Ground Type Pokemon
Ground type Pokemon control offensive tempo by hitting five types super effectively, while completely shutting down Electric moves. Attacks like Earthquake deal massive knockout damage, while Sandstorm immunity and hazard control anchor top competitive teams.
How Ground Performs in Battle
See which attacks hit Ground super effectively, what Ground resists, and how Ground moves hit opposing targets.
Ground Type Pokemon Weakness
- Water (2×): High raw special power attacks overwhelm bulky Ground types, boosted further in Rain weather to force defensive switches.
- Grass (2×): Attacks like Energy Ball and Giga Drain exploit Ground's lower average Special Defense stat while recovering health.
- Ice (2×): Exploits common Ground dual typings like Dragon/Ground and Flying/Ground for devastating 4x quad damage.
Defensive Resistances
- Electric Immunity (0×): Completely absorbs Electric attacks, shuts down Volt Switch momentum, and ignores Thunder Wave paralysis entirely.
- Rock Resistance (0.5×): Switches comfortably into Stealth Rock entry hazards and sponges Stone Edge physical strikes.
- Poison Resistance (0.5×): Resists Sludge Bomb and Poison Jab, blunting offensive Poison status spreaders.
Offensive Coverage
- 5 Super-Effective Targets: Ties Fighting for the highest offensive coverage in Pokemon, threatening Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, and Steel.
- Steel Dismantler: Reliable Earthquake STAB breaks through top Steel defensive anchors like Heatran, Gholdengo, and Kingambit.
- Electric Check: Stands as the only type in the game that hits pure Electric types for super effective damage.
Key Ground Type Battle Mechanics
Electric damage immunity, Sandstorm weather buffs, and entry hazard control.
Ground type Pokemon take zero damage from Electric attacks. When an opposing Pokemon uses Volt Switch into an incoming Ground Pokemon, the move fails completely, blocking the opponent from switching out and stealing immediate battle momentum.
Ground Pokemon are immune to passive 1/16th HP Sandstorm weather damage. Signature abilities like Sand Rush double Speed in sand, while Sand Force boosts Ground, Rock, and Steel attacks by 30%, making sweepers like Excadrill lethal weather abusers.
Ground types govern the hazard meta: they set Stealth Rock and Spikes while clearing opposing hazards with Rapid Spin. Paired with Earthquake's unmatched 100 power and 100% accuracy, Ground Pokemon consistently control the field.
All 17 Ground Dual Type Combinations
Explore defensive synergies, 4x quad-weaknesses, immunities, and competitive pairings for all Ground dual types.
Quagsire, Wooper, Swampert
Steelix, Excadrill, Iron Treads
Gligar, Gliscor, Landorus Incarnate
Vibrava, Flygon, Gabite
Numel, Camerupt, Groudon Primal
Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Clodsire
Great Tusk
Golett, Golurk, Palossand
Krokorok, Sandile, Krookodile
Diggersby, Ursaluna, Ursaluna Bloodmoon
Torterra, Toedscool, Toedscruel
Swinub, Piloswine, Mamoswine
Graveler, Geodude, Golem
Stunfisk, Sandy Shocks
Nincada, Wormadam Sandy
Baltoy, Claydol
Top 10 Strongest Ground Type Pokemon
Ranked by Base Stat Total (BST) for standard species. Primal Groudon leads at 770 BST, followed by Complete Form Zygarde at 708 BST.
All Ground Type Pokemon List
Browse all 96 official Ground type forms and 75 base species with live search, filters, and stat modals.
Notable Ground Type Moves
Essential STAB attacks, hazard setups, and battle utility moves defining Ground teams.
| Move | Category | Power | Accuracy | Strategic Utility & Tactical Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Physical | 100 | 100% | The gold standard physical STAB move. 100 base power, perfect accuracy, and hits underground targets for double damage. |
| Earth Power | Special | 90 | 100% | Primary special STAB attack with perfect accuracy and a 10% chance to reduce the target's Special Defense by 1 stage. |
| Precipice Blades | Physical | 120 | 85% | Groudon's signature physical attack. 120 base power spread move that hits both opposing targets in doubles without harming allies. |
| Headlong Rush | Physical | 120 | 100% | Colossal physical damage used by Great Tusk and Ursaluna. Lowers the user's Defense and Sp. Def by 1 stage (Close Combat equivalent). |
| Spikes | Status | - | - | Ground type entry hazard. Lays up to three layers that inflict 12.5%, 16.6%, or 25% max HP damage on grounded opposing switch-ins. |
| Scorching Sands | Special | 70 | 100% | Special ground attack featuring a 30% chance to burn opposing targets, halving their physical Attack and applying passive damage. |
| High Horsepower | Physical | 95 | 95% | High-damage single-target physical strike. Ignores Grassy Terrain's 50% damage reduction on Ground moves and bypasses Wide Guard in doubles. |
| Shore Up | Status | - | - | Palossand's signature recovery move. Restores 50% max HP under neutral conditions, boosted to 66.7% max HP recovery during Sandstorms. |
Ground Type Battle Questions
Common questions about battle matchups, counters, and mechanics.
Ground type Pokemon are weak to Water, Grass, and Ice moves, each dealing 2x super effective damage. In dual type pairings, these vulnerabilities can double into 4x quad weaknesses: Water/Ground takes 4x damage from Grass, Dragon/Ground and Flying/Ground take 4x damage from Ice, and Rock/Ground takes 4x damage from both Water and Grass attacks.
Water, Grass, and Ice attacks deal 2x super effective damage to Ground Pokemon. Defensively, Flying types and Pokemon with the Levitate ability take zero damage (0x immunity) from Ground moves. Bug and Grass types also resist Ground attacks, taking half damage (0.5x).
In competitive battles and Base Stat Total rankings, Primal Groudon (770 BST) and Complete Form Zygarde (708 BST) lead in raw power. In standard tournament formats, Great Tusk (570 BST), Landorus-Therian (600 BST), Garchomp (600 BST), Ting-Lu (570 BST), and Gliscor (510 BST) stand as top competitive choices due to their hazard control, high attack stats, and defensive utility. In Pokemon GO raids, Garchomp, Excadrill, and Landorus-Therian rank among the best Ground type Pokemon GO battlers, while in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Great Tusk, Clodsire, and Ting-Lu dominate the format.
Major Ground type legendary Pokemon include the Hoenn super-ancient titan Groudon, the Kalos order guardian Zygarde, the Unova Forces of Nature genie Landorus, and the Paldean treasure of ruin Ting-Lu. Legendary Ground type Pokemon and Mythicals anchor team defenses with massive base stats.
The Water and Ground dual type combination (featured on Swampert, Quagsire, and Gastrodon) is one of the most resilient pairings in Pokemon. Ground cancels Water's Electric weakness into a total 0x damage immunity, leaving Grass as the only attacking type that deals super effective damage.
While frequently paired together in dual typings, Rock and Ground have distinct matchup profiles. Ground is completely immune to Electric attacks, whereas Rock takes neutral damage. Offensively, Ground deals super effective damage to 5 types (Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel), while Rock hits 4 types (Flying, Bug, Fire, Ice). Defensively, Rock resists Normal, Flying, Poison, and Fire, while Ground resists only Poison and Rock.
In the Pokemon Trading Card Game, every Ground type Pokemon card uses Fighting Energy. Ground, Rock, and Fighting types are unified under this single energy type, and Ground type Pokemon cards frequently carry Lightning resistance and Grass weakness to match their video game combat dynamics.