pokemons.io

Calculator · Live coverage + weakness analysis

Pokémon team builder

Pick six Pokémon and instantly see your team's type coverage, defensive weaknesses, and offensive holes. Built for Gen 9 OU and VGC — exports straight to Pokémon Showdown.

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Defensive coverage

How many of your Pokémon resist, are neutral to, weak to, or immune to each attacking type:

Offensive coverage

How many of your Pokémon hit each defending type for super-effective damage with STAB:

Showdown export

How to use the Pokémon team builder

Click any slot and pick a Pokémon. The coverage analyzers update in real time — defensive coverage shows how the team handles incoming attacks, offensive coverage shows what types your team hits for super-effective damage with STAB. Aim to have at least one resist (½× or less) for every attacking type, and aim to hit at least 14 of the 18 types for super-effective with STAB across all six slots.

The 4-3-2-1 weakness rule

A competitive team should not have:

  • More than 4 Pokémon weak to any single type
  • More than 3 Pokémon sharing two weaknesses (e.g., everyone weak to Ice and Fairy)
  • More than 2 Pokémon weak to a high-usage type without a switch-in
  • Zero Pokémon resisting the most-used types in your tier (Ground, Fairy, Fighting in Gen 9 OU)

If your defensive coverage chart shows red bars (3+ Pokémon weak) for any attacking type, you have a Pokémon-shaped hole. Either swap one of the weak ones for a different typing, or run a defensive Tera type on one of them to flip the matchup.

Building around a core

Most successful teams start with a 2- or 3-Pokémon core that defines the game plan. The team builder's coverage analyzer helps you find what your core doesn't answer — those gaps become the slots 4, 5, and 6 picks.

Common Gen 9 OU cores

  • Hazards + Sweeper: Glimmora (Toxic Debris) + Roaring Moon (Dragon Dance) — set Toxic Spikes early, sweep late once opposing answers are weakened.
  • Pivot + Pivot + Wincon: Iron Valiant (U-Turn) + Heatran (Lava Plume + Volt Switch denial) + Kingambit (Supreme Overlord) — chip the team down all match, clean with Kingambit endgame.
  • Sand: Tyranitar (sand setter) + Garchomp (sand sweeper / Sand Veil) + Ting-Lu (sand abuser via massive HP).
  • Rain: Pelipper (Drizzle) + Iron Bundle (rain-boosted Hydro Pump + Freeze-Dry) + Barraskewda (Swift Swim).

VGC vs. OU team building

VGC (doubles) and OU (singles) want very different team structures. VGC heavily rewards:

  • Speed control — Tailwind, Trick Room, or paralysis. Every VGC team has one.
  • Spread move resistance — Pokémon that resist Earthquake (Flying / Levitate) and Heat Wave / Discharge are valuable.
  • Redirection — Follow Me / Rage Powder users (Indeedee, Amoonguss) let your win-con set up safely.
  • Quick-trigger Tera — VGC teams Tera early, often turn 1, because there's only 4 active slots and information is at a premium.

OU rewards the opposite — slower, methodical games where each switch matters. Hazard control, status, and pivot moves dominate. Use the VGC mode toggle to surface the right analysis for your format.

Exporting and sharing

The Showdown export above generates pasteable text — open Showdown's teambuilder, hit "Import", paste, done. The URL also updates as you change slots; bookmark or share the URL to share your full team without exporting.

For competitive build inspiration, browse our per-Pokémon builds hub — every page has a tested EV spread, item, ability, and 4-move set you can drop straight into the slot above.

Frequently asked questions

How do I build a balanced Pokémon team?
The classic competitive framework: pick one offensive lead (hazard setter or speedy attacker), one bulky pivot (Volt Switch / U-Turn user), one wallbreaker, one wincon (set-up sweeper or late-game cleaner), one defensive backbone, and one specific-threat answer. Use the weakness analyzer above to confirm you don't have 3+ Pokémon sharing the same weakness.

What's a 'core' in team building?
A core is two or three Pokémon that cover each other's weaknesses and enable each other's wincons. Classic examples: FWG (Fire/Water/Grass — each resists what the other is weak to), Dragon/Steel/Fairy ('dragmag' — Steel walls dragons that beat dragons), or VoltTurn (Electric pivot + Bug pivot + setup sweeper that benefits from chip damage).

Can I share my team?
Yes — the URL updates as you build, and a unique share link is generated under the Showdown export. Copy that link to share with teammates; everything is encoded in the URL, so no server is involved.

Does this work for VGC doubles?
Yes. Toggle 'VGC mode' to limit teams to 4 active Pokémon at preview, surface common doubles archetypes (Trick Room, Tailwind, Sun, Rain), and highlight common doubles threats your team struggles against.

Can I import from Showdown?
Paste any Showdown export into the import box at the bottom and we'll parse it — species, item, ability, EVs, IVs, nature, Tera type, and moves are all preserved. Same on export — the format is identical to Showdown's so you can paste straight into the teambuilder there.