Ubers X&Y Fantasy: The Typing Of Fairy Tales! (UPDATE: FAIRY TYPE'S CHART CONFIRMED!!)

Ugh... so fairies are immune to dragon, resist bug AND fighting and eat up pursuits? Now that's just lazy. At least Outrage doesn't lock you in against immunities (checked against Shedinja).
 
I've been mulling over what they were thinking with the design choices for Fairy, and I believe some of it is for competitive reasons and some is for actually playing through the adventure reasons.

Weaknesses:

Poison - Poison, as an attack type, needed some love.

Steel - I can't really see this as a buff to Steel-types, as more a buff to all those Pokemon that learn Steel-type moves that are promptly ignored/removed for more obvious choices on the quest from level 5 to league champ.

Competitively - this adds an interesting strategic element assuming we get a few good bulky Fairy-types. Not being prepared or simply being careless with your steel or poison attack holders it could lead to disaster for the unprepared trainer. Feebly chipping away with neutral damage attacks against the mighty Fairy wall that stands before them.


Resists:

Dragon - The immunity serves its purpose in making people think twice about recklessly throwing Dragon-type attacks around. It also allows for a typing different from Steel to be on the team to keep Dragon's from ruling the field. It will likely turn in to a minor bother once people get use to it, particularly if team preview is on.

Dark - While this seemed strange at first, Steel-type losing its resists to Ghost- and Dark-type gives Fairy and Dark new rolls. Dark will be happy to chomp unresisted holes in Steel-types, so it's up to Dark- and Fairy-types to watch their backs.

Bug - This one is baffling, as it brings Bug-type to a tie with Grass for 7 types that resist its attacks. As Fire, Poison, Fighting, and Steel are all likely to be around as far as handling Fairy-type and counters to Fairy-type go, Bug-type really just seems to suck as an attack type bar the potential for more Dark-types or the odd ball Psychic- or Grass-type not paired with the many things that already resist Bug. Psychic seeming very unlikely with Dark-type attacks being more prevalent.

I can't help but wonder if the first Gym really is Bug-type, and they did this for the soul purpose of making people want to use a Fairy-type through the game...


Super Effective vs:

Dragon - Since they didn't want to give Ice-types love, this will have to do.

Dark - I can only assume they're expecting a rise in the use of Dark-types (which is pretty popular for the sake of cool Pokemon, even if they're competitive use is questionable), so this was the solution to keep Dark-types in check now that Steel-types no longer resist Dark. (I wanna cast Magic Missile!)

Fighting - Based on what I said about Dark-types, Fighting already did this job, so Fairy apparently keeps both of them in line. Steel can switch in on a Fairy attack. Fairy can switch in on a Fighting attack, but Ghost-type is a better option, which then encourages a Dark-type, which brings out the Fairy again. Prediction and team building dynamics seem reasonable so far.


Not Very Effective vs:

Fire - A little bit of love for Fire-types is nice if they don't plan to change the Stealth Rock mechanics. Fire has 6 resists now, second only to Steel. I have trouble believing it will do Fire-types much good though, again, assuming no major changes/surprising to combat.

Steel - If this doesn't explain itself, I don't know what to think.

Poison - Making Poison-type more appealing to use is a good thing.



So as a spectator putting my thoughts to words, here are a few main points I wonder for Fairy-type:

Psychic-type got the shaft. Fairy-type does their job but better. Unless Flying or Levitating Poison-types become common on every team, it serves no real purpose as an attack type. Unremarkable resists and weakness to very well spread Dark-type attacks doesn't do it any favors either. Oh, and Ghost-type attacks may be more common since it's neutral vs Steel, further keeping Psychic-types off the field.

Ground-type attacks will be more common than ever if Poison-type actually oozes its way on to teams more often (because who wants to use Psychic?).

Why do Fairy-types resist Bug-type attacks? Unless Bug-types are getting some kind of ridiculous passive trait like 10% evasion, it seems like moving that resist to Ground or even Fairy would be more beneficial to bringing variety to battles.

It also seems odd to completely ignore the short-comings of other types. Ice- and Rock-type Pokemon will be even harder to use if everyone is packing Steel-type moves, while Grass-, Bug-, and Psychic-types seem even less appealing overall at for the first month or two while everyone is in the "OMG LET'S ALL USE FAIRIES!" mode.



While it's really hard to straight up ignore theorizing on how Fairy-type will ultimately effect the game, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 

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