Water Type Pokemon
Water type Pokemon anchor competitive teams with only two weaknesses: Grass and Electric. They resist Fire, Ice, Steel, and Water, while Rain weather boosts their attacks by 50% to turn defensive bulk into game-winning offensive pressure.
How Water Performs in Battle
See which attacks hit Water super effectively, what Water resists, and how Water moves hit opposing targets.
Water Type Pokemon Weakness
- Electric (2×): Thunderbolt, Volt Switch, and Electro Drift strike Water Pokemon super effectively, forcing frequent defensive switches.
- Grass (2×): Energy Ball, Leaf Storm, and Giga Drain punish pure Water walls while recovering HP for the attacker.
- Freeze-Dry Special Rule: Although Water resists ordinary Ice attacks, Freeze-Dry reverses this interaction to deal 2x damage to pure Water, and 4x damage to Water/Ground, Water/Flying, and Water/Dragon dual types.
Defensive Resistances
- Steel & Ice (0.5×): Water comfortably walls Ice Beam and Make It Rain, serving as an essential defensive check against offensive sweepers.
- Fire & Water (0.5×): Water cuts incoming Fire Blast and opposing Hydro Pump damage in half, forming the defensive anchor of Fire/Water/Grass cores.
- Defensive Ability Synergies: Abilities like Water Absorb, Storm Drain, and Dry Skin convert incoming Water attacks into full immunities or healing.
Offensive Coverage
- Super Effective on 3 Types: Water moves hit Fire, Ground, and Rock for double damage, threatening premier physical walls and hazard setters.
- Rain Weather Synergy: Rain active on the field multiplies all Water move damage by 1.5x, turning attacks like Water Spout and Wave Crash into devastating wallbreakers.
- Resisted by 3 Types: Water, Grass, and Dragon resist Water attacks, making Ice type coverage (Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry) the most common partner for Water attackers.
Water Type Battle Mechanics
Rain weather boosts, water-absorbing defensive abilities, and the Freeze-Dry exception that define Water Pokemon in battle.
Rain weather (summoned by Drizzle or Rain Dance) increases the base power of all Water attacks by 1.5x, while cutting incoming Fire damage in half. Swift Swim doubles the user's Speed under Rain, powering premier rain sweepers like Kingdra, Barraskewda, and Mega Swampert.
Water boasts multiple signature abilities that nullify Water damage entirely. Water Absorb heals 25% max HP when struck, Storm Drain redirects all single-target Water attacks in Doubles while granting a +1 Special Attack boost, and Dry Skin restores HP in Rain while healing from Water attacks.
Ice normally deals 0.5x resisted damage against Water. However, the special attack Freeze-Dry ignores this resistance and deals 2x super effective damage to Water Pokemon. Dual types like Water/Ground (Swampert, Gastrodon), Water/Flying (Pelipper, Gyarados), and Water/Dragon (Kingdra, Palkia) take a crushing 4x damage from Freeze-Dry.
All 17 Water Dual Type Combinations
Water pairs with every single one of the 17 other types across 108 dual type forms. Review concrete immunities, resistances, and 4× vulnerabilities across every pairing.
Bibarel
Volcanion
Ludicolo, Lotad, Lombre
Rotom Wash, Lanturn, Chinchou
Lapras, Cloyster, Iron Bundle
Quaquaval, Keldeo, Poliwrath, Urshifu Rapid Strike
Toxapex, Tentacruel, Qwilfish
Swampert, Quagsire, Gastrodon
Gyarados, Pelipper, Mantine
Starmie, Slowbro, Slowking
Araquanid, Golisopod
Kabutops, Omastar, Drednaw, Carracosta
Jellicent, Basculegion
Kingdra, Palkia, Walking Wake, Dracovish
Empoleon
Greninja, Hisuian Samurott, Sharpedo, Crawdaunt
Azumarill, Primarina, Tapu Fini
Top 10 Strongest Water Type Pokemon
Ranked by Base Stat Total (BST) for standard species. Palkia leads at 680 BST, followed by Kyogre at 670 BST, highlighting strong Water type Pokemon and the highest-stat anchors for competitive teams.
All Water Type Pokemon List
Browse the complete list of Water type Pokemon across all 192 official forms and 154 base species, with live search and stat filters.
Notable Water Type Moves
Essential STAB attacks, recovery options, and tactical Pokemon Water type moves commonly run in competitive battles.
| Move | Category | Power | Accuracy | Battle Effect & Utility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydro Pump | Special | 110 | 80% | High-powered special offensive nuke. Features 110 base power and high burst damage, widely chosen by special sweepers for wallbreaking. |
| Scald | Special | 80 | 100% | The gold standard for defensive Water moves. Deals reliable 80 base power with a massive 30% chance to burn and cripple physical attackers. |
| Surf | Special | 90 | 100% | Reliable special Water attack delivering 90 base power with 100% accuracy. Hits all adjacent Pokemon in Double battles. |
| Waterfall | Physical | 80 | 100% | Premier reliable physical Water STAB move. Features 80 base power, perfect 100% accuracy, and a 20% chance to cause the target to flinch. |
| Wave Crash | Physical | 120 | 100% | Colossal physical Water attack delivering 120 base power. Deals 33% recoil damage to the user, powering wallbreakers like Palafin and Basculegion. |
| Aqua Jet | Physical | 40 | 100% | Essential priority strike (+1 bracket) that bypasses Speed checks to revenge-kill weakened threats before they can attack. |
| Water Spout | Special | 150 | 100% | Devastating spread attack with base power scaling directly with user's remaining HP (up to 150 power). Signature sweep move for Kyogre. |
| Hydro Steam | Special | 80 | 100% | Signature special move of Walking Wake. Instead of weakening in Harsh Sunlight, its damage power increases by 1.5x under Sun weather. |
| Flip Turn | Physical | 60 | 100% | Crucial tactical pivoting move. Strikes for 60 base power and immediately switches the user out to maintain battlefield momentum. |
| Surging Strikes | Physical | 25×3 (75) | 100% | Signature physical attack of Urshifu Rapid Strike. Hits three consecutive times and guarantees a critical hit on every strike, ignoring Defense boosts. |
Water Type Battle Questions
Direct answers to the most common questions about Water Pokemon.
Water type Pokemon are weak to Grass and Electric attacks, the two primary Water type weakness Pokemon battlers must prepare for. Both deal 2x super effective damage against pure Water Pokemon. Defensively, Water Pokemon resist four types: Steel, Fire, Water, and Ice. Dual types can face 4x vulnerabilities: Water/Ground Pokemon like Swampert take 4x damage from Grass moves, while Water/Flying Pokemon like Gyarados take 4x damage from Electric attacks. Additionally, the move Freeze-Dry reverses Water's normal Ice resistance, dealing 2x damage to pure Water and 4x damage to Water/Ground, Water/Flying, and Water/Dragon species.
Grass and Electric attacks deal 2x super effective damage against Water Pokemon. On defense, Water, Grass, and Dragon types resist Water attacks, taking half damage. When Water Pokemon attack, their moves deal 2x damage to Fire, Ground, and Rock types. No type is immune to Water moves under standard battle conditions.
By base stats, the strongest standard Water Pokemon is Palkia at 680 BST, followed by Kyogre at 670 BST. In competitive battles, Dondozo, Urshifu (Rapid Strike), Palafin, and Toxapex are premier picks due to exceptional bulk, abilities like Unaware, and signature moves like Surging Strikes.
Major Water type legendary Pokemon include Kyogre, Palkia, Suicune, and Tapu Fini. Manaphy, Phione, Keldeo, and Volcanion are Mythical Pokemon. Walking Wake and Iron Bundle are Paradox Pokemon with high base stats.
For raid battles, top picks for the best Water type Pokemon GO attackers include Primal Kyogre, Shadow Kyogre, Mega Swampert, and Shadow Feraligatr equipped with Hydro Cannon or Origin Pulse. In GO Battle League PvP, Swampert, Azumarill, Feraligatr, and Tapu Fini are top contenders across Great, Ultra, and Master Leagues.
Water was one of the original 15 types in Generation 1 (Red, Blue, and Yellow) with 32 base species, including Blastoise, Gyarados, Lapras, and Vaporeon. If you wonder how many Water type Pokemon are there, there are 154 base species and 192 official forms across all generations, making Water the largest type roster in Pokemon history. Iconic Water type starter Pokemon include Squirtle, Totodile, Mudkip, Froakie, and Quaxly.
In the Pokemon TCG, Water Pokemon are represented by the Water Energy symbol, combining mainline Water and Ice types into a single card category. Popular competitive cards include Starmie ex, Greninja, and Blastoise ex across the physical card game and Pokemon TCG Pocket.