All dedicatedPokemonfans know how important it is to understand each type’s advantages. Every type has its own weaknesses and resistances — and sometimes, when two types are paired up, its defenses amplify each other and turn thePokemoninto an almost unbeatable foe. These dual typings are examples of fantastically sturdy Pokemon.
It’s worth noting up front that most combinations on this list involve the Steel typing, as this type alone has a whopping ten resistances and one immunity. However, Steel isn’t the be-all and end-all of defensive Pokemon. The other typings in these matchups are important to their tanking abilities as well.
Updated Jun 18, 2025, by Demaris Oxman:As the Pokemon franchise continues to grow, more and more Pokemon are added to the Pokedex. With the recent announcement of the upcomingPokemon Legends: Z-A, it’s clear that the franchise isn’t close to slowing down. There’s no doubt that more Pokemon will be introduced in the future, further filling out unused type combinations and adding to the rosters of existing ones.
In every generation, there’s at least one new introduction that players use as a defensive wall. This is the Pokemon they send in to stall while they heal up their team, or withstand attacks while they chip away at their foe’s Pokemon. To help players choose a tank for their team, this list has been updated to highlight the Pokemon in each category that has the best defensive stats.
10Poison/Dark
Two Types Cancel Out Each Other’s Weaknesses
Though four resistances aren’t much compared to later entries on this list, Skuntank and others with its typing earn their place here because they have a single weakness, as well as a type immunity.Psychic-type moveshave no effect on these Pokemon, and the only type that presents a threat to them is Ground.
Poison/Dark is a great example of defensive typing, because the two types negate most of each other’s weaknesses. Dark’s innate immunity protects these Pokemon from Poison-type’s fatal enemy, Psychic attacks. Meanwhile, Poison resists Dark’s weaknesses to Fighting, Fairy, and Bug. The result is a single gap in its defenses, making it hard to take down easily.
Pokemon With This Typing
There are a handful of Poison/Dark Pokemon across the generations of the games. A few are regional variants of pre-existing ‘mons introduced in later generations:
Out of these Pokemon,Drapionhas the highest combined defensive stats, thoughAlolan Muk’s are respectable as well. Drapion has higher Physical Defense, while Alolan Muk’s Special Defense is more impressive. For Poison/Dark types, either of these makes a good choice.
9Dark/Ghost
A Single Weakness, and Three Immunities
Pokemon with this typing have only one weakness: Fairy-type moves. They have a single resistance as well, with only Poison-types doing reduced damage, but their three immunities make them worth mentioning when it comes to defensive Pokemon.
SinceFairy-types are the third rarestamong all Pokemon, those with this typing aren’t likely to run into foes that can take them down easily. Immune to Normal, Fighting, and Psychic, they’re a fantastic choice to use against the latter. Powerful moves will bounce right off Pokemon like Sableye, and its attacks will take down a Psychic-type in a flash.
Generations 3 and 4 each introduced a Dark/Ghost type:SableyeandSpiritomb, respectively. Because Fairy-type was not introduced until Gen 6, these Pokemon had no weaknesses at the time. As such, these Pokemonwere, and still are, incredibly defensive.
In games where Mega Evolution is available,Sableye is the better choice.Its Mega Evolution has higher stats all around, but its defensive stats get the biggest boosts. In games without Mega Evolution, though, Spiritomb’s defenses are better than Sableye’s
8Normal/Ghost
A Long-Awaited, Elusive Combination
Pokemon fans finally got to witness a Normal/Ghost type whenLegends: Arceusintroduced Hisuian forms of Zorua and Zoroark. This type combination does perhaps the best job of covering its own weak points. Ghost-types have only two weaknesses, Ghost and Dark; meanwhile, Normal-types are weak only to Fighting-type moves. Normal-type Pokemon, however, cannot be touched by Ghost-type moves, and the same goes for Ghost with Fighting-type attacks. The result is that the Pokemon is immune to any potential weaknesses except for Dark-type attacks.
Like Dark/Ghost, Normal/Ghost Pokemon have three immunities: Normal, Fighting, and Ghost. They also have a single weakness, Dark-type. However, they rank one spot higher on the list because they have one more resistance. Both Poison and Bug-type moves deal reduced damage to Normal/Ghost types.
As of Gen 9, Normal/Ghost is a unique typing in the world of Pokemon. Only one evolutionary line sports this combination:Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark, introduced in Generation 8. Hisuian Zoroark is not geared towards defense — its Phys. Def. and Sp. Def. are both quite low. Its stats are better suited to an attacker, but its defensive typing will come in handy nonetheless.
7Steel/Psychic
Steel-Type’s Defenses Can’t Be Beat
With a huge number of resistances, these Pokemon make great tanks.Nine types do reduced damage against Steel/Psychic, and Poison-type attacks don’t affect them at all. What’s more, they have a double resistance to Psychic-type moves. In other words, since both Steel and Psychic resist attacks of this type,moves like Extrasensorydo one-quarter damage instead of half.
Metagross and its ilk do have four weaknesses to watch out for, the most common of which is Fire-type attacks. Still, with the resistances above, this typing’s defensive capabilities are among the highest tier.
A fair number of Pokemon boast the Steel/Psychic combination; however, many are mythical or legendary and thus difficult to catch.
BeldumandBronzor’slines are the most reliable for players who want to use this typing in battle. Of these Pokemon,Bronzong has the highest defensive stats, even beating out the legendaries on this list. What’s more, its two possible abilities are Levitate and Fireproof, each of which negates a specific Steel-type weakness — Ground and Fire, respectively.
6Steel/Ground
Stands Strong Against Most Attacks
Steelix and other Pokemon with this typing boast not one, but two typeimmunities: Poison and Electric. It has eight resistances as well, including a double resistance to Rock-type moves; that is, Rock-type moves deal one-fourth damage.
This typing does have four weaknesses, including the very common Water-type. Still, with the incredibly high defensive stats that Steel-types tend to have, Steel/Ground is hard to one-shot, even with super effective moves. When going up against the vast majority of types, it’s at a defensive advantage.
In the Pokemon world, the Steel/Ground typing is one of the more common of the ones on this list. What’s more, most Steel/Ground types are fairly easy to obtain in their respective games (with the exception ofthe Paradox Pokemon, Iron Treads).
Of all the Ground/Steel types,Steelixhas by far the highest base Defense stat, at 200. Its Special Defense does leave something to be desired, but Steelix makes an excellent physical wall.
5Steel/Flying
Immune to one of Steel-Type’s Biggest Weaknesses
It’s hard to find moves that deal significant damage to Pokemon like Skarmory and Corviknight. Steel-types are usually weak to Fighting andGround-type moves, but adding the Flying-type negates both these vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, the Steel typing cancels out all of Flying’s weaknesses except for Electric, leaving Steel/Flying with only two gaps in its defenses.
With eight resistances, including a double resistance to Bug-type moves, Pokemon with this combination can easily stand up to some of the most common types in the games. It might not have quite as many resistances as other Steel-type combinations do, but its lack of weaknesses and extra immunity land it a place in the ranking.
Steel/Flying isn’t a very common combination. Only three Pokemon boast this typing, one of which is arare Ultra Beast:
Celesteelahas the most balanced defensive stats, with 103 Physical and 101 Special. But if players are looking for a physical wall of the Steel/Flying type,Skarmoryis their best bet, with 140 Phys. Def.
4Water/Steel
A Uniquely Defensive Beast
Empoleon is currently the only Pokemon that boasts this typing, andmany Gen 4 playerschose Piplup because of this. With ten resistances and Steel’s immunity to Poison, it’s very difficult to do much damage to a Water/Steel type.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of a Water/Steel Pokemon is that the two types cancel out each other’s most common weaknesses — Grass and Fire, respectively. Empoleon does still have to watch out for Electric, Ground, and Fighting moves, but its huge number of resistances make it worthwhile as a defender in most situations.
Pokemon With This Type
Some Pokemon fans are surprised to realize that Water/Steel is a unique typing. As ofScarlet & Violet,Empoleon,the final evolution of Gen 4’s Water-type starter Piplup,is the only one with this combination. Empoleon’s defensive stats are decent, but nothing extraordinary, at 88 Physical and 101 Special.
3Steel/Fairy
Cute and Tough, All In One
Another type with two immunities, Mawile and others of its type are completely unaffected by Poison and Dragon-type moves. Considering Fairy-types are weak to Poison, this is a huge boon. It leaves Steel/Fairy types with only two weaknesses, making it much harder to take down.
To top it off, this type combination boasts nine different resistances, including the common types Grass, Flying, and Psychic. It even has adouble resistance to Bug-types, meaning that these moves do 25% of their usual damage against Steel/Fairy types.
The Fairy/Steel roster was recently expanded withScarlet and Violet. Tinkatink and its evolutions are fairly common in the game, and incredibly tough to boot. They join a short but powerful list of defensive Pokemon with this type combo:
As a Mythical and a Legendary Pokemon, respectively, it’s little surprise thatMagearnaandZacianhave the best defensive stats among Steel/Fairy types. Both have a base of 115 for both Physical and Special Defense.
2Steel/Electric
Tied For the Most Resistances
Only four total Pokemon bear this typing. Its rarity may be in part because it is so difficult to damage. With eleven resistances and immunity toPoison-type attacks, Steel/Electric currently boasts the highest number of resistances in the games. Among these resistances are some of the most common types in the games, including Grass, Normal, and Psychic. This also includes double resistances to Bug and Flying.
The main downside to this typing is its Ground-type double weakness, meaning these attacks do four times the usual damage. In most cases, a double weakness might disqualify a type combination from a list of tanky Pokemon; however,all Steel/Electric types currently in existence are capable of learning Magnet Rise,which makes them immune to Ground-type moves for five turns. If players take advantage of this move, their opponents will have an incredibly difficult time taking them down.
Electric/Steel was a unique typing until Gen 7. For the first six games, only the Gen 1 PokemonMagnemiteandMagneton(and Gen 4’s addition to their line,Magnezone) were Electric/Steel.Sun and Moonchanged that with Gen 7’s Pikachu clone,Togedemaru. Of the Steel/Electric types, Magnezone has the highest base defensive stats.
1Steel/Ghost
Resistances and Immunities Make It Hard To Hit
Until Gen 9,only one evolutionary familyboasted this type combination — likely because it is so powerful in battle. Aegislash and those who share its typing have nine resistances, including a double resistance to Bug. Not only that, but they are immune to three different types of attacks.
Like some others on this list, Steel/Ghost has four weaknesses; however, unlike Steel/Electric, none of them are double. Fire-type is its most common weakness, but with this family’s high Defense and Sp. Defense, they can still take these attacks in stride. Since Steel/Ghost either resists or is unaffected by two-thirds of all Pokemon types, they’ll stand strong by a trainer’s side for a long time.
First seen in Gen 6, Steel/Ghost was unique toHonedgeand its evolutions,DoubladeandAegislash,until Gen 9.Scarlet and Violet, though, introduced a new member of this typing withGholdengo, the hard-to-obtain evolution of Gimmighoul. Of the two Steel/Ghost final evolutions,Aegislash has the most potential as a tank. In its Shield Forme, its Physical and Special Defense stats both have a base of 140.
