How to build type coverage for a moveset and a team

Offense and defense are separate jobs

Type coverage has two sides. Offensive coverage is about the moves you carry: can you hit most opponents for at least neutral damage? Defensive coverage is about your team’s types: when an opponent attacks, is there someone who can take the hit? A team needs both, and the coverage and weakness calculators on this site check each one.

Pick attack types that cover each other

Good move pairs hit different things. If one type is resisted by a target, the other should be strong against it. These pairs have long been popular because almost nothing resists both.

• Ice and Electric: resisted together only by a few Electric-type combinations, such as Electric/Steel.
• Ice and Ground: super effective against nine single types between them.
• Ghost and Fighting: no single type resists both, and only Normal/Ghost blocks the pair completely.
• Fire and Grass plus Ground or Fighting: a common pattern for physical attackers.

Start with STAB, then add coverage

A Pokémon’s strongest moves are usually its own types, because of the 1.5× same-type bonus. Choose those first, then add one or two coverage moves that hit the types your STAB moves struggle with. Run the moveset through the coverage calculator and look at the list of combinations that resist everything; if a common threat is on that list, change one move.

Balance the team’s weaknesses

On defense, look for types that hit several team members hard. Three Pokémon weak to Ground with none resisting it is a gap an opponent can exploit. Fix it by adding a Pokémon that resists or is immune to that type, such as a Flying type or one with Levitate for Ground. Classic trios such as Fire, Water and Grass work because each covers the others’ weaknesses.

Do not chase perfect coverage

Four moves and six Pokémon cannot cover everything, and a moveset made only of coverage moves gives up power and utility. Aim to handle the threats you actually expect: the Pokémon in the game you are playing or the common ones in your battle format. Status moves, speed and items often matter as much as a perfect type spread.