Current Events > Why is Psychic-type super-effective against Poison-type in Pokemon?

(+) Yeah! (+)

For the most part, Pokemon type strengths and weaknesses make sense, and can be deduced reasonably and logically. Fire burns grass, grass absorbs water, water douses fire, etc. But some I don't really understand.

Like Psychic > Poison. Is that like a mind-over-matter thing? Like willing yourself to not become ill?
Speaking of Psychics, I'm not sure if I quite understand its weaknesses to Ghost or Dark-types. I assume it's something to do with mind games and trickery for Dark, but Ghost I'm not too sure.

Other ones I don't get are Rock's weaknesses to Ground and Steel-types, or Steel being super-effective against Ice-types. Can't really think of anything to justify or explain those.

inb4 "type balancing", yada yada. It's just fun to analyze and explain these kinds of things, even if it's irrelevant.

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Psychic's weaknesses are supposed to be based on common fears: insects, ghosts/death, and the dark. I think mind over matter/body like you said is why Psychic is strong against Poison and Fighting.

Ice is fragile to everything in Pokemon logic.

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To add to this train of thought, there's some type match-ups I wish existed because of logic like:

Poison > Water (like oil spills and other forms of water pollution)
Water > Steel (rust, corrosion)
Electric > Steel (science!)
Normal > Fairy (because Normal needs a buff tbh. And because reality trumps fantasy, maybe?)

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why is Fairy strong vs Dragons tho?

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Musourenka posted...

Psychic's weaknesses are supposed to be based on common fears: insects, ghosts/death, and the dark. I think mind over matter/body like you said is why Psychic is strong against Poison and Fighting.

I used to think this, too, until I realized Dark = evil, not actual darkness. Which also kind of changes the meaning of the other two. Bugs are a mindless, swarming hive-mind that overwhelm and break the concentration of Psychics.

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Ricemills posted...

why is Fairy strong vs Dragons tho?

cause heros use enchanted swords by wizards or fairies to slay the dragon

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Awakened_Link posted...

I used to think this, too, until I realized Dark = evil, not actual darkness. Which also kind of changes the meaning of the other two. Bugs are a mindless, swarming hive-mind that overwhelm and break the concentration of Psychics.

Evil isn't a fear?

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pegusus123456 posted...

Evil isn't a fear?

Yeah, but with that logic, shouldn't Psychic also be weak to Fire, Water, and Flying-types, since those are all basic fears, too?

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One theory Ive heard is that Psychic types can cause poison types to be able to be burst by their own poison

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Awakened_Link posted...

I used to think this, too, until I realized Dark = evil, not actual darkness. Which also kind of changes the meaning of the other two. Bugs are a mindless, swarming hive-mind that overwhelm and break the concentration of Psychics.

So... for ghosts, I guess Spirit/Soul > Mind.

As for Dark, with that context, I think it's something akin to MGS1 Psycho Mantis. If I remember correctly: He read so many serial killers' minds that he became one himself.

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Musourenka posted...

So... for ghosts, I guess Spirit/Soul > Mind.

As for Dark, with that context, I think it's something akin to MGS1 Psycho Mantis. If I remember correctly: He read so many serial killers' minds that he became one himself.

Interesting take. That's sort of similar to what I was thinking.

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Ricemills posted...

why is Fairy strong vs Dragons tho?

Because Dragons were overpowered and over centralized the metagame. Since Game Freak cannot just ban an entire typing they made Fairy type as a counter. Hence why they are immune to Dragon and Dragon is weak to it.

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Duncanwii posted...

Because Dragons were overpowered and over centralized the metagame. Since Game Freak cannot just ban an entire typing they made Fairy type as a counter. Hence why they are immune to Dragon and Dragon is weak to it.

bruh
Awakened_Link posted...

inb4 "type balancing", yada yada. It's just fun to analyze and explain these kinds of things, even if it's irrelevant.

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I've always kind of preferred interpreting Psychic's weaknesses as three entities that it can't play mind games with or affect mentally. Bugs are too simple-minded for that for example. Dark types are just too clever/tricky. And Ghosts are of course dead. The problem with that though is that Bug and Ghost do not actually resist Psychic moves. So the common fears explanation probably makes more sense.

Also Poison hitting Water super effectively is one that a number of fans want to see. Not just because it makes sense, but Poison could use a bit of a buff offensively. And Water could use a nerf.

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Because GF hates poison type lol

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Cuz only bitches let poison affect them. People with a strong will can endure that shit
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Yeah Water being weak against poison and strong against steel seems like one of those things you could safely assume to be the thing.

Psychic is strong against Poison because Game Freak clearly believe in alternative medicine.

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IMO Psychic can be associated with purity so that's why it's strong against Poison.

Also, the logic for ice's weaknesses is pretty hilarious:
Fight is super effective against Ice because ice is frail and can be broken with punches
Rock is super effective against Ice because ice is frail and can be broken by huge boulders
Steel is super effective against ice because ice is frail and can be broken by a steel bat

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I think its based on the idea of being poisoned via food or some secret method. If youre psychic, you already know its in the food/dart/arrow, so youre resistant to it.

Rocks weakness to ground is what confuses me.
Rock is weak to steel because of pickaxes and such.
Ice is weak to steel because there are steel tools to break ice as well.

davidg4l posted...

IMO Psychic can be associated with purity so that's why it's strong against Poison.

Yeah, it's the whole mind over matter thing again. Meditation "removes impurities" and whatnot.

Dark beats psychic cause it doesn't care about purity or mental stability. Dark is about being a pragmatic tosser.


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Kami_no_Kami posted...

Rocks weakness to ground is what confuses me.

My guess is that Gamefreak treat Rock types as this slow and sluggish entity that if they are buried six feet under, they pretty much can't do anything, like fossils. Same thing with steel.

You take look at grass and bug, which resist ground. Grass can absorb nutrition from soil and many bugs can manoeuvre underground; these two can still act when buried.

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Earthquakes bend steel and break (larger) rocks. ezpz.

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Evening_Dragon posted...

Earthquakes bend steel and break (larger) rocks. ezpz.

I was thinking this for steel since manmade structures are extremely affected by earthquakes, but if they treat rocks this way, it could work for almost any typing, since rocks arent that affected by earthquakes.

Trees (grass) go down to earthquakes.
Streams (water) are covered by mudslides.
Bugs without wings
Dragons without wings
Etc.

It just seems too general. Come to think of it, why is ground super effective against poison?

The earth is a material processor. Outside of, like, Styrofoam, it eventually renders everything inert, and being inert defeats the purpose of poison existing.

Plants restrain earth, streams erode earth, bugs live in the dirt and there's no shortage of them after earthquakes, dragons

uhh

well, they're just neutrally resistant, right?

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The ground>rock one comes from something a little red neck kid taught me when I was an even littler kid than they were. I dont think we were talking about pokemon at the time, but he told me about the magic of dirt. See, try to break this rock and it wont work. But then you take a handful of soft dirt and rub it all over the rock, then the rock is easy to break. Blew my mind. And now I know why ground types beat rock types.
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Probably some wholistic medicine/spiritual healing bullshit.

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