Hey guys, it's GoldenTorkoal again with my 4th RMT this time about a Dragon team built around one of my favourite mons of all time. This is the first time i've played with Dragon consistently for a while and all i can say is that i've enjoyed a lot playing Dragon in general and this team in particular. Salamence has become better this gen due to the introduction of Z moves so i was looking forward to use a team built around this monster just to click the powerful Devastating Drake once per battle. Even with the predominance of Fairy and Steel teams, which are difficult to defeat with this team, i think this team has been very solid during the time i've use it on ladder and i've managed to get a decent peak and W/L ratio. Let's take a deep look at 'Imperial'.
I started with Salamence because it's a very good snowball sweeper and late-game cleaner for Dragon teams, combining Dragon Dance and Moxie boosts. With the introduction of Z moves an Outrage from Salamence becomes a 190 base power Devastating Drake that can break through some of its checks.
Every Dragon team needs something to deal as best as possible with Fairy and that's why i opted for Dragalge. Its Poison typing makes it neutral to Fairy and can hit those Fairy-types with its Adaptability-boosted Sludge Wave. Toxic Spikes are also nice in a some matchups, specially against Normal.
Latios was added to have a reliable revenge killer with the help of Choice Scarf while also being a reliable defogger to get rid of opposing entry hazards (mainly Stealth Rock) that could make harder Salamence's job.
Kyurem-B is another staple for Dragon teams to cover the role of mixed wallbreaker with amazing coverage and the neutrality to Ice-type moves. It helps a lot against mons like Celesteela and Skarmory, which would otherwise be a headache for the team.
For the last slot Choice Band Dragonite was chosen to act as a physical wallbreaker that could help to weaken some of the checks it shares with Salamence. Dragonite also has access to the most powerful priority move in the metagame in Extreme Speed, which is very helpful against offensive teams.
Salamence @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Salamence can be a pain for the opposing team if its check have been weakened enough as it would start to clean with the combination of Dragon Dance and Moxie. Moxie is what makes Salamence an excellent snowball sweeper as it will boost its Attack every time it KOes an opposing foe. This monster is extremely valuable against types like Flying, Ghost, Grass and Steel. Dragon Dance allows it to boost its Attack and Speed, helping it to increase its sweeping power. Outrage is Salamence's Dragon-type STAB attack of choice since it's the most powerful move it can learn and it will hit very hard every mon that doesn't carry either Steel or Fairy typing. Outrage combined with Dragonium Z becomes a 190 base power Devastating Drake, dealing massive amounts of damage to bulky Pokemon that doesn't resist and otherwise would check Salamence such as Mandibuzz, Mega Venusaur and Mega Sableye. The disadvantage of having Outrage as your only STAB move is that sometimes the better option would be to waste your Z move to avoid locking itself into Outrage for 2-3 turns. Although that minor tweak would hinder Salamence's job sometimes, there's no point in running Dragon Claw instead of it since Devastating Drake needs to be as powerful as possible. Fire Fang is coverage for Steel-types that are neutral or immune to Ground such as Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, Celesteela and Skarmory. Earthquake is the last move chosen as it provides coverage to hit Steel-types such as Heatran, Magearna and Excadrill, as well as Electric-types and Toxapex. Another thing important to note is that Salamence, although not being your wincon against Normal, it can be really useful because it deals massive damage to Porygon2 (as much as Choice Band Dragonite's Outrage, 2HKO after Stealth Rock). This minor tweak contributes to pressure Normal's defensive core along with the rest of physically-poweful Pokemon, Latios' Trick and Dragalge's Toxic Spikes.
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
Garchomp is one of the best mons i've ever used and it's so versatile. Every gen and metagame Garchomp finds its place as one of the most complete Pokemon, and SM Monotype is no exception. In this case, Garchomp is the best and only viable Stealth Rocker Dragon has access to. Stealth Rock provides useful support for teammates mainly for Salamence, Dragonite and Kyurem-B, which for a powerful offensive core. Garchomp's Ground typing allows it to resist Rock-type moves aimed at Salamence, Dragonite and Kyurem-B, such as Stone Edge from Terrakion, Power Gem from Nihilego and Rock Slide from Excadrill, which is very important for the team. Earthquake is the Ground STAB mainly used to threaten Steel-types such as Magearna and Heatran. Fire Blast is coverage to hit mons that don't care about Earthquake such as Skarmory, Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn or Tapu Bulu. Dragon Tail is Dragon-type STAB that is used to phaze opposing boosters such as Gyarados or Mega Pinsir. 92 Speed EVs give Garchomp enough speed to outspeed Jolly base 70's such as Bisharp and Breloom to be able to 1vs1 them. Another key in this set is the tandem formed by Rough Skin and Rocky Helmet which wear down physical attackers such as Mega Gallade and Mega Swampert and help putting them in range of Dragonite's Extreme Speed or Latios' Psychic/Draco Meteor.
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Dragalge provides Fairy neutrality for the team as well as being able to threaten those Fairy-types with Poison STAB moves. It also has good Special Defense which helps it taking some hits on the special side. Draco Meteor is the Dragon-type STAB move of choice as nothing which is not Fairy or Steel like to take a hit like that boosted by Adaptability. Sludge Wave is the Poison STAB chosen because it's the most powerful Poison move it can learn and it's boosted by Adaptability too. This move allows Dragalge to hit Fairy-types such as Azumarill, Tapu Bulu or Tapu Koko, which is very important for a Dragon team. Sludge Wave is the better option over Sludge Bomb since you would often want the opposing foe to be badly poisoned by Toxic Spikes rather than just poisoned by Sludge Bomb, as well has having more base power. Hidden Power Fire is coverage to hit Steel-types like Magearna, Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor, since they're immune to Poison and resist Dragon (or immune to it in the case of Magearna). Finally Toxic Spikes are very useful to ensure an easier time against more balance teams, as they'd wear down opposing walls such as Porygon2 and Mega Slowbro. Black Sludge gives Dragalge passive recovery to try to extend its durability, but it can be replaced with Dragon Fang to boost Dragalge's Draco Meteor and be able to OHKO Hippowdon after Stealth Rock most of the time and guarantee the 2HKO on Mega Sableye. 28 Speed EVs allow Dragalge to outspeed the aforementioned Hippowdon. Although i considered Goodra for this slot, since it learns Sludge Wave, has good Special Attack and Special Defense (even more with Assault Vest) and can use Earthquake to hit Magearna harder than Fire Blast, i finally opted for Dragalge because its Sludge Wave is boosted by Adaptability and Toxic Spikes are very useful.
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Latios is the best revenge killer for Dragon teams thanks to its 110 base Speed and the best bet in terms of entry hazard control support with Defog, preserving Salamence's health at full to ensure an easier setup as well as Kyurem-B and keeping Dragonite's Multiscale intact. Its good speed along with Choice Scarf lets Latios be faster than some threats like Mega Swampert (under rain), Choice Scarf Hydreigon, Choice Scarf Terrakion and Choice Scarf Nihilego. Draco Meteor is the most powerful Dragon-type STAB move it can learn and it's preferred over Dragon Pulse despite lowering Special Attack by 2 stages because it hits evertything hard outside of Steel- and Fairy-types. Psychic is the secondary STAB move and it's used over Psyshock because it almost ensures the OHKO on Choice Scarf Terrakion (252 SpA Latios Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 320-380 (99 - 117.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO) despite making Latios completely walled by Chansey. Psychic also provides a solid 2HKO on Choice Scarf Nihilego (252 SpA Latios Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Nihilego: 236-278 (65.7 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO), which is another big threat for the team with access to Power Gem and Hidden Power Ice. Defog is a support move used to get rid of Stealth Rock for the reasons that have already been mentioned before. Trick is the chosen for the last slot to be able to cripple some walls such as Chansey and Celesteela, which are common switchins to Latios. Latios is also key in the mirror matchup against Dragon and against Ditto Normal teams, as well as threatening a lot Fighting teams once Cobalion is weakened enough or gone and Poison teams once Muk-Alola is gone. Latios is immune to Ground-type moves and resist Psychic-type moves that threaten Dragalge, so it's a good partner for it. Hidden Power Fire is an option to consider to hit Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn but this team needs the Defog support.
Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
Kyurem-B covers the role of mixed wallbreaker for the team, punching holes in the opposing team so its teammates can take advantage of. Kyurem-B has access to a very wide coverage that improves its portential as wallbreaker. Another important asset that Kyurem-B provides is the neutrality to Ice-type moves, which is very helpful for a team with Salamence, Dragonite and Garchomp (4x weakness to Ice). It can destroy some of the common checks for Salamence and Dragonite such as Skarmory and Celesteela with Fusion Bolt, which lets it hit bulky Water-types like Toxapex and Mantine. Outrage is the most powerful Dragon-type STAB Kyurem-B can learn and lets it deal massive amounts of damage to the opposing foes that don't resist Dragon-type moves. Ice Beam is the secondary STAB to threaten even more Flying teams and also Grass and Ground teams, destroying Pokemon like Hippowdon, Landorus-T, Gliscor and Mega Venusaur (thanks to Teravolt ignoring Thick Fat). Earth Power is coverage to hit Steel-types such as Magearna and Heatran as well as Electric-types like Tapu Koko. Kyurem-B puts a lot of pressure against Normal teams in general and its defensive core in particular (Chansey+Porygon2+Staraptor), Electric teams, Flying teams, Ground teams and Poison teams, which makes it a very valuable member for the team.
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
Dragonite acts as the physical wallbreaker of the team being able to weaken or KO the checks it shares with Salamence such as Skarmory and Porygon2. Adamant nature is chosen in exchange of losing Speed to maximize its wallbreaking power. Dragonite can also act as a revenge killer as it can learn the most powerful priority: Extreme Speed. Its ability, Multiscale, must be preserved to reduce damage by 50% if it's at full health to make Dragonite able to take some hits it would normally KO it. Outrage is the Dragon-type STAB move with higher base power Dragonite can learn, hitting extremely hard walls that don't resist Dragon moves such as Mega Venusaur, Mandibuzz and Rotom-W. Extreme Speed is mandatory, providing priority to revenge kill threats like Choice Scarf Greninja or Mega Gardevoir. Fire Punch is coverage for Steel-types that don't care about Superpower such as Skarmory, Celesteela, Magearna and Mega Scizor. Superpower provides Fighting coverage mainly used to deal serious damage to Normal teams' defensive core: Chansey+Porygon2.
I hope you all enjoyed the team. I've never played Dragon before this and the experience with this team has transmitted me that Dragon is a very fun type to use. I've enjoyed this team a lot using one of my favourite mons of all time: the amazing Salamence. Thanks for reading and feel free to use the team.
Ice teams are a big threat for every Dragon team and i'd say that is an unwinnable matchup unless your opponent is dumb. Sandslash-Alola under Hail and Aurora Veil is probably one of the biggest threats for a Dragon team, and this is no exception. Aurora Veil, Ice Shard and the rest of Ice moves are too much for a team with 3 mons 4x weak to Ice. Mamoswine is also a threat when used in Ground teams as well as Cloyster in Water teams (although it's not very common this gen).
Magearna is the best mon in Monotype at the moment under my perspective, and a team that is weak to Fairy and doesn't have a good matchup against Steel won't be able to deal with Magearna most of the times. Trick Room sets are a pain for offensive teams like this, Shift Gear+Calm Mind sets are also a problem, BoltBeam, Z Fleur Cannon... This thing is too versatile and poweful to have any chance against it, boosting its Special Attack it picks a KO.
Mimikyu can easily get 2 KOs each time it faces this team because of the combination of Disguise, Sword Dance, Play Rough and Never Ending Nightmare. You can't even revenge kill it with Extreme Speed because its Ghost typing. Your only hope is exploiting Toxic Spikes, Tankchomp and Salamence.
Choice Scarf Greninja usually carries Ice Beam turning it into a huge threat for a team with 5 mons weak to ice. You'll need Stealth Rock damage to revenge kill it with Extreme Speed from Dragonite.
Mega Scizor has respectable bulk, can boost its Attack with Sword Dance and learns Bullet Punch, which gives it Steel-type STAB priority. You should avoid giving a free boost to this if rocks are up or it'll run through all your team.
This team has only mon that is not weak to Hypervoice, which is Dragalge, but Psyshock OHKOs it. This thing has an extremely high Special Attack and Fairy typing, which are enough reasons to be a threat for a Dragon team. The only way to kill this is with the combination of Psychic from Latios and Extreme Speed from Dragonite.
Rain teams are a problem. Kingdra outspeeds and OHKOes all the team under rain with Draco Meteor, and Mega Swampert outspeeds all the team except Latios under rain and can learn Ice Punch. Latios and Dragonite are the key in this matchup.
Choice Scarf Ditto is annoying as it prevents you from boosting with Salamence and every time it transforms it will get a Dragon-or Ice-type move to OHKO the members of my team. Latios, Dragonite and Stealth Rock are very important again.
Mega Gallade has good Attack and decent Speed and Special Defense, as well as learning Ice Punch. It is faster than all the team except Latios, but this one won't be able to revenge kill it at full health. You'll need chip damage and Extreme Speed from Dragonite.
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Salamence @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Fire Fang
- Earthquake
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic Spikes
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Defog
- Trick
Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Outrage
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Superpower
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Fire Fang
- Earthquake
Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic Spikes
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Defog
- Trick
Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Outrage
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Superpower
Moosical for being a cool guy, always available to help and for making those cool headers. Thank you man!
Dragotic for making the banner. I love it, thank you!
Zmeeed for helping me with the team and with Dragon in general
stat1c i enjoyed our conversations, hope you come back soon
Vid for helping me with various stuff
terrors for helping me with questions about teambuilding and being a player i admire
Bondie for always being available to answer my questions
Dragotic for making the banner. I love it, thank you!
Zmeeed for helping me with the team and with Dragon in general
stat1c i enjoyed our conversations, hope you come back soon
Vid for helping me with various stuff
terrors for helping me with questions about teambuilding and being a player i admire
Bondie for always being available to answer my questions
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