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Learn how to use type advantages and build teams with strong offensive and defensive coverage
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I'll be honest - if you've played any Pokémon game before, you probably know the basics here. But it's worth laying out clearly because type matchups are the foundation of everything else in battling.
Super Effective (2× damage): Your move's type is strong against the target. Water moves hit Fire types for double damage - you know the drill.
Not Very Effective (½× damage): Your move's type is resisted. Fire moves only do half damage to Water types.
Immune (0× damage): No effect at all. Ground moves can't touch Flying types.
STAB Bonus: Same Type Attack Bonus gives a 1.5× damage boost when a Pokémon uses a move that matches its own type. So a Fire type using Flamethrower hits harder than a Normal type using the same move.
Good coverage means your team can hit most types for super effective or at least neutral damage. Without it, certain Pokémon will completely wall you and there's nothing you can do about it.
Here's how I think about it:
Cover Your STAB Weaknesses: If you're running a Water attacker, you're going to struggle against Grass types. Add Ice or Poison coverage so you have an answer.
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Hit Common Defensive Types: Steel, Water, and Dragon show up a lot as defensive pivots. Make sure you can deal with them:
Avoid Redundant Coverage: Don't run both Thunderbolt and Thunder. They hit the same things - pick one and use that slot for something else.
Coverage Combinations I Like:
Dual-types are interesting because they can be really good or really risky depending on the combination.
What's Good:
What's Risky:
Great Dual Types:
Risky Dual Types:
These combos give you the best neutral coverage - meaning you can hit almost everything for at least normal damage.
This is probably the best coverage combo in the game. The only things you can't hit are:
Everything else takes at least neutral damage from one or the other.
Covers a huge chunk of the type chart:
Water types and certain dual-types are the main things you miss, but it's still excellent.
The "Fantasy" core - each type beats what beats the other:
Together they hit most types super effectively. There's a reason this combination has been popular forever.
These type combos give you solid resistances without too many exploitable weaknesses.
Resists: Normal, Flying, Bug, Steel, Grass, Psychic, Dragon Immune: Ground, Poison Weak to: Fire, Electric
Skarmory is the poster child for this. It walls so many physical attackers it's not even funny.
Resists: Fire, Poison, Rock, Steel Immune: Electric Weak to: Grass (4×)
One weakness. Sure, it's 4×, but only one type threatens you. And that Electric immunity is incredibly valuable.
Example: Mismagius (Polished form)
This typing provides key immunities (Normal and Fighting) and gives strong neutral or super effective pressure into common team cores.
Running a team where every Pokémon shares a type is challenging, but some people love it. Here's the deal:
Why It Works:
Why It's Hard:
Tips If You Try This:
Example: Mono-Water Team
When you're building a team, ask yourself:
At the end of the day, the type chart is a tool, not a rulebook. Good prediction, smart switching, and move selection can overcome type disadvantages. But building with type synergy in mind gives you an edge before the battle even starts.