Pokémon Salamence

:sm/salamence:

Dragon/Flying

Base Stats - 95 HP / 135 Atk / 80 Def / 110 SpA / 80 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie



Pros:
- High 125 Attack
- Decent 100 Spe
- Packs some pretty decent Coverage moves for things that are resistant or immune
- Has access to DD which it uses to set up and sweep
- Has access to Moxie, which is a great ability for it.

Cons:
- Due to it's Dragon and Flying type, it's 4x vulnerable to mons like Mamoswine, and Weavile, with their Ice Shard
- It is very vulnerable without atleast 2 DDs
- It can't kill alot of certain mons without any chips.

Potential Sets:
Salamence @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake

Hits alot of things hard with 2 DD or 1. Dragon Claw, instead of Outrage so you dont lock into it. Earthquake for Steels that are immune to it's Dragon Claw, and Dual Wingbeat as coverage for them. Jolly so more speed when it sets up.

Salamence @ Choice Band
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Dragon Claw
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake

Again, will hit alot of things hard, with a good Flying STAB, and for those, who just doesnt want to setup, Adamant, to reach that satisfying 400+ Atk
mark which puts this thing to a comparison between Dragonite and it.

Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Wish
- Body Slam
- Protect

A defensive set, for those if you want a Defensive version of this. Good, because it has access to Body Slam, Defog for if you want hazard control, if not, then you can use Wish, as it also has access to that. Is supposed to act like a good Wish staller, a paralysis spreader, also can take out hazards with ease, with access to Intimidate,
and decent bulk, attacks almost doesnt do a thing to it if unboosted.

Have fun with the sets.
 
Last edited:
Once the metagame settles down, I think Salamence could end up being a potent special attacker this gen thanks to Hurricane. A 110 / 100 spread isn't bad for a special attacker and access to coverage moves like Earthquake, Flamethrower, and Draco Meteor let it get past a lot of Hurricane resist like Corviknight and Tapu Koko. Of course, it will face a lot of competition from both Tornadus forms due to their better speed tiers and Nasty Plot.

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Earthquake / Draco Meteor / Hydro Pump

0- Atk Life Orb Salamence Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 250-296 (88.9 - 105.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 447-530 (103.7 - 122.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 226-266 (57.3 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 269-317 (70 - 82.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Corviknight: 226-268 (56.5 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 181-214 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
 
Last edited:
I think defensive Salamence is better off running dual wingbeat so it can actually threaten the pokemon it walls like Rillaboom and Blaziken, instead of being a sitting duck in front of them. 30% paralysis chance from body slam isn't exactly common, and even with no attack investment you still do a good chunk to pokemon weak to flying:

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 304-360 (100.9 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 

Finchinator

-OUTL
is a Tournament Directoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Championis the defending OU Circuit Championis a Two-Time Former Old Generation Tournament Circuit Champion
OU Leader
I think defensive Salamence is better off running dual wingbeat so it can actually threaten the pokemon it walls like Rillaboom and Blaziken, instead of being a sitting duck in front of them. 30% paralysis chance from body slam isn't exactly common, and even with no attack investment you still do a good chunk to pokemon weak to flying:

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 304-360 (100.9 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Agree entirely.

It has a lot of defensive options such as Wish, Roost, Defog, etc. and the ability Intimidate is cool for Blaziken, Tapu Bulu, and more. Dual Wingbeat allows you go capitalize on checking them, too!
 
I think defensive Salamence is better off running dual wingbeat so it can actually threaten the pokemon it walls like Rillaboom and Blaziken, instead of being a sitting duck in front of them. 30% paralysis chance from body slam isn't exactly common, and even with no attack investment you still do a good chunk to pokemon weak to flying:

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 304-360 (100.9 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Hurricane might be better than Dual Wingbeat. It has the same PP, but Salamence no longer gets chipped by Rocky Helmet damage and it does more damage to Pokemon Salamence can check / counter.

0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu: 390-458 (114.3 - 134.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu: 228-268 (66.8 - 78.5%) -- approx. 2HKO


0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tangrowth: 440-522 (108.9 - 129.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 136-168 (33.6 - 41.5%) -- approx. 3HKO


0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 154-183 (40.3 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 112+ Def Landorus-Therian: 102-120 (26.7 - 31.4%) -- approx. 9.1% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery


0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 84 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 270-318 (89.4 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 84 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 204-240 (67.5 - 79.4%) -- approx. 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery


0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 344-408 (100.8 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom: 244-292 (71.5 - 85.6%) -- approx. 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
 
I've been pleasantly surprised by Salamence so far. I've been running a Dragon Dance set with Dual Wingbeat, Earthquake and Dragon Claw although you could swap Dragon Claw out for Rock Slide to smash Rotom-H, Zapdos and KO Volcarona without having to risk a Flame Body burn. Admittedly, it doesn't do much to stall teams, so bring some stallbreakers like Victini and Kartana.
 
Unfortunately Psychic Terrain does nothing for Salamence because it is a Flying-type; it is unaffected by Psychic Terrain, and as a result can still be hit by priority moves like Ice Shard and Bullet Punch.
Hm. Maybe In doubles you could get Lele and Mence out, switch to something with a weak smack down, while using protect and then benefit?
 
A day or so back I built a team that was quite weak to bulu and rillaboom, and needed a defogger. I ended up experimenting with this salamence set -

Salamence @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 212 HP / 156 Def / 140 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Draco Meteor / Fire Blast / Hydro Pump
- Roost
- Defog / Toxic

- which overperformed beyond my expectations. The team ended up being a bit of a mess in general unfortunately and I didn't save any replays that really showcased it, but I wanted to put it forward as an idea. Spread outspeeds adamant rillaboom by 2 points, creeping 270. Mence's special dual stab hits significantly harder than its physical counterpart uninvested due to the much higher bp of the moves. This makes specially based defensive mence significantly better than physical in my eyes. You also have the option of slotting in fire blast or hydro pump if u desperately need that coverage on the team slot.

Real quick calcs:

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom: 220-264 (64.5 - 77.4%) -- approx. 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 344-408 (100.8 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 84 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 180-216 (59.6 - 71.5%) -- approx. 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 84 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 270-318 (89.4 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Genesect: 116-140 (40.9 - 49.4%) -- approx. 3HKO
0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Genesect: 135-159 (47.7 - 56.1%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO

0 SpA Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus: 183-216 (57.3 - 67.7%)
0 SpA Salamence Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus: 276-325 (86.5 - 101.8%) -- 87.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus: 206-244 (64.5 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Swampert: 141-166 (34.9 - 41%) -- 99.3% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Heatran: 126-150 (32.6 - 38.8%) -- 99.4% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 164-194 (42.4 - 50.2%) -- 41% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Ferrothorn: 300-356 (85.2 - 101.1%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Hippowdon: 226-266 (53.8 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Hippowdon: 168-198 (40 - 47.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

0 SpA Salamence Fire Blast/Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 244-288 (67.5 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

The mon obviously has weaknesses but also imo has an interesting niche as a defensive defogger that is worth considering. ty for listening

edit: changed evs to one that maximizes physical bulk with given speed evs
 
Last edited:
Once the metagame settles down, I think Salamence could end up being a potent special attacker this gen thanks to Hurricane. A 110 / 100 spread isn't bad for a special attacker and access to coverage moves like Earthquake, Flamethrower, and Draco Meteor let it get past a lot of Hurricane resist like Corviknight and Tapu Koko. Of course, it will face a lot of competition from both Tornadus forms due to their better speed tiers and Nasty Plot.

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Earthquake / Draco Meteor

0- Atk Life Orb Salamence Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 250-296 (88.9 - 105.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 447-530 (103.7 - 122.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 226-266 (57.3 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 269-317 (70 - 82.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Corviknight: 226-268 (56.5 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 181-214 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
I feel like you should slash Hydro in the Draco/EQ slot, as while you have Hurricane to consistently hit Toxapex, Hydro Pump allows you to hit Landorus-T and Heatran all in one slot, so there will be no prediction games.
 
I feel like you should slash Hydro in the Draco/EQ slot, as while you have Hurricane to consistently hit Toxapex, Hydro Pump allows you to hit Landorus-T and Heatran all in one slot, so there will be no prediction games.
Good point. It deals pretty good damage to most other common Hurricane switch-ins like Ttar, Tapu Koko, etc.
 
I’m crushing people with the standard DD set.

IMO Intimidate > Moxie especially with HDB as Salamence can set up on any physical attacker. It also stops Blaziken and Rillaboom dead in their tracks and can annoy things like Hawlucha a bit. I also think the extra power of Outrage is worth it, as Dual Wingbeat can be used when the lock is undesirable. I’m actually using DD Outrage Earthquake Iron Tail atm.

Also regarding CB, Dragonite does it better. CB Salamence if you even bother should be Jolly for the speed tier, Intimidate for its ability to switch in or just overpower physical attackers 1v1, and different move choice. I’d probably use something like this:

Salamence @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Dual Wingbeat
- Double-Edge / Iron Tail / Roost / Sleep Talk
- Earthquake / Aqua Tail / Roost

The whole point of a Choice Band Dragon is to nuke shit with Outrage. Yes it has drawbacks but overpowering shit like Hippo and Pex is important. And if you outrage directly into a fairy you can just switch out. Dual Wingbeat makes most fairies unable to come in for free.

252 Atk Choice Band Salamence Outrage vs. 252 HP / 248+ Def Hippowdon: 195-229 (46.4 - 54.5%) -- 57.4% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Salamence Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 160-190 (52.6 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
Last edited:
Once the metagame settles down, I think Salamence could end up being a potent special attacker this gen thanks to Hurricane. A 110 / 100 spread isn't bad for a special attacker and access to coverage moves like Earthquake, Flamethrower, and Draco Meteor let it get past a lot of Hurricane resist like Corviknight and Tapu Koko. Of course, it will face a lot of competition from both Tornadus forms due to their better speed tiers and Nasty Plot.

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Earthquake / Draco Meteor / Hydro Pump

0- Atk Life Orb Salamence Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 250-296 (88.9 - 105.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 447-530 (103.7 - 122.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 226-266 (57.3 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 269-317 (70 - 82.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Corviknight: 226-268 (56.5 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 181-214 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
I experimented with this special mence set and I got to say, it performed better than I expected and uses mences strengths over it's main form of competition in dragonite fairly well. Because dnite is slower, weaker, and forced to run boots for multiscale, salamence can pull off the special nuke way better. However, I always found myself wanting a extra moveslot when I used it. Hurricane and roost are mandatory imo, and losing out on any of fire blast, hydro, earthquake, or draco leaves it walled by something. Losing out on draco is bad vs zapdos, no eq and you'll have issues with some rocks and heatran, no hydro and you don't break fat grounds as easily, and finally losing out on fire blast for corv and skarmory is very rough. Also compared to lati twins, flying is better than psychic offensively.
 
Last edited:
I would think this set would be seen more:

:Salamence:
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dual Wingbeat
- Fire Blast
- Iron Tail/Outrage/Earthquake

Neutral max speed still outspeeds everything non scarfed after one dance. +1 405 Atk, +2 after a Moxie and with LO is pretty solid. You can run good coverage for Clefable, Ferro, Tangrowth, pex.....it's just nuts to see it so low in usage but I guess that's the power creep for you.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top