Damage Categories (Physical and Special)

Damage categories describe whether a move uses Attack/Defense or Special Attack/Special Defense.

Physical vs Special

Physical moves use the attacking Pokémon's Attack against the defending Pokémon's Defense. Special moves use the attacking Pokémon's Special Attack against the defending Pokémon's Special Defense. Status moves usually don't deal direct damage and instead cause status conditions like paralysis or sleep.

FAQ

When was the physical / special split?

The physical / special split took place in generation IV. Prior to generation IV, every move of a specific type always had the same damage category.

Which types were physical and special before the split?

Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, and Steel were physical. Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, and Dark were special.