Best counters to the best pokemon and why (my opinion)
I was noticing a lot of posts that was "Best counter for _____" or something like that and found myself disagreeing with a lot the popular opinions so I thought I would give my thoughts on the subject in just one post. I thought I would get this out of the way now, Dragonite is the boring option for most of these if it is a high enough CP. Something else to keep in mind is that this is not considering legendaries.
Dragonite, counter Lapras - Clefable is also a solid choose for a low enough level Dragonite but the lack of Fairy moves, how Dragonite can learn a Steel move (which is strong against Fairy types), and how it is overall far weaker than Lapras is why it is not best. Dragon and Flying types are both defensively weak to Ice types, as well as Steel moves, and since Lapras can only learn Ice (and one Dragon) type moves mean that the only way Lapras doesn't have an offensive and defensive advantage is if Dragonite knows Hyper Beam.
Snorlax, counter Machamp - Machamp isn't the best in this game but Karate Chop/Cross Chop or Karate Chop/Submission gives it enough of a type advantage that at the very least any other Pokemon could finish it off.
Arcanine, counter Vaporeon - This one and is one of the few I agree with popular opinion.
Lapras, counter Vaporeon - The only move Lapras has that won't be weak against Vaporeon is Dragon Pulse and while Vaporeon moves will be ineffective against Lapras as well but it will also have a STAB bonus giving it the advantage.
Exeggutor, counter Scyther - Not actually the best counter, Arcanine is better but that is obvious, but being a really good Bug/Flying type (Bug is strong against both Psychic and Grass types and Flying is strong against Grass) it has an extreme type advantage against Exeggutor.
Vaporeon, counter Venusaur - A lot of people say Exeggutor, and it is a good but not the best choose because it only has two moves that would give it an advantage and therefore odds are it would only have a defensive advantage. Vileplume, Victreebel, and Venusaur all have more moves that would give it an offensive advantage as well as defensive and the reason I choose Venusaur because it has the most Grass moves.
Finally, Gyarados, Counter Jolteon - Jolteon would not have a defensive advantage but it is a guaranteed a move set that is 1.56x damage and the best alternative is Golem which would get 1.56x WHEN HIT with a water type move. This means offensively Jolteon would have a 100% chance of getting a move set that deal 1.56x damage and Golem have only 33% chance of a move set deals 1.25x damage, Defensively Gyarados has a 0% chance of having extra damage to Jolteon and a 33% of getting a move that deals 1.56x damage against Golem.
Answers
Machamp is hardly any counter to Snorlax....
First, consider the dmg taken. Yes, fight has 1.25 advantage against normal, but it is vulnerable to psyhc, and unfortunately every defense Snorlax has that psyhc fast move....Besides, fight type has no resistance to normal type. This means your Machamp has to take 1.25x/full dmg from Snorlax with literally no reduction. Is Machchamp's 180 defense/180 stamina makes him especially strong to hold the attack from snorlax? I don't think so.
Second, consider the damage output. As mentioned above, fight has a 1.25 advantage against normal, does that make him a strong DPS against Snorlax? The answer is no. Machamp's best fast move only has a 10.0 True DPS. With type advantage, makes it 12.5. However, Dragonite's fast move has 20.0 true DPS even without type advantage, Vaporeon has 14, Arcanine has 17.86, Exeggutor has 17.14, Lapras has 13.58...So what makes Machamp stand out as a strong DPS against Snorlax? Admittely, Cross Chop has a decent DPS, but it also has the almost the worst DMG/EPU in the whole game.
Thus, in what way is Machamp a counter to Snorlax? In my opinion, the best counter to a Snorlax is another Snorlax...
I didn't it was an amazing choose but if you're good at dodging there is a 50% chance the Snorlax has Lick instead of Zen Headbutt and frankly saying Dragonite would have boring. Rhydon and Golem could do it because they take less damage from Normal moves but Snorlax's only Normal moves are special moves so yeah they have the damage but they are easier to dodge and not used as much. Besides, when Snorlax's best stat is HP, you want a Pokemon that could knock it's health down and Golem and Rhydon don't have the attack power, Machamp's isn't the best either but it's better and it's fighting moves can deal that extra damage.
- Dragonite, agree, since Lapras is the best pokemon with STAB against Dragonite in game.
- Snorlax, not agree, yes Machamp can handle Snorlax, but considering there are other pokemon that can do the job easier and faster, i cant say he is the best counter.
- Arcanine, not agree, Golduck is faster and its a fact.
- Lapras, not so agree, Lapras with Blizzard is the best gym defender in game, Vaporeon simply not quick enough to take down the Lapras means you will be hit by more Blizzard. Snorlax with Lick and Hyper Beam is a better option
- Exeggutor, its a weak gym defender and you dont really need a counter.
- Vaporeon, any pokemon with a grass charge move will do the job well.
- Gyarados, not much weakness but poor move set that makes it not a strong gym defender, just dodge and win with ease. Thunder type pokemon so far doesnt worth spending star dust, same situation as Psychic type.
