- Thanks to a Multiscale in conjunction with a decent movepool, Dragonite secures a niche as a decent Dragon Dance Sweeper and late-game cleaner, as it can find plenty of setup opportunities to setup a Dragon Dance.
- It's also capable of harnessing Flynium Z in order to break past walls such as Defensive Landorus-T and Mega Latias after a Dragon Dance boost.
- Unfortunately, Dragonite's viability is hurt by it's extremely mediocre speed tier, as even with a Dragon Dance boost, it's prone to being revenge killed by common Choice Scarfers such as Landorus-T and Jirachi if Multiscale is broken.
- Additionally, Dragonite is extremely vulnerable to Stealth Rock and all kinds of Status. As with Multiscale broken, it will not likely be able to live a super effective hit.
- Despite having Multiscale and Extreme Speed, Dragonite is heavily outclassed by Mega Charizard X, who has a better typing, a higher damage output with Tough Claws, and higher base speed and Gyarados, who has a better defensive typing and an easier time breaking walls due to Moxie.
- Overall, it can be difficult to justify the use of Dragonite because of how specific its niche in the tier is.
name: Fly-Nite (Flynium Z)
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Fly
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Earthquake
item: Flynium Z
ability: Multiscale
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Dragon Dance turns Dragonite into a threatening sweeper and cleaner while patching it's mediocre speed in the process.
- Fly in conjunction with Flynium Z gives Dragonite access to a one-time nuke in Supersonic Skystrike that it can use to muscle past Bulky Grass-types such as Tapu Bulu and Tangrowth, as well as other walls like Landorus-T and Ferrothorn after prior damage.
- Extreme Speed is useful for finishing off weakened Lando-T and Zapdos, It also lets Dragonite nail frail attackers such as Mega Alakazam and Ash-Greninja.
- Earthquake prevents Steel-types such as Heatran and Magearna from walling it while taking a large chunk out of Tyranitar and Mega Tyranitar, it's also Dragonite's best option against Tapu Koko and Mega Diancie.
========
- Multiscale halves the damage taken when at full HP, easing Dragonite's chances to setup.
- Flynium Z is used in order to give Dragonite access to Supersonic Skystrike. Max Attack and Speed EVs are used to maximize Dragonite's chances for a sweep.
- An Adamant nature is usually prefered, as Dragonite usually requires the extra firepower, Jolly can be used over Adamant to outrun Tapu Koko after a boost, but it makes Dragonite so much weaker.
========
- If there are any Pokemon on the opposing team that would otherwise give Dragonite trouble, such as Skarmory, Rotom-W, and Celesteela, avoid setting up until these Pokemon are severely weakened or removed from the match.
- Setting up hazards is important before setting up with Dragonite, as it requires a lot of chip damage in order to pick up KOes.
- Dragonite can also be used to punch holes early-game as a wallbreaker.
- Avoid switching in Dragonite into hazards, unnecessary damage or status, as It needs to be at full HP in order to have a chance at sweeping, to avoid this, try to bring Dragonite through a free switch-in.
- Use Extreme Speed to finish Pokemon that are low on HP.
========
- Dragonite is primarily placed on Hyper-Offensive teams as a late-game wincon.
- Dragonite requires chip damage in order to secure and pick up KOes, Entry hazards from leads such as Greninja, and Landorus-T can help it do so. Additionally, Excadrill can also Rapid Spin hazards away against other leads for Dragonite as an added bonus, making it easier for it to setup.
- Sticky Web support from Ribombee and Araquanid can prove useful, as it allows Dragonite to outspeed faster Choice Scarf users like Kartana and Landorus-T and KO them with the appropriate move, It allows it to outspeed and remove faster attackers like Mega Alakazam without resorting to Extreme Speed.
Other Options
=============
- Fire Punch is an alternative that lets Dragonite hit Skarmory and Celesteela, who otherwise wall it. Additionally, it also lets it beat Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn without resorting to it's Z-Move. However, being walled by Tyranitar and Heatran generally isn't appreciated, and even with a boost, it fails to OHKO offensive Magearna, making Earthquake the preferred choice.
===================
**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock removes Dragonite's Multiscale and strips 25% of it's HP every time it switches in, making it much easier to KO before it can setup, Landorus-T, Mega Diancie and Garchomp are some examples of Pokemon who can set Stealth Rock.
**Faster Choice Scarf users** Faster Choice Scarf users like Greninja, Tapu Lele, or Landorus-T are capable of outspeeding a boosted Dragonite and can revenge kill it with the appropriate move after Multiscale is broken.
**Status**: Burns from Rotom-W and Scald users like Toxapex can make Dragonite close to useless and break Multiscale in the process, Paralysis worsens it's already mediocre speed and makes it easier to KO, and Toxic can place it on a timer, limiting it's overall effectiveness.
**Electric-Types**: Due to Dragonite's lack of Dragon STAB, Zapdos and Rotom-W can reliably wall it, Rotom-W, in particular, can cripple Dragonite by burning it with Will O Wisp. The rather frail Tapu Koko can also use Shuca Berry to survive a +1 Earthquake and in return do major damage with Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Ice despite being unable to take repeated Extreme Speeds.
**Ice-Types and Ice-Type Coverage**: Kyurem-B can live anything asides from a boosted Supersonic Skystrike and can OHKO Dragonite with Ice Beam thanks to Teravolt bypassing Multiscale, Avalugg can survive a +1 Supersonic Skystrike and OHKO it with Avalanche, and Weavile can OHKO Dragonite with Ice Shard after prior damage although Stealth Rock can place it in range of an OHKO from Dragonite's boosted Extreme Speed. Faster attackers such as Landorus-T and Mega Alakazam are also some examples of Pokemon that can use Ice Type attacks to OHKO or heavily damage Dragonite if Multiscale is broken.
**Earthquake immune Steel-Types**: Skarmory and Celesteela can effectively wall Dragonite thanks to their resistance to Supersonic Skystrike and immunity to Earthquake, Skarmory can then proceed to phase Dragonite out with Whirlwind while Celesteela can beat it with the combination of Leech Seed and Heavy Slam, Although both of them have to be wary of the rare Fire Punch.
**Fairy-Types**: Although most of them are unable to withstand a boosted Earthquake as many of them carry a weakness to Ground, Fairy-Types such as Mega Diancie, Tapu Lele, Mega Mawile, and Magearna are all great Offensive checks to Dragonite as they can threaten OHKO it with their STAB moves after Multiscale breaks, Unaware Clefable can wall it, recover damage through Wish or Soft-Boiled and take it out with Moonblast but otherwise falls to a boosted Supersonic Skystrike.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Once Dragonite has expanded it's Z-Move, Physically Bulky Pokemon, such as Toxapex and Mega Slowbro can proceed to tank repeated hits from it, they can also inflict it with status or heavily damage it in return.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Fawfuls Not Awful, 453874]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
Last edited: