Pokémon’s Ground type is weak against a few fairly common types. Grass resists it, while Flying-type Pokémon are completely immune to it. Ground takes lots of damage from Water, as well as Grass and Ice. However, despite its weaknesses, Ground is one of the most offensively sound types overall.
RELATED:Pokémon: Best Non-Legendary Electric-Types In The Series, Ranked
Just look at the list of types Ground hits super effectively: Electric, Steel, Fire, Rock, and Poison. It’s a lot of coverage. Several of those types are seriously dangerous – particularly Steel, which has very few other weaknesses. Many Ground-type Pokémon also have access to Earthquake. At 100 Power and 100 Accuracy, this physical attack is easily one of the best in the franchise. It’s pretty clear that Ground is a solid type, and the below Pokémon are shining examples of its strength.
Steelix is the very definition of a physical wall. As a dual Ground/Steel-type Pokémon, Steelix’s secondary typing defensively covers two weaknesses of Ground: Grass and Ice. It also introduces a host of its own resistances. That’s not to mention Steelix’s nearly unparalleled base Defense stat of 200, as well as its access to Stealth Rock, Toxic, and Earthquake.
So, if Steelix is so great, why is it at the bottom of this list? While Steel is a solid defensive type, its dual typing introduces two new weaknesses: Fighting and Fire. Fire-type attacks often deal special damage, which Steelix has low defense against. Ground is also weak to Water, which isn’t resisted by Steel, so that’s another weakness. Furthermore, Steelix is slow, leaving it even more vulnerable to surprise special attacks.
Don’t let Flygon’s big, cute eyes fool you. Once it sets up, a Dragon Dance Flygon is a terrifying thing to behold. Dragon (Flygon’s secondary type) is an all-around amazing type that defensively covers both Water and Grass, lending it some good synergy with the Ground type. However, when paired with Ground, it also introduces a brutal quadruple weakness to Ice-type damage.
As well as having access to Dragon Dance, which buffs its Attack, Flygon can wreck shop with Earthquake or Outrage. Otherwise, it has a fairly wide movepool; Defog, Stone Edge, U-turn, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch – the list goes on. Unfortunately, in the end, Flygon’s mediocre bulk holds it back from greatness.
8Diggersby
At first glance, Diggersby may not seem like much. As a Ground/Normal-type, its secondary typing does little to synergize with Ground, and it introduces a dangerous weakness to Fighting-type damage. Furthermore, Diggersby’s stats are fairly poor. It’s got some bulk, but its Attack stats are abysmal. So what gives?
RELATED:Pokémon That Would Give The Best Hugs
Frankly, Diggersby is completely saved by one of its abilities; Huge Power. This doubles its mediocre physical Attack. In addition, Diggersby has a pretty solid move pool – you probably don’t need us to tell you that Swords Dance and Earthquake go well together. Unfortunately, Diggersby is ultimately outclassed by other Ground-type Pokémon with better typing and higher overall stats.
In the past, Swampert’s mega evolution was a fantastic option on rain-based teams thanks to its ability Swift Swim which doubled its Speed in rain. Since the removal of mega evolutions, Swampert’s viability has drastically faded. Moves like Toxic, Stealth Rock, and Flip Turn give it some utility, but its troublesome defensive typing leaves it highly vulnerable.
Swampert’s Water/Ground typing makes it immune to Electric-type damage, but it also gives Swampert a quadruple weakness to Grass. This is a major hindrance. The problem is compounded by Swampert’s low Speed stat, leaving it unable to quickly KO opponents with Earthquake and unable to flinch them with Waterfall.
6Krookodile
Krookodile’s secondary Dark typing doesn’t synergize particularly well with Ground, but it does introduce interesting new utility. Earthquake and Knock-off together give Krookodile a great STAB combination. It also has tricks up its sleeve; namely Stealth Rock from its Ground typing and Taunt from Dark.
Krookodile can use either Intimidate to protect it while it sets up Stealth Rock, or Moxie to set it up for sweeps using its great base attack stat. Unfortunately, it fails to stand out compared to other Stealth Rock setters with better bulk. It also fails to stand out against other sweepers with more Speed and better set-up moves.
5Mamoswine
Ice is a pretty bad type. Logically, one might think Ice resists Water or Grass – two weaknesses of the Ground type. Conversely, one might think Ground resists Fire, which is a weakness of the Ice type. None of these are the case. Mamoswine’s Ice/Ground dual typing leaves it weak to Water, Grass, and Fire – not to mention Fighting!
While it’s defensively weak, Mamoswine’s typing gives it offensive potency. In combination, these two types hit a wide plethora of other types super effectively. That’s good news considering Mamoswine has a mammoth-sized base Attack stat of 130 and solid bulk to back it up. It also gets the ability Thick Fat, which can help protect it from Fire damage.
4Hippowdon
Hippowdon is the first “monotype” Pokémon on our list. Without a secondary typing, it has nothing to cover for Ground’s weaknesses. Having just one type also means no new weaknesses are introduced, and that’s a good thing. Hippowdon doesn’t need a new weakness to worry about while it’s tanking hits and dishing out loads of damage.
RELATED:Pokémon That Would Make The Worst Roommates
Hippowdon compresses multiple roles into one with its amazing base stats and deep move pool. It can wall with Stealth Rock and Toxic, and it can even use Slack Off for phenomenal HP recovery. Alternatively, a good old-fashioned Earthquake from a Hippowdon is a devastating attack. Despite its abysmal Speed, this hippo is solid and useful for just about any team.
3Excadrill
With Steelix, we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the Steel/Ground dual typing. Excadrill capitalizes on this great defensive typing with a good HP stat, decent Speed, and a colossal base Attack stat of 135. It also gets a great ability in Mold Breaker, allowing it to ignore the abilities of foes – like Wash Rotom’s Levitate.
Excadrill is rock solid, but what is its move pool like? Similar to Hippowdon, Excadrill compresses multiple roles into one. It gets Swords Dance and Earthquake for sheer damage, and it can also grab Iron Head – although Steel is an offensively weak type, it does hit Fairy super effectively. Excadrill also gets some fantastic utility options in Toxic, Stealth Rock, and even Rapid Spin for hazard removal.
It’s worth pointing out that the royal pair of Pokémon, Nidoking and Nidoqueen, are extremely similar. Nidoking won out in the end with its higher Attack stats, making him slightly better suited for the role of a mixed attacker with wide coverage.
Both Nidoking and Nidoqueen have access to the excellent Sheer Force ability which grants a 30% power boost to moves with secondary effects. To take full advantage of this, they’re often run with special sets – moves like Sludge Wave, Earth Power, Fire Blast, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, or maybe even Focus Blast are all fantastic options. Expect devastating surprises from these notorious Ground/Poison-types.
Garchomp’s solid defensive typing and phenomenal stats across the board make it the very best non-legendary Ground-type. You wouldn’t expect anything less from a pseudo-legendary Pokémon. As discussed with Flygon, the Dragon type covers almost every weakness of the Ground type, making this a great pair.
Additionally, Garchomp hits hard and moves quickly, having solid bulk and an incredibly wide movepool. It’s a pretty good Stealth Rock setter, but it can also use Swords Dance to set up devastating hits with Earthquake, Outrage, or Stone Edge. Alternatively, it can Wall out with Toxic and Substitute. It even has the necessary stats to dip into the Special Attack department if desired, utilizing powerful moves like Draco Meteor and Fire Blast.
