pac
pay 5000, gg?
DRAGONAIR WOO YEAH
[OVERVIEW]
Although Dragonair isn't fully evolved, it is still able to scrounge itself a niche in RBY UU because of its access to the deadly combination of Agility and Wrap. Thanks to RBY Wrap mechanics, Dragonair can immobilize Pokemon and deal large amounts of chip damage. Dragonair's access to Agility allows it to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon and use Wrap freely until it misses or runs out of PP. This allows it to act as a deadly setup sweeper in certain scenarios, or to weaken the opposing team to the point where its teammates, such as Dugtrio and Persian, can finish the job. Additionally, Dragonair is really good at gaining information about the opposing team because it is often best dealt with by switching between Pokemon to PP stall Wrap. This simplifies the endgame because you are less likely to be surprised by an unexpected threat.
However, Dragonair faces a few key problems. It notably competes with its fully evolved counterpart Dragonite, which has better stats and a Ground-type immunity. On the flip side, Dragonite's Flying typing causes it to take extra damage from Ice-type attacks when compared to Dragonair. While both Dragonite and Dragonair are in OHKO range from Articuno's Blizzard, Dragonair is able to survive a few notable Blizzards from the likes of Tentacruel, Vaporeon, and Omastar. This means that Dragonair can set up on more Pokemon than Dragonite, while also taking less punishment than Dragonite would from an unfortunate Wrap miss. However, while it does take less damage than Dragonite, Dragonair still takes heavy damage from Ice-type attacks, which is unfortunate in a tier dominated by the likes of Tentacruel and Articuno. In addition to these flaws, Dragonair also struggles in certain matchups against Pokemon that either resist or are immune to Wrap, such as Omastar, Aerodactyl, and Haunter. Haunter is especially a problem for Dragonair, as it takes mediocre damage from Blizzard and Thunderbolt while being immune to both Hyper Beam and Wrap. Also, Dragonair's stats are a fair bit lower than the tier staples, causing it to struggle offensively and defensively without AgiliWrap. Overall, while Dragonair has the potential to win games and is certainly a viable Pokemon, it is a niche threat due to its lack of defensive utility and competition with Dragonite. Ergo, Dragonair is typically used alongside Dragonite.
[SET]
name: AgiliWrap
move 1: Agility
move 2: Wrap
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Hyper Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
This set allows Dragonair to play to its biggest strength in Agility + Wrap. Due to its ability to stop the opponent from using a move for the turn, Wrap acts as a pivot move, allowing Dragonair to apply offensive pressure and allow its teammates to switch in freely. Agility allows Dragonair to outspeed and threaten Pokemon such as Kadabra and Dugtrio and act as a win condition when paired with Wrap. Agility also allows Dragonair to ignore the Speed drop from paralysis, although it does not appreciate taking paralysis due to the fact that it decreases the consistency of Wrap. After setting up Agility and using Wrap, the game is simplified to a few key options that allow the Dragonair user to dictate the course of the game. The opponent can stay in on Dragonair with a singular Pokemon as Dragonair threatens to KO it after enough Wrap damage, with the goal being to capitalize on a miss in order to stop the sweep. Alternatively, the opponent can swap between multiple Pokemon in order to spread out the damage and PP stall the Dragonair user. After Dragonair has been removed from the field, perhaps due to it missing a Wrap and crumbling to a choice Blizzard or Thunder Wave, the chip damage and information obtained from Wrap will usually enable a fast sweeper to come in and close out the game. Notable Pokemon for this role include Persian, Dugtrio, Dodrio, and Kadabra. Blizzard and Hyper Beam provide decent coverage that only falters against the likes of Omastar and Haunter. Notably, Hyper Beam is able to KO the likes of Hypno and Tentacruel at around one-third of their health, which is reasonably achievable due to the large amount of chip damage that Wrap provides. This allows Dragonair to remain a threat even after it has been inflicted with paralysis or poison.
Due to how linear Dragonair's strategy is, it is rare to find it using other moves. Thunder Wave and Body Slam can both be used to spread paralysis, t's difficult to fit either into the set due to Dragonair's need for the coverage of Blizzard and the damage of Hyper Beam. These moves can be used on the same turn the foe would use Toxic to cripple Dragonair in order to land a surprise paralysis on a potentially key Pokemon. However, these options are typically better suited for use on Dragonite, as it is able to take advantage of them more effectively due to its higher stats. Thunderbolt is a usable option to decrease Dragonair's weakness versus the occasional Omastar, but like Thunder Wave and Body Slam, it can be difficult to fit into the set, partly due to it still dealing mediocre damage against Omastar.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[pacattacc, 520967]]
- Quality checked by: [[Volk, 530877], [phoopes, 96315]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Muk, 33374 ]]
Last edited: