Fire Type Guide: Strengths & Counters
Explore the Fire type: learn its strengths, weaknesses, resistances, immunities and practical tips for VGC and Showdown ladder play.
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Offense rank
#3 · Strong
Defense rank
#7 · Okay
Offensive power
111%
Defensive strength
100%
What Is Fire Strong Against? Offensive Matchups
Strong against
Not very effective against
Has no effect
Flames race through Grass, melt Ice, roast Bugs, and soften Steel, yet they sputter when doused by Water, absorbed by Rock, matched by other Fire, or shrugged off by Dragons.
Super-Effective
- Grass
Wildfires devour foliage in minutes.
- Ice
Heat liquefies frozen barriers instantly.
- Bug
Most insects perish at moderate heat.
- Steel
Forges rely on flame to bend metal.
Not Very Effective
- Fire
Flame meets flame with little gain.
- Water
Steam steals heat from the blaze.
- Rock
Dense stone absorbs and diffuses heat.
- Dragon
Dragon scales are written to endure raw elements.
What Is Fire Weak To? Defensive Matchups
Weak to
Resists
Immune to
Water quenches, Rock contains, and Ground smothers fire, but blazing bodies shrug off weaker flames and burn away Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel, and even Fairies whose folklore fears the hearth.
Weak To
- Water
A deluge robs flame of oxygen.
- Ground
Earth blankets and starves fire.
- Rock
Heat-absorbing stone cages the blaze.
Resistant To
- Fire
A flame can’t easily burn what is already burning.
- Grass
Tinder fuels fire rather than damages it.
- Ice
Heat melts ice before impact.
- Bug
Heat lethally dehydrates arthropods.
- Steel
Molten temperatures soften metal strikes.
- Fairy
In folklore, hearthfire disrupts fragile fae enchantments.
Uneven Matchups
- Fire→Ground1×←Ground→2×
- Fire→Dragon0.5×←Dragon→1×
- Fire→Fairy1×←Fairy→0.5×
Related Type Guides
Full Type Chart
Type Effectiveness Chart
Interactive Battle Type Chart
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• Chart based on rules effective since 2013