Most Rock-type Pokemon might cause you to hit a wall when facing them if you don’t know their weaknesses, so here’s everything you need to defeat them.
Rock-type Pokemon can be tough to take down, as they are literally as hard as stone by their very nature. They’re also easily confused with Ground-type Pokemon and can be deadly to an inexperienced trainer who doesn’t know how to exploit their weaknesses.
However, as with any element in the Pokemon game series, Rock types can be countered, so here’s what you need to come out victorious in battle.
What is Rock-type weak to?
Rock-type Pokemon have five primary weaknesses when it comes to moves and opposing Pokemon types:
Don’t forget that a Pokemon can have two types, so be sure to take advantage of any other weaknesses they may have by being aware of their secondary type.
Rock-type strengths
Even though they don’t benefit from any immunity, Rock types can hold their ground against Fire, Flying, Normal, and Poison-type attacks.
Additionally, Rock-type attacks are super effective against Bug, Fire, Flying, and Ice-type Pokemon. So, when you go into battle with or against a Rock-type Pokemon, be sure to switch these out accordingly.
Rock-type weaknesses
Grass, Water, Steel, Fighting, and Ground are the Rock-type Pokemon weaknesses, so when trying to take one down, focus on these five options.
On the other hand, if you happen to add a Rock-type to your team, never put it up against Fighting, Ground, or Steel, as Rock moves are not very effective against those.
Super effective types against Rock Pokemon
When competing against Rock types, you can target any of their 5 weaknesses – Grass, Water, Steel, Fighting, and Ground – by using pure-type Pokemon. However, those that combine two Rock-type weaknesses are even better.
The best Pokemon you should use to counter Rock-type Pokemon are listed below:
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- Lucario (Fighting/Steel)
- Poliwrath (Water/Fighting)
- Great Tusk (Ground/Fighting)
- Iron Treads (Ground/Steel)
- Ogerpon Wellspring Mask (Grass/Water)
Always bear in mind a Pokemon’s secondary type when selecting your counter Pokemon and moves. While the above examples are effective against Rock types, the opposing Pokemon may have resistances based on their primary or secondary type.
Super effective moves to use against Rock Pokemon
There are plenty of Water, Grass, Steel, Fighting, and Ground super-effective moves that players can use against Rock-type Pokemon. Here are the ones we recommend due to their power and effects:
- Hydro Cannon (Water)
- Origin Pulse (Water)
- Frenzy Plant (Grass)
- Giga Drain (Grass)
- Gigaton Hammer (Steel)
- Iron Tail (Steel)
- Focus Blast (Fighting)
- Close Combat (Fighting)
- Precipice Blades (Ground)
- Earthquake (Ground)
Hydro Cannon is an iconic Water-type move that has been part of the franchise since Gen 3. This special move has an outstanding 150 power and 90% accuracy, though the Pokemon cannot move on the next turn. If you use its Z-Power, it can turn into Hydro Vortex and reach a power of 200.
The Grass move, Frenzy Plant has also been part of Pokemon since Gen 3, and just like Hydro Cannon, it can take its power from 150 to 200 if you use its Z-Power to turn it into Bloom Doom. While Gigaton Hammer is a powerful nuke, Iron Tail is more used because it has the chance to lower the opponent’s Defense, allowing it to hit harder the following times.
The special move Focus Blast is one of the best Fighting-type attacks with 120 power and the chance of lowering the opponent’s Special Defense. On the other hand, Earthquake has been part of the franchise since Gen 1 and is a fan favorite, not just because of its power, but because it has 100% accuracy, so there’s no way to escape it.
Best Tera Types
Scarlet & Violet‘s addition of Tera Types changed the battle rules, so here are the ones you should consider to make your Rock-type Pokemon stronger:
- Rock: Boost the power of Rock-type moves on top of STAB
- Fighting: Eliminates the Rock-type weaknesses to Water, Ground, and Fighting-type moves
- Water: Eliminates the Rock-type weaknesses to Water and Steel-type moves
- Grass: Eliminates the Rock-type weaknesses to Grass and Water-type moves
Best Rock-type moves
There are 25 Rock-type moves and we’ve picked the most powerful special, physical, and status attacks you can use in battle:
| MOVE | CATEGORY | POWER | ACCURACY | PP | EFFECT | GEN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meteor Beam | Special | 120 | 90% | 10 | Takes a turn to charge and boosts the user’s Sp. Attack | Gen VIII |
| Power Gem | Special | 80 | 100% | 20 | – | Gen IV |
| Ancient Power | Special | 60 | 100% | 5 | May raise all user’s stats at once | Gen II |
| Head Smash | Physical | 150 | 80% | 5 | User receives recoil damage | Gen IV |
| Rock Wrecker | Physical | 150 | 90% | 5 | User must recharge next turn | Gen IV |
| Diamond Storm | Physical | 100 | 95% | 5 | May sharply raise the user’s Defense | Gen VI |
| Stone Edge | Physical | 100 | 80% | 5 | High critical hit ratio | Gen IV |
| Rock Tomb | Physical | 60 | 95% | 15 | Lowers the opponent’s Speed | Gen III |
| Sandstorm | Status | X | X | 10 | Creates a sandstorm for 5 turns | Gen II |
| Stealth Rock | Status | X | X | 20 | Damages the opponents that switch into battle | Gen IV |
Best Rock-types ever in Pokemon
The Pokemon franchise has a total of 88 Rock-type creatures (up to Gen 9), and here are the 10 best of the ranking:
- Regirock
- Tyranitar
- Terrakion
- Diancie
- Stakataka
- Iron Thorns
- Iron Boulder
- Rhyperior
- Crustle
- Ogerpon Cornerstone Mask
That’s all you need to know about Rock-type Pokemon before going against them. You can also check out our list of all the Cat or Dog Pokemon in the franchise, and learn more about other types such as Dark, Flying, or Dragon.