Pokemon Sword and Shield

Goodra - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle

Game8's Pokemon TCG Pocket Wiki is live!
☆ Check out our competitive guides for Scarlet and Violet!
Tier List / Doubles Tier List / Movesets / Rental Teams
Competitive Battle Guide

Goodra.png

This is a strategy guide for using Goodra in competitive play for the games Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on for tips on the best Nature, EV spreads, Movesets, and Held Items to use with Goodra, as well as its strengths and weak points.

Goodra - Related Guides
Pokemon SWSH - Goodra Evolution and LearnsetEvolution and Learnset Pokemon SWSH - Goodra Best BuildBuild for Ranked Battle

Basic Information for Goodra

Types and Abilities

Pokemon Type 1 Type 2
Pokemon Sword and Shield - Dragon Type
Abilities
Hydration Heals status problem if it is raining.
Sap Sipper Boosts Attack when hit by a Grass-type move.
Gooey (Hidden) Contact with the Pokemon lowers the attacker's Speed stat.

Goodra Weaknesses and Resistances

Type
Takes 4x damage
-
Takes 2x damage
Pokemon Ice Image Pokemon Dragon Image Pokemon Fairy Image
Takes 0.5x damage
Pokemon Fire Image Pokemon Water Image Pokemon Electric Image
Takes 1/4x damage
-
Takes 0x damage
Pokemon Grass Image

What is Type Effectiveness?

Base Stats

HP Attack Defense Sp. Atk Sp. Def Speed
90 100 70 110 150 80

Best Nature for Goodra

Best Natures
Modest
(+SpAtk, -Atk)

What are Natures?

Singles Movesets for Goodra

Sap Sipper + Assault Vest Moveset & Best Build

Nature Modest (+SpAtk, -Atk)
EV Spread HP 252 / Sp.Atk. 252 / Spd. 4
Final Stat Values HP 197 / Def. 90 / Sp.Atk. 178 / Sp.Def. 170 / Spd. 101
Ability Sap Sipper
Held Item Assault Vest
Moveset Draco Meteor
Fire Blast
Thunderbolt
Sludge Wave

These values are from base stats and ideal EVs, excluding external factors.

Sap Sipper   Assault Vest Goodra.png

With a combination of high base stats and the Special Defense boost from Assault Vest, it's able to withstand a Draco Meteor from Hydreigon. On top of that, its Ability Sap Sipper is able to nullify the effects of opponents' Grass-type Moves. If you can pull off a good read on the opponent, you can switch in Goodra to completely nullify an attack.

Other Viable Moves

Dragon Pulse An accuracy of 100%, but less powerful than Draco Meteor.
Acid Spray Can drop its opponent's Sp.Def. by two stages. Good for setting up its teammates.
Ice Beam An effective attack for using against Grass types.
Flamethrower An accuracy of 100%, but slightly less powerful than Fire Blast.
Blizzard An effective attack for using against Grass types. The Power is enticing, but the accuracy could be better.
Earthquake Great move against Nihilego.
Power Whip An effective attack against Water and Ground-types like Swampert.
Focus Blast Can hit Tyranitar hard, but its accuracy is middling.
Thunderbolt An effective attack for using against Water types.

Expert Belt Moveset & Best Build

Nature Modest (+SpAtk, -Atk)
EV Spread HP 196 / Sp.Atk. 244 / Spd. 68
Final Stat Values HP 190 / Def. 90 / Sp.Atk. 177 / Sp.Def. 170 / Spd. 109
Ability Gooey
Held Item Expert Belt
Moveset Dragon Pulse
Thunderbolt
Fire Blast
Sludge Wave

These values are from base stats and ideal EVs, excluding external factors.

Expert Belt Goodra.png
This build allows it to take maximum advantage of its wide movepool with the help of Expert Belt. Its Ability Gooey can lower the opponent's Speed, allowing it to strike first and finish the job.

Explanation of EV Spread

The Speed EVs have been placed to allow it to outspeed Mimikyu after Gooey has been activated.

Other Viable Moves

Draco Meteor A very powerful Dragon-type move, but is vexing to use as it lowers Special Attack by two stages after use.
Acid Spray Can drop its opponent's Sp.Def. by two stages. Good for setting up its teammates.
Ice Beam An effective attack for using against Grass types.
Flamethrower An accuracy of 100%, but slightly less powerful than Fire Blast.
Blizzard An effective attack for using against Grass types. The Power is enticing, but the accuracy could be better.
Earthquake Great move against Nihilego.
Power Whip An effective attack against Water and Ground-types like Swampert.
Focus Blast Can hit Tyranitar hard, but its accuracy is middling.
Thunderbolt An effective attack for using against Water types.

How to Use Goodra Effectively

Weather its opponents' attacks and hit back with Special attacks

Goodra's specialty can be said to be its extremely high Special Defense. Its primary strategy is to shake off a Special attack to fire back with its own super effective move. With its wide movepool granting it a range of moves which can deal heavy damage to any Pokemon it comes up against, it's a highly effective fighter when in the right situation.

Counters for Goodra

Goodra
Weakness Pokemon Ice Image Pokemon Dragon Image Pokemon Fairy Image

Hit hard with a Physical attacker

Although Goodra's Defense seems high on first glance, it falls short of breaking half of its Special Defense. With the right Physical attacker on its tail, Goodra can be taken down more easily than it appears.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon Description
Pokemon SWSH - Glastrier ImageGlastrier Ranking: ★★★★★
・Can withstand Goodra's attacks, allowing it to fight back.
Moveset & Best Build for Glastrier
Pokemon SWSH - Tyranitar ImageTyranitar Ranking: ★★★★★
・Has high attacking power.
・Can create a Sandstorm to take advantage of its high Special Defense.
Moveset & Best Build for Tyranitar
Pokemon SWSH - Galarian Darmanitan ImageGalarian Darmanitan Ranking: ★★★★★
・Can generally outspeedd Goodra.
・A high-power Physical attacker.
Moveset & Best Build for Galarian Darmanitan
Pokemon SWSH - Weavile ImageWeavile Ranking: ★★★★★
・Has high Speed stat and can strike first with Ice-type attacks.
・The move Triple Axel will render Focus Sash useless.

Wall it with a defensive Pokemon

Goodra does rock a powerful Special Attack and a wide variety of moves, but up against a Pokemon with massive defensive stats, it can have trouble taking it down. The likes of Snorlax and Gastrodon are able to put up with some smacking around and come out grinning.

Best Pokemon to Use

Pokemon Description
Pokemon SWSH - Snorlax ImageSnorlax Ranking: ★★★★★
・Extremely high Special Defense.
・Also a superb Physical attacker.
Moveset & Best Build for Snorlax
Pokemon SWSH - Cresselia ImageCresselia Ranking: ★★★★
・Has high defensive capabilities.
・Can further improve its Special Defense with Calm Mind.
Moveset & Best Build for Cresselia
Pokemon SWSH - Gastrodon ImageGastrodon Ranking: ★★★★
・Can learn Recovery moves.
・Has high defensive capabilities.
Moveset & Best Build for Gastrodon

Related Links

Pokemon Sword and Shield - Best Builds for Ranked Battle

All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle

Competitive Guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield

Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides
Pokemon SWSH - Tier ListTier List Pokemon SWSH - Best BuildsBest Builds Pokemon Sword and Shield - Ranked Battle Series 10 Contenders.pngSeries 10 List of Contenders
Pokemon SWSH - Doubles Tier ListDoubles Tier List Pokemon SWSH - Competitive Team BuildingTeam Building Pokemon SWSH - Rental TeamsRental Teams

Best Builds for Returning Pokemon

Movesets & Best Builds for Returning Pokemon
Pokemon SWSH - Mimikyu Best BuildsMimikyu Pokemon SWSH - Wash Rotom Best BuildsWash Rotom Pokemon SWSH - Gyarados Best BuildsGyarados
Pokemon SWSH - Ferrothorn Best BuildsFerrothorn Pokemon SWSH - Aegislash Best BuildsAegislash Pokemon SWSH - Excadrill Best BuildsExcadrill
Pokemon SWSH - Tyranitar Best BuildsTyranitar Pokemon SWSH - Hydreigon Best BuildsHydreigon Pokemon SWSH - Heat Rotom Best BuildsHeat Rotom
Pokemon SWSH - Arcanine Best BuildsArcanine Pokemon SWSH - Mamoswine Best BuildsMamoswine Pokemon SWSH - Toxapex Best BuildsToxapex
Pokemon SWSH - Togekiss Best BuildsTogekiss Pokemon SWSH - Cloyster Best BuildsCloyster Pokemon SWSH - Durant Best BuildsDurant
Pokemon SWSH - Snorlax Best BuildsSnorlax Pokemon SWSH - Charizard Best BuildsCharizard Pokemon SWSH - Sylveon Best BuildsSylveon
Pokemon SWSH - Lucario Best BuildsLucario Pokemon SWSH - Hippowdon Best BuildsHippowdon Pokemon SWSH - Umbreon Best BuildsUmbreon
Pokemon SWSH - Conkeldurr Best BuildsConkeldurr Pokemon SWSH - Quagsire Best BuildsQuagsire Pokemon SWSH - Gastrodon Best BuildsGastrodon
Pokemon SWSH - Lapras Best BuildsLapras Pokemon SWSH - Whimsicott Best BuildsWhimsicott Pokemon SWSH - Rhyperior Best BuildsRhyperior
Pokemon SWSH - Goodra Best BuildsGoodra Pokemon SWSH - Haxorus Best BuildsHaxorus Pokemon SWSH - Glaceon Best BuildsGlaceon
Pokemon SWSH - Mow Rotom Best BuildsMow Rotom Pokemon SWSH - Type: Null Best BuildsType: Null Pokemon SWSH - Gengar Best BuildsGengar
Pokemon SWSH - Milotic Best BuildsMilotic Pokemon SWSH - Gardevoir Best BuildsGardevoir Pokemon SWSH - Flygon Best BuildsFlygon
Pokemon SWSH - Chandelure Best BuildsChandelure Pokemon SWSH - Lanturn Best BuildsLanturn Pokemon SWSH - Torkoal Best BuildsTorkoal
Pokemon SWSH - Bisharp Best BuildsBisharp Pokemon SWSH - Seismitoad Best BuildsSeismitoad Pokemon SWSH - Silvally Best BuildsSilvally
Pokemon SWSH - Butterfree  Best BuildsButterfree Pokemon SWSH - Primarina Best BuildsPrimarina Pokemon SWSH - Incineroar Best BuildsIncineroar
Pokemon SWSH - Blastoise Best BuildsBlastoise Pokemon SWSH - Decidueye Best BuildsDecidueye Pokemon SWSH - Venusaur Best BuildsVenusaur
Pokemon SWSH - Darmanitan Best BuildsDarmanitan Pokemon SWSH - Alolan Ninetales Best BuildsAlolan Ninetales Pokemon SWSH - Gothitelle Best BuildsGothitelle
Pokemon SWSH - Crawdaunt Best BuildsCrawdaunt Pokemon SWSH - Clefable Best BuildsClefable Pokemon SWSH - Reuniclus Best BuildsReuniclus
Pokemon SWSH - Kommo-o Best BuildsKommo-o Pokemon SWSH - Terrakion Best BuildsTerrakion Pokemon SWSH - Cobalion Best BuildsCobalion
Pokemon SWSH - Virizion Best BuildsVirizion Pokemon SWSH - Noivern Best BuildsNoivern Pokemon SWSH - Fan Rotom Best BuildsFan Rotom
Pokemon SWSH - Toxicroak Best BuildsToxicroak Pokemon SWSH - Pelipper Best BuildsPelipper Pokemon SWSH - Jellicent Best BuildsJellicent
Pokemon SWSH - Celebi Best BuildsCelebi Pokemon SWSH - Clefairy Best BuildsClefairy Pokemon SWSH - Hitmontop Best BuildsHitmontop
Pokemon SWSH - Diggersby Best BuildsDiggersby Pokemon SWSH - Ditto Best BuildsDitto Pokemon SWSH - Raichu Best BuildsRaichu
Pokemon SWSH - Hawlucha Best BuildsHawlucha Pokemon SWSH - Shiftry Best BuildsShiftry Pokemon SWSH - Tsareena Best BuildsTsareena
Pokemon SWSH - Ludicolo Best BuildsLudicolo

Author

    Walkthrough Menu

    Please participate in our
    site improvement survey 11/2024
    Would you assist in
    improving Game8's site?
    ×
    This survey will take about 1 minute.
    Your answers will help us to improve our website.
    We are listening to our users' valuable opinions and discussing how to act on them.
    The information collected through this survey will be used for the purpose of improving our services. In addition, the information will only be disclosed a part of a statistic in a format that will not allow identification of personal information.
    Begin Survey

    All rights reserved