[Overview]
- Access to Multiscale, solid typing, as well as an excellent movepool makes Dragonite stand out as a solid Pokemon.
- Its defensive capabilities with Multiscale, an array of utility moves, and solid offensive power allow it to take on multiple metagame staples such as Volcarona, Urshifu-Rapid Strike, Heatran, and Rillaboom.
- Dragonite is also able to pose as an offensive threat as a Dragon Dance sweeper. As a sweeper, it poses a major threat to many teams, as it outspeeds most of the metagame after two boosts, while still packing quite a strong punch, due to its gargantuan attack stat and plentiful coverage to hit things such as Toxapex,
- However, Dragonite’s speed tier before a Dragon Dance leaves much to be desired, being outsped by Kyurem, Tapu Lele, Tornadus-Therian, and Hydreigon. It is also quite weak before a Dragon Dance boost.
- Additionally, it dislikes status as a whole. Burn and poison negate Multiscale, and paralysis can ruin a Dragon Dance sweep.
- It also competes with its role with many Pokemon within the tier, such as Garchomp and Kartana for a sweeper, and Corviknight, Tornadus-Therian, and Zapdos for a Defogger or Grass-type check.
- It relies heavily on Heavy-Duty Boots to do its job, as Stealth Rock breaks Multiscale, a major factor in Dragonite’s usage. This makes it very vulnerable to Knock Off, Trick, and similar moves that remove or replace an item, since losing Multiscale makes it harder for it to check Pokemon such as Kartana.
name: Offensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Dual Wingbeat
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Roost / Extreme Speed / Fire Punch
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Multiscale
nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- This set's goal is to clean opposing teams after setting up with Dragon Dance, while still having some defensive utility with Multiscale.
- Earthquake is useful as a strong coverage option that takes care of threats such as Heatran and Tapu Koko.
- Roost allows it to maintain its longevity while still being able to pose a threat throughout a game. It also lets it have multiple setup opportunities throughout a match. Access to longevity allows Dragonite to provide more consistent defensive utility against Pokemon such as Kartana, Urshifu-Rapid Strike, and Rillaboom.
- Extreme Speed can be a valuable option as it allows Dragonite to outpace and deal solid damage to revenge killers such as Weavile. However, it causes Dragonite to not have as much coverage for certain things, mainly Corviknight and Skarmory.
- Fire Punch allows Dragonite to hit Steel-type targets such as Corviknight and Skarmory, two common Pokemon within the meta that Dragonite struggles with otherwise.
- Volcarona makes a great partner for this set, as Dragonite overload Heatran for Volcarona, who can work as an offensive teammate who is able to take out Pokemon that Dragonite worries over, such as Weavile and Corviknight.
- Other Pokémon that like seeing Heatran out of the picture include Dragapult and Tapu Lele. Dragonite being able to handle Dragapult checks like Zeraora allows Dragapult easier points of coming in and starting a sweep. Tapu Lele appreciates Dragonite’s ability to hit and threaten Slowking out, which enables Tapu Lele for a much easier time breaking through walls that beat Dragonite such as Mandibuzz.
- Magnezone is able to take out Corviknight and Skarmory for Dragonite, who otherwise gets walled by them.
- Kartana is able to take out notable Dragonite checks, such as Toxapex and Ferrothorn. It is also able to overload Corviknight, Mandibuzz, and Toxapex for it.
- This set also appreciates hazard support to get some solid KOs on multiple targets. With Rocks, it is able to more feasibly secure 2HKO things such as Kyurem and Toxapex after boosting. Setters such as Ferrothorn and Landorus Therian can work as teammates that are able to help Dragonite apply constant pressure onto an opposing team through means of forcing progress through chip.
name: Defensive Dragon Dance
move 1: Dragon Dance
move 2: Dual Wingbeat
move 3: Heal Bell / Earthquake
move 4: Roost
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Multiscale
nature: Adamant
EVs: 248 HP / 52 Atk / 52 Def / 152 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- This set is able to clean teams after a Dragon Dance while still maintaining defensive utility in beating Grass-types and as a cleric.
- Heal Bell is a valuable defensive utility, as it lets Dragonite stave off the status that otherwise cripples it, such as a burn or paralysis or toxic, letting it not be stalled out by threats such as Landorus-Therian and Toxapex
- Earthquake is an option, as it allows Dragonite to not be completely walled by Toxapex and Heatran. It also allows it to hit Tapu Koko. However, it comes at the cost of losing out on the role of a cleric, as well as being more dedicated to the role of a cleaner, which can minimalize its defensive utility into taking and staving off damage.
- This EV spread lets Dragonite outrun most offensive threats such as Kartana and Latios after 2 Dragon Dances, and lets it survive two Choice Band boosted Kartana Smart Strikes.
- This set fits on mainly balance teams. Toxapex and Corviknight make solid teammates to this set, as they provide defensive counterplay against Weavile and Dragapult, and in return, Dragonite can alleviate pressure from Kartana, Ground-types, and Urshifu-Rapid Strike.
- Landorus-Therian is able to support Dragonite by inflicting status on otherwise checks such as Mandibuzz and Zapdos. It can also provide Knock Off support as well as momentum for Dragonite, who can help against Urshifu-Rapid Strike in return.
- Heatran is able to take down opposing Corviknight and Skarmory to assist Dragonite. It is also capable of taking out Weavile, as well as trapping Toxapex and Slowbro. Dragonite in return can come in on Ground moves for Heatran, which helps against Heatran's weak points.
- Physical walls pose a glaring problem to this set due to its utter lack of coverage for them, so Pokemon that are capable of taking them out such as Zapdos, Landorus-Therian, and Slowking are recommended teammates.
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Heal Bell / Defog
move 2: Roost
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Earthquake
item: Heavy-Duty Boots
ability: Multiscale
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
- This set gives Dragonite a utility role with the ability to reliably beat Pokemon such as Heatran, Zeraora, and Kartana.
- Heal Bell is Dragonite's main tool, as it provides its team a chance to rid their status, which could possibly change the course of a game. It allows Dragonite to have better longevity, due to it being otherwise crippled by status effects. It can also remove status from team members, which enables them to wall more things for more time.
- It can also be used as a decent Defogger that is able to stand up to Heatran, Landorus-Therian, and Magnezone. However, it means giving up on the chance to potentially remove a teams’ status effects.
- Roost is mandatory, as it grants Dragonite access to reliable recovery, which maintains its longevity throughout a match, letting it be better at checking Pokemon such as Rillaboom and Kartana long-term.
- Ice Beam is used for hitting opposing bulky team members, mainly Landorus-Therian, but also for threats such as Nidoking or Garchomp, for solid damage.
- Earthquake is used for being able to pressure opposing Heatran and Toxapex, who otherwise beats out this set.
- This set likes to be played on balance and stall teams, where it is usually the main Heatran answer. It works as solid role compression as its combination of a solid defensive typing with Multiscale allow it to check a number of threats that are otherwise dangerous towards these sort of teams.
- Pokémon such as Clefable appreciate the removal of Heatran and make a good partner with Dragonite.
- Specially Defensive teammates such as Scizor and Blissey can work, as both can maintain momentum, which allows for more opportunities to apply defensive pressure, as well as deal with some threats Dragonite cannot handle, such as Kyurem and Dragapult respectively. Scizor in particular can also alleviate pressure on Dragonite by dealing with Rillaboom for it.
- Buzzwole gets a special mention, as it is able to deal with physical threats that Dragonite is vulnerable to, such as Weavile and Dracozolt. In return, Dragonite can switch into the Flying-type moves that Buzzwole dislikes.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
- Dragonite has a very wide movepool, and as such, there are plenty of options available.
- Ice Punch can be used over Ice Beam to take advantage of Dragonite’s superior physical attack stat, while also maintaining the ability to hit things such as Landorus-Therian, Mandibuzz, Garchomp, and Zapdos. It can also be run on Dragon Dance viably since it benefits greatly off of an offense boost due to its low base power. However, it can cause Dragonite to lose Multiscale earlier due to it being a contact move, causing it to take chips from Rocky Helmets and Iron Barbs. It also causes Dragonite to lose some offensive opportunities, such as hitting Corviknight and Skarmory.
- Dragon Claw can be used for reliable Dragon STAB. However, this is not recommended because it means giving up essential moves, which can be a huge burden, as well as Dragon being an overall mediocre STAB typing.
- Thunder Wave can work on more defensively oriented sets to check things such as Urshifu-Rapid Strike even harder. However, Dragonite generally prefers being able to stave off status with Heal Bell rather than spreading it.
Checks and Counters
====
**Ice-types**: Dragonite’s typing grants it a 4x weakness to Ice-type attacks, which makes it extremely vulnerable towards most Ice-type attacks in general. Weavile is able to outspeed and OHKO Dragonite with Triple Axel. Kyurem avoids a 2HKO from most of Dragonite’s attacks and can OHKO it back with any of its STAB moves. Ice Beam variants of Nidoking are generally able to take out Dragonite as well, albeit being uncommon.
**Bulky Flying-types**: Corviknight is able to take most of Dragonite’s hits, and use it as set up fodder with Bulk Up. Zapdos is able to Roost off a majority of Dragonite’s hits and leave it paralyzed with Discharge. Skarmory is able to take all of Dragonite’s hits, and make use of Whirlwind to rid it of its stat boosts. Mandibuzz is able to take many hits from Dragonite and can strike back with Foul Play.
**Faster Revenge Killers**: Dragonite has issues OHKO-ing faster Pokemon without chip damage since it relies on Extreme Speed to really do much of anything to them. This makes Pokemon such as Weavile and Dragapult capable of revenge killing Dragonite.
**Fairy-types**: Clefable gives Dragonite a struggle, as it takes little from Dragonite’s moves, and can force it to Roost once it’s Multiscale is broken. Tapu Fini can Taunt Dragonite to prevent it from setting up or Roosting, while Tapu Fini can break past Multiscale with Moonblast, or try to get a burn with Scald.
**Steel-types**: Ferrothorn is able to wall Dragonite, as it will not be able to OHKO it without Fire Punch until extreme levels of set up that are usually impossible to get within a match. Melmetal is able to take a +2 Earthquake, and OHKO back with Ice Punch. If Dragonite is lacking Earthquake, Heatran completely walls Dragonite, as it is unable to hit Heatran otherwise. Heatran in return can use Taunt on Dragonite, removing its recovery while chipping it down with Toxic.
**Bulky Water-types**: Slowbro is able to completely wall Dragonite unless it is running the extremely rare Thunder Punch. Toxapex can easily Haze Dragonite’s boosts away and completely wall it if it lacks Earthquake.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BreakthrU89, 487308]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
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