ELEGANT FOTHERMUCKER RIGHT HERE
Overview
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Dragonair possesses a good mono-Dragon typing with some useful resistances. Its niches are its great abilities and movepool that seem tailor-made for RestTalk sweeping. Because Dragonair is primarily a RestTalk user, it is a good status absorber, as it can soak up burns, paralysis, and sleep. However, RestTalk can still prove to be unreliable, especially given Dragonair's dependence on it. Fairies have also greatly limited Dragonair's capabilities as its STAB moves now have Pokemon immune to them, which is not good news for a mono-attacker.
RestTalk
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name: RestTalk
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Outrage / Dragon Tail
ability: Marvel Scale / Shed Skin
item: Eviolite
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
nature: Careful
Moves
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Dragon Dance boosts Attack and Speed, allowing Dragonair to hit harder and allowing it to Rest more easily due to the Speed advantage. Rest heals damage and status, allowing Dragonair to boost with little worry. Sleep Talk lets Dragonair function while asleep. Dragonair hits hard with Outrage after a couple of boosts, and Outrage does not lock Dragonair in when selected via Sleep Talk. Dragon Tail is weaker but has its negative priority ignored when selected via Sleep Talk, allowing Dragonair to phaze an opponent for free if it outspeeds its foe. It also prevents foes from setting up alongside Dragonair and outprioritizes opposing phasing moves. Note that Dragon Tail does not synergize very well with Shed Skin, as Dragon Tail works best when Dragonair is asleep.
Set Details
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Eviolite boosts Dragonair's bulk, greatly improving its chances of being able to repeatedly Rest against opponents. Maximum special bulk is used because most of Dragonair's resistances lie on the special side, and it also allows Dragonair to tank weaker Ice-type moves. Marvel Scale takes care of Dragonair's Defense for the most part, but Shed Skin allows Dragonair to repeatedly use Rest. Shed Skin does allow Dragonair to forgo Sleep Talk for another attack, such as Waterfall, Extreme Speed, or even Iron Tail, so as to not be totally helpless against Fairies, although the utility of these moves is limited due to Dragonair's lack of offensive investment, and Dragonair would be completely immobile without Sleep Talk if Shed Skin does not activate immediately.
Usage Tips
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Dragonair can set up on foes whose STAB attacks it resists, most notably Fire-types and Grass-types, or against offensively weak status users, such as Vileplume, Seismitoad, and Audino. Due to Dragon Tail's low priority and Outrage's effect of locking Dragonair in, it is best for Dragonair to not use these attacks until it is asleep and can Sleep Talk those moves without suffering from their negative effects. However, Outrage can be used while awake to clean up if enough boosts are attained, while Dragon Tail is usable while awake to prevent setup sweepers such as Klinklang, Feraligatr, Lilligant, and Uxie from setting up alongside Dragonair. It is important to keep Dragonair healthy so it can survive long enough to Rest multiple times. Even if a Fairy-type is present on the opposing team, Dragonair can still aim to wall the opponent's special attackers and absorb status for the team.
Team Options
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Dragonair badly needs Fairy-types out of the way; Pokemon that can lure in Fairy-types, such as Choice Band Gunk Shot Primeape, Destiny Bond Malamar, and offensive Final Gambit Accelgor, can be used to weaken or remove Fairy-types. Partners that can switch into Slurpuff are mandatory, as Dragonair easily draws it in. Poison-types such as Vileplume, Weezing, and Qwilfish, as well as Steel-types such as Ferroseed, Steelix, and Pawniard, are all good choices to take on Fairy-types. Steel-types also make great defensive teammates as they resist all of Dragonair's weaknesses, while Dragonair can take powerful Fire- and Water-type attacks for them.
Dragonair can be threatened by extremely powerful physical attacks from the likes of Sawk and Archeops; a physical wall such as Granbull or Weezing can soak up these hits well. Dragonair also dislikes Knock Off, which ruins its bulk by removing Eviolite; bulky Pokemon with reliable recovery such as Vileplume as well as Pokemon that resist Dark such as Poliwrath and Granbull can take Knock Offs for Dragonair. While not essential, entry hazards from Pokemon such as Qwilfish, Ferroseed, and Probopass can improve Dragon Tail's ability to inflict damage, while a cleric such as Audino, Granbull, or Vileplume can wake Dragonair up.
Other Options
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Dragonair can opt for a more offensive build with Dragon Dance; however, Fraxure has greater power, a better offensive ability, and superior coverage, so Dragonair should stick to being defensive. Dragonair can use a set with Thunder Wave and Dragon Tail, but Electric-types and Fairy-types, which are immune to Thunder Wave and Dragon Tail respectively, mean that such a set struggles to function effectively, and its efforts are easily undone by Heal Bell from Granbull, which switches into Dragonair with impunity.
Checks & Counters
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**Fairy-types**: As Fairy-types are immune to Dragon-type moves, their mere presence means Dragonair will not get much done. Slurpuff and Togetic can use Dragonair as setup fodder.
**Steel-types**: While not as problematic as Fairy-types, a good number of Steel-types can give Dragonair trouble. Klinklang and Pawniard can set up alongside Dragonair and overwhelm it, while Ferroseed can stall out Dragonair with Leech Seed and Iron Barbs. Weaker Steel-types such as Steelix, Bastiodon, and Probopass won't actually beat Dragonair or even phaze it out as Dragonair's Dragon Tail outpaces them, but their immense bulk grants them a good chance to simply win by PP stalling.
**STAB Ice-type Attacks**: While Dragonair has enough bulk to shrug off non-STAB Ice Beams, STAB Ice-type attacks are much tougher for it to handle. Cryogonal, Jynx, Sneasel, and even Protean Frogadier can take out a sizable chunk of Dragonair's health with each blow. However, these Pokemon are frail enough to be threatened by a +1 Outrage, so they should watch their step.
**Powerful Physical Attackers**: Powerful physical attackers such as Zangoose, Archeops, Sawk, and Tauros can bowl through Dragonair's low Defense stat. Keep in mind that actually KOing a sleeping Dragonair can be a tough feat due to the protection gained by Marvel Scale, so physical attackers are best off engaging Dragonair while it is awake.
**Knock Off**: While Knock Off does not immediately stop Dragonair from boosting, it significantly reduces Dragonair's bulk, making it much easier to KO. This is especially relevant when one considers that a sleeping Dragonair can often remain immobile multiple turns in a row due to bad Shed Skin or Sleep Talk rolls. Without Eviolite, Marvel Scale alone is not enough to protect Dragonair from physical attackers, and even non-STAB Ice Beams can do a good number to it.
**Anti-setup**: Dragonair is incredibly reliant on setup, so if it cannot use Dragon Dance or keep its boosts, it can be rendered utterly powerless. Taunt, Trick, and Encore are great ways to disrupt Dragonair's setup, Prankster Encore users such as Liepard and Volbeat receiving special mentions because they can Encore Dragonair regardless of how many Dragon Dances it has set up. Leech Seed, Clear Smog, Haze, and Perish Song can also stop Dragonair. Phazing moves force Dragonair out directly, but the users must outprioritize Dragonair's Dragon Tail to be effective.
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