[OVERVIEW]
Dragonite is a valuable asset to teams because its ability Multiscale allows it to withstand hits from some of the most powerful Pokemon in the metagame, such as Porygon-Z, Mega Charizard Y, and Magnezone. With more than competent offensive stats, physically and specially, and a loaded arsenal of powerful STAB and coverage attacks, Dragonite is capable of punching through just about any offensive Pokemon, bulky and otherwise, such as Meloetta, Zygarde, and Magnezone. Extreme Speed also gives Dragonite an opportunity to play around certain matchups that other setup users and tanky attackers simply do not have, namely the ability to pick up KOs against weakened Pokemon, such as Kommo-o and Garchomp after using its Z-Move and Magnezone after Earthquake. However, despite having a viable means of setting up with Dragon Dance, Dragonite still ends up struggling against Pokemon with the raw bulk, type resistances, or setup to withstand its attacks, namely against Mega Gyarados, Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Mega Slowbro. Additionally, there are Pokemon that can play around Multiscale while still advancing their win condition, such as Will-O-Wisp Mega Charizard X and Mega Gardevoir and Fake Out + Ice Punch Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham.
[SET]
name: Outrageously Cheesy (Physical Dragonium Z)
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Dragon Dance
item: Dragonium Z
ability: Multiscale
nature: Adamant
evs: 216 HP / 152 Atk / 16 Def / 124 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Outrage is Dragonite's main STAB attack and doubles as the base move for a powerful Devastating Drake, which brushes aside most foes it hits neutrally that lack absurd physical bulk or hindering status moves, such as Mega Charizard Y, Porygon-Z, and Meloetta. Earthquake is an essential coverage move for hitting the Steel-types that resist both of Dragonite's STAB attacks, like Magnezone, Heatran, and Aegislash. Extreme Speed is a useful move for picking off weakened targets after they've been softened up by Dragonite's other attacks. Some relevant examples that this move helps against include Kommo-o, Magnezone, Donphan, and Zeraora. Dragon Dance is Dragonite's setup move and also enables the use of Z-Dragon Dance, which restores the user's lowered stats to +0 before setting up, if ran with Dragonium Z. Matchups you'll find yourself needing Dragon Dance for include Normalium Z Porygon-Z, Meloetta, Zygarde, and Mega Venusaur. Alternatively, a similar set with Fly over one of Dragonite's moves and Flyinium Z over Dragonium Z can be run, sacrificing matchups against Pokemon that Devastating Drake would win against, like opposing Dragonite, Zygarde, and Bulk Up Zeraora, in favor of winning matchups against Pokemon like slow Tapu Lele, Genesect, Primarina, and Durant.
Set Details
========
216 HP EVs make Dragonite survive a Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Naganadel and Latios as well as a Devastating Drake from Garchomp with the extra 16 Defense. The 124 Speed EVs let Dragonite outspeed Mega Pinsir after a Dragon Dance, while 152 Attack EVs with an Adamant nature enable Dragonite to OHKO Z-Conversion-boosted Porygon-Z with Devastating Drake after boosting with Dragon Dance, KO Landorus-T with Outrage as reliably as possible after a Z-Dragon Dance, and 3HKO Mega Metagross as reliably as possible with two Earthquakes and an Extreme Speed. Multiscale is an essential ability that allows Dragonite to withstand an attack, at full health, from most Pokemon beyond Mold Breaker users or Pokemon with extremely powerful super effective STAB attacks. The set with Flyinium Z only has one slight difference from the Dragonium Z set in that it has 148 Speed versus Dragonium Z's 124, with 24 EVs being taken out of Attack, sacrificing slight reliability of 3HKOing Mega Metagross. The extra Speed is necessary in order to make Dragonite outspeed Kartana after a single Dragon Dance so it can go for the OHKO with Supersonic Skystrike on the next turn.
Usage Tips
========
Dragonite is best used against Pokemon that lack or don't use reliable recovery and some way to boost their Defense or lower the foe's Attack, such as Mega Charizard Y, Aegislash, Meloetta, and Magnezone. Even though Dragonite doesn't have the greatest defensive typing, Multiscale makes it capable of withstanding hits from even most super effective hits, such as Mega Charizard X's Outrage, Porygon-Z's Ice Beam, Kommo-o's Clangorous Soulblaze, and Crustle's Continental Crush. You need to pick your uses of Dragon Dance wisely; ideally, it's used in matchups against Pokemon that have higher base Speed than Dragonite and often run bulk, like Mew, Meloetta, Zygarde, and Mega Pinsir. In most matchups where the opposing Pokemon can't boost its Defense or lower Dragonite's Attack, you're best suited attacking right away, rather than setting up with Dragon Dance. These matchups include non-Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Aegislash, Donphan, and Heatran. The Kommo-o matchup is a bit of an exception to the tips provided above, as Dragonite's Z-Moves OHKO Kommo-o even at +1 Defense or at least drop it low enough for Extreme Speed to pick up the KO. Against Mega Charizard X, Dragon Dance is usually the ideal play, as they will most often opt to use Will-O-Wisp to hinder Dragonite's Attack and break Multiscale to KO it on the next turn with Outrage. Using Dragon Dance will make Dragonite faster than them on the second turn, allowing it to either OHKO them with Devastating Drake if they try to Mega Evolve or 2HKO them with Devastating Drake followed by Extreme Speed if they don't. It becomes a bit prediction based once your opponent knows the tech, though; if you predict them to use a move other than Will-O-Wisp, you should Devastating Drake right away, as an Outrage from Mega Charizard X after a Dragon Dance or Flame Charge will likely KO Dragonite. Z-Dragon Dance is only really useful for getting past certain Taunt users, namely Mew and Krookodile, but it also helps for the Landorus-T matchup, as Z-Dragon Dance undoes Intimidate's Attack drop and boosts Dragonite to +1, in addition to undoing a possible Speed reduction from Rock Tomb. Against Donphan, Golem, and Sawk, you need to be wary of the potential presence of Counter in their moveset. The ideal play against these Pokemon is to use Extreme Speed to mitigate any potential damage taken from Counter, so that you can then pick up the KO with Dragonite's Z-Move on the next turn. Against Donphan and Golem, keep in mind that Extreme Speed has a higher priority than their Ice Shard and Sucker Punch.
Team Options
========
Steel-type Pokemon like Magnezone, Genesect, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela all help to cover Dragonite's weakness to common Fairy-types like Magearna, Tapu Lele, Mega Gardevoir, Togekiss, and Clefable while being aided by Dragonite's proficiency against the Fighting-, Ground-, and Fire-types that would threaten them, like Mega Charizard Y, Zygarde, Landorus-T, Heatran, and Blaziken. Physically defensive Pokemon like Mega Slowbro, Zygarde, Tapu Fini, and Porygon2 aid Dragonite through dealing with various Pokemon that have either the moves, ability, or raw stats to withstand its attacks, like Mega Charizard X, Mega Gyarados, Mega Metagross, Celesteela, and Mega Aggron. In turn, Dragonite helps these Pokemon out by covering their weaknesses to special attackers and stallbreakers like Mew, Magnezone, Kommo-o, Genesect, and Hoopa-U. Meloetta helps Dragonite by handling particular threats to it, like non-Crunch Mega Gyarados, Magearna, Tapu Lele, Choice Specs Greninja, and Mega Slowbro; just be wary that Meloetta needs Calm Mind to handle Gyarados and Slowbro and needs both Calm Mind and Laser focus to handle Magearna. In return, Dragonite aids Meloetta by covering its weaknesses to non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Zygarde, Electrium Z Zeraora, and Volcarona.
[SET]
name: Lord of the FlyZ (Special Flyinium Z)
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Multiscale
nature: Modest
evs: 216 HP / 16 Def / 140 SpA / 136 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hurricane is the main move, being boosted by Flyinium Z to gain perfect accuracy and a considerable boost in power for a single turn. Supersonic Skystrike's main utility is for covering Pokemon that resist or are immune to Dragonite's Dragon-type moves, namely slow Tapu Lele, Mega Altaria, and Primarina. Furthermore, since it's a special attack, Counter users like Donphan, Crustle, and Sawk can no longer deflect their damage right back at Dragonite. Fire Blast is an essential move for damaging Steel-types. The main Pokemon hit with Fire Blast are non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Magnezone, Aegislash, Genesect, and Ferrothorn. Extreme Speed is an essential priority attack for picking up KOs against weakened Pokemon. The main Pokemon you'll want to have it for are Crustle, Sawk, Carracosta, and Kommo-o in case Dragonite's Z-Move doesn't OHKO them. Ice Beam is a coverage move that aids to win certain matchups more reliably, namely against Substitute users like Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Zygarde, though it can also help against opposing Dragonite that lack a Dragon-type Z-Move as well as Mega Altaria.
Set Details
========
The 216 HP EVs make Dragonite survive a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor from Naganadel and Latios. 16 Defense EVs ensure Dragonite survives a potential Dragonium Z-boosted Outrage from Garchomp. 140 Special Attack EVs with a Modest nature let Dragonite reliably 3HKO Mega Metagross with the combination of two Fire Blasts and an Extreme Speed, in addition to 2HKOing non-specially defensive Kommo-o that have been boosted by Clangorous Soulblaze with Supersonic Skystrike followed by Extreme Speed. The 136 Speed EVs let Dragonite outspeed uninvested base 95 Speed Pokemon, namely Tapu Lele and Zygarde, as well as outspeeding specially defensive variants of Kommo-o that would not be 2HKOed by Supersonic Skystrike followed by Extreme Speed.
Usage Tips
========
Special Dragonite is more suited going in against Pokemon that can't or don't usually boost their defenses or heal off any damage, such as Mega Charizard Y, non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Donphan. This Dragonite set does not have to fear the potential damage deflection from Counter users like Donphan, Crustle, and Sawk, so it can just use its Z-Move right away and pick them off with Extreme Speed. Unfortunately, since Dragonite doesn't possess a viable means of boosting its Special Attack, certain matchups are unfavorable, namely against Recover Porygon-Z, Amnesia Mew, and Iapapa Berry Necrozma, as well as losing the potential win against specially defensive Mega Charizard X.
Team Options
========
Meloetta is an asset to Dragonite, covering its weaknesses to Porygon-Z, Magearna, faster Tapu Lele, Choice Specs Greninja, and Mega Slowbro. In return, Dragonite aids Meloetta by covering its weaknesses to non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Zygarde, Genesect, and Crustle. Mega Tyranitar aids Dragonite by taking on specially defensive Mega Charizard X, Dragonium Z Dragonite, Porygon-Z, Meloetta, and Choice Specs Greninja, while Dragonite backs up Tyranitar by taking care of non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Zygarde, Landorus-T, Mega Altaria, and Kommo-o. Physically defensive Zygarde covers Dragonite's weaknesses to Mega Charizard X, Mega Gyarados, Magearna, Ice Punch Mega Metagross, and Metal Sound Aegislash, while Dragonite handles Zygarde's weaknesses to Mega Altaria, Genesect, Kommo-o, Primarina, and Naganadel.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A specially offensive set with Dragonium Z + Draco Meteor can be ran over Flyinium Z + Hurricane, but without a sufficiently viable means of increasing the power of its Z-Move, in addition to the lacking metagame coverage that Dragon-type moves provide, it ends up being outclassed by Flyinium Z. The one upside to it is that Dragonite doesn't have to run Speed anymore, since the extra power from Devastating Drake lets Dragonite 2HKO Kommo-o even after Clangorous Soulblaze, which means you can move those EVs into Special Defense, letting Dragonite reliably withstand an Ice Beam from Choice Specs Greninja. Choice Band is an option that allows Dragonite to reliably beat Magearna with Earthquake, as long as Dragonite outspeeds it and has the bulk investment to withstand a Twinkle Tackle, in addition to giving Outrage nearly Devastating Drake-level power on each hit. It suffers from not having the ability to pick off Pokemon with Extreme Speed due to the Choice lock, though. Groundium Z with Earthquake can be run to bait Pokemon that would otherwise counter Dragonite, like Magearna, Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Mega Tyranitar, and Mega Mawile. Protect can be used on Z-Move sets to block Fake Out from Mega Lopunny, Zeraora, Mega Medicham, and Incineroar in order to maintain Multiscale, though you have to sacrifice an important move for it on physical sets. Fire Punch can be used on physical sets to safely beat Genesect, Kartana, Ferrothorn, and Durant.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Altaria, and Tapu Fini all withstand attacks from Dragonite either naturally or with the help of moves like Reflect, Will-O-Wisp, and Cotton Guard and make quick work of Dragonite with their Fairy-type moves.
**Coverage Attacks**: Certain Pokemon can either safely break Multiscale and KO Dragonite or have the natural bulk or type advantages to withstand its attacks and threaten it with their super effective coverage attacks, namely Outrage Mega Gyarados, Ice Beam Greninja, Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Ice Beam Genesect, and Ice Punch Mega Lopunny.
**Stall**: Stall Pokemon often have sufficient bulk to withstand attacks from Dragonite and can either set up defensively to mitigate its damage or hinder Dragonite with some kind of stat-dropping move and heal off any damage Dragonite does all the while. These Pokemon include Mega Slowbro, Kee Berry Mew, Chansey, and Mega Sableye.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Osra, 239997]]
- Quality checked by: [[Chickenpie2, 305552], [Alakazam, 276708], [Freddy Kyogre, 321529]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Fireflame479, 231476]]
Dragonite is a valuable asset to teams because its ability Multiscale allows it to withstand hits from some of the most powerful Pokemon in the metagame, such as Porygon-Z, Mega Charizard Y, and Magnezone. With more than competent offensive stats, physically and specially, and a loaded arsenal of powerful STAB and coverage attacks, Dragonite is capable of punching through just about any offensive Pokemon, bulky and otherwise, such as Meloetta, Zygarde, and Magnezone. Extreme Speed also gives Dragonite an opportunity to play around certain matchups that other setup users and tanky attackers simply do not have, namely the ability to pick up KOs against weakened Pokemon, such as Kommo-o and Garchomp after using its Z-Move and Magnezone after Earthquake. However, despite having a viable means of setting up with Dragon Dance, Dragonite still ends up struggling against Pokemon with the raw bulk, type resistances, or setup to withstand its attacks, namely against Mega Gyarados, Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Mega Slowbro. Additionally, there are Pokemon that can play around Multiscale while still advancing their win condition, such as Will-O-Wisp Mega Charizard X and Mega Gardevoir and Fake Out + Ice Punch Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham.
[SET]
name: Outrageously Cheesy (Physical Dragonium Z)
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Dragon Dance
item: Dragonium Z
ability: Multiscale
nature: Adamant
evs: 216 HP / 152 Atk / 16 Def / 124 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Outrage is Dragonite's main STAB attack and doubles as the base move for a powerful Devastating Drake, which brushes aside most foes it hits neutrally that lack absurd physical bulk or hindering status moves, such as Mega Charizard Y, Porygon-Z, and Meloetta. Earthquake is an essential coverage move for hitting the Steel-types that resist both of Dragonite's STAB attacks, like Magnezone, Heatran, and Aegislash. Extreme Speed is a useful move for picking off weakened targets after they've been softened up by Dragonite's other attacks. Some relevant examples that this move helps against include Kommo-o, Magnezone, Donphan, and Zeraora. Dragon Dance is Dragonite's setup move and also enables the use of Z-Dragon Dance, which restores the user's lowered stats to +0 before setting up, if ran with Dragonium Z. Matchups you'll find yourself needing Dragon Dance for include Normalium Z Porygon-Z, Meloetta, Zygarde, and Mega Venusaur. Alternatively, a similar set with Fly over one of Dragonite's moves and Flyinium Z over Dragonium Z can be run, sacrificing matchups against Pokemon that Devastating Drake would win against, like opposing Dragonite, Zygarde, and Bulk Up Zeraora, in favor of winning matchups against Pokemon like slow Tapu Lele, Genesect, Primarina, and Durant.
Set Details
========
216 HP EVs make Dragonite survive a Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Naganadel and Latios as well as a Devastating Drake from Garchomp with the extra 16 Defense. The 124 Speed EVs let Dragonite outspeed Mega Pinsir after a Dragon Dance, while 152 Attack EVs with an Adamant nature enable Dragonite to OHKO Z-Conversion-boosted Porygon-Z with Devastating Drake after boosting with Dragon Dance, KO Landorus-T with Outrage as reliably as possible after a Z-Dragon Dance, and 3HKO Mega Metagross as reliably as possible with two Earthquakes and an Extreme Speed. Multiscale is an essential ability that allows Dragonite to withstand an attack, at full health, from most Pokemon beyond Mold Breaker users or Pokemon with extremely powerful super effective STAB attacks. The set with Flyinium Z only has one slight difference from the Dragonium Z set in that it has 148 Speed versus Dragonium Z's 124, with 24 EVs being taken out of Attack, sacrificing slight reliability of 3HKOing Mega Metagross. The extra Speed is necessary in order to make Dragonite outspeed Kartana after a single Dragon Dance so it can go for the OHKO with Supersonic Skystrike on the next turn.
Usage Tips
========
Dragonite is best used against Pokemon that lack or don't use reliable recovery and some way to boost their Defense or lower the foe's Attack, such as Mega Charizard Y, Aegislash, Meloetta, and Magnezone. Even though Dragonite doesn't have the greatest defensive typing, Multiscale makes it capable of withstanding hits from even most super effective hits, such as Mega Charizard X's Outrage, Porygon-Z's Ice Beam, Kommo-o's Clangorous Soulblaze, and Crustle's Continental Crush. You need to pick your uses of Dragon Dance wisely; ideally, it's used in matchups against Pokemon that have higher base Speed than Dragonite and often run bulk, like Mew, Meloetta, Zygarde, and Mega Pinsir. In most matchups where the opposing Pokemon can't boost its Defense or lower Dragonite's Attack, you're best suited attacking right away, rather than setting up with Dragon Dance. These matchups include non-Z-Conversion Porygon-Z, Aegislash, Donphan, and Heatran. The Kommo-o matchup is a bit of an exception to the tips provided above, as Dragonite's Z-Moves OHKO Kommo-o even at +1 Defense or at least drop it low enough for Extreme Speed to pick up the KO. Against Mega Charizard X, Dragon Dance is usually the ideal play, as they will most often opt to use Will-O-Wisp to hinder Dragonite's Attack and break Multiscale to KO it on the next turn with Outrage. Using Dragon Dance will make Dragonite faster than them on the second turn, allowing it to either OHKO them with Devastating Drake if they try to Mega Evolve or 2HKO them with Devastating Drake followed by Extreme Speed if they don't. It becomes a bit prediction based once your opponent knows the tech, though; if you predict them to use a move other than Will-O-Wisp, you should Devastating Drake right away, as an Outrage from Mega Charizard X after a Dragon Dance or Flame Charge will likely KO Dragonite. Z-Dragon Dance is only really useful for getting past certain Taunt users, namely Mew and Krookodile, but it also helps for the Landorus-T matchup, as Z-Dragon Dance undoes Intimidate's Attack drop and boosts Dragonite to +1, in addition to undoing a possible Speed reduction from Rock Tomb. Against Donphan, Golem, and Sawk, you need to be wary of the potential presence of Counter in their moveset. The ideal play against these Pokemon is to use Extreme Speed to mitigate any potential damage taken from Counter, so that you can then pick up the KO with Dragonite's Z-Move on the next turn. Against Donphan and Golem, keep in mind that Extreme Speed has a higher priority than their Ice Shard and Sucker Punch.
Team Options
========
Steel-type Pokemon like Magnezone, Genesect, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela all help to cover Dragonite's weakness to common Fairy-types like Magearna, Tapu Lele, Mega Gardevoir, Togekiss, and Clefable while being aided by Dragonite's proficiency against the Fighting-, Ground-, and Fire-types that would threaten them, like Mega Charizard Y, Zygarde, Landorus-T, Heatran, and Blaziken. Physically defensive Pokemon like Mega Slowbro, Zygarde, Tapu Fini, and Porygon2 aid Dragonite through dealing with various Pokemon that have either the moves, ability, or raw stats to withstand its attacks, like Mega Charizard X, Mega Gyarados, Mega Metagross, Celesteela, and Mega Aggron. In turn, Dragonite helps these Pokemon out by covering their weaknesses to special attackers and stallbreakers like Mew, Magnezone, Kommo-o, Genesect, and Hoopa-U. Meloetta helps Dragonite by handling particular threats to it, like non-Crunch Mega Gyarados, Magearna, Tapu Lele, Choice Specs Greninja, and Mega Slowbro; just be wary that Meloetta needs Calm Mind to handle Gyarados and Slowbro and needs both Calm Mind and Laser focus to handle Magearna. In return, Dragonite aids Meloetta by covering its weaknesses to non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Zygarde, Electrium Z Zeraora, and Volcarona.
[SET]
name: Lord of the FlyZ (Special Flyinium Z)
move 1: Hurricane
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Extreme Speed
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Flyinium Z
ability: Multiscale
nature: Modest
evs: 216 HP / 16 Def / 140 SpA / 136 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hurricane is the main move, being boosted by Flyinium Z to gain perfect accuracy and a considerable boost in power for a single turn. Supersonic Skystrike's main utility is for covering Pokemon that resist or are immune to Dragonite's Dragon-type moves, namely slow Tapu Lele, Mega Altaria, and Primarina. Furthermore, since it's a special attack, Counter users like Donphan, Crustle, and Sawk can no longer deflect their damage right back at Dragonite. Fire Blast is an essential move for damaging Steel-types. The main Pokemon hit with Fire Blast are non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Magnezone, Aegislash, Genesect, and Ferrothorn. Extreme Speed is an essential priority attack for picking up KOs against weakened Pokemon. The main Pokemon you'll want to have it for are Crustle, Sawk, Carracosta, and Kommo-o in case Dragonite's Z-Move doesn't OHKO them. Ice Beam is a coverage move that aids to win certain matchups more reliably, namely against Substitute users like Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Zygarde, though it can also help against opposing Dragonite that lack a Dragon-type Z-Move as well as Mega Altaria.
Set Details
========
The 216 HP EVs make Dragonite survive a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor from Naganadel and Latios. 16 Defense EVs ensure Dragonite survives a potential Dragonium Z-boosted Outrage from Garchomp. 140 Special Attack EVs with a Modest nature let Dragonite reliably 3HKO Mega Metagross with the combination of two Fire Blasts and an Extreme Speed, in addition to 2HKOing non-specially defensive Kommo-o that have been boosted by Clangorous Soulblaze with Supersonic Skystrike followed by Extreme Speed. The 136 Speed EVs let Dragonite outspeed uninvested base 95 Speed Pokemon, namely Tapu Lele and Zygarde, as well as outspeeding specially defensive variants of Kommo-o that would not be 2HKOed by Supersonic Skystrike followed by Extreme Speed.
Usage Tips
========
Special Dragonite is more suited going in against Pokemon that can't or don't usually boost their defenses or heal off any damage, such as Mega Charizard Y, non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Zygarde, Landorus-T, and Donphan. This Dragonite set does not have to fear the potential damage deflection from Counter users like Donphan, Crustle, and Sawk, so it can just use its Z-Move right away and pick them off with Extreme Speed. Unfortunately, since Dragonite doesn't possess a viable means of boosting its Special Attack, certain matchups are unfavorable, namely against Recover Porygon-Z, Amnesia Mew, and Iapapa Berry Necrozma, as well as losing the potential win against specially defensive Mega Charizard X.
Team Options
========
Meloetta is an asset to Dragonite, covering its weaknesses to Porygon-Z, Magearna, faster Tapu Lele, Choice Specs Greninja, and Mega Slowbro. In return, Dragonite aids Meloetta by covering its weaknesses to non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Zygarde, Genesect, and Crustle. Mega Tyranitar aids Dragonite by taking on specially defensive Mega Charizard X, Dragonium Z Dragonite, Porygon-Z, Meloetta, and Choice Specs Greninja, while Dragonite backs up Tyranitar by taking care of non-Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Zygarde, Landorus-T, Mega Altaria, and Kommo-o. Physically defensive Zygarde covers Dragonite's weaknesses to Mega Charizard X, Mega Gyarados, Magearna, Ice Punch Mega Metagross, and Metal Sound Aegislash, while Dragonite handles Zygarde's weaknesses to Mega Altaria, Genesect, Kommo-o, Primarina, and Naganadel.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A specially offensive set with Dragonium Z + Draco Meteor can be ran over Flyinium Z + Hurricane, but without a sufficiently viable means of increasing the power of its Z-Move, in addition to the lacking metagame coverage that Dragon-type moves provide, it ends up being outclassed by Flyinium Z. The one upside to it is that Dragonite doesn't have to run Speed anymore, since the extra power from Devastating Drake lets Dragonite 2HKO Kommo-o even after Clangorous Soulblaze, which means you can move those EVs into Special Defense, letting Dragonite reliably withstand an Ice Beam from Choice Specs Greninja. Choice Band is an option that allows Dragonite to reliably beat Magearna with Earthquake, as long as Dragonite outspeeds it and has the bulk investment to withstand a Twinkle Tackle, in addition to giving Outrage nearly Devastating Drake-level power on each hit. It suffers from not having the ability to pick off Pokemon with Extreme Speed due to the Choice lock, though. Groundium Z with Earthquake can be run to bait Pokemon that would otherwise counter Dragonite, like Magearna, Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Mega Tyranitar, and Mega Mawile. Protect can be used on Z-Move sets to block Fake Out from Mega Lopunny, Zeraora, Mega Medicham, and Incineroar in order to maintain Multiscale, though you have to sacrifice an important move for it on physical sets. Fire Punch can be used on physical sets to safely beat Genesect, Kartana, Ferrothorn, and Durant.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Altaria, and Tapu Fini all withstand attacks from Dragonite either naturally or with the help of moves like Reflect, Will-O-Wisp, and Cotton Guard and make quick work of Dragonite with their Fairy-type moves.
**Coverage Attacks**: Certain Pokemon can either safely break Multiscale and KO Dragonite or have the natural bulk or type advantages to withstand its attacks and threaten it with their super effective coverage attacks, namely Outrage Mega Gyarados, Ice Beam Greninja, Ice Punch Mega Metagross, Ice Beam Genesect, and Ice Punch Mega Lopunny.
**Stall**: Stall Pokemon often have sufficient bulk to withstand attacks from Dragonite and can either set up defensively to mitigate its damage or hinder Dragonite with some kind of stat-dropping move and heal off any damage Dragonite does all the while. These Pokemon include Mega Slowbro, Kee Berry Mew, Chansey, and Mega Sableye.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Osra, 239997]]
- Quality checked by: [[Chickenpie2, 305552], [Alakazam, 276708], [Freddy Kyogre, 321529]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Fireflame479, 231476]]
Last edited by a moderator:
