In the past, Dragonite was greatly overshadowed by its cousin Salamence; this generation that holds fast, and the new addition of Garchomp hasn't helped Dragonite's popularity much either. Typically when people analyze Dragonite, they compare its movesets to ones used by its younger kin, but this set is Dragonite's own special niche. No other Pokémon who gets STAB on Outrage can also learn Dragon Dance (not counting Rayquaza), so this is something that Dragonite will be sporting quite often. The concept is simple: come in on something that doesn't like Dragonite much, Dragon Dance on the switch, and blast away with Outrage. If you suspect a Bronzong / Skarmory, ready yourself with your Fire move (Fire Punch often hits Bronzong harder, but Fire Blast is better for Skarmory). Metagross and other earthbound Steels usually won't like eating a Dragon Danced Earthquake. Fire Punch also has the advantage of hitting Celebi harder, which is a good thing. You want to put off using Outrage as long as possible so you don't get needlessly locked in and can last longer before getting confused. In terms of items, it's really a preference issue. If you find Dragonite to be dealing too little damage, Life Orb can assist you. If you're worried about something coming in to Ice Beam (or even worse Ice Shard) you out of existence, Yache Berry can turn the tables. Lum Berry is also a popular choice, as it lets you go another round of Outrage with no confusion risk (or is a one-time prevention of annoying status).
At first glance, this seems like an inferior SpecsMence. And that is not far removed from the truth. Salamence has a little more Special Attack and Speed. Salamence's Speed and power advantage is balanced out, however, by Dragonite's punching prowess, which he boasts in the form of Focus Punch. SpecsMence always had trouble with Blissey, but Focus Punch can do up to 86% to most of them. Focus Punch also puts a massive dent in two of the other common switch-ins to Salamence's Choice Specs set, Heatran and Empoleon. Thunderbolt is a decent option over Dragon Pulse, 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. Surf is an option to hit Heatran (as Focus Punch isn't as reliable), and still does decent damage to other Steels.
Once again, Dragonite's wide movepool helps to give it some advantages over its fellow Dragons. Focus Punch and STAB Outrage is combination that has no resists, and thanks to the high base power of both attacks, Dragonite can do a lot of damage to practically everything. Fire Punch allows for consecutive hits on Steel types and is preferred to Fire Blast, as it deals more damage to Bronzong. ThunderPunch is good for hitting Suicune, (and also hits Skarmory just as hard as Fire Punch), potentially 2HKOing if Stealth Rock is active, and it easily destroys even the bulkiest of Gyarados. However, you lose some coverage against the likes of Metagross and Bronzong (although they take just as much from Focus Punch) by opting for the Electric attack. Dragon Claw is recommended for getting in early hits, when you do not want to risk getting locked into Outrage. Earthquake gives you a bit more power against most earthbound Steel-types when compared to Fire Punch and Focus Punch, and also against Rock-types (Tyranitar being the most noteworthy example) when compared to Outrage.
Unlike the previous two sets, you don't need perfect prediction to get the most out of Focus Punch. The idea is the same as it's always been: throw up a Substitute to scout your opponent, then fire off a powerful Focus Punch, or freely attack with your other moves. Special attacks make dealing with bulky Grounds and Skarmory much easier. However, the physical version handles Blissey with more success. The EV spread is for the pure physical version. Speed isn't much of an issue, but the 12 EVs make Dragonite faster than most Milotic. If you're using special attacks, use a Quiet nature, if you don't want to hamper Dragonite's ability to take hits by dropping either defensive stat. Max out Special Attack and drop 4 EVs into Speed to outrun most Skarmory. Following that you can either drop the same 244 EVs into HP, or shift down to 180 or 116 and put the remaining in Attack to power up Focus Punch.
One problem that Dragon Dance Dragonite runs into is that thanks to its rather average Speed, it will often still be slower than many Choice Scarf wielding opponents. With Agility, that is no longer an issue, as one turn of set up makes Dragonite faster than everything, including Choice Scarf Gengar, who is the fastest opponent you are likely to encounter. However, this comes with a trade off, as Dragonite will not receive the Attack boost that Dragon Dance provides. Thankfully, Life Orb gives Dragonite some much needed power. In fact, in comparison to the Dragon Dancer set with Lum Berry or Yache Berry, this set does about 5% less damage. Obviously the Life Orb variant of Dragon Dance Dragonite has significantly more power. The Speed EVs are sufficient to outpace everything up to and including Choice Scarf Gengar. 176 EVs is actually enough to achieve this, but the extra 16 allow Dragonite to hit an initial Speed of 244, more than max Speed Magnezone, Abomasnow and Tyranitar should you need to attack them before setting up an Agility. After maxing Attack, 66 EVs remain and when allocated to Special Attack, they allow Fire Blast a good shot at OHKOing Skarmory, even with an Adamant nature. If you wish to power up Fire Blast even more, to guarantee the KO on Skarmory and do more damage to Bronzong, you can use a Lonely or Naughty nature instead of Adamant.
This is a change of pace, with the focus being on Dragonite's above average defenses and decent support movepool. The first two slots are rather obvious choices, Roost for reliable healing and Dragon Claw so Dragonite isn't wasting that great Attack stat. Slot 3 provides status support, with Toxic to help wear down enemies as this particular Dragonite is somewhat lacking in power. It works nicely against those bulky Ground types like Gliscor and Hippowdon, whose Ice Fangs do rather pitiful damage to a Roosting Dragonite. Paralysis support is always a welcome addition, so Thunder Wave is a good alternative, although those aforementioned Grounds will now switch in with impunity. If you use Thunder Wave, you'll likely want to lose the Speed for more defenses, as a paralyzed opponent is going to be slower than Dragonite regardless, and the Pokémon that are immune to Thunder Wave are either slower or faster than Dragonite regardless of your Speed EVs (Hippowdon, Garchomp, Jolteon, etc.). Finally, you have three good choices for further team support. Heal Bell allows Dragonite to rid itself and its team mates of status afflictions, while Safeguard offers a few turns of status immunity. Light Screen is also a fine choice as Dragonite tends to draw in special attackers toting Ice Beam, so the Special Defense boost will be welcomed by whichever of his comrades is sent in to deal with them. If you're concerned about Steel-types laughing at this set (which most do), you can drop the status attacks and use a Fire move in their place. Special attacks are preferable as they hurt Skarmory more, so go with the reliable combination of Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower, or Draco Meteor / Fire Blast if you prefer the extra power. Dragon Claw and one from Earthquake, Fire Punch or Brick Break is also a decent combination, if you would rather stick to physical attacks. This makes dealing with Blissey and Tyranitar a lot easier, especially if you choose Brick Break. You could run Roost / Dragon Pulse / Fire Blast / status move, but your only real advantage over Salamence would be the option of using Thunder Wave, as Salamence's Intimidate more than makes up for its lower Defense stat. As you have no doubt worked out by now, Dragonite should be focused on differentiating itself from Salamence. 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. Regarding Dragonite's repertoire of Water-type moves (Surf, Waterfall, and Aqua Tail), avoid them. They're not going to help you as much as either Earthquake or Focus Punch, and Surf just makes you a weaker Salamence if you use it on a Choice Specs set. Stone Edge and Rock Slide should also be avoided, as they do not provide better coverage than the attacks listed in the main sets. Ice Punch isn't much help in terms of type coverage either. If you're having trouble with things like Hippowdon or Donphan, go with Ice Beam as it hits them on their weak Special Defense, so it will do far more than Ice Punch. Dragonite can Roar and Haze, but is a rather average user of both. 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 Dragon Dance set should max out Attack first. Speed is a slightly tricky issue. With Adamant, Dragonite can only reach 388 Speed. That is enough to beat everything from Weavile (who maxes out at 383) on down, but not enough to beat Aerodactyl, Jolteon and Choice Scarf Heracross. That requires Jolly and 200 EVs, although you can simply aim for max Speed an hope to win the 50/50 against other Choice Scarfers, like Medicham. Both Choice sets need the primary attacking stat maxed out (Attack for Choice Band, Special Attack for Choice Specs). At least 244 Speed (192 EVs) for Jolly Tyranitar, although you can aim for 270 (200 EVs with a +Speed nature) or 280 (236 EVs with a +Speed nature) if you wish to outrun Adamant Heracross, or Adamant / Modest Lucario and Porygon-Z, respectively. Pile on the HP and Defense for the Support sets. Some investment in Speed is also helpful. 222 Speed (104 EVs) for Adamant Tyranitar is a good benchmark. You can aim for 228 (128 EVs) to beat most Gliscor, enabling it to be stalled out if gets hit with Toxic, or just worn down with Dragon Pulse. You can use an Impish nature if you're using Dragon Claw, or Bold if you opt for the special attacking version. Max HP and 32 Special Defense EVs ensures survival against Choice Scarf Gengar's Hidden Power Ice. OpinionDragonite had trouble fitting in last generation, as Salamence was being eyed and fancied by every trainer and their brother. Dragonite has gotten more competition this time around from Garchomp, but Dragonite does have a unique combo in Dragon Dance and Outrage that no other OU Dragon shares. This, combined with its ability to take supporting roles and be an overall versatile team player, has boosted Dragonite's usage in D/P, even though Garchomp has been busy overshadowing Dragonite since before D/P was even released. Since Dragonite fills so many roles, it can work on many teams. CountersMuch like Salamence, anything with Ice Beam will give Dragonite a hard time; just beware of Yache Berry on Dragon Dance sets. Bulky Waters like Suicune, Slowbro and Swampert 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. Steels switch in well on Dragon attacks (particularly Outrage and Draco Meteor), but need to be wary of predicted Fire moves. |
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