Dragon-types in Ubers across the generations

By Eledyr. Released:2023/08/23
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Dragon-types in Ubers across the generations Art

Art by Swiffix.

When one thinks about cover legendaries, and by extension Ubers, Dragon-type is THE type that comes to mind: not only did Lance become the in-game champion in GSC despite having only one Dragon-type evolutionary line in his team, it has also been a staple ever since Ruby and Sapphire for each and every generation to introduce prominent and powerful Dragons that shaped their respective metagames. This article will put a light on the strongest Dragons in Ubers.

The Lati twins made their debut appearance as top threats. Thanks to Soul Dew granting them a 50% boost to their Special Attack and Special Defense, Latios and Latias are incredible specially bulky. They are the best offensive checks to Kyogre with their good offensive movepool, with access to powerful BoltBeam coverage as well as Dragon Claw and Hidden Power Fire. Levitate, in addition to making them immune to Ground-types attacks, also protect them from Spikes, which is one of the best tool in the tier. Trick and Knock Off's distribution is also incredibly limited in this generation, meaning Latios and Latias can hold their item without much fear of losing it. Their shared base 110 Speed also makes them excellent revenge killers against Choice Band users in Heracross and Rayquaza. These powerful traits warp teambuilding, forcing every teams to run bulky Normal-types as a way to keep them in check, be it Snorlax to put offensive pressure with its good Attack and STAB Body Slam and Self-Destruct or Blissey to take them on defensively with its bulk and great utility movepool in Wish, Toxic, Soft-Boiled, and Seismic Toss.

Latios
  • HP80
  • ATK90
  • DEF80
  • SPA130
  • SPD110
  • SPE110

Latios's higher Special Attack allows it to OHKO maximum HP Groudon with Ice Beam after switching two times on Spikes. Levitate is also extremely useful to switch in on its Earthquake, making Latios a menacing opponent for Groudon. Meanwhile, Refresh lets Latios actively switch in on Groudon's Thunder Wave and generally keeps Latios away from both poison and paralysis, as crippling Latios with a status it is a common way to break through it. Ice Beam threatens uninvested Groudon sets with a OHKO. Perfectly accurate Thunder under rain threatens to OHKO Skarmory, and after a single Calm Mind boost, Latios can OHKO maximum HP Kyogre and Ho-Oh and take Kyogre's Ice Beam rather handily. With Recover, Latios can keep pressuring the opposing team while staying healthy throughout the entire game. Dragon Claw can also be used, as it deals even more damage to opposing Latias and Latios while doing great damage to Snorlax without relying on Thunder when the rain is not up. Hidden Power Fire is an option on sun teams that lets Latios lure in and remove Metagross, Forretress, and the rare Jirachi.

Latias
  • HP80
  • ATK80
  • DEF90
  • SPA110
  • SPD130
  • SPE110

On the other side of the spectrum, Latias's better bulk lets it act as a bulky wincon that can even beat Blissey thanks to the combination of Recover, Refresh, and Calm Mind. Refresh and Recover make Latias extremely resilient against passive damage, making it a very good cleaner. Its extra bulk from the Bold nature is important, as it always lets it survive a Shadow Ball from Choice Band Adamant Deoxys-A from full health, which is the best option to revenge kill the Lati twins. A Timid nature is also viable, letting it always outrun base 90 Speed Pokémon such as Groudon and Kyogre; combined with Refresh, this makes it the only setup sweeper that can take on Thunder Wave Kyogre reliably, which is unable to 2HKO Latias without a Calm Mind boost, and its even greater physical bulk lets Latias takes on Thunder Wave Groudon with even more ease than Latios. Other options in BoltBeam can also be run, but the set suffers from competition with Latios, which—with its higher Special Attack—can deal better with the threats it targets.

Even though both Latias and Latios are amazing, they are far from being unstoppable: in fact, many strong physical attackers are prominent in the metagame because they have a strong matchup against the Eon twins. Paralysis is the best way to deal with them, as once paralyzed, they are easy to take advantage of for many strong attackers: both Groudon and Kyogre can attempt to use the paralysis turns to either get a favorable switch to the likes of Snorlax and Blissey or, in the case of Kyogre, even attempt to use them as setup fodder. Heracross is also a scary for the Eon twins, as most of their attacks fail to OHKO it without a boost, while it can easily OHKO them with a Choice Band STAB Megahorn or use them as an opportunity to set up and attempt to end a game with its Salac Berry set. While it can't switch into any of their moves, Choice Band Deoxys-A is by far the best revenge killer of the tier, and Latias and Latios aren't safe against it: its incredibly powerful Shadow Ball easily forces them out, in fear of being OHKOed by it. More defensive options like Blissey and specially defensive Snorlax are also good answers to them: Snatch + Toxic Blissey is known for its ability to deny the Lati twins's passive moves in Recover, Calm Mind, and Refresh, and Blissey is bulky enough to survive their hits once they have been poisoned with Toxic. Meanwhile, Snorlax is bulky enough to take multiple hits from Latios and Latias, and its physical moves in Body Slam, Shadow Ball, and Self-Destruct force them out.

DPP drastically changed how Pokémon is played through its physical/special split and the introduction of Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, but also due to new extremely powerful Dragon-types attack in Draco Meteor and a newly-buffed Outrage, which got its Base Power increased from 90 to 120. As a direct consequence, many strong attackers like Giratina-O, Latias, and Latios are among the most popular Pokémon of the tier. However, Dialga is the most influential Dragon-type of the tier, thanks to its great stat spread and excellent Dragon / Steel typing, making it the only Dragon-type of the tier that is not afraid to take several STAB Draco Meteors and is capable of switching in on all of Kyogre's options for resisted damage, besides Ice Beam. Pressure is also helpful, draining the low PP of opposing Draco Meteor even faster. In return, DPP Dialga isn't passive either, and its great base 150 Special Attack and base 120 Attack coupled with strong STAB and coverage moves such as Draco Meteor, Outrage, Thunder, Fire Blast, and Earth Power mean it can threaten most staples of the tier such as Giratina-O, Groudon, Kyogre, and Blissey.

Dialga
  • HP100
  • ATK120
  • DEF120
  • SPA150
  • SPD100
  • SPE90

In a metagame filled with Draco Meteor users such as Giratina-O, opposing Dialga, Rayquaza, and Latios, Dialga's specially defensive set comes in handy as a bulky attacker that can take those attacks and hits back hard with a STAB Dragon-type move. Its good typing against Kyogre and access to Thunder mean it's not passive against it either, as it can 2HKO Kyogre after Stealth Rock thanks to the Special Attack investment. Roar and Stealth Rock are both good options thanks to the momentum Dialga generates, as due to the metagame's fast-paced nature, entry hazards are usually difficult to remove, and Roar can rack up damage once these entry hazards are set up. An other option consist of a mono-attacking setup sweeper set with Bulk Up, Protect, Substitute, and Dragon Claw, allowing Dialga to act as a nasty late-game wincon, taking advantage of low PP moves and Choice Scarf users to set up safely. Fire Blast is an option that can catch Forretress and Scizor off guard and OHKO them on the switch, while Thunder Wave cripples foe like opposing Dialga, Kyogre, and Latios, which Dialga can struggle against.

Dialga
  • HP100
  • ATK120
  • DEF120
  • SPA150
  • SPD100
  • SPE90

This set fully leaves the defensive spectrum and focuses on the powerful offensive traits Dialga has. Its amazing base 150 Special Attack combined with powerful STAB options in Draco Meteor and Dragon Pulse makes Dialga one of the best revenge killer with a Choice Scarf, outspeeding staples like Mewtwo, Deoxys-A, and Latios while threatening non-Choice Scarf Palkia, Giratina-O, and unboosted Jolly Rayquaza and Speed tying with Choice Scarf Kyogre, which it can threaten with its powerful moves while resisting its Water-type STAB attacks like Water Spout and Hydro Pump. Its great special movepool allows to pick and choose its matchup: Dragon Pulse is a good STAB attack with no drawbacks that is used as a cleaning option, Thunder threatens Kyogre, Fire Blast deals with Steel-types like Scizor, Bronzong, and Forretress, while Aura Sphere has a small chance to OHKO Darkrai and does great damage to opposing Dialga. Sleep Talk is another great way to deal with Darkrai, as it lets Dialga switch into Dark Void and still act afterwards.

Because Dialga compresses several roles, it is often stopped because it has no reliable recovery: offensive teams often packs several strong attackers such as Kyogre, Latios, Palkia, Giratina-O, and Rayquaza, and Dialga has trouble taking many STAB attacks from those attackers despite its great bulk. Its also preyed upon by many physical attackers such as Groudon, Ho-Oh, Rayquaza, and Garchomp. As an offensive revenge killer, Dialga's Speed tier isn't that good either: it Speed ties with Choice Scarf Kyogre and is slower than many Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp, as well as some setup sweepers such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Rock Polish Groudon, which threaten it with their powerful STAB options and super effective Earthquake. Dialga also suffers from 4MSS and can't check everything at once: if it doesn't carry Earth Power, Heatran has no trouble switching into its STAB attacks and threatening it with Lava Plume's burn chance or with Earth Power's super effective damage, and it has no trouble setting up Stealth Rock. If Dialga doesn't pack Fire Blast, Steel-types become extremely hard to break through; Bronzong and Forretress, in particular, can use Dialga to set up their entry hazards, while Choice Band Scizor can either threaten to OHKO it with Superpower or generate extremely valuable momentum for its teammates on Dialga's switch with a powerful STAB U-turn.

A special mention should be made of Giratina-O; Generation IV is known for how Dragon-types rule the metagame, and Giratina-O constricts the whole metagame by its existence. Its Ghost / Dragon typing is amazing offensively, allowing it to threaten the whole metagame with almost no need for coverage, and its access to Earthquake and Hidden Power Fire allows it to deal with Steel-types that are usually run to resist Dragon-type attacks, such as specially defensive Heatran, Scizor, and Jirachi. Its Ghost typing is crucial, as it makes it an amazing spinblocker, and its great offensive stats allows it to run a mixed set usually consisting of Draco Meteor, Shadow Sneak, Earthquake, and Hidden Power Fire.

Generation V stands as a special generation on many aspects, and it's no exception for Dragon-types. Not only is Generation V the first that features Team Preview, it has also introduced defining mechanics, moves, and Pokémon, most notably Volt Switch, Dragon Tail, sleep turns resetting on switch, and unrestricted Arceus. This all resulted in a fast-paced metagame, where Dragon-types remained extremely dominant. Giratina-O appears as one of the most influential Dragon-types of this generation, combining powerful stats, Ground-type attacks immunity thanks to Levitate, and an excellent Ghost typing, making it the best spinblocker of the tier.

Giratina-Origin
  • HP150
  • ATK120
  • DEF100
  • SPA120
  • SPD100
  • SPE90

This set functions as a very reliable spinblocker and phazer. Thanks to the notable interaction between Sleep Talk ignoring the negative priority on Dragon Tail and Roar, Giratina-O can phaze many setup sweepers attempting to use it as a fodder, such as Extreme Killer Arceus and Calm Mind Arceus-Steel and Kyogre, as well as other staples in Groudon, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn. In particular, Giratina-O's Speed tier lets it Speed tie with powerful wallbreakers like Choice Specs Kyogre and Earth Plate Groudon. Accounting for miss chances, Giratina-O has a favorable 60% chance to phaze an enemy when using Sleep Talk, and thanks to it ignoring the negative priority of these moves, Giratina-O can actually forces out any opponent before they act, inflicting free damage. Being one of the most reliable spinblockers, it also is able to rack up a lot of residual damage with teammates like Deoxys-S and Ferrothorn, and it can find easy opportunities to switch in on Ground-types like Groudon and Excadrill.

The utility Giratina-O can be somewhat tricky to take advantage of effectively, due to its poor defensive typing: being weak to Dragon- and Ice-type attacks in an environment filled with powerful Dragons is a curse, and Giratina-O will find trouble switching into Dragon-type attackers such as Dialga, Latios, Latias, and opposing Giratina-O. It also struggles with switching into setup sweepers like Calm Mind Kyogre and Swords Dance Groudon, as the negative priority when it's awake means it will take a hit before phazing its enemy, while Sleep Talk mechanics and Dragon Tail's miss chance mean that Giratina-O isn't safe either while sleeping.

Palkia
  • HP90
  • ATK120
  • DEF100
  • SPA150
  • SPD120
  • SPE100

Palkia is the textbook definition of a wallbreaker in Generation 5. Packing powerful STAB attacks in Surf, Hydro Pump, and Spacial Rend, as well as extremely strong coverage in Thunder and Fire Blast, Palkia is extremely hard to pivot around and weather its assault. It has no trouble switching in into Kyogre's powerful STAB attacks and threatening to 2HKO it with an unmissable Thunder. Thunder is also a great way to spread paralysis under rain, crippling faster threats like Latias, Latios, and many Arceus formes. Dragon Tail is a good alternative, which can rack up free damage on a predicted switch-in such as Arceus-Steel or Kyogre. Spacial Rend is a nasty STAB Dragon-type attack that can threaten to OHKO the slower Dragon-types in the tier such as Rayquaza and Giratina-O, and its increased critical hit rate can easily turn the tables and take out neutral targets like Arceus-Ghost, Arceus-Fighting, and Groudon with very little chip damage. Fire Blast also allows it to not be deadweight against Ferrothorn and Forretress, as even under rain it will easily 2HKO them and put a lot of pressure on Arceus-Steel. Lustrous Orb is the go-to item, granting a free boost to Palkia's STAB attacks, but Palkia also finds utility in Haban Berry: halving damage from Dragon-type attacks allows Palkia to survive powerful hits such as Latias's Draco Meteor, Latios's Dragon Pulse, and opposing Palkia's Spacial Rend, letting it flip the matchup in its favor and attempt to KO them with a super effective Spacial Rend.

While Palkia is a great wallbreaker, its main drawback comes from its deceptively low Speed, making it very susceptible to revenge killers. Like many Dragon-types in the tier, Palkia is pressured by faster Dragon-types like Latios, Latias, and Choice Scarf Dialga, as well as some non-Dragon-types like Darkrai and Arceus; however, most of these threats do not want to switch into Palkia. The metagame isn't kind with it either, as it is pressured by hazards and has trouble finding opportunities to switch in against most offensive teams. Its best ally, Choice Scarf Genesect, is also a nightmare for it, as a +1 U-turn is an easy 2HKO on Palkia.

Fairies! Everywhere! Generation VI introduced a massive roadblock to Dragon-types in the form of a whole new type that is naturally immune to it. Moreover, a powerful Fairy-type Pokémon in Xerneas made its debut in XY Ubers as one of the most dangerous sweepers lurking around, enabled by its devastating Geomancy, great Special Attack, and powerful Fairy Aura-boosted STAB Moonblast. With all of this, many could think Dragon-types are no longer a threat in the Ubers metagame. This is a huge error, as the mechanic introduced in Generation VI was beneficial to Dragon-types: Mega Evolution. Powerful threats such as Rayquaza and Salamence were granted a 100 BST boost, at the cost of the item slot in Salamence's case. Despite the indirect and direct nerfs Dragon-types Pokémon received in Generation V and VI, they remained extremely influential, especially in the form of Mega Rayquaza and Mega Salamence.

Rayquaza-Mega
  • HP105
  • ATK180
  • DEF100
  • SPA180
  • SPD100
  • SPE115

Behold! Boasting absolutely amazing stats, an extremely spammable Flying-type STAB in Dragon Ascent, and powerful coverage in V-create, Earthquake, Draco Meteor, and Extreme Speed, Mega Rayquaza is the most powerful Dragon-type that has ever existed in Ubers. Its amazing traits don't stop there, as its signature ability Delta Stream cancels Primordial Sea and Desolate Land while transforming any incoming super effective attack against its Flying typing into a neutral hit. And on top of this, Rayquaza was the only Pokémon able to Mega Evolve without holding a Mega Stone, letting it use any item it wanted. It was so powerful as a Mega Evolution that it made the use of every other Mega Evolution worthless. It was so dominating that Mega Rayquaza was the first Pokémon to be banned from Ubers after 10 days of terror, leading to the creation of Anything Goes. After this ban, regular Rayquaza remained a good wallbreaker; allows it to bypass Desolate Land and makes Primal Groudon actually fear Water-type attacks like Aqua Tail, Waterfall, and Surf, as they will ignore its ability. Plus, Pokémon that resist Flying such as Arceus-Rock, Arceus-Steel, and Klefki are still afraid of switching into Rayquaza thanks to its two powerful coverage moves in V-create and Earthquake allowing Rayquaza to break through them with ease.

Frankly said, Mega Rayquaza has barely any weaknesses; one could argue that fast Fairy-types like Choice Scarf Xerneas and fast Arceus-Fairy could check it, but they both couldn't switch in on a Choice Band Dragon Ascent and lost to Dragon Dance. The same goes for Steel-types, as they can't handle a V-create. Its only real weakness came from its typing, making it weak to Stealth Rock in a metagame centralized around entry hazards, restricting its entries a lot.

Salamence-Mega
  • HP95
  • ATK145
  • DEF130
  • SPA120
  • SPD90
  • SPE120

After the ban of Mega Rayquaza, the eyes all turned to Mega Salamence. It shared a lot of qualities with Rayquaza: very spammable Flying-type attacks with Aerilate, superb physical bulk further boosted by its pre-Mega Evolution ability Intimidate, and a powerful setup move in Dragon Dance. After a boost, Mega Salamence has almost no switch-in, being able to 2HKO almost everything in the metagame bar Skarmory. Its high offensive and defensive traits make it one of the best Arceus checks, being able to duel an unboosted Life Orb Extreme Killer, as a +1 Double-Edge is a guaranteed OHKO after Life Orb recoil, and Arceus is never able to OHKO Mega Salamence with a +1 Extreme Speed, bar a critical hit. Offensive momentum kept aside, it has a valuable role with its Ground immunity, especially on hyper offense teams, which needs crucial momentum against Primal Groudon. While a burn ruins any other moves, a status-boosted Facade is stronger than Double-Edge, meaning Mega Salamence comes in handy as a status absorber. Mega Salamence can also fulfill a role on slower-paced teams thanks to its defensive traits and utility moves like Roost, Defog, and Refresh, which support its team and grant Mega Salamence much more staying power.

Salamence shares a lot of its weakness with Rayquaza. It finds trouble breaking through bulky Arceus formes, which can survive a +1 Double-Edge and OHKO Salamence in return with a super effective Fairy Judgment or Ice Beam. Meanwhile, Geomancy Xerneas is bulky enough to survive an unboosted Double-Edge and set up, while Choice Scarf variants can outrun most Mega Salamence variants, even at +1, and OHKO it with a STAB Moonblast. Finally, the Speed mechanics in Generation VI mean that Salamence will be slower than certain wallbreakers like Primal Kyogre on the turn it Mega Evolves, which limits its potential as a sweeper due to its inability to force threats out. Its crippling weakness to Stealth Rock also restricts its entries a lot, making it unable to check Extreme Killer Arceus properly.

Generation VII introduced a new toy in Z-Crystals, which grant a boost to one attack per battle, at the cost of an item slot. What sounds like a big cost opportunity is actually an extremely centralizing mechanic, boosting their users' viability to sky-high levels. Dragon-types in Ubers found usage in Z-Crystals quickly, with users like Zygarde, Ultra Necrozma, and Rayquaza utilizing a STAB Z-Crystal such as Dragonium Z, Ultranecrozium Z, or Flyinium Z to cast one nuke attack per match and break through their usual checks. Changes to Speed mechanics—also know as dynamic Speed—mean that Mega Evolution's Speed gain is now instantaneous, allowing slow pre-Mega Evolved Pokémon such as Salamence to become actual threat directly.

Zygarde-Complete
  • HP216
  • ATK100
  • DEF121
  • SPA91
  • SPD95
  • SPE85

Zygarde got blessed in Generation 7 with a brand new ability in Power Construct, granting it a gargantuan base 216 HP, making it the bulkiest physical Pokémon ever in the Ubers metagame. This incredible bulk allows it to take on an incredible amount of hits, allowing Zygarde-C to survive a hit and cripple behemoths like Swords Dance Primal Groudon and Swords Dance Necrozma-DM as well as tank super effective hits from weak special attackers such as defensive Arceus-Ground's Ice Beam. Coil acts as a nasty sweeper, being able to break through weakened and statused teams. Zygarde-C can also use its great bulk and access to Dragon Dance to act as a setup sweeper, which is particularly effective combined with a Z-Crystal such as Dragonium Z or Groundium Z.

Zygarde-C is mostly held back by two important factors. First of all, it is held back by how Power Construct activates; it can only activate once Zygarde reached less than 50% of its maximum HP, meaning prior that, Zygarde is not as bulky as it seems, and some strong wallbreakers such as Swords Dance and mixed Primal Groudon, Life Orb and Z-Move Marshadow, and Swords Dance Necrozma-DM can OHKO untransformed Zygarde after some chip damage, thus not activating its ability. Then, Zygarde's typing makes it easily exploitable by most attackers in the tier: Mega Mewtwo X and Y, Marshadow, Xerneas, Primal Groudon and Kyogre, and many Arceus formes are known to pack a super effective coverage to deal with Zygarde, be it Ice Beam, Hidden Power Ice, Moonblast, or Dragon- or Fairy-type Judgment. Its somewhat middling Special Defense doesn't help either, and even if its gargantuan base HP let Zygarde checks many special attackers, it can't take super effective hits that easily. For example, Mega Gengar can trap Zygarde prior to Power Construct and OHKO it with Hidden Power Ice after little chip damage, and Mega Mewtwo X has a high chance to OHKO Zygarde prior Power Construct with Ice Beam after Spikes damage, even when factoring its weakened power due to its Jolly nature. Marshadow is also a prominent Zygarde check, thanks to Spectral Thief stealing all its boosts and its Technician-boosted Hidden Power Ice doing massive damage to Zygarde. Finally, Zygarde-C doesn't have any other way to restore its HP than Rest, leaving it vulnerable while it's sleeping. This allow dangerous sweepers like Geomancy Xerneas and Calm Mind Arceus-Ground, Mega Mewtwo Y, and Primal Kyogre to come in for free, as Zygarde is unable to cripple them with Glare.

Necrozma-Ultra
  • HP97
  • ATK167
  • DEF97
  • SPA167
  • SPD97
  • SPE129

With its Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings formes' introduction in USUM also came Ultra Necrozma. Its forme is unique, as it can only transform into it while holding its signature Z-Crystal Ultranecrozium Z. Boasting incredible offenses and Speed and a great ability in Neuroforce that boosts its super effective moves, Ultra Necrozma is a top threat in Generation 7. Its sufficient bulk lets it survive powerful hits such as a Life Orb Technician-boosted Shadow Sneak from Marshadow. What also makes Ultra Necrozma so good is the fact that it enters the field as Necrozma-DM, letting it lure in slower threats like Primal Groudon, Marshadow, and Ho-Oh and easily tear them apart thanks to its great coverage in Stone Edge and Earthquake. It can also function as a lure to many other threats with its adaptable moveset, being able to use either a physical Swords Dance set or a special Calm Mind set. Light That Burns The Sky is also a literal nuke that can easily topple even mighty walls like Zygarde-C after little chip damage. While these traits make it a good choice, what really sets Ultra Necrozma apart is how unpredictable it is: Necrozma-DM is a premier choice in almost every team, in which it can run a plethora of sets, from bulky defensive sets to setup sweeper sets. Ultra Necrozma comes in handy in this range of set, as none of the checks usually run to cover its base sets—being Zygarde-C, Primal Groudon, and Primal Kyogre mostly—can check efficiently all Ultra Necrozma's sets, granting it basically a free turn when it is revealed. Specially offensive Ultra Necrozma in particular can flip almost every matchup on its head; in particular, it can survive a Dread Plate-boosted Judgment from Arceus-Dark and 2HKO it in return after a Calm Mind boost with Dragon Pulse.

What is stopping Ultra Necrozma is its poor defensive typing; it can't switch in that easily on many common threats like Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, and Arceus-Ground. It also counts a lot on the surprise factor to make progress, meaning once it is revealed the opposing player will be able to response more easily to it. In particular, Mega Gengar can trap, outrun, and OHKO Ultra Necrozma with its STAB Shadow Ball after very little chip damage, and Choice Scarf Yveltal can outrun Ultra Necrozma and OHKO it with Foul Play, even if Ultra Necrozma is unboosted. On more offensive teams, Arceus is bulky enough to survive an unboosted Light That Burns The Sky, and its support variants can cripple Ultra Necrozma with Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp or deal enough damage with Judgment or Ice Beam to let it in range for a revenge killer like Marshadow. Choice Scarf Xerneas also becomes very threatening once Necrozma-DM has turned into Ultra Necrozma, as Xerneas can easily outrun and revenge kill it with its STAB Aura-boosted Moonblast, and bulky variants can easily survive an unboosted Light That Burns The Sky.

Generation 8 was a unique generation: it removed a lot, including certain Pokémon, Mega Pokémon, and Z-Moves, and introduced many controversial gimmicks, such as overwhelming Pokémon such as Zacian and the elephant in the room in the generational mechanic, Dynamax. Both were banned, leading to a somewhat weird state for the metagame, where for the first time since BW2, there was no major mechanic to play around with. Nonetheless, this generation was once again a successful one for Dragon-types, with many successful Pokémon like Eternatus, Zygarde-C, and Zekrom sharing this same typing.

Eternatus
  • HP140
  • ATK85
  • DEF95
  • SPA145
  • SPD95
  • SPE130

The newcomer made a sensational entrance in Ubers. Eternatus has virtually everything it can dream of: a great defensive typing combined with a reliable recovery move in Recover and an appropriate ability in Pressure, allowing it to check many powerful threats in the tier such as Yveltal, Kyogre, Ho-Oh, Marshadow, and Xerneas. Its exceptional and well-distributed base stats make Eternatus extremely customizable; this, combined with its great movepool, with powerful moves like Dynamax Cannon, Meteor Beam, and Flamethrower, lets it threaten the majority of the metagame. Its high Special Attack, incredible Speed, and access to great coverages also makes it an offensive force to be reckoned with, be it as a Meteor Beam + Power Herb user, which can not only remove Ho-Oh in a single hit but also pressure immensely Necrozma-DM, or with a set consisting of Life Orb + 3 Attacks that can put instantly a lot of pressure on many staples like Yveltal, opposing Eternatus, Necrozma-DM, Groudon, and Marshadow. Last but not least, Cosmic Power Eternatus, known as "Demon Eternatus", is one of the nastiest setup sweeper in the game, using its excellent bulk, Pressure, and Recover to set up comfortably with Cosmic Power to increase its bulk and Meteor Beam as a way to boost its already good Special Attack, allowing Eternatus to act as a reliable cleaner. Eternatus is influential to the point where it stands as one of the member of the almost mandatory YEN core, which stands for Yveltal, Eternatus, Necrozma-DM.

Eternatus is far from unbreakable, and there are several ways to beat it. The most straightforward one is to paralyze it; Eternatus counts on its great Speed to check many threats in the metagame, like Yveltal, Marshadow, and Kyogre. It is also somewhat of a victim of its own success: due to how many threats it has to handle alone, it can be overwhelmed by several Pokémon put together that it could individually check. One famous example of this is Ho-Oh + Yveltal: not only can Ho-Oh paralyze Eternatus with Thunder Wave, but the combined pressure of Ho-Oh's Brave Bird and reliable recovery in Regenerator and Yveltal's powerful stallbreaking tools in Knock Off, Taunt, and Roost means that this combination is usually too much for Eternatus alone, forcing it to switch out. Having to absorb these assaults and being forced to use Recover also leaves room for Calyrex-S to switch in for free, which is one of the scariest wallbreakers in the tier.

Zekrom
  • HP100
  • ATK150
  • DEF120
  • SPA120
  • SPD100
  • SPE90

Zekrom always was left in the shadow of many wallbreakers prior the 8th Generation. Sword and Shield made Zekrom more powerful than it has ever been by granting something it has always wished it had before: reliable ways to increase its Speed to keep up with the fast metagame, in the form of Dragon Dance and Scale Shot. These two moves made Zekrom one of the most powerful wallbreakers of the tier. Its access to other extremely powerful STAB attacks like Bolt Strike, Outrage, and Draco Meteor makes it extremely threatening for slower teams, which are usually incapable of answering its strong attacks.

As a wallbreaker, Zekrom is limited by its movepool; while in theory it can break almost any given core in the metagame, Zekrom in practice suffers from 4MSS and has to choose between many moves to deal with certain walls in the metagame, like Ferrothorn, Lunala, and Buzzwole. For example, Ferrothorn is usually a huge roadblock for Zekrom because Zekrom is unable to make any progress against it without sacrificing a lot of HP or its item if it doesn't have a sun-boosted Weather Ball, which is a niche option as is. On the other hand, Zekrom has trouble breaking through Lunala without Scale Shot or some help in the form of status to break its Shadow Shield; Lunala has to be very cautious while switching on Zekrom's Bolt Strike, however, as being paralyzed is like a death sentence for Lunala, as it not only no longer outruns Zekrom but also is put in KO range of Bolt Strike. Finally, Buzzwole can find a niche as a wall against some non-mixed sets of Zekrom thanks to its high bulk and access to Bulk Up and Roost, but it will lose on the spot against mixed offensive ones and has big trouble dealing with Life Orb Dragon Dance sets. Finally, Zekrom is limited by the low PP of Bolt Strike, meaning some cores like Necrozma-DM + Eternatus can play around it to drain its PP, especially if Zekrom does not run a Speed-boosting move. Also, prior to a Speed boost from Dragon Dance or Scale Shot, it is slower than many powerful threats like Eternatus and Calyrex-S, which can OHKO it with their respective STAB attacks in Dynamax Cannon and Astral Barrage.

Goodbye Dynamax, hello Terastallization! The 9th generation changed one fundamental aspect of the game, allowing all Pokémon available in this generation to take virtually any type. To make it simple, this article will stick to actual Dragon-types, and the two cover legendaries are simply among the most powerful threats Ubers has ever seen!

Koraidon
  • HP100
  • ATK135
  • DEF115
  • SPA85
  • SPD100
  • SPE135

Koraidon has been a mainstay in Ubers since its release, thanks to its extremely good ability in Orichalcum Pulse, a boosted variant of Drought that also increases Koraidon's Attack stat by 33% while sun is active, granting it an effective base 195 Attack. Combined with a scouting move in U-turn, powerful options like Close Combat, Dragon Claw, and Flare Blitz, and its blistering Speed, Koraidon is an extremely threatening and an excellent Choice item user. For example, it finds no trouble 2HKOing defensive Groudon and Kyogre, and a sun-boosted Tera Fire Choice Band Flare Blitz can 2HKO Skeledirge, Toxapex, and Giratina-O, despite their natural resistance to Fire-type attacks and great bulk. Meanwhile, Choice Scarf Koraidon finds utility on almost every kind of team, due to its ability to pack in a single set revenge killing options, sweeping potential, and pivoting utility while keeping its wallbreaking potential thanks to its great stats and ability. It also finds good synergy with a lot of threats in the tier, like Arceus-Ground, Zacian-C, and Groudon, which can overwhelm their shared checks like opposing defensive Groudon and Skeledirge.

Miraidon
  • HP100
  • ATK85
  • DEF100
  • SPA135
  • SPD115
  • SPE135

Miraidon has been a dominating force in Ubers since its release, and HOME doesn't seem to have impacted its potential. Hadron Engine is an incredible ability, which not only sets up Electric Terrain—thus boosting Miraidon's Electric-type STAB attacks— but also boosts its already good Special Attack to sky-high levels. These traits make Miraidon an absolute terror, capable of OHKOing almost all targets that don't resist or are immune to Electric-type attacks. Electro Drift is also an extremely good signature STAB move with perfect accuracy and great Base Power. One can argue that Miraidon struggles against Ground-types, but its amazing secondary STAB option in Draco Meteor means that even extremely solid Ground-types like Ting-Lu cannot switch in safely. And to add insult to the injury, Miraidon can even fit Overheat, which will threaten to OHKO a resistant target like specially defensive Iron Treads. Its potential as an offensive threat is so important that numerous popular choices like Groudon, Kyogre, and even certain Miraidon variants run Tera Fairy as counterplay to lure Miraidon in and punish it for locking into Draco Meteor. Before Pokémon HOME, Miraidon was more known for its setup variants, in particular due to them being able to break through specially defensive Ting-Lu, which is considered to be its best counter. This Pokémon is also famously known in Ubers for its ability to check Miraidon semi-consistently; however, though it can bring support with its great bulk and access to utility moves like Spikes, Whirlwind, Ruination, and Stealth Rock, Ting-Lu is fairly exploitable by a lot of staples such as Koraidon, Kyogre, Groudon, and Zacian-C, giving Miraidon to have more space once it has been chipped.

One special mention should be given to Tera. With this new generational mechanic, each and every Pokémon can in theory turns into any single type at will. Now, that is in theory. Although it is a popular choice, Tera Dragon in Ubers is mostly popular on Pokémon that are already Dragon-types, like Miraidon, Koraidon, and Eternatus. It is used here mainly for the extra firepower added to their already powerful STAB moves. For example, a Tera Dragon Choice Specs Hadron Engine-boosted Draco Meteor from Miraidon can easily 2HKO specially defensive Ting-Lu, Ubers's most reliable specially defensive wall and answer to Miraidon. Meanwhile, even Choice Scarf Koraidon can 2HKO Skeledirge and Kyogre with a Tera Dragon-boosted Outrage. Due to this, Tera Fairy is a popular option on many common walls in the tier, like Skeledirge, some Arceus formes like -Ground and -Water, and Eternatus.

Last Thoughts

Dragon-types have been, are, and will more than likely continue to be dominant in Ubers. No matter the generation, their extremely polarizing force makes them top threats that you always have to account when building and playing, despite the nerfs they took in the form of the Fairy-type and the numerous new forces that were released. If you want to see Dragon-types in action in all generations of Ubers, check the replays of the Ubers Premier League XI!

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