#type chart

Let’s start with this.  I think that, for types, there are three broad categories: offensive, defensive, and balance.  Offensive are the types that have a lot of super-effective matchups, but then should also have a high number of weaknesses.  They’re not there to take hits, they’re around to hit things really hard.  Defensive are the types with a lot of resistances, few weaknesses, but either don’t hit much very hard or have a lot of things resisting them.  They take hits, but can’t really dish out the pain though offensive means.  Then there’s balance, where everything is pretty even.  A few weaknesses, a few resistances, a few super-effective matchups and a few not-very-effective matchups.  These aren’t hard and fast rules, but they’re a good guideline, and hopefully explain why I focus on the types I do.  That said, I would change quite a bit for a few types.

Definite changes:

Ice immune to Water.  I think Water has it really good overall, and Ice having an outright immunity means that the type has a better chance to switch in on something that doesn’t often run much coverage (especially not stuff super-effective to Ice), but most importantly shuts down the RestTalk + Calm Mind + Scald strategies.  I know I use them, and they’re good, but they shouldn’t be that good.

Grass resistant to Fairy.  Fairy is an incredibly strong type, but offensively and defensively.  It needs to pick, and I say defensive.  That said, Grass is an excellent pick to resist Fairy.  It has a lot of trouble switching in due to myriad weaknesses, but Fairy clerics often only have Fairy attacks, and seldom carry Flying, Fire, or Ice coverage, and never have Poison.  Which means most Fairies?  Don’t have a great answer to Grass if Grass resists.  This puts them more on the defensive, and gives Grass opportunities to come in.

Grass super-effective to Fairy.  I also want this.  Fairy needs something else to break it.  Steel and Poison are decidedly defensive typings, and are generally not-ideal coverage beyond the answer to Fairies.  Grass types handle this.  And since Grass types are also resistant, it means playing stall mind-games.  Fairies will Wish-pass all day, but Grass comes in and can status or Leech Seed while the Fairy has to run off.  It’s a much stronger position for Grass types overall.

Grass resistant to Fighting.  I think Fighting is way too strong as an offensive typing, hitting 5 things for super-effective damage.  That’s too many.  It also gets the best coverage barring maybe Normal type, so it’s not like this resistance causes significant problems.  They all have Poison Jab anymore anyway thanks to Fairy.  But it does mean that their STAB alone isn’t enough to cut it.

Grass resists Rock.  It’s really the only typing that conceptually makes sense.  I think Grass needs a ton of resistances to balance out the tremendous weaknesses it has.  It’s a real problem, and a Rock resistance means that Grass-type resists the dreaded Ground/Rock options that tend to get perfect neutral coverage.  It’s a big hit to Rock type, but we’ll help them out in a second.

Psychic resists Fairy.  I think Psychic in general could just use another resistance.  Fighting type resistance hasn’t mattered since Gen 5 thanks to Dark type coverage on literally every Fighting type, and resistance to itself isn’t helping.  Fairy is a good candidate.  Again, it’s a strong offensive typing, and Psychic resisting means its offensive prowess is weakened, relegating it to the defensive typing it should be.  It also means Latios/Latias get a buff, and I like them so this is a good call.

Maybe Changes:

Ice resists Fighting.  I could be talked down from this one, but Fighting losing a super-effective matchup would be divine, and Ice gaining a resistance other than to itself would be divine.  I think it’s justifiable.