. Atk | 80 |
| Sp. Def | 85 |
| Speed | 102 |
| Type | Dragon/Ground |
As you can see, Garchomp’s base stats make him a powerful physical attacker. Having a physical Ground-type move on him, such as Earthquake, can devastate most poison types. If you’re facing a Toxapex or a Fezandipiti, however, Garchomp might fall short.
Sure, he could stand up to either💫 of those, but their high Defense stat makes the j✱ob harder and could prevent a one-hit KO, meaning they could get some damage in on your Garchomp before they go down.
Rhyperior
| Stat | Value |
| HP | 115 |
| Attack | 140 |
| Defense | 130 |
| Sp. Atk | 55 |
| Sp. Def | 55 |
| Speed | 40 |
| Type | Ground/Rock |
Let’s get this clear: Rhyperior will get shredded by something like a Gengar with his low Sp. Def, but his crazy high attack and defense stats will help him to breeze through just about any Poison-type encounter. However, you will need to soak up some damage with him since his Speed stat gets beaten by just about anything.
If you’re up against a dangerous Poison-type Pokemon, a Quick Claw could be useful to try and get the first hit. It’s unlikely that a Poison-type will survive even one Earthquake from a Rhyperior. You might also consider Left Overs to recover HP and keep Rhyperior in the fight.
Clodsire
| Stat | Value |
| HP | 130 |
| Attack | 75 |
| Defense | 60 |
| Sp. Atk | 45 |
| Sp. Def | 100 |
| Speed | 20 |
| Type | Ground/Poison |
Clodsire, being a ꧑Poison-Ground hybrid, is a fantastic counter to poison Pokemon. His Poison subtype grants him resistance to being poisoned, while his Ground type allows him to dish out massive damage against other Poison types.
The downside is quite clear, he is very slow, lacks big defense, and lacks good attacking stats. With the right EVs though, he can put up a fight against most Poison types. You’ll want to focus on Physical moves with him, as well, since he doesn’t have much in the way of Sp Atk.
Gallade
| Stat | Value |
| HP | 68 |
| Attack | 125 |
| Defense | 65 |
| Sp. Atk | 65 |
| Sp. Def | 115 |
| Speed | 80 |
| Type | Psychic/Fighting |
Gallade offers no๊ resistance against Poison-type attacks, given his typing. However, he can learn Psycho Cut, and, given his high attack stat, he can easily take out any Poison-type special attackers. He also boasts good Sp. Def, but he still falls short against a Gengar.
If you’re fighting a Gengar, go for a ground type, else, Gallade can get the job done.
Excadrill
| Stat | Value |
| HP | 110 |
| Attack | 135 |
| Defense | 60 |
| Sp. Atk | 50 |
| Sp. Def | 65 |
| Speed | 88 |
| Type | Ground/Steel |
Ground-type Pokemon aren’t known for their speed, but Excadrill can compete in that arena. His high attack makes him a great counter to Poison-type Pokemon, and his high attack stat makes him more of a threat to most.
His steel typing grants him immunity against Poison attacks, so you’re at virtually no risk against Poison types. However, with so many dual typings around in modern Pokemon, that doesn’t mean you won’t have to take a few hits — luckily, his high HP stat allows Excadrill to soak up a few of those, too.
Lugia
| Stat | Value |
| HP | 106 |
| Attack | 90 |
| Defense | 130 |
| Sp. Atk | 90 |
| Sp. Def | 154 |
| Speed | 110 |
| Type | Psychic/Flying |
If you can get your hands on the Lugia as part of The Indigo Disk DLC, then you’ve got pretty much the ultimate counter to Poison types. Lugia is a powerful defender with high Defense and insane Sp. Def. Its attack stats are nothing to sneeze at, either.
This is a great c꧋ounter to Gengar, mostly, but a Lugia can comfortably tꦗake on any Poison-type Pokemon and decimate them quite easily. If you can only choose one Pokemon to counter all the Poison types in Scarlet and Violet, let it be Lugia.
We only wish he was easier to get.
What makes Poison-type Pokemon so strong?
Poison-type Pokemon are powerful defensively. They resist a whopping 💫five different types by themselves, which only puts them behind Fire and Steel-type Pokemon for the most resistances. Yet unlike those two, Poison-type only takes Super Effective damage from two types total. While Poison-type Pokemon only hit Grass and Fairy-type Pokemon f🐓or super effective damage, they also resist Fairy-type Pokemon. Given the sheer power of Fairy-type Pokemon, this gives Poison-type Pokemon a powerful niche.
Published: Jan 14, 2025 07:08 am