What’s normally the ideal typing for a sweeper?

Question

I want to know what’s the best typing for a sweeper in a team, one that needs little to no backup to be specific. Any suggestions?

Comments

Since typing only really matters for walling, which is important for a highly defensive Pokemon to not use, I don't think there's a need for a sweeper to be a specific type unless under a weather dependent team, or you want a really good STAB type

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Sure, but I also think having a lack of weaknesses is also really helpful.

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Of course, but I think there's a couple viable Pokemon that are good sweepers, but are weak to common types, or are commonly seen with type coverage

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Typing is NOT only for walling. Some offensive types are better than others. Have you heard of STAB?

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Definitely agree with AlphaSapphire. For example, Blacephalon has a pretty bad defensive typing with Fire/Ghost being weak to common type like Dark, Ground, and Water, but is a menace because Fire/Ghost is an incredible offensive typing. While stats and movepool do mean a lot to how good a sweeper is, STAB is as (if not more) important.

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Every Pokemon needs support from teammates, and every Pokemon has its checks. There is no 'ideal typing' for a sweeper since everything has checks or stuff to balance it out.

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What format/rules are you asking about?
Also I think you answered your own question. Normally the ideal typing is normal.

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Ok, I see, and to answer sumwun’s question just a standard gen 8 OU format

Answer 1

The answer is 100% context-dependent. Pokemon is not a one-dimensional game -- we cannot name one type or a combination of types that is always or even "normally" ideal for a sweeper.

The most useful offensive type in any given scenario is effective against common defensive cores in the battle format you're playing, and effective against defensive Pokemon that resist attacks from other team members. If you do research then you can get clearer answers.

For example, in Gen 8 OU there are lots of defensive Steel-types and Water-types that you must break in order to sweep. So Ground, Fire, Fighting and Electric are helpful. I can see Ice lets me take out Landorus, Tornadus and Garchomp. I can see Dark gets very good neutral coverage and hits Slowking.

Good offensive types are also associated with the options at their disposal. Dark gets a massive boost because Knock Off is one of the best moves in the game. Strong, reliable and well-distributed moves like Earthquake, Moonblast, Draco Meteor and Close Combat can make some types more common.

In contrast, types like Rock and Bug suffer because they don't have attacks like those. But on the other hand, Bug types often get Quiver Dance which is an excellent set-up move. Volcarona is good because it gets Quiver Dance plus a good secondary STAB (as well as Roost and good stats). I hope that illustrates why you should think more about individual Pokemon being good sweepers, and less about certain types being best for sweepers.

one that needs little to no backup

This is a bad way to think about teambuilding. You cannot have one Pokemon that does everything. Creating a sweep involves having teammates that can wear down Pokemon that resist your sweeper's attacks.

Comments

I see, so what makes a good sweeper are the conditions in the tier they’re and the dominant types.

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Yes, but think less about types and more about individual Pokemon. You are responding to specific defensive Pokemon that are popular, not just types in general. Often those Pokemon do share types or share weaknesses, but you need to look at that carefully every time.
You can break Clefable with Poison, but Poison does not break the defensive core of Corviknight + Clefable (which you would know is common if you do research). So you need a smarter strategy.