"[Analysis] The Best Blissey Counters, Considering Sub-Optimal Movesets and Realistic Dodging Pro"

#PokemonGO: There have been many threads discussing options for Blissey counters. Most rank by species, listing the best 1 or 2 movements, without comparing the relative movements. I thought it would be interesting to compare how rankings changed with specific sub-optimal movesets. MethodologyI used Pokebattler's new Realistic Dodging Pro mode for the simulations below. This mode "Attempts to simulate a realistic experienced human dodger", with dodge failure rate varying with both attacker and defender move speed. It's not perfect, but I've found it more closer matches my battle results than any other dodging mode. If I am familiar with the move timing, I tend to get a bit better health, with a bit longer time.The results in the table below compare level 30 attackers against a level 30 Blissey with perfect IV. They are an average of all 6 Blissey movesets, so a measure of best options if you don't know the Blissey moveset beforehand. I am assuming dodging quick attacks with Zen Headbutt and dodging only charged moves for Pound. The results are ranked by Pokebattler's "Overall" ranking which is a combination of how many Blisseys the attacker can defeat in a row (Num Blisseys), a weighted measure of how long the battle takes (Time), and how many potions are required to heal. I'm sure many on here favor different relative weightings of health and time, so don't take the ranking as gospel. If speed is most important to you and health is less important, you'll probably like Machamp best. ResultsSpeciesMovesetNum BlisseysTime (s)OverallTyranitarB / SE1.964124DragoniteDB /DC1.663114DragoniteDT / O1.558113TyranitarB / C1.768112TyranitarB / FB1.770109DragoniteDT / Hu1.563108MachampC / DP1.251107DragoniteSW / O1.462107DragoniteDB / DP1.465104DragoniteDB / HB1.567103DragoniteSW / DC1.468101DragoniteDT / HB1.467100MachampC / CC1.15699DragoniteSW / Hu1.46898GyaradosDB/HP or B/HP1.47398TyranitarIT / SE1.57697FlareonFS / OH1.26497HeracrossC / CC1.15796DragoniteSW / DP1.36896TyranitarIT / C1.57695ExeggutorC / SoB1.26893FlareonFS / FT1.26892ExeggutorE / SoB1.26892MachampBP / DP1.16292DragoniteSW / HB1.37291ExeggutorZH SoB1.26990EspeonC / FS1.06589ScizorFC / IH1.37888RhydonRS / SE1.48087VaporeonWG / HP1.58387...............ArcanineFF / FT1.17484AlakazamC / FS0.96583PoliwrathB / DP1.07182SnorlaxL / HB1.39979 DiscussionTyranitar -- In terms of "overall" ranking, B/SE Tyranitar ranks well ahead of the pack. Tyranitar has some of the best base stats in the game and resists all Blissey moves except for DG, so it takes less damage than most other alternatives. However, it lacks SE attacks and does not have as high an attack stat as a few of the others, so it is not the fastest option. B/SE Tyranitar is one of the only alternatives that can defeat multiple Blisseys in a row, when they do not have DG. B/SE is also an excellent moveset for hitting dodges, with both attacks having a short duration. One weakness is that Tyranitar's bite is near the rounding damage threshold for doing 4 damage instead of 5. If the results compared a level 30 Tyranitar against a level 33 Blissey, Tyranitar would be ranked lower, with battles taking 10-15 seconds longer. This results in Tyranitar benefiting more than other mons from being powered up beyond 30 and having a high attack IV.Comparing Tyranitar movesets, there was a 12 point "overall" gap between B/SE and B/C, which is quite large compared to other species. Howvever, B/C and B/FB had more minor differnces in performance. B/C and B/FB did best when dodging specials, rather than dodging quick moves, which makes sense considering that the slow charge moves interferes with dodging. IT/SE and IT/C also did reasonably well in the rankings, similar to Gyarados. Dragonite -- Dragonites ranked next after B/SE Tyranitar in the "overall" rankings, with a good balance of health and speed, and doing reasonably well against all Blissey movesets. The Dragonite outrage movesets were faster than Tyranitar, but retained worse health. Other movesets besides outrage did not have a notable speed advantage. All Dragonite movesets were viable counters. DB/DC performed best with dodging all Blissey attacks, and DT/O performed best when dodging specials. The Dragonites had the most trouble with DG Blisseys, like Tyranitar. Machamp -- With their SE attacks and powerful moveset, C/DP Machamp was the fastest Blissey slayer. C/DP Machamp was 13 seconds faster than B/SE Tyranitar on average. However, most Blissey moves are also SE against Machamp (DG, Psy, and ZH). This can result in a glass cannon like battle, with missed dodges being critical. It didn't rank higher because of lower health. The Machamps all fainted against DG Blisseys by a small margin with the Realistic Dodging Pro assumptions. The results were close enough that skilled dodgers may still consistently win against DG Blisseys, but players who don't dodge as well or run into the dodge/revive bug, likely won't have as good success. Machamp has a much lower CP than Tyranitar and Dragonite, making it a good option for prestiging Blissey. C/CC fell significantly behind C/DP in this simulation, but was still a useful alternative. BP/DP also does reasonably well. Gyarados -- A slower option with good health. DB and B have the same attack stats, so they should perform identically, excluding effects on animation. DG is not SE against Gyarados, making it the highest ranked counter for which DG is not SE. Flareon -- Flareon resists DG, making it one of the only options that does not perform worse against DG Blisseys. It's also a good option for prestiging DGs. FS/OH is the moveset that always is recommended, but FS/Fl performed almost as well. Heracross -- Roughly the same as C/CC Machamp... similar health and 1 second slower. Exegguttor -- Exegguttor resists Psychic and ZH, making it a good alternative for these movesets, as well as good prestiger. With the Realistic Dodge Pro assumptions, they fainted against P/DG. Confusion did best when dodging specials, and Extrasensory did best when dodging all. ZH was not far behind. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2rrlwRK