Understanding Best Movesets

Power Whip's damage is 70 with a cooldown of 2.8s (70/2.8 = 25dps*1,25 = 31,25dps with stab).

Solar Beam's damage is 120 with a cooldown of 4.9s (120/4.9 = 24,5dps*1,25 = 30,6 dps with stab).

So lets say you are analyzing one Ivysaur to attack. The fast attack for both is Razor Leaf and you already have the energy to use the charge attack (its 100 energy for both). Razor Leaf's cooldown is 1.45s.

For RL/SB: you use a SB and do 120 damage for 4.9s.

For RL/PW: you use a PW and do 70 damage for 2.8s (4.9s-2.8s = 2.1s so you can use one PW and one RL while you only use one SB). So it will be 70 damage of the PW + 15 damage of the RL, so 70+15 = 85 damage in almost the same time the other Ivysaur hit 120 damage with only one SB (120 SB > 85 PW+RL). Even if the RL/PW could hit one more RL, it would be 100<120. So DPS is only one parameter, you cant classify movesets only based in that.

If you want to analyze movesets to Defense, you need to consider the charge attack's cooldown+2s cuz of the AI, and 1.5s minimal cooldown for fast attacks so you repeat the maths.

Got it?.

You're looking at the move on their own without considering you need to first use quick moves to gain the energy to use the charge move, and that is how overall DPS is calculated, otherwise known as a damage cycle.

DPS values assume energy is only gained from attacking not from taking damage.

100 energy / 7 energy per Vine Whip attack = 14.28, therefore 15 Vine Whips to reach 100 energy.

15 * 7 dmg = 105 damage
15 * 0.65s = 9.75s

Power Whip does 70 damage over 2.80s so one damage cycle results in 105 + 70 damage over 9.75 + 2.80s. 175 / 12.55 = 13.94 DPS for VW/PW.

Solar Beam does 120 damage over 4.90s so one damage cycle is 105 + 120 damage over 9.75s + 4.90s. 225 / 14.65 = 15.35 DPS for VW/So.

Despite Solar Beam doing less DPS it increases the average DPS of the two moves more than Power Whip because of its longer duration.

One VW/PW cycle lasts 12.55s and the charge move is 2.80s which is 22.3% of the duration, while a VW/So cycle lasts 14.65s and the 4.90s charge move consists of 33.4% of the damage cycle's duration.

Conversely imagine a theoretical move that lasted 0.25s and did 15 damage which means it does 60 DPS compared to the ~30 of Power Whip and Solar Beam.

Your damage cycle becomes 105 + 15 / 9.75 + 0.25 which is 120 / 10 = 12 DPS, the lowest of them all despite the charge move dealing double the DPS of the others.