Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water type attacks all hit Rock type Pokémon for super-effective damage in the mainline games.

What Beats Rock Type Pokémon? (Quick Scoop)

Rock types can be tough walls, but they come with several clear weaknesses you can exploit.

Main Type Weaknesses

Use these attack types against Rock Pokémon:

  • Fighting-type moves (like Close Combat, Aura Sphere, Superpower) are one of the most reliable ways to smash Rock types.
  • Water-type moves are super effective and often special attacks, going around Rock’s usually high Defense.
  • Grass-type moves punish Rock types and are especially strong versus Rock/Ground combos.
  • Ground-type moves hit Rock hard and are common on physical attackers.
  • Steel-type moves also hit Rock for super-effective damage and are great on bulky attackers.

Simple Type Matchup Table

Here’s a quick HTML table you can mentally bookmark for “what beats Rock type Pokémon”:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Attack Type</th>
      <th>Effect vs Rock</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Fighting</td>
      <td>Super effective</td>
      <td>Great physical damage, many strong moves like Close Combat.[web:1][web:6]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Water</td>
      <td>Super effective</td>
      <td>Often special; excellent vs Rock/Ground Pokémon.[web:1][web:6][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Grass</td>
      <td>Super effective</td>
      <td>Also punishes Rock/Ground and Rock/Water combos.[web:1][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Ground</td>
      <td>Super effective</td>
      <td>Common coverage move on many physical attackers.[web:1][web:6][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Steel</td>
      <td>Super effective</td>
      <td>Bulky Steel types can both tank hits and KO Rock types.[web:1][web:6][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Example Battle Story

Imagine you’re up against a classic Rock/Ground Pokémon like Golem in a modern game. You send out a Water-type like Ludicolo, who resists Rock and hits back with a powerful Water move for a 4× effective knockout. Even if your opponent tries to set up Stealth Rock or Sandstorm, your super-effective Water or Grass move usually deletes them before they can stall you out.

TL;DR

  • Use Fighting, Water, Grass, Ground, or Steel moves to beat Rock type Pokémon.
  • Dual-type Rock Pokémon (like Rock/Ground or Rock/Water) can make some of these options even stronger, sometimes turning them into 4× weakness hits.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.