▶ GUIDE · 2026-10-14T00:00:00.000Z

Pokémon Type Strategy for All 22 Teams

Types don’t change a single Pokémon’s position rating in Pokemon All 22, but they matter for two reasons. First, types are a quick shorthand for stat shapes: Rock Pokémon tend to be heavy and well armoured, Electric Pokémon tend to be fast. Second, your team earns a type-variety bonus of +1 for every three distinct types on the roster, up to +5. This guide covers both.

How the type bonus works

Gen 1 has fifteen types: Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost and Dragon. Dual-typed Pokémon count both types. With three types you earn +1, with six +2, with nine +3, twelve +4 and fifteen +5.

Because the bonus is added to your final team OVR, moving from 9 types to 12 is worth exactly as much as raising your average rating by a full point on both sides of the ball, which might otherwise require several upgrades.

Which types fit which positions

Rock and Ground: the trenches

Rhydon, Golem, Onix and friends are heavy, tough and high in Defense, which is exactly what offensive and defensive linemen need. The risk is stacking too many: if all nine linemen are Rock/Ground you only collect two types from nine roster spots.

Water: the secret weapon

Water is Kanto’s deepest type, and it spans every body shape. Cloyster (Water/Ice) is the best left tackle on the board at 98 and an elite tight end. Kingler and Slowbro are excellent linemen, Lapras (Water/Ice) is a strong tackle, and Gyarados (Water/Flying) is a 92 fullback. Water lets you add Ice and Flying while staying strong in the trenches.

Psychic and Electric: the skill positions

Quarterback rewards Special Attack, receivers and corners reward Speed. Mewtwo and Alakazam (Psychic) and Jolteon and Electrode (Electric) live here. Zapdos (Electric/Flying) is a strong QB at 85 and adds Flying.

Fighting: power in the middle

Machamp is a 94 defensive end and a 92 fullback. Hitmonlee is a top-three free safety (83). Fighting is an easy type to add without losing points.

Dragon and Ghost: rare but valuable

Only one Dragon family and one Ghost family exist in Gen 1. Dragonite (Dragon/Flying) is elite almost everywhere: 96 at defensive end, 93 fullback, 88 tight end. Gengar (Ghost/Poison) is an 86 quarterback and 85 receiver. Both add types other teams often miss.

Bug, Grass, Fire, Normal, Poison, Ice

These are your “bonus filler” types. Snorlax (Normal) is the best fullback at 98, so Normal comes free. Scyther and Pinsir (Bug) are solid at running back and linebacker. Arcanine and Ninetales (Fire) are quick enough for the secondary. Venusaur and Exeggutor (Grass) can fill a line or linebacker spot. Tentacruel (Water/Poison) is a respectable safety.

A practical method

1. Build your best possible team ignoring types.
2. Count your distinct types and note which three are missing.
3. For each missing type, find the position where a Pokémon of that type rates closest to your current starter.
4. Swap in the replacement if the drop is smaller than the bonus you gain overall.

Steps three and four are fast in the builder: select a spot, then search by type name, for example “ghost” or “ice”. The results are already sorted by fit for that position.

Common mistakes

• All-Psychic backfield. Mewtwo, Alakazam and other psychics are great, but three of them give you one type.
• Ignoring dual types. One Gyarados adds both Water and Flying; one Dragonite adds Dragon and Flying.
• Over-chasing +5. Collecting all fifteen types usually means starting a weak Bug or Grass Pokémon. +4 is often the sweet spot.

Want to see types under pressure? In the 17-0 Challenge you can’t pick your Pokémon, only their position. Then type variety happens to you, and good placement becomes everything.