Fairy-type Pokemon: Weaknesses & Strengths explained

Fairy-type Pokemon are among the most powerful additions to the famous franchise, with some fantastic resistances to take advantage of. So, here’s everything you need to know before battling one or adding one to your team.

Introduced in Gen 6, Fairy-types have swiftly carved a niche for themselves with their interesting resistances and minimal weaknesses for enemies to exploit.

Despite their cute and fluffy pink looks, these Pokemon can be deadly in the right hands, especially due to their efficiency against Dragon types.

So, if you find yourself facing off against a Fairy-type Pokemon and want a chance at winning, here are their weaknesses and resistances, as well as the best counters available.

Fairy-type Pokemon weaknesses

Fairy-type Pokemon have two primary weaknesses when it comes to moves and opposing Pokemon types:

• Poison
• Steel

Poison-type Pokemon are super effective against Fairy-types, making them an ideal choice when battling one of these Pocket Monsters. However, you’ll want to keep an eye out for their secondary types if your team has any, as these could pose an issue.

Similarly, Steel-type Pokemon are also super effective against fairy types, but there aren’t too many pure Steel types, so be sure to keep an eye on its secondary too.

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Fairy-type Pokemon strengths & resistances

Along with their weaknesses, Fairy-type Pokemon are resistant to types such as Dark, Bug, and Fighting, and totally immune to Dragon. So using them in battle will result in your immediate defeat.

If you happen to add one of these innocent-looking Fairy creatures to your team, you’d want to put them up against Fighting, Dragon, and Dark-type opponents, as your attacks will be super effective. However, avoid fighting any Fire, Poison, or Steel-type creatures at all costs, as you won’t do much damage at all.

Best counters for Fairy-type Pokemon

The best Pokemon you should use to counter Fairy-type Pokemon are listed below:

POKEMON	SPRITE	GEN	TYPE	WEAKNESSES	BEST MOVES	ABILITIES	ADVANTAGES
Revavroom		IX	Steel/Posion	– Fire – Ground	– Iron Head – Steel Beam – Poison Jab – Gunk Shot – Sludge Bomb	– Overcoat – Filter	As a dual type, it can resist Fairy and those with Flying, Rock, and Steel as their secondary typing.
Melmetal		VII	Steel	– Fire – Fighting – Ground	– Flash Cannon – Iron Head – Dynamic Punch – Discharge – Dynamic Punch	Iron Fist	Steel is Fairy’s key weakness, so it deals double damage while boasting many resistances. Plus, it has good Attack and Defense stats.
Metagross		III	Steel/Psychic	– Fire – Ground – Ghost – Dark	– Metal Claw – Flash Cannon – Meteor Mash – Steel Beam – Psychic	– Clear Body – Light Metal	Pseudo Legendary with great Attack and Defense stats as well as an even more powerful Mega Evolution.
Salazzle		VII	Posion/Fire	– Water – Ground – Psychic – Rock	– Sludge Bomb – Venoshock – Gunk Shot – Sludge Wave – Foul Play	– Corrosion – Oblivious	Extremely fast Pokemon that will – almost always – hit first with its Special Attacks. Corrosion may cause poison.
Roserade		IV	Grass/Poison	– Fire – Ice – Flying – Psychic	– Petal Dance – Leaf Storm – Magical Leaf – Sludge Bomb – Energy Ball	– Posion Point – Natural Cure – Technician	It has incredible Special Attack and Defense stats as well as a movepool to exploit such conditions. Its Poison Point ability may cause Poison.

As always, it’s vital to consider your Pokemon’s secondary type. While the above counters may be effective against pure Fairy types, they could struggle against some Pokemon with certain secondary types.

Best Tera Types for Fairy-type Pokemon

With the addition of Tera Types in Gen 9’s Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, players should know the best combinations available for Fairy-type Pokemon, as this mechanic bends the battling rules a little bit.

• Fairy: They get an extra boost of power on top of the STAB.
• Fire: Helps them resist Steel-type moves.
• Steel: Helps them resist Steel-type moves.
• Ground: Help them resist Poison-type moves.

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Best Fairy moves in Pokemon

There are 34 Fairy-type moves in the Pokemon universe and we’ve picked the most powerful special, physical, and status attacks you can use in battle:

MOVE	CATEGORY	POWER	ACCURACY	PP	EFFECT	GEN
Light of Ruin	Special	140	90%	5	User receives recoil damage	Gen VI
Moonblast	Special	95	100%	15	May lower the opponent’s Sp. Attack	Gen VI
Springtide Storm	Special	100	80%	5	May lower the opponent’s Attack	Gen VIII
Nature’s Madness	Special	X	90%	10	Halves the opponent’s HP	Gen VII
Magical Torque	Physical	100	100%	10	May confuse the opponent	Gen IX
Play Rough	Physical	90	90%	10	May lower the opponent’s Attack	Gen VI
Spirit Break	Physical	75	100%	15	Lowers the opponent’s Sp. Attack	Gen VIII
Sweet Kiss	Status	X	75%	10	Confuses the opponent	Gen II
Moonlight	Status	X	X	5	User recovers HP depending on the weather	Gen II
Misty Terrain	Status	X	X	10	Protects the field from status conditions for 5 turns	Gen VI

Best Fairy-type Pokemon of all time

The Pokemon franchise has a total of 77 Fairy-type creatures (up to Gen 9), and here are the 10 best of the ranking:

RANK	POKEMON	SPRITE	GEN	TYPE	WEAKNESSES	BEST MOVES	ABILITIES
1	Zacian Hero of Many Battles / Zacian Crowned Sword		VIII	Fairy or Fairy/Steel	– Poison – Steel or – Fire – Ground	– Iron Head – Sacred Sword – Moonblast – Play Rough – Steel Beam	Intrepid Sword
2	Xerneas		VI	Fairy	– Poison – Steel	– Moonblast – Close Combat – Outrage – Geomancy – Play Rough	Fairy Aura
3	Diancie		VI	Rock/Fairy	– Water – Grass – Ground – Steel	– Meteor Beam – Power Gem – Moonblast – Stone Edge – Misty Explosion	Clear Body
4	Gardevoir		III	Psychic/Fairy	– Poison – Ghost – Steel	– Dazzling Gleam – Moonblast – Dream Eater – Future Sight – Psychic	– Synchronize – Trace – Telepathy
5	Grimmsnarl		VIII	Dark/Fairy	– Poison – Steel – Fairy	– Dark Pulse – Play Rough – Foul Play – Dazzling Gleam – Crunch	– Frisk – Prankster Pickpocket
6	Sylveon		VI	Fairy	– Poison – Steel	– Disarming Voice – Draining Kiss – Moonblast – Psychic – Play Rough	– Cute Charm – Pixilate
7	Mimikyu		VII	Ghost/Fairy	– Ghost – Steel	– Shadow Claw – Play Rough – Phantom Force – Shadow Claw – Shadow Sneak	Disguise
8	Enamorus		VIII	Fairy/Flying	– Electric – Ice – Poison – Rock – Steel	– Dazzling Gleam – Extrasensory – Moonblast – Springtide Storm – Misty Explosion	– Cute Charm – Contrary – Overcoat
9	Flutter Mane		IX	Ghost/Fairy	– Ghost – Steel	– Shadow Ball – Phantom Force – Moonblast – Poltergeist – Dazzling Gleam	Protosynthesis
10	Tinkaton		IX	Fairy/Steel	– Fire – Electric	– Flash Cannon – Play Rough – Gigaton Hammer – Steel Beam – Draining Kiss	– Own Tempo – Mold Breaker – Pickpocket

If none of the creatures listed above suits you, you can go to our ranking of the Top 15 Fairy-type Pokemon.

That’s everything you need to know about Fairy-type Pokemon and their weaknesses. 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 Ghost and Psychic.