Not everyone is a veteran in the Pokémon universe. Very few have fully mastered the mechanics of Pokémon breeding, calculating IVs and EVs, and learning moves through genetic inheritance. With that in mind, it's very likely that the new generation of trainers in Pokémon GO is learning the hard way not to face a Charmander with a Bulbasaur without being prepared first. That's where Battle Helper comes in: a small iOS app that helps you choose the best Pokémon for each case by identifying vulnerabilities and resistances.
In recent days I've noticed some frustration among those Pokémon GO players who want to get a Gyarados. Accumulating 400 Magikarp candies is an exercise in patience, but in the end the effort is worth it because of the net power Gyarados carries in this game. However, in the original titles the story is very different. A Pikachu that manages to land a Thunderbolt on Gyarados will deal four times the original damage because of its double type "Water - Flying", which turns into a double vulnerability to Electric-type Pokémon. Pokémon GO has simplified many things, including two attacks per Pokémon (a horror), the removal of immunities, the formal absence of the Dark type (this is because the available Pokémon are from the first generation), and the damage reduction in cases of super-effectiveness and resistance.
According to the "dissection" of Pokémon GO carried out on Reddit, the old "2x - 0.5x" is now "1.25x - 0.8x", while STAB ("Same Type Attack Bonus") is also 1.25x. All this information about vulnerabilities and resistances has been published for years on dozens of wikis covering Pokémon game mechanics from top to bottom, but those novices who just want to know the basic advantages can do so through an iOS app called Battle Helper. Basically, the application is divided into two columns, Attack and Defend. The rest is reduced to choosing a Pokémon in each column and observing the comparison.
Battle Helper focuses specifically on Pokémon type and does not take into account things like combat power or the "moveset". In short, what this software does is save the casual player a couple of visits to the wiki, and beyond the modifications Niantic has made to the original Pokémon mechanics, it's an interesting resource to have on hand, at least until the player assimilates the details of each potential battle.
