It sounds like a total contradiction. Flying Ground type Pokemon shouldn't work. One element is the heavy dirt under your feet, the other is the literal air. But if you've spent more than five minutes in a competitive ladder match on Pokemon Showdown or grinding through a VGC tournament, you know this specific dual typing is a nightmare to deal with. It is, frankly, one of the smartest combinations Game Freak ever programmed into the code.
Think about it.
Ground types usually hate Water, Grass, and Ice. Flying types are terrified of Rock, Electric, and Ice. When you smash them together, something magical happens. The Ground half completely deletes the Electric weakness that plagues every other bird in the game. Suddenly, your "bird" is immune to Thunderbolt. Then, the Flying half makes you immune to Ground moves. You basically become a creature that can’t be hit by the most common offensive move in the history of the franchise: Earthquake.
It’s weird. It’s effective. Honestly, it’s a bit unfair.
The Gliscor Problem and the Stall Meta
If we're talking about Flying Ground type Pokemon, we have to start with the vampire scorpion in the room. Gliscor.
Introduced in Generation IV as an evolution to the relatively forgettable Gligar, Gliscor redefined what it meant to be a defensive pivot. It isn't just about the stats, though a base 125 Defense is nothing to sneeze at. It's the ability Poison Heal. You give this thing a Toxic Orb, it gets poisoned, and instead of losing health, it regenerates 1/8th of its max HP every single turn. Combine that with the move Protect and the inherent immunities of being a Flying/Ground type, and you have a Pokemon that is essentially a brick wall that heals itself while you slowly lose your mind.
I’ve seen matches go on for fifty turns just because one player couldn't find a way to OHKO a Gliscor. You can’t paralyze it. You can’t burn it. You can't even poison it to stop the healing because it’s already poisoned.
However, Gliscor has a massive, glaring Achilles' heel. Ice.
Because both Ground and Flying are weak to Ice, any Pokemon carrying an Ice Beam or even a stray Hidden Power Ice (back when that was a thing) will vaporize it. We're talking quadruple damage. $4 \times$ weakness is no joke. It’s the ultimate "glass cannon" defensive setup. You're invincible until a stray snowflake hits you, and then it’s game over. This creates a high-stakes guessing game. Do you stay in and risk the Ice Beam, or do you swap to a bulky Water type? This tension is exactly why Gliscor remains a staple in Smogon’s Overused (OU) tier decade after decade.
Landorus-Therian: The King of Usage Stats
You can't discuss this typing without acknowledging the most used Pokemon in the history of competitive play. Landorus-Therian.
For years, Landorus-T has sat at the top of the usage charts. Why? Because it does everything. It’s the Swiss Army Knife of the Pokemon world. It has the Intimidate ability, which immediately drops the opponent's Attack stat. It has access to U-turn, letting it pivot out of bad matchups while still dealing damage. It hits like a freight train with base 145 Attack.
But really, it's the typing that carries it.
Landorus-T can switch into an Electric move intended for a teammate, take zero damage, and then threaten the entire field with a STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) Earthquake. It compresses so many roles into one slot. It’s a lead, a sweeper, a defensive wall, and a scout. Most players find it annoying. Some find it boring because it's everywhere. But you can't argue with results. When you have two immunities—Electric and Ground—you have more opportunities to switch in safely than almost any other creature in the Pokedex.
Why the Typing Defies Logic
Usually, when a Pokemon has two types, they balance each other out by adding more weaknesses. Not here.
Flying Ground type Pokemon only have two weaknesses: Water and Ice. That’s it. In exchange, they get two full immunities and resistances to Poison, Fighting, and Bug. In the context of a 6v6 battle, having a Pokemon that can safely switch into a Choice-Locked Regieleki or a Garchomp is worth its weight in Gold Bottle Caps.
It’s a strategic goldmine.
Take Gligar in the Eviolite tiers. Before it evolves, Gligar with an Eviolite item becomes even bulkier than its evolution. It serves as a lower-tier version of the Gliscor nightmare. It's the same song and dance: you try to hit it with a physical move, it laughs, it sets up Stealth Rock, and then it Roosts off the damage.
The Rarity Factor
Interestingly, Game Freak has been very stingy with this typing. We only have three evolutionary lines that sport it:
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- Gligar and Gliscor
- Landorus (In both Incarnate and Therian forms)
- Enamorus (Actually, wait, let's be accurate—Enamorus is Fairy/Flying. My mistake. It's just the Gligar line and Landorus.)
Wait, let's look closer. Actually, there aren't many at all.
This scarcity is likely intentional. If every generation had a new Flying/Ground type, the game would become a stalemate of immunities. We've seen what Landorus did to the meta for three generations straight. Adding more would just be piling on. Even the Paradox Pokemon or the Ultra Beasts didn't touch this combination. It's kept in a glass case, brought out only when the developers want to create something truly "meta-defining."
Surviving the Ice Age
If you're using these Pokemon, you live in constant fear of the move Triple Axel or Weavile. Because the weakness to Ice is so severe ($4 \times$ multiplier), the "meta" around Flying Ground type Pokemon is actually a meta of prediction.
Expert players will often run a Yache Berry. This item halves the damage from a single super-effective Ice move. It sounds simple, but it's a bait. Your opponent thinks they have the easy knockout, they click Ice Shard, you survive with 20% health, and you retaliate with a Stone Edge or Earthquake that ends their run.
It’s these layers of strategy that make the typing so fascinating. It isn't just "I am strong." It’s "I am incredibly strong but I have one massive hole in my armor, so I have to outsmart you."
Actionable Insights for Your Next Battle
If you're looking to integrate a Flying Ground type into your team, or if you're struggling to beat one, here is the reality of the situation.
- Don't rely on Electric-type coverage. If you see a Landorus or Gliscor on the team preview, your Regieleki or Zapdos is basically dead weight until that threat is removed. You need a secondary plan.
- Pack the "Freeze-Dry" move. This is the secret weapon. Freeze-Dry is an Ice-type move that is super effective against Water types, but more importantly, it absolutely shreds the Flying/Ground duo. Since most people pair Gliscor with a Water type like Slowbro or Toxapex to catch Ice moves, Freeze-Dry hits both for massive damage.
- Use the "Pivot" strategy. If you are using Landorus-T, don't stay in too long. Use U-turn. The strength of this typing is the ability to come in, scare the opponent, and leave. It’s a hit-and-run tactic.
- Tera Types changed everything. In the current generation, a Gliscor can "Terastallize" into a Water type. Suddenly, that $4 \times$ Ice weakness disappears. It becomes a resistance. This is why Gliscor became so much more dangerous in recent years. It can lure in an Ice-type attacker, transform, and then win the duel.
The Flying Ground type Pokemon remains a masterclass in lopsided design. It shouldn't be this good, but it is. Whether you love the "Landorus-T era" or wish Gliscor would stay in the vault, you have to respect the tactical depth they bring to the table. They force you to think three steps ahead, which is exactly what a good competitive game should do.
To master this typing, stop looking at it as a "bird that digs." Look at it as a defensive anchor that dictates the pace of the entire match. If you can control the Ice moves on the field, you control the game. It is as simple, and as difficult, as that.
Next Steps for Players:
Check your current roster for "4x Ice Weakness" overlap. If you’re running a Flying/Ground type alongside a Grass/Dragon (like Appletun) or a Dragon/Flying (like Dragonite), you are begging to be swept by a single Weavile. Diversify your defensive cores by pairing your Ground/Flying leads with a bulky Steel type like Gholdengo or Corviknight to soak up those incoming Ice Shards. Best-of-one laddering is won by those who cover their quad-weaknesses before the match even starts.