In Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, Physical Attacks and Special Attacks are split by Types instead of individual moves like in the modern Pokemon games. Players who are used to new Generation mechanics may find this quite confusing, especially since the game makes no mention of them from the outset. Here is how the Physical vs Special split works in FRLG.
Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen Type-Chart Guide
Here's a type-chart for Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen, that you can use to calculate damage and become a true Pokemon Master!
Physical vs Special Attack Split in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen
In modern Pokemon games, each individual move is either considered Physical, Special, or Status. In Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, the Type associated with a Pokemon move dictates whether it will be Physical or Special.
The Physical/Special split in FRLG is shown in the table below:
|
Physical |
Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Steel |
|---|---|
|
Special |
Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dark, Dragon |
This means that all moves that are associated with one of the types in the Physical section will scale off of a Pokemon’s Attack stat, whereas all types in the Special Section will have their moves scale off of the Pokemon’s Special Attack, regardless of the individual nature of that move.
An easy way to remember which types are Physical and which are Special is the Eeveelution + Dragon-type method. All Eeveelution types (Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dark) and the Dragon-type are Special Attacks, while the rest are all Physical Attacks.
Physical/Special Move Type Split's Impact on Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen
FireRed and LeafGreen’s Physical/Special typing split fundamentally changes how good some Pokemon are. A good example is Flareon, one of the classic Eeveelution trio and a very powerful Fire-type Pokemon in any modern game.
|
Pokemon |
Stats |
|---|---|
Flareon |
|
As shown in the table above, Flareon is a Physical Attacker through and through, with a staggeringly high 130 Attack and only a meager 95 Sp. Atk. However, because of FRLG’s Physical/Special split, all Fire-type moves are considered Special moves that all scale off of Sp. Atk. As a result, Flareon does not have a single STAB move that uses its Attack, turning its biggest advantage into a weakness.
|
Pokemon |
Stats |
|---|---|
Gyarados |
|
Similarly, Gyarados’s stats make it a Physical powerhouse, but because all Water-type moves are Special, including Waterfall, Gyarados’s signature move, it can never reach its full potential in this game.
|
Pokemon |
Stats |
|---|---|
Charizard |
|
Pokemon with Dual typings also often find themselves in an awkward spot because of this mechanic. Charizard, a Fire/Flying-type Pokémon, has its STAB moves split into two sections. All of its Fire-type moves scale off of Sp. Atk, but all of its Flying-type moves use Attack, forcing it to play both sides without committing to either and limiting its potential.
|
Pokemon |
Stats |
|---|---|
Gengar |
|
Gengar is in an even worse spot since not only does its incredibly high Sp. Atk stat does not matter at all for its Ghost-type moves (since they are Physical in FRLG), it also does not get any Poison-type moves until the post-game (TM36 Sludge Bomb). Because of this, Gengar is forced to forgo STAB moves entirely and only use moves like Psychic, Thunderbolt, or Giga Drain during a playthrough or rely on its abysmal 65 Attack, which is a terrible waste of its stats.
- Released
- September 7, 2004
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Mild Fantasy Violence, Simulated Gambling
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- The Pokemon Company, Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch
