Bubblestrat not working
I have tried Bubblestrat for the first time today.
The defender was Poliwag with A/D/S 3/0/6 and attacker was Paras with 10/1/9. Both had the right fastmove (Bubble and Bug Bite)
According to my calculations, the Paras should KO the Poliwag with 3 hits, so 1.35s, what is fast enough to stay safe. Yet I failed 3 times in a row, with 3 dead pokemons in the progress. What could be the reason of this?
Answers
It's still efficient relative to training normally, because all prestige gain from training was halved, not just bubblestrat, so it's still the quickest option for boosting gyms.
It would be less efficient if the prestige gain from "regular" training was kept the same or increased while bubblestrat was nerfed e.g. if they further reduced prestige gain if the defender is below a certain amount of CP.
It could be due to lag. When a gym battle starts you've got about a second where you can attack before the defender does, although if you're lagging then that duration is less which makes a big difference when using bubblestrat.
Not sure how you got 1.35s, when a Diglet doesn't even KO that fast. Bug Bite's 5 damage doesn't mean it removes 5 HP from the opponent per attack.
https://pokemongo.gamepress.gg/damage-mechanics
Here's the damage formula and also note that defenders have double HP. Your Paras would deal 3 HP per attack so it'd take 7 hits, which would take 3.15s which isn't fast enough.
Try it on a gym where you've got 4G coverage or a WiFi connection if you haven't already, to rule out the possibility of lag.
Whether bubblestrat works or not also depends on IVs. Paras being on the bottom end of the attacker options means that it's attack IV requirements are stricter.
But if the Paras still doesn't work, keep it in case you find another bubblestrat defender it might work on. If it still doesn't work on several different defenders, see if evolving it to Parasect or powering it up allows it to, but do it only when you're out of options.
