Salamence Best Moveset and Build

Salamence is one of the more threatening sweepers to use in the metagame thanks to its great offensive stats, and its ability to use other Pokemon as setup fodder. Read on to find out the best build, the best moveset, basic information, stats and recommended partners for Salamence in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (BDSP).

Salamence - Related Guides
Evolution and Learnset	Build for Ranked Battle

Salamence Best Build and Moveset

Dragon Dance Attacker

Pokemon	Ability	Item	Moves
Salamence	Intimidate Moxie	Lum Berry	・Dragon Dance ・Outrage ・Earthquake ・Fire Fang
Nature / EVs	Jolly 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Final Stats	171 HP / 187 Atk / 100 Def / 110 Sp.Def / 167

Using Salamence

Salamence is one of the best offensive leads in the metagame thanks to its great Speed and offensive stats. It also has an easier time switching in thanks to its Intimidate Ability, but can also go full offense with Moxie.

Dragon Dance gives Salamence +1 Speed and Attack, which is often enough for it to net KO's on frailer Pokemon. Outrage is its strongest STAB move while Earthquake gives it neutral coverage and deals with Steel-type Pokemon.

Fire Fang is its last move and allows Salamence to threaten Skarmory who otherwise easily walls Salamence even at +1 Attack.

Other Viable Moves

Steel Wing	A good alternative to Fire Fang and allows Salamence to threaten Fairy-types.
Brick Break	Another good alternative to Fire Fang that has slightly better coverage and can hit Pokemon such as Blissey.
Stone Edge	A good alternative to Fire Fang that gives Salamence great neutral coverage when paired with Earthquake.
Dragon Claw	While weaker than Outrage, it prevents Salamence from being locked to one move.

Choice Specs Attacker

Pokemon	Ability	Item	Moves
Salamence	Intimidate	Choice Specs	・Draco Meteor ・Fire Blast ・Hydro Pump ・Dragon Pulse
Nature / EVs	Timid 4 HP / 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Spd
Final Stats	171 HP / 100 Def / 162 Sp.Atk / 100 Sp.Def / 167 Spd

Using Salamence

Salamence's respectable base 110 Sp.Atk stat lets it reliably run a special attacking set, allowing it to surprise its usual checks and counters expecting a standard Dragon Dance build.

Draco Meteor is its strongest STAB move and will heavily damage or even KO Pokemon that don't resist it. Fire Blast gives it coverage against Steel-types, while Hydro Pump lets it threaten and potentially KO Ground-types like Hippowdon and Gliscor.

Dragon Pulse is its last move, and while weaker than Draco Meteor, let's it stay in battle without having to switch as Choice Specs locks Salamence to one move.

Other Viable Moves

Flamethrower	While weaker than Fire Blast, this move offers Salamence more reliability as it has perfect accuracy.

Salamence Basic Information

Salamence - Type

Salamence Dragon Pokémon
Type 1	Type 2

Salamence Weaknesses and Resistances

	Type
Takes 4x damage
Takes 2x damage
Takes 0.5x damage
Takes 1/4x damage
Takes 0x damage

Salamence Abilities

Name	Description
Intimidate	Lowers the foe's Attack stat.

Salamence Hidden Ability

Name	Description
Moxie	Boosts Attack after knocking out any Pokemon.

Salamence Base Stats

HP	95
Atk	135
Def	80
Sp. Atk	110
Sp. Def	80
Speed	100
Total Base Stats	600

Salamence Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
✔︎ Great mixed offenses and Speed let it run Physical, Special, and Mixed attacking sets ✔︎ Relatively low defensive stats	✖︎ Moxie Ability has a snowball effect, letting it accumulate more Attack boosts the more Pokemon it knocks out ✖︎ Unboosted Salamence is easily outsped by faster attackers such as Garchomp and Latios

Greaat Mixed Offensive Stats

Salamence's great mixed offensive stats make it one of the more desirable setup sweepers in the current metagame as it has the ability to run physical, special, and mixed attacking sets relatively easily.

Moxie Makes it Hard to Switch Into

Salamence's Moxie Hidden Ability gives it a +1 Attack boost every time it knocks out another Pokemon. This makes it a very difficult Pokemon to switch into if it accumulates several boosts, and makes it one of the best offensive leads in the current metagame.

Stop its Stat Boosts with Unaware

Salamence struggles against Pokemon with the Ability Unaware as these ignore all of its Attack and Speed boosts. When trained correctly, these Pokemon can comfortably wall all of Salamence's unboosted attacks.

Pokemon	Description
Clefable	Ranking：★★★★★ ・Immune to Salamence's Dragon-type STAB and has Moonlight ・Can wear Salamance down with Moonblast or cripple it with Thunder Wave
Quagsire	Ranking：★★★★ ・Takes little damage from Salamence's unboosted attacks and has Recover ・Can wear Salamence down with a combination of Scald and Rock Slide, or cripple it with Toxic or Yawn

Check it with a Faster Attacker

Salamence relies on Speed boosts from Dragon Dance to become the overwhelming threat it's well known for but even with its respectable Speed, there are faster Pokemon that can take advantage of its weaker defensive stats and force it out or risk getting knocked out.

Special Attacking variants, in particular, struggle against faster attackers since it lacks any way to boost its Speed stat.

Pokemon	Description
Garchomp	Ranking：★★★★★ ・Naturally outspeeds Salamence with no Speed boosts and can threaten with STAB Outrage ・Choice Scarf variants can outspeed +1 Salamence
Latios	Ranking：★★★★★ ・Naturally outspeeds Salamence with no Speed boosts and can threaten with STAB Draco Meteor

Best Natures for Salamence

Best Natures
Jolly (Spd ↑ Sp.Atk↓)	Timid (Spd ↑ Atk ↓)

What are Natures?

Best Partners for Salamence

Heatran

Pokemon	Ability	Item	Moves
Heatran	Flash Fire	Leftovers	・Magma Storm or Lava Plume ・Earth Power ・Substitute ・Protect
Nature / EVs	Timid 212 HP / 92 Sp.Def / Spd 204
Final Stats	193 HP / 126 Def / Sp.Atk 150 / 138 Sp.Def / 135 Spd

Heatran is a common partner for Dragon-types like Salamence as its dual-typing giving it 4x resistance to both Ice and Fairy-type moves, while also threatening Steel-types like Skarmory and Metagross that can switch into Salamence's Dragon-type moves.

Both Pokemon supplement each other both offensively and defensively and Heatran can easily shrug off attacks directed at Salamence even with minimal investment.

Empoleon

Pokemon	Ability	Item	Moves
Empoleon	Torrent	Leftovers	・Scald ・Stealth Rock ・Yawn ・Icy Wind
Nature / EVs	Calm 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Sp.Def
Final Stats	191 HP / 109 Def / 131 Sp.Atk / 168 Sp.Def / 80 Spd

Like Heatran, Salamence appreciates Empoleon's resistances which naturally complements Salamence's own dual-typing.

The Emperor Pokemon is often used as a more defensive switch in compared to Heatran, as it has a wider selection of support moves ranging such as Scald, Yawn, and even Icy Wind.

Pokemon BDSP Related Guides

Tier List and Movesets for Competitive Battle

Strategies for Individual Pokemon

Competitive Pokemon Builds
Gyarados	Breloom	Gliscor
Scizor	Suicune	Latios
Garchomp	Gengar	Azumarill
Hippowdon	Mamoswine	Latias
Heatran	Blaziken	Wash Rotom
Metagross	Tyranitar	Dragonite
Togekiss	Cloyster	Salamence
Cresselia