FAQ
What are IVs (Individual Values)?
Every Pokémon has a set of base stats for Attack, Defense, and Stamina which never change - we've put together a list of these values so you can compare Pokémon.
Every single Pokémon that you catch will then have an additional set of values (randomly generated) for these three stats, which will range between 0 and 15 - these are the IVs.
For example, the base stats of Lapras are 165 attack, 174 defense, and 277 stamina. If all IVs were 0 (aka the worst Lapras), then these would be the final stats.
On the other hand, if all the IVs were 15 (aka the best Lapras), then the final stats would be 180 attack, 189 defense, and 292 stamina.
Realistically the difference between the worst and the best is only up to around 10% difference (8% in our case of the Lapras), but it is a key stat for those looking to get the very best Pokémon in the game.
What is STAB?
STAB is an acronym for Same Type Attack Bonus in Pokémon GO. This is when a Pokémon of a certain type attacks with a move of the same type. For example, if a Fire Pokémon used a Fire-type move, it would get an attack bonus.
Currently this is a 1.2 multiplier - the move deals 20% more damage.
How is the DPS calculated?
Move DPS is calculated by dividing the damage done by the time that the move takes, with a few tweaks:
- STAB: If the Pokémon using the move is of the same type as the move, the damage is increased by 20%.
- Critical chance: Critical chance for moves is not currently calculated for moves, as it has been determined that critical strikes are not implemented in the game yet.
What is a moveset?
The moveset is defined as a specific combination of one quick move, and one main move. For example, if a Pokémon has 2 possible quick moves, and 3 possible main moves, there will be a possible 6 movesets for that Pokémon.
Offensive moveset calculations
To calculate the best offensive movesets, we average the damage over repeated cycles of quick moves followed by a main move, for a level 40 Pokémon with perfect IVs. Each hit uses the game's damage formula against the Defense of a typical raid boss. The type advantages and type disadvantages are not used when calculating the moveset DPS, so this is an average DPS against all Pokémon.
Energy requirements are taken into account, and this is why you will often see quick moves with a higher DPS not listed as the best move: if a quick move does less damage, but generates more energy, this means they can use the main move more often, and produce a higher total DPS.
Defensive moveset calculations
Defensive movesets are calculated based on how defending Pokémon behave when defending a gym. There has been lots of research on how this works exactly, and the closest approximation that we have is that:
- Defending Pokémon have a delay of 2 seconds between each move.
- Once they have enough energy for their main move, they only use it half the time.
Pokémon also gain energy when they take damage, but how much depends on how hard they are hit, so these figures leave it out.
These results do not take into account if you dodge attacks when fighting.
Counter Pokémon
The list of counter Pokémon is calculated in the same way, but taking into account both the attack advantages and disadvantages of the moves against the defending Pokémon's types, and the STAB bonus of the attacking Pokémon.
These results do not take into account if you dodge attacks when fighting.