Pokémon Normal Guide, Types, Hints, Tips, FAQ

Pokémon Guide with Strengths, Weaknesses and Moves on Normal Type

Aug 14, 2009

Normal Pokémon vary significantly, such as the huge HP tank Blissey, breeder Pokémon Ditto, and the type-changing Castform. Read about Normal Pokémon in this type guide.

Normal is the default Pokémon type, and one of the most common, meaning there's plenty to choose from. However, do Normal Pokémon have enough to stand out from the crowd? Learn more about Normal type Pokémon in this in-depth Pokémon guide.

Normal Pokémon FAQ

General Strategies for Normal Type Pokémon

Normal Pokémon are not strong against any one type, and can only switch-in effectively when predicting a Ghost move (since it's Immune, and has no resistances). Normal type attacks, while diverse, suffer from having no super-effective hits, while being ineffective against Ghost, and dealing half damage to Rock and Steel types.

Normal Pokémon are an oddity of the Pokémon games. On the one hand, their lack of type interactions makes them seem normal. But on the other hand, a large assortment of oddball Normal types defies the standard defintion of "Normal."

Castform changes it's type depending on the weather; Keckleon changes type in accordance to what type move hits it; Blissey and Snorlax have some of the highest HP in the game; Clefairy and Clefable is the only other Pokémon other than the Metagross family that can learn Meteor Mash, and etc. Ironically, many so-called Normal Pokémon are anything but.

In addition to the many peculiar Normal type Pokémon out there, many Normal types have immense movepool variety. Clefable, originally from Red / Blue, learns boosting moves such as Cosmic Power, healing moves such as Moonlight and Wish, specifically strategic moves like Gravity, and can learn from more TMs than virtually any other Pokémon in existence.

Due to their variety and versatility, a strong Normal Pokémon can fit in just about any team. However, their lack of focus and strengths means they have a difficult time switching in and dominating against any type. This "jack of all trades" type both benefits and suffers from its lack of strengths and weaknesses.

Normal Pokémon - Dual Types

Normal type Pokémon have very few dual types. The following are all the dual types associated with Normal: Normal/Flying, Normal/Water, Normal/Psychic.

Of the three, Bibarel and Girafarig represent all of the Normal/Water and Normal/Psychic combos respectively, while Normal/Flying represents one of the most common dual types in the game.

Normal/Flying is the standard Flying type, and since no Pokémon with just Flying exist, it's really what most people mean when they refer to "Flying Pokémon."

Strong Normal Pokémon

As mentioned before in previous Pokémon guides, identifying "strong" Pokémon is a difficult task, for how is strong defined? Are Pokémon with huge attack and hard-hitting moves strong? Or are strategic Pokémon with unique moves strong? Either way, you get all that and more with the Normal type.

Snorlax and Slaking represent some of the most powerful Normal Pokémon, with enormous stats and tremendous damage potential with Normal type moves. And although Slaking's ability, Traunt, makes it lose every other turn, with its enormous attack it can make the most of the turns it has.

Blissey is a truly devastating tank Pokémon that can deal damage through indirect ways while retaining tremendous staying power. Counter can redirect damage, and Blissey makes the most out of it by having the highest HP in the game. Many times, Blissey will take the hit but survive, so countering an attack is an almost gaurenteed KO.

Castform, while weak in stats, makes up for it by being able to change its type in accordance with the weather with its ability Forecast. Along with a unique move it learns, Weather Ball - which power doubles and changes type in accordance with weather, Castform can get some huge bonuses.

There's simply not enough space to name all the powerful Normal type Pokémon, especially considering all the strong Normal/Flying Pokémon. This just gives a brief sample.

Normal Type Pokémon Advanced Strategies

The greatest benefit that Normal Pokémon receive is the STAB (same type attack bonus) to Normal attacks. While this may initially seem unimpressive, some of the most powerful attacks are the Normal type, and if a Normal Pokémon raises its attack to one-hit-KO potential with one of these powerful attacks, all Pokémon except Rock, Steel, and Ghost will go down with ease.

Hyper Beam is one of the most powerful attacks in the game, but forces the Pokémon to "recharge" the next turn, so in most cases (Slaking being the exception), another Normal move is preferred. Both Return and Frustration work in relation to the Pokémon's happiness level, and can deal tremendous damage when either happiness is maxed (for Return) or forced to the lowest (for Frustration).

Facade deals double damage when the Pokémon is inflicted with a status condition. The Guts ability has the same effect. So a Normal Pokémon with Guts, such as Swellow, can deal enormous damage with Facade when inflicted with a status condition. Predicting and switching in at the right time can turn the tide of battle.

Another great Normal move - Flail - does more damage the less HP the user has. Together with Endure, a Normal Pokémon can take hits down to 1 HP and Flail will deal huge damage, particularly with STAB. This strategy works best with Pokémon that have high speed.

And finally, aside from getting STAB on great moves, Normal Pokémon also have the most movepool variety, and can learn from more TMs than any other type. A Pokémon like Clefable has such an extensive movepool its almost impossible to predict.

Normal Pokémon Conclusion

With extensive movepool variety and numerous Normal Pokémon to choose from, finding a spot for a strong Normal Pokémon is a piece of cake. However, having no resistances limits their ability to switch in, and having no super-effective hits makes the type a jack of all trades, but a master of none.

The copyright of the article Pokémon Normal Guide, Types, Hints, Tips, FAQ in Role-Playing Video Games is owned by Bradley Kairis. Permission to republish Pokémon Normal Guide, Types, Hints, Tips, FAQ in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.