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Dragonite Movesets in Other Games | |
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SV | SWSH |
This is a strategy guide for using Dragonite 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 Dragonite, as well as its strengths and weak points.
Dragonite - Related Guides | |
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Evolution and Learnset | Build for Ranked Battle |
List of Contents
Pokemon | Type 1 | Type 2 |
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Abilities | ||
Inner Focus | The Pokemon is protected from flinching. | |
Multiscale (Hidden) | Reduces damage when HP is full. |
Type | |
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Takes 4x damage | |
Takes 2x damage | |
Takes 0.5x damage | |
Takes 1/4x damage | |
Takes 0x damage |
HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
91 | 134 | 95 | 100 | 100 | 80 |
Best Natures | ||
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Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk) |
Timid (+Spd, -Sp.Atk) |
Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk) |
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EV Spread | HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spd 252 |
Final Stat Values | HP 167 / Atk 186 / Def 115 / Sp.Def 120 / Spd 145 |
Ability | Multiscale |
Held Item | Weakness Policy |
Moveset | ・Outrage ・Dual Wingbeat ・Extreme Speed ・Fire Punch |
Dragonite is one of the best users of Weakness Policy thanks to its ability. With a wide physical movepool and great bulk, it is a formidable sweeper that can easily sweep unprepared teams.
Outrage is Dragonite strongest move and can outright KO Pokemon that don't resist or are immune to Dragon-type moves. Dual Wingbeat is its secondary STAB and becomes Max Airstream during Dynamax.
Extreme Speed is a powerful priorty move that goes before other priorty attacks, such as Quick Attack, and allows Dragonite to potentially knock out faster but frailer threats. It's last move is Fire Punch, providing great neutral coverage and hits Steel-type Pokemon for super effective damage.
We're using a straightforward EV spread with full investment in Attack and Speed so that Dragonite can hit hard and as fast as possible. The remaining 4 EVs are placed in HP to boost its overall bulk.
We're using Multiscale for this build. This ability reduces the damage Dragonite gets from attacks by 50% if its at full health. This guarantees that Dragonite can get at least one Dragon Dance boost up!
This build uses Weakness Policy, an item that raises the Pokemon's attack and special attack by two stages when hit by a super-effective move. Thanks to its abiliity Multiscale, Dragonite can survive a super effective hit and get a boost from its item!
Thunder Punch | An alternative coverage move that allows Dragonite to hit Bulky Water-types. |
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Earthquake | Stronger than Fire Punch and also allows Dragonite to hit Steel-types. |
Superpower | A powerful Fighting-type move. Becomes Max Knuckle during Dynamax, |
Iron Head | A good alternative to Fire Punch that lets Dragonite hit Fairy-types. |
Stone Edge | A powerful Rock-type move that allows Dragonite to take on Flying-types. |
Dragon Dance | Boosts Dragonite's Attack and Speed by one stage. Best used before Dynamaxing, although it becomes Max Guard during Dynamax. |
Roost | Restores 50% of the user's HP which can be helpful to reactivate Multiscale. Also serves as Max Guard when Dynamaxed. |
Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk) |
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EV Spread | HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spd 252 |
Final Stat Values | HP 167 / Atk 186 / Def 115 / Sp.Def 120 / Spd 145 |
Ability | Multiscale |
Held Item | Lum Berry Life Orb Weakness Policy |
Moveset | ・Outrage ・Dual Wingbeat ・Fire Punch ・Dragon Dance |
Dragonite's bulk makes it a great setup sweeper with Dragon Dance, letting it fill the role of a lead sweeper or late-game sweeper.
Dragon Dance boosts Dragonite's Attack and Speed by one stage, and thanks to its ability, it will always get a chance to set up using this move. Outrage is Dragonite strongest move and can outright KO Pokemon that don't resist or are immune to Dragon-type moves. Dual Wingbeat is its secondary STAB and becomes Max Airstream during Dynamax.
It's last attacking move is Fire Punch, providing great neutral coverage and hits Steel-type Pokemon for super effective damage.
We're using a straightforward EV spread with full investment in Special Attack and Speed so that Dragonite can hit hard and as fast as possible. The remaining EVs are placed in HP to boost its overall bulk.
We're using Multiscale for this build. This ability reduces the damage Dragonite gets from attacks by 50% if its at full health.
Lum Berry protects Dragonite from status, such as burns from Will-O-Wisp. Life Orb is an alternative that boosts the power of its moves at the cost of some residual damage. Finally, it can also use Weakness Policy but this item is best used if using it as a lead.
Thunder Punch | An alternative coverage move that allows Dragonite to hit Bulky Water-types. |
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Ice Punch | An alternative coverage move that allows Dragonite to hit Bulky Ground-types. |
Extreme Speed | A +2 priority move that allows Dragonite to hit faster opposing Pokemon. |
Earthquake | Stronger than Fire Punch and also allows Dragonite to hit Steel-types. |
Superpower | A powerful Fighting-type move. Becomes Max Knuckle during Dynamax, |
Iron Head | A good alternative to Fire Punch that lets Dragonite hit Fairy-types. |
Stone Edge | A powerful Rock-type move that allows Dragonite to take on Flying-types. |
Roost | Restores 50% of the user's HP which can be helpful to reactivate Multiscale. Also serves as Max Guard when Dynamaxed. |
Nature | Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk) |
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EV Spread | HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spd 252 |
Final Stat Values | HP 167 / Atk 186 / Def 115 / Sp.Def 120 / Spd 145 |
Ability | Multiscale |
Held Item | Choice Band |
Moveset | ・Outrage ・Extreme Speed ・Fire Punch ・Earthquake |
Dragonite's bulk makes it a great setup sweeper with Dragon Dance, letting it fill the role of a lead sweeper or late-game sweeper.
Outrage is Dragonite strongest move and can outright KO Pokemon that don't resist or are immune to Dragon-type moves.
Extreme Speed is a powerful priorty move that goes before other priorty attacks, such as Quick Attack, and allows Dragonite to potentially knock out faster but frailer threats.
It's last two attacking moves are for coverage. Fire Punch, providing great neutral coverage and hits Steel-type Pokemon for super effective damage, while Earthquake lets it hit Rock, Fire, and Poison-types.
We're using a straightforward EV spread with full investment in Special Attack and Speed so that Dragonite can hit hard and as fast as possible. The remaining EVs are placed in HP to boost its overall bulk.
We're using Multiscale for this build. This ability reduces the damage Dragonite gets from attacks by 50% if its at full health.
Choice Band boosts the power of Dragonite's physical moves by 50% but restricts it to using only the initial move it used.
Thunder Punch | An alternative coverage move that allows Dragonite to hit Bulky Water-types. |
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Ice Punch | An alternative coverage move that allows Dragonite to hit Bulky Ground-types. |
Dual Wingbeat | A secondary STAB move that hits twice, letting Dragonite break Substitute users. |
Superpower | A powerful Fighting-type move. Becomes Max Knuckle during Dynamax, |
Iron Head | A good alternative to Fire Punch that lets Dragonite hit Fairy-types. |
Stone Edge | A powerful Rock-type move that allows Dragonite to take on Flying-types. |
Nature | Calm (+Sp.Def, -Atk) |
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EV Spread | HP 244 / Def 12 / Sp.Atk 4 / Sp.Def 244 / Spd 4 |
Final Stat Values | HP 197 / Def 117 / Sp.Atk 121 / Sp.Def 166 / Spd 101 |
Ability | Multiscale |
Held Item | Heavy-Duty Boots |
Moveset | ・Air Slash ・Flamethrower ・Ice Beam ・Roost |
Although Dragonite is best known as a bulky attacker, it can fill the role of a defensive Pokemon as well thanks to its natural bulk and great ability.
This Defensive Dragonite build was used by Japanese competitive player, Page, to reach 6th place in Ranked Battles Season 13!
Air Slash is Dragonite's STAB move that deals good damage and has a 30% chance to cause flinching. It also becomes Max Airstream during Dynamax, allowing Dragonite to support its team by boosting their speed by 1 stage.
Flamethrower and Ice Beam are coverage moves that allow Dragonite to hit Steel, Grass, Ground, Flying, and opposing Dragon-types.
Roost is Dragonite's most important move, restoring half of its maximum HP and also removing it's Flying-type for the turn it's used. This is useful for when you're expecting a super effective Ice or Rock-type move, allowing Dragonite to survive a potentially fatal blow.
We're using a modified defensive EV spread for this Dragonite to capitalize on its natural bulk. 244 HP EVs give Dragonite an odd-numbered HP at level 50, allowing it withstand strong moves like Thunder.
12 Defense EVs and 244 Sp.Def EVs round out Dragonite's bulk, allowing it to take hits from both its physical and special side. The remaining 8 EVs are split between Sp.Atk and Spd - 4 EVs in Sp.Atk and 4 EVs in Spd, to slightly boost Dragonite's offensive capabilities.
We're using Multiscale for this build. This ability reduces the damage Dragonite gets from attacks by 50% if its at full health.
We're giving this Dragonite Heavy-Duty Boots. This item protects Dragonite from all entry hazards, such as Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes.
Hurricane | High base power Flying-type STAB move. |
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Surf | Coverage move for opponents that Dragonite couldn't otherwise handle, such as Rhyperior. |
Thunderbolt | You can replace Flamethrower with Thunderbolt to give Dragonite the fabled "BoltBeam" coverage. |
Dragonite faces stiff competition from stronger and faster Dragon-types, so capitalize on its unique traits - its bulkiness and wide movepool. Dragonite has great bulk, further boosted by Multiscale, and has a large physical and special movepool that includes powerful coverage moves.
As a result of these traits, Dragonite is best used as a setup sweeper - accumulating Dragon Dance boosts and sweeping, instead of outright attacking the opposing team.
Although Dragonite faces stiff competition from the likes of Garchomp and Dragapult, its great bulk and access to unique physical and special moves make it a great secondary sweeper in balanced and Hyper Offense teams.
Dragonite excels as a lead sweeper - the first Pokemon you send out at the start of the battle. Thanks to its ability Multiscale, it can safely set up a Dragon Dance (or two) and sweep the opposing team with its powerful moves. As a result, it's a good choice for offensive lead in offense-oriented teams.
Dragonite can also fill the role of a defensive Pokemon, with its Dragon-typing giving it key resistances to the common Grass,Fire, and Water-types that fill the current metagame.
The following teams show some examples of ways in which Dragonite can be effectively used in a team for Ranked Battle.
Lead Dynamax | Choice Band Sweeper | Special Sweeper |
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Dragonite | Entei | Starmie |
Dragonite's Multiscale ability makes it one of the best Weakness Policy users as it's often guaranteed to get the boost due to its increased survivability. It's main role in this team is to set up Max Airstream with Dual Wingbeat, and then soften the opposing team with its powerful STAB and coverage moves.
Slower physical attackers like Entei appreciate Dragonite's Max Airstream, allowing it to outrun it's usual checks and threaten them with its strong physical attacks. Its Fire-typing also helps deter Fairy-types that can easily come in and wall Dragonite.
Starmie is this team's special attacker, using its moves to round off the team's coverage. Access to Thunderbolt allow it to deter bulky Water-types that might try to wall its teammates, while its speed deters slower attackers from switching in.
Learn more about building Hyper Offense teams by checking out our full guide below.
How to Build an Offensive Team | Best Hyper Offense Team
Lead Hazard Setter | Bulky Physical Attacker | Defensive Pivot |
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Swampert | Scizor | Dragonite |
In this defensive team, Dragonite fills the role of an all-purpose defensive pivot. Both Swampert and Scizor appreciate the Dragon Pokemon's key resistances to Grass and Fire-type moves respectively, and both of them can quickly pivot to their partner using Flip Turn and U-Turn.
Swampert fills the role of a hazard setter, setting up Stealth Rock and phazing opposing Pokemon with Yawn.
Scizor, on the other hand, threatens both Swampert and Dragonite's checks and counters with its dual Bug and Steel-type moves.
Learn more about building Defensive teams by checking out our full guide below.
How to Build a Defensive Team
Weakness |
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Multiscale only activates when Dragonite's HP is full. Setting up environments that chip away at Dragonite's health makes it difficult for Dragonite to take advantage of Multiscale. Likewise, Multiscale only reduces damage for the first hit of multi-hit moves, allowing you to break Multiscale, and pile on the damage.
Pokemon | Description |
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Cloyster | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Access to the multi-hit STAB move Icicle Spear. With Skill Link it can guarantee five super-effective hits. ・Also has the priority-move Ice Shard which can outspeed Dragonite's Roost. Moveset & Best Build for Cloyster |
Alolan Ninetales | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Snow Warning summons Hail which chips away at Dragonite's health. ・100% accurate STAB Blizzard in the Hail can knock out Dragonite. ・Has an immunity to Dragonite's Dragon-type moves thanks its Fairy-type. Moveset & Best Build for Alolan Ninetales |
Pheromosa | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Focus Sash + Triple Axel is a solid combo against Dragonite. ・Outspeeds Dragonite even after one Max Airstream. Moveset & Best Build for Pheromosa |
Weavile | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Life Orb-boosted Triple Axel can knock out Dragonite if all three hits land. ・Since Triple Axel's damage relies on succesffully landing consecutive hits, it may not deal enough damage if it misses. |
Glastrier | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Has access to STAB Icicle Spear. ・Since Glastrier is slow, it can also benefit from items such as Weakness Policy or a Custap Berry. Moveset & Best Build for Glastrier |
Mamoswine | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Has access to STAB Icicle Spear ・Dynamaxed Dragonite will be able to survive 5 hits of Icicle Spear, though. Moveset & Best Build for Mamoswien |
Tyranitar | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Sand Stream summons Sandstorm which chips away at Dragonite's health. ・Can deal super-effective damage with a STAB Stone Edge. ・Be careful of Fighting-type moves. Moveset & Best Build for Tyranitar |
Hippowdon | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Sand Stream summons Sandstorm which chips away at Dragonite's health. ・Natural bulk and access to recovery moves such as Slack Off can somewhat wall Dragonite. ・Also has access to Stealth Rocks which can be preemptively set up to chip away at Dragonite's health. Moveset & Best Build for Hippowdon |
Defensive teams also have the option of whittling down Dragonite by stalling him out. Wear down Dragonite's HP through super-effective moves while taking care to keep your own health up.
Pokemon | Description |
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Porygon2 | Ranking: ★★★★★ ・Trace lets you copy Dragonite's Multiscale. In tandem with Recover,you can use Dragonite's own ability against it. ・Ice Beam should deal significant damage to Dragonite especially after Multiscale is deactivated. Moveset & Best Build for Porygon2 |
Cresselia | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Can tank most of Dragonite's hits. ・Can deal 4x super-effective damage thanks to Ice Beam Moveset & Best Build for Cresselia |
Tapu Fini | Ranking: ★★★★ ・Has an immunity to Dragonite's Dragon-type moves thanks to the Fairy-type. ・Can tank most of Dragonite's hits. ・Ice Beam should deal significant damage to Dragonite especially after Multiscale is deactivated. Moveset & Best Build for Tapu Fini |
All Competitive Builds for Ranked Battle
Competitive Pokemon Battle Guides | |||||
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Tier List | Best Builds | Series 10 List of Contenders | |||
Doubles Tier List | Team Building | Rental Teams |
Dragonite - Moveset & Best Build for Ranked Battle
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What makes that mistake worse is that the other nature listed is the one that decreases special attack