Mixed Dragonite functions extremely similarly to Mixed Salamence. While Salamence generally has the advantage when it comes to using this set because of its higher Special Attack and Speed, Dragonite's unique access to Superpower, along with higher defenses overall, make him a worthy candidate for a position on your team. With a Rash nature and 112 Attack EVs, Dragonite is guaranteed to OHKO 0 HP / 252 Def Bold Blissey, 252 HP Tyranitar, and 4 HP Heatran after Stealth Rock damage. Salamence must rely on Brick Break to combat all three of them, while none of which are OHKOed, which again emphasizes the advantage of using MixNite over MixMence, especially against slower stall teams. Draco Meteor is a powerful STAB attack and can deal massive damage to Hippowdon, Swampert, and other Pokémon expecting a physical attack. A fire move in the third slot complements this set for universal coverage and prevents Skarmory and Bronzong from walling Dragonite entirely. Roost is the preferred option to recover Life Orb and Stealth Rock damage; however, Thunderbolt is a useful option to combat bulky Water-type Pokémon, most notably Gyarados. As previously stated, the given Attack EVs are necessary to OHKO Bold Blissey, Tyranitar, and Heatran. 200 Speed EVs place Dragonite at 246 Speed, enough to outrun Jolly Tyranitar and most defensive Celebi and Zapdos, while the remaining EVs are placed in Special Attack. If you are not concerned about Bold Blissey, a mere 56 Atk EVs will OHKO Calm Blissey after Stealth Rock. This allows you to maximize Dragonite's Special Attack stat. This Dragonite can 2HKO almost every Pokémon in the game, much like MixMence. The few that aren't 2HKOed are the main Pokémon you are going to want to get rid of before bringing Dragonite in. Cresselia is probably the best counter to MixNite. Being so, Tyranitar is always good to have around. Although Reflect will slow it down, Cresselia can't do anything to Tyranitar, while it can threaten with Pursuit or easily 2HKO with Crunch. Stealth Rock, Life Orb, and Sandstorm will bring Dragonite down to low health in just a couple turns. Although Dragonite has Roost, he will struggle to find time to use it. Wish support from Vaporeon or Blissey can allow you to keep Dragonite alive longer, while both of them help out by taking Ice Beams aimed at Dragonite. Pokémon that can switch in and are faster than Dragonite will be very bothersome. Pokémon such as Choice Scarf Jirachi, Choice Band Scizor, offensive Zapdos, and even Starmie are all potential counters. Most of these threats can be slowed down with Thunder Wave, allowing you to attack first. Jirachi and Blissey both provide reliable paralysis support. Jirachi's typing bodes well alongside Dragonite's, covering each other's weaknesses. Rotom-A can easily switch in on Scizor and threaten to burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Since Dragonite relies heavily on prediction, it would be wise to first scout the foe's Pokémon. Scizor with U-turn is able to come in with relative ease, force a switch, and then retreat to a counter while getting in a bit of damage. Flygon can accomplish something similar. With a Choice Scarf, it also makes a decent check to Jirachi, Heatran, Latias and Salamence. It is able to OHKO all of them with its powerful STAB moves. Once you know the foe's whole team, overcoming stall will be much easier. Swampert is an effective user of Roar, which can help reveal the foe's team. Swampert is also able to set up Stealth Rock, while countering Flygon and Salamence who will surely defeat Dragonite. Be sure to have a Stealth Rock user on your team so Dragonite gets all the KOs he needs. As already mentioned, Swampert is a natural Stealth Rock candidate. Forretress and Skarmory can also set up Spikes and/or Toxic Spikes which will further aid Dragonite's rampage; however you should then make sure there's a reliable counter to Latias and Salamence in the wings who can beat both with ease, along with Dragonite.
With this set, Dragonite shows clear advantage over Salamence with its greater defenses, allowing him to set up on a wider variety of Pokémon. Dragon Dance and Roost work well in conjunction, so you can start your sweep and heal when needed. Dragonite can use either Dragon Claw or Outrage as its STAB attack. If you want to opt for sheer power, than Outrage is your choice; however, if you want to be more conservative and be able to freely heal when needed, Dragon Claw is the move for you. Leftovers lets you recover a bit of extra damage, while Life Orb gives you a much needed boost in power at the cost of some Hit Points. Lum Berry allows you to dodge one status attack, including a round of Outrage confusion. There are also a few unique moves Dragonite can use in place of Earthquake or Roost. Light Screen can be used to Dragon Dance in the face of his counters, replacing Earthquake. While behind a Light Screen, Dragonite will take about 40%-47% from Vaporeon's Ice Beam, which is the strongest coming from any bulky Water-type. This amount is further reduced to about 20%-23% while Roosting, thus allowing you to often come out on top if you can avoid a freeze. The problem is that Dragonite will be hard pressed to find a time to use Light Screen and Roost, while also setting up with Dragon Dance. Then you have to worry about the ubiquitous Steel-types. Skarmory, Metagross, and Scizor will always beat you with ease. If you choose to use Light Screen, then be sure to have Magnezone in your team to take care of these Pokémon. Heal Bell is a useful move to rid Dragonite of troubling status such as paralysis or burn, both usually spelling the end of Dragonite's tempest. Use it over Earthquake if you have another Pokémon to take care of Steel-types, or Roost if you plan on getting a quick sweep. Quite similarly, Dragonite learns Safeguard to prevent against status. However, it won't guard against Outrage's confusion. With only two attacking moves, Dragonite is walled by Skarmory and Bronzong. Magnezone is incredibly helpful to counter these two Pokémon, and along with Dragonite, is resistant or immune to every type in the game. Magnezone is also extremely helpful against pesky Scizor, who can still 2HKO you with Bullet Punch after Stealth Rock. Scizor or Metagross can help you kill off frail revenge killers such as Scarf Gengar, Azelf, and Jolteon. A slightly more specially bulky EV spread, as well as Pursuit should be used on both of them to be fully effective at this. Even with Roost, Dragonite can't set up against Ice Beam users such as Suicune, Vaporeon, and Swampert (unless it has Light Screen), so you need something to counter these Pokémon, preferably before Dragonite comes into play. Although Celebi reliably counters these Pokémon, it shares an Ice weakness with Dragonite and has similar resistances. A Pokémon with Toxic and recovery move is a good choice to stall out said bulky Water-types. Blissey, Porygon2, Vaporeon, and Milotic are all great Toxic stall Pokémon that are able to take a Surf or an Ice Beam. Toxic Spikes are another option to wear down Pokémon which Dragonite can't kill on his own. Forretress and Tentacruel not only lay down Toxic Spikes, but can also spin away the troubling Stealth Rock. Both also resist Ice attacks, which will be a great help to Dragonite. If you wish to sponge some physical hits, Forretress is for you. If you wish to sponge special hits, Tentacruel is your jellyfish.
Few Pokémon possess the ability to stand up to the most common leads and come out on top, Dragonite just happens to be one of them. Inner Focus prevents Dragonite from being flinched, which lets it better take on common leads such as Infernape and Jirachi, who rely on flinch moves to carry out their lead plan. By using the combination of any of his other three attacks, plus ExtremeSpeed, Dragonite is able to muscle his way through almost all frail leads. For the bulkier ones, such as Hippowdon and Swampert, Draco Meteor will deal a crippling blow and 2HKO them should they stay in for a subsequent one. Dragonite, unlike most other leads, can preform well later in a game as a potent mixed sweeper or as a revenge killer. Life Orb is the item of choice due to the many KOes it ensures. Dragonite will 2HKO Pokémon such as Swampert and Jirachi, as well as possibly OHKOing Pokémon such as Metagross and Shuca Berry Heatran, making it by far the most helpful item for Dragonite. The EVs are very straightforward, maximizing both attacking stats without losing any bulk. Four Speed EVs allow Dragonite to outpace zero Speed Metagross, which then allows you to 2HKO it with a combination of Fire Blast and Earthquake, despite Occa Berry. If Metagross doesn't have Occa Berry, you have a good chance to OHKO it with Fire Blast and not let it achieve anything at all. Dragonite will always have to run from anything packing a strong Ice-type attack, or any of the other overused Dragon-types if he lacks Focus Sash. As such, a Steel-type makes an excellent partner to Dragonite due to their resistances to Dragon- and Ice-type attacks. Forretress makes a great partner as it can lay down all three of the entry hazards as well as spin them away, which in turn allows Dragonite to switch in later on in the game without taking extra damage from Stealth Rock. Choice Band Scizor can switch in on Latias and Salamence's faster Draco Meteors and take the Dragon-types down with Bullet Punch or Pursuit. Another solid partner is Jirachi, who is able to provide Wish support to keep Dragonite and the rest of the team in good health. Lastly, Magnezone is able to trap opposing Steel-types, which opens the way for Dragonite to fire off his STAB Draco Meteors with little concern. It's also a good idea to keep in mind that after a Draco Meteor, there are several Pokemon that can come in and set up for free, so keeping around something that can scare off Pokemon such as Gyarados is a necessity.
Dragonite's humongous Attack stat often undermines its above average Special Defense. Although Latias has a much higher Special Defense stat, Dragonite has a slightly different typing, access to Heal Bell, and possesses Inner Focus, making this set perfectly viable. Although Inner Focus may seem like nothing special, it makes Dragonite one of the best counters to Togekiss. Heal Bell is the preferred option over Light Screen simply because Latias lacks the move. Dragonite is also one of the few viable clerics on OU, but Light Screen is always helpful when trying to set up a sweep or Toxic stalling. Roar is also a possibility, but better left to Latias who can effectively Roar away Calm Minders such as Jirachi and Suicune. Roost is necessary to keep Dragonite healthy and continue his job. Thunder Wave is always a useful status move, slowing down many Pokémon. Toxic however, when used in conjunction with Light Screen and Roost, can stall out walls which use Special Attacks, such as Vaporeon and Blissey. Dragon Claw is your generic STAB move which works well off of your high 134 base Attack. If you are using Toxic, you are better off with Flamethrower which hits the Steel-types immune to Toxic. Flamethrower can also catch Skarmory, Scizor, or Forretress off guard, expecting to wall a physical attacker. Use a Careful nature with Dragon Claw, and a Calm nature with Flamethrower. The 44 Speed EVs are important on this set as they put Dragonite's speed at 207. This is usually enough to out speed Magnezone and will get the jump on Bold Suicune, Cresselia, and Milotic. This speed is vital because all four of these Pokémon commonly carry an Ice move to dispose of Dragons. With the additional speed, you can set up a Light Screen in front of them and proceed to Toxic stall or scout for a full paralysis before switching out. The rest of the EVs give Dragonite 385 HP, which allows Stealth Rock damage to round down while giving a favorable Leftovers threshold, and 319 Special Defense, which is the highest possible bonus point for the remaining EVs. When using Dragonite as a Special sponge, you should have a Pokémon able to take physical attacks and most importantly Ice and Rock moves. Skarmory and Forretress can easily absorb physical hits, while supporting the team with Spikes and Toxic Spikes respectfully. However, both are only neutral to Rock and only Forretress actually resists Ice. Metagross however, resists both Rock and Ice while posing an offensive threat. A tanking Metagross also makes a good enough counter to Tyranitar who shrugs off Dragon Claw and Flamethrower, while not minding Thunder Wave much. Metagross can also make use of Light Screen, furthering Dragonite's goal to wall Special Attackers. If Dragonite is your cleric, you should be sure that he doesn't go to waste. In a team full of sweepers Dragonite can give a paralyzed one a second chance to wreak havoc, hopefully after its counters have been removed. Lucario and Infernape are both deadly Pokémon, resistant to Ice and in Lucario's case, resistant to Rock. By switching Lucario or Infernape into a Choice user's Ice or Rock attack from Pokémon such as Tyranitar or Mamoswine, these sweepers can set up and proceed to ram the oncoming foes. If something such as Zapdos comes in to paralyze you, Dragonite can easily switch in and heal the status.
This may be Dragonite's most destructive set; however, it is largely outclassed by Salamence who can run a nearly identical set with both higher Attack and higher Speed. While the bulky set aims to set up on its counters, this set aims to dispatch of them quickly. The concept is simple: come in on something that doesn't like Dragonite much, Dragon Dance on the switch, and blast away with Outrage. Dragon + Ground is only resisted by Bronzong, Skarmory, and Shedinja, so a fire move in the last slot remedies this problem. Fire Punch will hit Bronzong harder, but Fire Blast is a much better option against Skarmory even after you Dragon Dance. Ideally, you want to put off using Outrage as long as possible so you don't get needlessly locked in and confused. With an Adamant nature, Dragonite outspeeds Gengar, Azelf, and Weavile after a Dragon Dance, while a Jolly nature makes you faster than Naive Choice Scarf Heatran after a Dragon Dance. It should be noted though, that by using a Jolly nature you are essentially trying to mimic Salamence. The choice of item is a matter of preference as well. Life Orb gives Dragonite significantly more power, but Yache Berry can save you from Ice Beams and Ice Shards and allow you to use Dragon Dance in the first place. Lum Berry is a powerful option for status protection, and can free Dragonite of confusion for another round of Outrage. Skarmory and Bronzong are once again the best counters to Dragonite, specifically Skarmory who can restore its health with Roost. Even with Fire Blast, you need a neutral nature and Life Orb, or 80 Special Attack EVs and Life Orb to OHKO Skarmory after Stealth Rock; which, at this point, you're better off using Salamence. Skarmory can easily switch in and Whirlwind you out, while racking up Stealth Rock damage. Rotom-A easily counters both Skarmory and Bronzong, although it needs Sleep Talk to avoid Hypnosis. Heatran also makes a great counter to both of these Pokémon, as well as Scizor if you can avoid switching in on an Earthquake from Bronzong or Superpower from Scizor. Substitute Heatran is of particular interest because it can then poison and stall the foe's likely bulky Water-type switch in, greatly lowering its walling capability (beware of CroCune!). One advantage Dragonite does possess is his natural above average Defense, which means Scizor can manage only 60% with a Choice Band Bullet Punch. This could allow Dragonite an extra turn or two of sweeping without Life Orb recoil KOing him. This lessens the need for Magnezone, although it is always helpful for said Skarmory and Bronzong. If you don't have Magnezone, you'll want a sweeper able to lure out and KO them ahead of time. Salamence surprisingly does a good job at this, as long as you have a Pokémon able to cover the growing Ice and Rock weakness. For example, Choice Specs Salamence can easily surprise and OHKO Skarmory and even Bronzong, leaving Blissey as set up fodder for Dragonite. Cresselia and Hippowdon are the other Pokémon Dragonite will struggle against. Both tend to have radically different counters, but Gengar, while not really a counter, tends to fare well against both of them. Life Orb Gengar can easily 2HKO both. If you have a few team slots open, you can dedicate two different Pokémon to the job of eliminating them. Tyranitar and Scizor are excellent Cresselia counters, while Starmie is a good counter to Hippowdon who can also rid the field of Stealth Rock.
Dragonite's massive physical movepool again demonstrates the distinctions between him and his Dragon counterparts. One should not underestimate the power of this set, as it is quite literally capable of 2HKOing everything in OU. Outrage is the main STAB, and with its enormous base power, will 2HKO every non-steel physical wall in the game, assuming you're running an Adamant nature. Between Outrage and Earthquake, you hit everything except Bronzong, Skarmory, and Shedinja for neutral damage. Fire Punch will 2HKO the standard Bronzong and Skarmory, while Superpower OHKOes Blissey without locking yourself into Outrage. Aqua Tail offers a powerful fourth attack that hits many things neutrally, but its main appeal lies in the ability to 2HKO both Hippowdon and Gliscor without being trapped by Outrage. It is also a great move to help ease prediction, since it OHKOes Heatran and deals massive damage to Levitators such as Gengar and Rotom-A who commonly switch in looking to avoid an Earthquake. You can use a Jolly nature to outspeed things like Adamant Gyarados and Heracross, or strike a surprise kill on things like Flygon that sit at 280 Speed. However, you may lose the strength needed to 2HKO some physical walls. Since you can 2HKO anything in the game, it is not about beating Dragonite's counters, but getting Dragonite in safely and preventing a revenge kill. Your opponent will usually do this by taking advantage of your mediocre Speed and being locked into Outrage. Common revenge killers are Mamoswine, Scizor, Jirachi, Salamence, Flygon, and Latias. A good deal of these are physical attackers, many of which can be stopped by a dedicated physical wall such as Hippowdon or Forretress. Those such as Latias tend to be shut down cold by Blissey, who can also provide paralysis support. If you don't want to take the defensive approach, a Choice Scarf using Steel-type such as Heatran or Jirachi will be extremely helpful in soaking up the Dragon and Ice attacks. This can pose a viable offensive combination, although you may be forced to switch out a lot. Magnezone is helpful as always, and will hopefully prevent you from using Outrage until you know you can sweep. Stealth Rock is an absolute must to 2HKO the bulkiest of threats such as Cresselia. A sturdy Rapid Spin blocker such as Rotom-A is also recommended.
At first glance, this seems like an inferior Choice Specs Salamence. And while that is not far from the truth, Salamence's Speed and power advantage is somewhat balanced out by Dragonite's sturdier defenses and its punching prowess. Focus Punch allows Dragonite to easily get past the normal SpecsMence counters. With this EV spread, Dragonite will score likely OHKOs on Blissey, Empoleon, and Heatran with the aid of Stealth Rock. Dragon Pulse is a STAB sweeping move, but Thunderbolt is a decent option, as it hurts Water-types like Suicune, Empoleon and Milotic. It also tears through bulky Gyarados, who will always survive one hit from Draco Meteor. Dragonite can use Superpower instead of Focus Punch to stop its counters. Focus Punch is almost always the better option, but Superpower can be useful to hit all three in a pinch without relying on predicting the switch. With the addition of Choice Specs, Dragonite is more prediction reliant than ever. One mistake could be the end. That's the bad news. The good news is that Steel-types can't walk all over you any more as Flamethrower will 2HKO the lot of them, bar Heatran of course. Since most Heatran are faster than Dragonite, having a good counter in the wings is a must. Swampert does well since it can also lay down Stealth Rock, a must for this set. If you are using Superpower, than Spikes will be incredibly useful so you can OHKO Blissey and Heatran. Skarmory is a decent choice since it can switch in on any Outrage and set up.
Dragonite has been largely forgotten due to the presence of Salamence, who usually performs better offensively due to higher Speed and offensive stats. However, what differentiates Dragonite from Salamence is the fact that it has more bulk and a wide variety of supporting moves. Healing status is something that Salamence can’t do, and this is where Dragonite can shine, becoming a very threatening sweeper and a reliable supporter. Dragon Dance is used to give Dragonite some much needed offensive power and Speed. Heal Bell is the most important move on this set, since it’s capable of removing any status effect that has hit Dragonite. What this means is that Pokemon who rely on status moves to cripple the opponent become set-up bait. Blissey’s Toxic, Rotom-A’s Will-O-Wisp, and even Cresselia’s Thunder Wave are next to useless in bringing down Dragonite. Not only that, but it can easily remedy status of its teammates, keeping them healthy as well. Roost is also a very useful move, restoring 50% of Dragonite’s health and removing its weakness to Rock-type attacks. Dragon Claw is a given on this set, as it gives Dragonite a STAB attack with which it can attempt a sweep if your opponent's Steel-type pokemon have already been dispatched. The beauty of this set is the EV spread. By maxing out HP and Special Defense with a Careful nature, Dragonite can take special hits rather well. UnSTABed neutral moves will barely scratch it, and even Ice Beam coming from the likes of Blissey or Cresselia won’t hit hard enough for a 2HKO. Additionally, by using Roost, Ice Beam becomes much weaker. The damage calculations below demonstrate how little damage super effective Ice-type moves will do against Dragonite.
As you can see, Dragonite is capable of setting up multiple Dragon Dance boosts with relative ease, Roosting off any damage taken and reducing the amount of damage of Ice-type moves. The only downfall to using this EV spread is how low Dragonite's Speed will be. Even after one Dragon Dance, Dragonite only reaches 297 Speed, meaning it can still be outpaced by many threats, the most threatening of which are base 100 Speed Pokémon, such as Salamence, Jirachi, and Flygon. With that being said, by using an alternative EV spread with just 44 Speed EVs, Dragonite is guaranteed to outpace 176 Speed Jirachi, Jolly Lucario, and most importantly, Salamence. With the high number of Steel-types, which resist Dragon-type moves, running around in the current metagame, it may be difficult for Dragonite to accomplish its task at sweeping. However, by simply using Magnezone or Dugtrio, Steel-types can be disposed of easily. Magnezone’s Magnet Pull ability allows it to trap Steel-types and finish them off fast with Hidden Power Fire or Thunderbolt. Scizor and Lucario also fall prey, as they enjoy setting up Swords Dance on Dragonite. Dugtrio, although not as common, can be useful in penetrating grounded Steel-types with Earthquake, knocking out Pokemon like Metagross, Jirachi, and Empoleon. As Dragonite is burdened with a Stealth Rock weakness, it can be difficult to switch into attacks, so providing Rapid Spin support is definitely recommended. Starmie is a great example of a Rapid Spin supporter, since it can also hit Ghost-type switch-ins hard with STABed Hydro Pump. Dragonite also enjoys having Toxic Spikes set up on the opponent’s field. This makes its job at setting up Dragon Dance boosts against Pokemon like Blissey and Vaporeon much easier and faster, since they have to keep healing themselves and switching out before they die to poison damage. Team OptionsDragonite is usually stopped by something faster than it, or by a Pokémon such as Mamoswine, Weavile, or Scizor with a powerful priority move. Even with Dragon Dance, Dragonite isn't super fast and with Agility, Dragonite isn't powerful enough. You can fix Dragonite's Speed by Baton Passing Dragonite some using Lopunny, Scizor, or Jolteon. It is not recommended you use more standard Speed passers such as Zapdos or Ninjask because they share an Ice, Rock, and by extension, Stealth Rock weakness. An alternative is to attempt to paralyze everything you can. This can open a devastating MixNite sweep. Dragon attacks will give Dragonite a hard time, so Cresselia will be a good partner alongside him and can Thunder Wave the foe while it is locked into Outrage or switches out. Calm Mind variants can also shrug off Ice Beams with no problem. Jirachi is another Pokémon to provide paralysis support and can take most Dragon, Ice, and Rock attacks while Dragonite can switch in on a Fire or Ground attack. Body Slam can slow down any pesky Scarf Flygon or Dugtrio. Blissey can take Ice Beam and easily recover off the damage, while Wish is a great move to keep Dragonite alive longer even with Stealth Rock, Life Orb, and Sandstorm being ubiquitous. Once again, Thunder Wave can be a wonderful asset to help Dragonite sweep, especially MixNite and the Choice sets. No clean sweep will occur without Stealth Rock, which means you should get it on the field as fast as you can to help everyone on your team, including Dragonite. Swampert was blessed with great typing, enabling it to easily switch in and set up. Its good defenses and resistance to Rock make it a wonderful partner to Dragonite. Metagross is another Pokémon who works well with Dragonite, also able to set up Stealth Rock. Its advantage is being able to use Explosion on troublesome foes. Blowing up on Skarmory, Hippowdon, or Cresselia means they can no longer wall Dragonite. The Dragon Dancing variants are usually one time use. Defensive Pokémon such as Suicune, Skarmory, Bronzong, Cresselia and Hippowdon will most likely not be OHKOed, which forces you to get rid of them beforehand. The first four are all stopped by Magnezone, who hits the Water-types super effectively while trapping the Steel-types. The latter two can be a bit trickier to deal with. Tyranitar can beat Cresselia, but then you get beaten by Hippowdon. You also don't want to drag Dragonite into a sandstorm. Choice Band Heracross is slow but incredibly powerful. It can handle Cresselia with ease while 2HKOing Hippowdon. It too will benefit greatly from paralysis support. Pursuit Heracross can also hope to beat Scarf Gengar and Azelf who would likely come in to revenge kill Dragonite. Heatran is another Pokémon capable to 2HKOing both with at least a Life Orb boost, while also resisting Dragon attacks. Lucario, Infernape, and Scizor are good wall breakers before or after a Dragonite sweep. All three resist Ice attacks and can put the hurt on walls such as Skarmory, Bronzong, Cresselia, and Hippowdon. Dragonite, especially the support set, can switch into troublesome Ground, Fire, and Water attacks aimed at these Pokémon. Empoleon is a wonderful partner to Dragonite, resisting Dragon, Ice, and Rock attacks. A Salamence or Latias usually won't hesitate to use Outrage or Draco Meteor, being faster than Dragonite. Once Dragonite is KOed and the foe is locked into Outrage or has -2 Special Attack, Empoleon can easily set up. Agility Metagross and Swords Dance Scizor can stat up in a similar way and wreak havoc. SubCM Jirachi can switch in on an Ice Beam, then proceed to set up on the foe's bulky Water-type that was sent in to beat Dragonite. It is recommended you run Flash Cannon on this Jirachi so you can OHKO Mamoswine before it can Earthquake you. This is important because Mamoswine is also able to KO Dragonite with Ice Shard. Although Gengar has no defensive reason to be used with Dragonite, it is able to lure and kill Scizor. By using Substitute as Scizor switches in, it can then OHKO it with Hidden Power Fire. Hidden Power Fire also does good damage to Bronzong and Jirachi. Other OptionsDragonite's movepool is massive and there are plenty of good moves in there that are simply too hard to fit into a set. Dragonite can Roar and Haze, but is a rather average user of both. Dragonite makes a decent Breloom counter with Rest and Sleep Talk, and has the defenses to make use of such a set; however, Sleep Talk isn't very appealing on a Pokémon that attracts so many Ice moves to exploit its 4x weakness; not to mention, it has Roost which is better in almost every way. Dragonite has Agility, but it isn't much use when you have access to Dragon Dance. If you want a faster more powerful sweeper, Salamence is always available. Dragonite can also utilize a set that contains Substitute paired with Focus Punch, Roost, or both; however, Dragonite's other sets usually cause more damage in the long run. Choice Scarf is a viable option on Dragonite, although it is largely outclassed by Salamence. However, Dragonite has a wider movepool allowing it to use Superpower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt to decent success. 228 Atk / 108 SpA / 172 is a usable EV spread for such as set with a Naive or Hasty nature. The downside is that Salamence has a higher Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stat while you lower one of your Defenses. Dragonite has a few additional attacking options, namely Ice Punch, ThunderPunch, and Dragon Rush. Outrage usually deals more damage than a super effective Ice Punch or ThunderPunch. Ice Punch is only useful for Gliscor and ThunderPunch for Gyarados, Skarmory, and Empoleon. Dragon Rush doesn't lock you into confusion and has a 20% chance of flinch, but Dragonite usually can't afford the 75% accuracy. One costly miss may mean the end of a sweep. Dragonite also has access to Waterfall which has perfect accuracy and a handy flinch rate. It can be used on the Dragon Dancer and Choice Band, however it misses out on some 2HKOs that Aqua Tail provides. Dragon Fang can be used in place of Life Orb on the Dragon Dance set, if you want to boost Outrage without suffering the 10% recoil. EVsThe EVs are listed for each specific set. Dragonite's Speed is mediocre, so you usually want to concentrate on that first to hit an important benchmark, then tailor the rest of the spread accordingly. The Dragon Dancer and offensive sets should have maximum Attack, unless you are using both attacking stats. Any sets focusing on Dragonite's above average defenses should not max Hit Points! With max HP, Dragonite can only switch into Stealth Rock 4 times, while with 248 HP EVs or 224 HP EVs it can switch in an additional time before dying. From there, you should concentrate on the defense stat of your choice. 246 Speed (200 EVs) is the bare minimum for any of the offensive sets to get the jump on Jolly Tyranitar and defensive Celebi, Zapdos, and Jirachi. You can shoot for other benchmarks such as 270 (200 EVs with a +Speed nature) or 280 (236 EVs with a +Speed nature), but you're usually better off just maxing speed. 207 Speed is necessary for defensive sets to outspeed most Bulky Waters so Dragonite can Roost before being hit by Ice Beam, which requires 44 Spe EVs.OpinionDragonite had trouble fitting in last generation, as Salamence was being eyed and fancied by every trainer and their brother. More than ever, Dragonite has trouble fitting in with every Dragon-type now learning Outrage. With the addition of Latias to the metagame, Dragonite's niche continues to fade. Dragonite is often seen as a gimmick Pokémon; however, Dragonite's stellar movepool and his ability to take supporting roles has made him very unpredictable and deadly, making him a solid choice for any team. Play him to his strengths and Dragonite may just surprise you. CountersUnlike Salamence, any bulky Pokémon with Ice Beam is not a surefire counter thanks to Dragonite's extra bulk and access to Light Screen. Bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Slowbro, and Swampert still remain reliable counters to most Dragonite, and can threaten with Ice Beam or Avalanche while also scouting out Dragonite's set. Weavile and Mamoswine are especially dangerous with STAB Ice Shard hitting on Dragonite's lesser defense and disregarding speed boosts from Dragon Dance, Agility, or Choice Scarf. However, Weavile can't switch into Dragonite and Mamoswine must avoid a Fire move or Superpower. Cresselia works as an overall decent switch-in, but repeated Outrages and Draco Meteors will wear it down. Hippowdon can switch in on physical sets and Roar them out, which in turn forces more Stealth Rock damage. Steel-types coming in on an Outrage or Draco Meteor work well, though they have to watch out for Fire Blast, Earthquake, or Superpower. Skarmory in particular is an excellent counter if Dragonite lacks Fire Blast. Bronzong is another excellent counter thanks to high Defense and Special Defense stats along with Levitate. Scizor can switch into an Outrage or Earthquake and KO a Dragonite on low health with Bullet Punch. The Choice and Mixed sets require a bit more care to counter, but can be handled with good prediction. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
