Type coverage refers to how many of the 18 Pokémon types your team’s moves can hit super effectively. Good coverage means fewer opposing types can wall your team completely, since at least one of your moves deals double damage against them. Building a team with broad offensive coverage is a key part of competitive team building.

Most competitive teams aim for 4 to 6 distinct attacking move types across the team, since no single type combination can hit all 18 types super effectively. Fighting and Ground are often prioritised because they each hit five types super effectively, more than any other single type, making them efficient coverage options.

Fighting and Ground are generally considered the best single offensive types, each hitting five other types super effectively. Fighting is super effective against Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark and Steel, while Ground is super effective against Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock and Steel. Combining the two leaves very few types resisting both.

No attacking type is super effective against all 18 types, and every type is resisted or walled by at least a few others. Normal-type moves are resisted by Rock and Steel and have no effect on Ghost, making Normal one of the weaker coverage options offensively despite being common defensively.

Type immunities mean an attack deals zero damage regardless of its power. For example, Ground moves cannot hit Flying types, Electric moves cannot hit Ground types, and Normal and Fighting moves cannot hit Ghost types. These immunities are critical coverage gaps, since no amount of raw power overcomes them — only a different move type can.

Offensive coverage looks at how many types your team’s moves can hit super effectively, helping you break through opposing walls. Defensive coverage looks at how many attacking types your team’s own Pokémon resist or are immune to, helping your team survive incoming attacks. A well-rounded team balances both, rather than focusing only on one side.

Coverage calculations for moves are based on the move’s own type, not the type of the Pokémon using it, so dual-typing does not change offensive coverage directly. However, dual-typing matters defensively: a Pokémon with two types can have up to four weaknesses if both types share a common weakness, or fewer effective weaknesses if one type resists what the other is weak to.

The core 18-type effectiveness chart has been stable since Generation 6 introduced the Fairy type in Pokémon X and Y. Generation 9 (Scarlet and Violet) added the Terastal mechanic, which lets a Pokémon temporarily change its type in battle, but it did not alter the underlying type effectiveness matchups between the 18 types themselves.