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Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl use the Pokémon Gen 4 strength and weakness type chart. This sets it apart from modern games in the franchise like Pokémon Sword and Shield. Each creature has various typing that determines what attacks are strong against opponents and what attacks they are weak against. Knowing these matchups will make or break any fight you engage in.
Polygon’s Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl strength and weakness type chart will explain all the type matchups in the game. Use this guide to figure out which moves are super effective against any opponent.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl strength and weakness chart
Understanding Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses are essential to playing Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl because knowing which attacks are super effective against which opponents will help you determine your party at all times.
Below is our Pokémon strength and weakness chart for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Pokémon strengths and weaknesses
| TYPE | SUPER EFFECTIVE (ATK) | WEAK AGAINST (DMG) |
|---|---|---|
| TYPE | SUPER EFFECTIVE (ATK) | WEAK AGAINST (DMG) |
| Bug | Grass, Dark, Psychic | Fire, Flying, Rock |
| Dark | Ghost, Psychic | Bug, Fairy, Fighting |
| Dragon | Dragon | Dragon, Fairy, Ice |
| Electric | Flying, Water | Ground |
| Fairy | Fighting, Dark, Dragon | Poison, Steel |
| Fighting | Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel | Fairy, Flying, Psychic |
| Fire | Bug, Grass, Ice, Steel | Ground, Rock, Water |
| Flying | Bug, Fighting, Grass | Electric, Ice, Rock |
| Ghost | Ghost, Psychic | Dark, Ghost |
| Grass | Ground, Rock, Water | Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison |
| Ground | Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock, Steel | Grass, Ice, Water |
| Ice | Dragon, Flying, Grass, Ground | Fighting, Fire, Rock, Steel |
| Normal | -- | Fighting |
| Poison | Fairy, Grass | Ground, Psychic |
| Psychic | Fighting, Poison | Bug, Dark, Ghost |
| Rock | Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice | Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel, Water |
| Steel | Fairy, Ice, Rock | Fighting, Fire, Ground |
| Water | Fire, Ground, Rock | Electric, Grass |
As an example, the first gym leader you fight in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is Roark, a rock-type trainer. Make sure you have some fighting-, grass-, ground-, steel-, or water-type Pokémon in your party to easily beat them. Keep these strengths and weaknesses in mind as you fight more trainers throughout the game.
It’s especially worth considering these type advantages when picking your Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl starter. Since the first gym leader is a rock-Type, you might consider Piplup, a water-type, as your first companion.
While that will work well at the beginning of the game, some may argue that a fire-type Pokémon like Chimchar is a good starter. It’s true that fire-types are weak to rock-types, making Chimchar a bad match against Roark, but this starter eventually learns fighting-type moves that will be effective against the first gym leader. Plus the games don’t have many fire-types, so it might be worth grinding at the beginning of the game to keep a stronger fire-type in your party.