"Availability of current top attackers"

#PokemonGO: VSTop DPSTop sinceAvailibilityLegacy sinceWill Gen IV Change?PsychicGengar (SC/SB)6/29/2017Unvailable2/16/2017UnlikelyElectricGroudon (MS/E)12/15/2017Unvailable3/5/2018PossiblyFireKyogre (W/HP)1/12/2018Unvailable7/19/2018UnlikelyGroundKyogre (W/HP)1/12/2018Unvailable7/19/2018UnlikelyDarkMachamp (KC/DP)7/6/2016Unvailable2/16/2017PossiblyNormalMachamp (KC/DP)7/6/2016Unvailable2/16/2017PossiblySteelMachamp (KC/DP)7/6/2016Unvailable2/16/2017PossiblyFairyMetagross (BP/MM)10/21/2018Unvailable10/28/2018UnlikelyIceMetagross (BP/MM)10/21/2018Unvailable10/28/2018UnlikelyRockMetagross (BP/MM)10/21/2018Unvailable10/28/2018UnlikelyFightingMewTwo (C/P)8/14/2017Unvailable10/23/2018UnlikelyPoisonMewTwo (C/P)8/14/2017Unvailable10/23/2018UnlikelyGhostMewTwo (PC/SB)8/14/2017Unvailable9/20/2018UnlikelyBugMoltres (FS/SA)9/8/2018Unvailable9/8/2018UnlikelyGrassMoltres (FS/SA)9/8/2018Unvailable9/8/2018UnlikelyFlyingRaikou (TS/WC)8/31/2018Unvailable9/1/2018Unlikely edit: should have been PossiblyWaterRaikou (TS/WC)8/31/2018Unvailable9/1/2018Unlikely edit: should have been PossiblyDragonRayquaza (DT/O)2/9/2018Unvailable3/16/2018Possibly​Edit: Many of you are pointing out that Counter Machamp is almost always a better attacker than KC. While KC does outperform Counter by less than 1% in my little experiment, consensus is that Counter is the better move in almost all other cases. I stand corrected, though I'm leaving the chart as is for transparency.Purpose: We talk a lot about top attackers on this sub. Best raid counters often come up, and the same pokemon show up repeatedly. I wanted to look into what pokemon is the current top dps counter to each type? And, how long has this been the case?Hypothesis: I made this chart with two hypotheses: 1. That top attackers are stagnant and haven't changed in some time. 2. That most top attackers are unavailable to new players (barring trading).Method: For consistency, I wanted to see how all attackers performed against a single type opponent with similar stats, and found the perfect opponent in Arceus. Pokebattler lists each of his forms separately and his stats are the same between each. All attackers are level 40 with no weather or friend bonus, and no dodging.Faults: Certainly, this doesn't take into account double-type raid bosses, which would widen the pool of top attackers. Also, breakpoints are important, so various boosts may change the top attackers somewhat, as would a change to the defender. For example, Close Combat Machamp outperforms the legacy Machamp against Regigigas.Findings: As to my first hypothesis, I was surprised to find that 11/18 of these changed within the last year. This must be what you all mean when you talk about power creep. As to the second, every single one of these is unavailable to a new player until they save up the significant stardust to trade for one - or the legendaries inevitably cycle back around in raid battles or research.Conclusion: So, the top attackers do change, but generally there is a limited window to capitalize on the improvement. Players are out of luck if they miss out - until a new change comes along. This isn't to say this is a bad thing - this is merely a window into the game design. Pokemon Go is a game of FOMO-driven grinding. If you play consistently and take advantage of special events, you will easily gather teams of top attackers, but if you miss out you will have to settle with second- and third-tier choices until the next power creep event.Edit: u/finishcarts brought up the excellent point that the difference between optimal and next-best available counter is usually quite small, so here's a comparison for your reading pleasure:VSNext Best AvailableTTWPercent differenceNormalMachamp (C/DP)806.20.19%DarkMachamp (C/DP)798.80.29%SteelMachamp (C/DP)798.40.45%DragonSalamence (DT/DM)719.31.90%FlyingLuxray (S/WC)837.26.94%ElectricSalamence (DT/DM)1006.36.94%WaterLuxray (S/WC)840.47.39%FightingEspeon (C/FS)817.57.94%PoisonEspeon (C/FS)820.58.09%GhostGengar (H/SB)846.68.47%PsychicGengar (H/SB)858.89.65%BugFlareon (FS/O)832.913.68%GrassFlareon (FS/O)833.613.83%FireGyarados887.415.49%GroundGyarados887.915.51%IceMachamp (C/DP)79715.67%RockMachamp (C/DP)797.415.75%FairyGengar (H/Sludge)908.232.41%​ via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/2Prflvg