Pokemon GO: Best moveset for Squirtle

Pokemon GO's community, much like the main series, has a huge love of its starters, and Squirtle is without a doubt a fan favorite.

But what about its battle capability in Pokemon GO?

Recent events such as the PvP-based Element Cup have tasked trainers with re-examining their roster of Pokemon. Because of this, Squirtle has been getting some new looks at its battle capability without being evolved into Wartortle or Blastoise. On its own, Squirtle is certainly far from the heaviest-hitting Pokemon, but that can be said of every starter Pokemon in the game. Be that as it may, there are ways to optimize Squirtle's damage by providing it with the moves that will give it the best return for its effort.

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Pokemon GO: Squirtle moveset breakdown

Image via Niantic

In Pokemon GO, Squirtle currently has a total of five moves between its fast moves and charged moves. Aside from one move, all of Squirtle's attacks are Water-type. This isn't necessarily bad, but it does mean Squirtle won't have a ton of flexibility to take advantage of type matchups. Before the damage capability can be examined, it's important to know what Squirtle is working with:

Fast moves

• Bubble (Water-type)
• Tackle (Normal-type)

Charged moves

• Aqua Tail (Water-type)
• Water Pulse (Water-type)
• Aqua Jet (Water-type)

To take a closer look at the way damage and battle capability is measured in Pokemon GO, there are three major statistical categories to be aware of:

• Damage Per Second (DPS) - The amount of damage a Pokemon's moves deal every second if it is continuously attacking.
• Total Damage Overall (TDO) - The maximum amount of damage a Pokemon is capable of dealing before it faints from losing all of its HP. This number is calculated by taking the Pokemon's DPS and multiplying it by how long it will remain in battle before fainting.
• Time to First Activation (TTFA) - Since charged moves are incredibly important in Pokemon GO, activating them before an opponent can be vital to retaining an edge. TTFA measures the time in seconds it takes for a Pokemon to activate its charged move for the first time.

Given these metrics, Squirtle's potential movesets can be examined to determine which moveset provides the best damage advantage statistically:

• Tackle + Aqua Tail: 6.15 DPS / 117.14 TDO / 3.5 second TTFA
• Bubble + Aqua Tail: 5.98 DPS / 113.75 TDO / 3.6 second TTFA
• Bubble + Water Pulse: 5.57 DPS / 106.04 TDO / 4.8 second TTFA
• Tackle + Water Pulse: 5.37 DPS / 102.25 TDO / 5 second TTFA
• Bubble + Aqua Jet: 4.28 DPS / 81.4 TDO / 3.6 second TTFA
• Tackle + Aqua Jet: 4.25 DPS / 80.85 TDO / 3.6 second TTFA

The numbers show that across the board, when type effectiveness and Weather Boosts aren't accounted for, Tackle and Aqua Tail provide the best damage compared to other move combinations. This may be subject to change in the future, as Niantic is always tweaking Pokemon GO's battle system, but as of now this moveset is ideal for maximizing damage with Squirtle.

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