Dragonite

An amazing ability in Multiscale allows Dragonite to set up Dragon Dance or fire off powerful attacks relatively safely. Dragonite's high Attack stat allows it to hit extremely hard with a boosted Devastating Drake or Choice Band Outrage alongside a good movepool that features powerful STAB moves such as Outrage, great coverage moves such as Earthquake and Fire Punch, and a useful priority move in Extreme Speed. Dragonite also sports a good Dragon / Flying typing, which lets it resist common types such as Water and Fire while also being a great offensive typing that is useful against Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y. However, Dragonite has a relatively low base 80 Speed stat that leaves it outsped by threats such as Mega Charizard X and Mimikyu. Dragonite's reliance on Multiscale also leaves it vulnerable to Mold Breaker and Teravolt users, namely Mega Gyarados and Kyurem-B. Lastly, Dragonite sports a 4x weakness to Ice, leaving it weak to Pokemon that carry Ice-type moves such as Greninja that can OHKO it even with Multiscale intact.
=Dragon Dance=
Dragonite @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed / Fire Punch
==Set Comments==
===Moves===
Dragon Dance is Dragonite's setup move, boosting both its Attack and Speed. Outrage is a powerful STAB move that is boosted to an incredible 190 Base Power with a Dragonium Z, OHKOing nearly everything at +1. Earthquake is a good coverage move that hits Steel- and Electric-type Pokemon such as Jirachi and Tapu Koko. Extreme Speed is useful for picking off weakened Sturdy users such as Donphan and Crustle. Fire Punch allows Dragonite to beat Pokemon such as Kartana, Genesect, and Celesteela, which Dragonite would otherwise struggle against.
===Set Details===
Maximum Attack and Speed investment lets Dragonite hit as hard as possible while letting it outspeed as many threats as possible after a Dragon Dance. An Adamant nature further increases Dragonite's Attack, allowing it to hit even harder. Dragonium Z turns Outrage into an extremely powerful 190-Base Power Devastating Drake that deals massive damage to nearly every Pokemon. Multiscale allows Dragonite to set up Dragon Dance easily, as it can survive most attacks with it.
===Usage Tips===
It is best to send in Dragonite against slower and weaker Pokemon, allowing it to easily set up Dragon Dance. You can also use Dragonite to scare off potential threats such as Mega Charizard Y, opening the way for teammates like Magearna; however, avoid sending in Dragonite against threats like Kyurem-B, Mega Gyarados, and Crustle. In most scenarios, it is best to first use Dragon Dance and then use Devastating Drake, unless Dragonite is up against a Pokemon that resists Dragon, in which Dragonite should use one of its coverage moves. However, in some cases, don't always use Dragon Dance on the first turn; Devastating Drake can be used against Sturdy Pokemon like Crustle and Donphan followed by Extreme Speed to finish them off. It can also be used without Dragon Dance if it OHKOes the foe without the Attack boost. Try to play around common Counter Pokemon like Crustle and Donphan, which can always survive a hit with Sturdy and retaliate hard. However, this can be tricky, as Crustle has a chance to KO Dragonite with Continental Crush even with Multiscale, and Donphan can execute a combination of Continental Crush + Ice Shard.
===Team Options===
As a physical setup Pokemon, Dragonite is able to defeat some specially bulky Pokemon like Meloetta, which special attackers appreciate. In particular, fast, frailer Pokemon like Tapu Koko and Greninja enjoy Dragonite scaring off the special tanks that would otherwise wall them. Tapu Koko and Greninja are also great for dealing with physical walls like Deoxys-D and Slowbro, which Dragonite appreciates. Other special wallbreakers like Mega Charizard Y and Porygon-Z are also useful for breaking physical walls. Mega Mawile is able to deal with both Kyurem-B and Mega Gyarados, which are two of Dragonite's biggest counters. Lastly, as Dragonite is, at best, a shaky check to Sturdy users, answers to them like Mega Gyarados and Mega Slowbro are useful.
=Choice Band=
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Iron Head
==Set Comments==
===Moves===
Outrage is Dragonite's hardest-hitting move thanks to its high Base Power and STAB boost and is the move Dragonite will be using the most. Earthquake is a good coverage option that hits Steel- and Electric-types like Magearna and Tapu Koko. Fire Punch is useful for Steel-types that Earthquake doesn't hit super effectively, like Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Durant, and Genesect. Iron Head hits Fairy-types like Tapu Lele, which are immune to Outrage.
===Set Details===
96 Speed EVs allow Dragonite to outspeed maximum Speed Modest Magnezone. Maximum Attack EVs along with an Adamant nature give Dragonite as much offensive power as it can get, and the rest of the EVs are put into HP to give Dragonite good mixed bulk. A Choice Band gives a 50% boost to Dragonite's Attack stat, making all of its moves hit much harder. Multiscale allows Dragonite to tank even super effective hits and retaliate hard, which is helpful because it is outsped by many common threats.
===Usage Tips===
Choice Band Dragonite is useful for getting damage without setting up first, which is useful against Pokemon like Choice Scarf Tapu Lele and Magearna. Send it in when you expect your opponent to use a Pokemon that cannot OHKO Dragonite, like Mega Charizard Y or Porygon-Z. Against most foes, use Outrage to OHKO or 2HKO them. Against Pokemon that resist or are immune to Dragon-type moves, such as Tapu Lele and Tapu Koko, use Dragonite's coverage options such as Iron Head and Earthquake to OHKO them. This set is very susceptible to Counter users, but the weakness can be played around by bluffing a Dragon Dance set, so use that to your advantage. Using a Choice Band set also allows Dragonite to run additional coverage moves instead of Dragon Dance, enabling it to deal with a wider variety of threats.
===Team Options===
Dragonite's ability to break special walls like Chansey and Mega Venusaur is greatly appreciated by Pokemon such as Porygon-Z and Tapu Koko. In return, special wallbreakers like Mega Charizard Y can deal with physical walls like Mega Slowbro. Sturdy + Counter users like Donphan are generally troubling for Dragonite to face, which makes answers like Mega Gyarados valuable. Mega Gyarados also scares off other Sturdy users like Crustle, which Dragonite also dislikes facing. Similarly, Counter + Mirror Coat users like Deoxys-D and Mega Blastoise are also difficult for Dragonite to beat; as such, checks like Tapu Koko are appreciated. Proper checks to Mega Mawile and Magearna, such as Donphan, are also useful. Fairy-types such as Magearna and Mega Mawile can deal with opposing Dragon-types like Kyurem-B while also dealing with Mega Gyarados.
=Strategy Comments=
==Other Options==
Weakness Policy is an option that doubles both Dragonite's Attack and Special Attack after taking a super effective attack, allowing Dragonite to OHKO nearly everything. Super effective attacks Dragonite can notably survive are Choice Scarf Porygon-Z's Ice Beam, Air Balloon Magearna's Fleur Cannon, and Mega Metagross's Ice Punch, allowing Dragonite to beat threats its other sets can't; however, this set is best used as a surprise, as it is situational and generally weaker than the sets listed. A special set with Dragonium Z + Draco Meteor can be used to catch opponents off guard, as they may expect a physical set and bring in their physical walls to deal with Dragonite. A Choice Specs set is useful for the same reason, but in general, the surprise factor is not worth sacrificing the usefulness of Dragon Dance and Dragonite's much higher Attack stat.
==Checks and Counters==
*Kyurem-B: Kyurem-B easily counters all Dragonite sets; it outspeeds Dragonite and can KO it through Multiscale with Teravolt and Outrage or Ice Beam. Most Kyurem-B sets can defeat Dragonite, ranging from Choice Scarf to Haban Berry; the only way Kyurem-B can lose if it is a bulky Icium Z set.
*Fairy-types: Fairy-types are immune to Dragonite's hardest-hitting move, and most are bulky enough to take its boosted coverage moves before KOing it. Magearna's Choice Specs Fleur Cannon has a chance to OHKO almost all of the time, even with HP investment and Multiscale intact. Mega Mawile's Intimidate lowers Dragonite's Attack, and it can deal massive damage with Play Rough. Mimikyu, Tapu Fini, and Primarina also do well against Dragonite due to them being able to survive a hit or two and deal massive damage in return.
*Mega Gyarados: Mega Gyarados's Intimidate drops Dragonite's Attack, with Dragonite only having a slim chance to KO 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Gyarados with Devastating Drake after Dragon Dance. Mega Gyarados can use Dragon Dance on it while surviving any of its attacks with ease and proceed to KO it with Mold Breaker Outrage, bypassing Multiscale.
*Pokemon That Can OHKO Through Multiscale: Some Pokemon such as Crustle and Greninja are capable of KOing Dragonite with their super effective STAB moves even through Multiscale. Crustle has a chance to KO it with Continental Crush, while Greninja always OHKOes with Ice Beam. Choice Band Garchomp also has a chance to OHKO Dragonite with Outrage while outspeeding it, and Magearna can take an unboosted Earthquake and OHKO Dragonite with Choice Specs-boosted Fleur Cannon.
*Physical Walls: Physical walls like Mega Slowbro and Deoxys-D can raise their Defense by two stages, beating out Dragonite's Dragon Dance. They also take an unboosted Devastating Drake with ease, walling Dragonite after that. Similarly, Pokemon that utilize Will-O-Wisp and Charm, such as Mega Charizard X and Mega Venusaur, heavily reduce Dragonite's damage output and make it easy to KO.
Category:Analyses