Pokémon Salamence

[majority]

Dragon/Flying

Base Stats - 95 HP / 135 Atk / 80 Def / 110 SpA / 80 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie

all moves

Level Up Moves:

Lv.	Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.
1	Bite	DARK		60	100
1	Dragon Breath	DRAGON		60	100
1	Dragon Tail	DRAGON		60	90
1	Ember	FIRE		40	100
1	Fly	FLYING		90	95
1	Leer	NORMAL		—	100
1	Protect	NORMAL		—	—
15	Headbutt	NORMAL		70	100
20	Scary Face	NORMAL		—	100
25	Crunch	DARK		80	100
33	Dragon Claw	DRAGON		80	100
39	Zen Headbutt	PSYCHIC		80	90
46	Focus Energy	NORMAL		—	—
55	Flamethrower	FIRE		90	100
64	Outrage	DRAGON		120	100
73	Double-Edge	NORMAL		120	100

TM Moves:

TM	Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.
06	Fly	FLYING		90	95
08	Hyper Beam	NORMAL		150	90
09	Giga Impact	NORMAL		150	90
21	Rest	PSYCHIC		—	—
22	Rock Slide	ROCK		75	90
24	Snore	NORMAL		50	100
25	Protect	NORMAL		—	—
26	Scary Face	NORMAL		—	100
30	Steel Wing	STEEL		70	90
31	Attract	NORMAL		—	100
33	Rain Dance	WATER		—	—
34	Sunny Day	FIRE		—	—
39	Facade	NORMAL		70	100
40	Swift	NORMAL		60	∞
43	Brick Break	FIGHTING		75	100
48	Rock Tomb	ROCK		60	95
65	Shadow Claw	GHOST		70	100
66	Thunder Fang	ELECTRIC		65	95
68	Fire Fang	FIRE		65	95
76	Round	NORMAL		60	100
81	Bulldoze	GROUND		60	100
95	Air Slash	FLYING		75	95
97	Brutal Swing	DARK		60	100
99	Breaking Swipe	DRAGON		60	100

TR Moves:

TR	Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.
01	Body Slam	NORMAL		85	100
02	Flamethrower	FIRE		90	100
03	Hydro Pump	WATER		110	80
10	Earthquake	GROUND		100	100
13	Focus Energy	NORMAL		—	—
15	Fire Blast	FIRE		110	85
20	Substitute	NORMAL		—	—
24	Outrage	DRAGON		120	100
26	Endure	NORMAL		—	—
27	Sleep Talk	NORMAL		—	—
31	Iron Tail	STEEL		100	75
32	Crunch	DARK		80	100
36	Heat Wave	FIRE		95	90
42	Hyper Voice	NORMAL		90	100
46	Iron Defense	STEEL		—	—
47	Dragon Claw	DRAGON		80	100
51	Dragon Dance	DRAGON		—	—
62	Dragon Pulse	DRAGON		85	100
69	Zen Headbutt	PSYCHIC		80	90
75	Stone Edge	ROCK		100	80
89	Hurricane	FLYING		110	70

Pros:
- High 125 Attack
- Decent 100 Spe
- Packs some pretty decent Coverage moves for things that are resistant or immune
- Has access to DD which it uses to set up and sweep
- Has access to Moxie, which is a great ability for it.

Cons:
- Due to it's Dragon and Flying type, it's 4x vulnerable to mons like Mamoswine, and Weavile, with their Ice Shard
- It is very vulnerable without atleast 2 DDs
- It can't kill alot of certain mons without any chips.

Potential Sets:
Salamence @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake

Hits alot of things hard with 2 DD or 1. Dragon Claw, instead of Outrage so you dont lock into it. Earthquake for Steels that are immune to it's Dragon Claw, and Dual Wingbeat as coverage for them. Jolly so more speed when it sets up.

Salamence @ Choice Band
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Dragon Claw
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake

Again, will hit alot of things hard, with a good Flying STAB, and for those, who just doesnt want to setup, Adamant, to reach that satisfying 400+ Atk
mark which puts this thing to a comparison between Dragonite and it.

Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Wish
- Body Slam
- Protect

A defensive set, for those if you want a Defensive version of this. Good, because it has access to Body Slam, Defog for if you want hazard control, if not, then you can use Wish, as it also has access to that. Is supposed to act like a good Wish staller, a paralysis spreader, also can take out hazards with ease, with access to Intimidate,
and decent bulk, attacks almost doesnt do a thing to it if unboosted.

Have fun with the sets.

 

[astroshagger]

Slept on mon. Has crazy snowballing potential. Maybe a rain set now that it has hurricane?

Also salamences base atk stat is 135, not 125

 

[Magcargo]

Once the metagame settles down, I think Salamence could end up being a potent special attacker this gen thanks to Hurricane. A 110 / 100 spread isn't bad for a special attacker and access to coverage moves like Earthquake, Flamethrower, and Draco Meteor let it get past a lot of Hurricane resist like Corviknight and Tapu Koko. Of course, it will face a lot of competition from both Tornadus forms due to their better speed tiers and Nasty Plot.

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Earthquake / Draco Meteor / Hydro Pump

Spoiler

0- Atk Life Orb Salamence Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 250-296 (88.9 - 105.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 447-530 (103.7 - 122.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 226-266 (57.3 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 269-317 (70 - 82.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Corviknight: 226-268 (56.5 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 181-214 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

 

[Mijzelffan]

I think defensive Salamence is better off running dual wingbeat so it can actually threaten the pokemon it walls like Rillaboom and Blaziken, instead of being a sitting duck in front of them. 30% paralysis chance from body slam isn't exactly common, and even with no attack investment you still do a good chunk to pokemon weak to flying:

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 304-360 (100.9 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Finchinator]

I think defensive Salamence is better off running dual wingbeat so it can actually threaten the pokemon it walls like Rillaboom and Blaziken, instead of being a sitting duck in front of them. 30% paralysis chance from body slam isn't exactly common, and even with no attack investment you still do a good chunk to pokemon weak to flying:

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 304-360 (100.9 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Agree entirely.

It has a lot of defensive options such as Wish, Roost, Defog, etc. and the ability Intimidate is cool for Blaziken, Tapu Bulu, and more. Dual Wingbeat allows you go capitalize on checking them, too!

 

[Magcargo]

I think defensive Salamence is better off running dual wingbeat so it can actually threaten the pokemon it walls like Rillaboom and Blaziken, instead of being a sitting duck in front of them. 30% paralysis chance from body slam isn't exactly common, and even with no attack investment you still do a good chunk to pokemon weak to flying:

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 304-360 (100.9 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Hurricane might be better than Dual Wingbeat. It has the same PP, but Salamence no longer gets chipped by Rocky Helmet damage and it does more damage to Pokemon Salamence can check / counter.

Spoiler

0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu: 390-458 (114.3 - 134.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu: 228-268 (66.8 - 78.5%) -- approx. 2HKO


0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tangrowth: 440-522 (108.9 - 129.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 136-168 (33.6 - 41.5%) -- approx. 3HKO


0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 154-183 (40.3 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 112+ Def Landorus-Therian: 102-120 (26.7 - 31.4%) -- approx. 9.1% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery


0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 84 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 270-318 (89.4 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 84 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 204-240 (67.5 - 79.4%) -- approx. 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery


0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 344-408 (100.8 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom: 244-292 (71.5 - 85.6%) -- approx. 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

 

[Sugarbear]

I've been pleasantly surprised by Salamence so far. I've been running a Dragon Dance set with Dual Wingbeat, Earthquake and Dragon Claw although you could swap Dragon Claw out for Rock Slide to smash Rotom-H, Zapdos and KO Volcarona without having to risk a Flame Body burn. Admittedly, it doesn't do much to stall teams, so bring some stallbreakers like Victini and Kartana.

 

[Bean Man]

Ngl but I think Lele might be mandatory for mence. Because otherwise it's going to get wrecked by Shard.

 

[Jordy]

Ngl but I think Lele might be mandatory for mence. Because otherwise it's going to get wrecked by Shard.

Unfortunately Psychic Terrain does nothing for Salamence because it is a Flying-type; it is unaffected by Psychic Terrain, and as a result can still be hit by priority moves like Ice Shard and Bullet Punch.

 

[Bean Man]

Unfortunately Psychic Terrain does nothing for Salamence because it is a Flying-type; it is unaffected by Psychic Terrain, and as a result can still be hit by priority moves like Ice Shard and Bullet Punch.

Hm. Maybe In doubles you could get Lele and Mence out, switch to something with a weak smack down, while using protect and then benefit?

 

[Jordy]

Hm. Maybe In doubles you could get Lele and Mence out, switch to something with a weak smack down, while using protect and then benefit?

This is the OU subforum, not the Doubles OU subforum. Such a scenario is not in the slightest relevant to this particular discussion or this subforum as a whole.

 

[M4RK5M4N]

Wait, Salamence gets Hurricane?

 

[Amadeus9]

A day or so back I built a team that was quite weak to bulu and rillaboom, and needed a defogger. I ended up experimenting with this salamence set -

Salamence @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 212 HP / 156 Def / 140 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Draco Meteor / Fire Blast / Hydro Pump
- Roost
- Defog / Toxic

- which overperformed beyond my expectations. The team ended up being a bit of a mess in general unfortunately and I didn't save any replays that really showcased it, but I wanted to put it forward as an idea. Spread outspeeds adamant rillaboom by 2 points, creeping 270. Mence's special dual stab hits significantly harder than its physical counterpart uninvested due to the much higher bp of the moves. This makes specially based defensive mence significantly better than physical in my eyes. You also have the option of slotting in fire blast or hydro pump if u desperately need that coverage on the team slot.

Real quick calcs:

dual wingbeat vs hurricane

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom: 220-264 (64.5 - 77.4%) -- approx. 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 344-408 (100.8 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 84 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 180-216 (59.6 - 71.5%) -- approx. 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 84 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 270-318 (89.4 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

0 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Genesect: 116-140 (40.9 - 49.4%) -- approx. 3HKO
0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Genesect: 135-159 (47.7 - 56.1%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO

calcs vs selected rockers

0 SpA Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus: 183-216 (57.3 - 67.7%)
0 SpA Salamence Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus: 276-325 (86.5 - 101.8%) -- 87.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus: 206-244 (64.5 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Swampert: 141-166 (34.9 - 41%) -- 99.3% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Heatran: 126-150 (32.6 - 38.8%) -- 99.4% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 164-194 (42.4 - 50.2%) -- 41% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Ferrothorn: 300-356 (85.2 - 101.1%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Hippowdon: 226-266 (53.8 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Salamence Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Hippowdon: 168-198 (40 - 47.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

0 SpA Salamence Fire Blast/Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 244-288 (67.5 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

The mon obviously has weaknesses but also imo has an interesting niche as a defensive defogger that is worth considering. ty for listening

edit: changed evs to one that maximizes physical bulk with given speed evs

 

[M4RK5M4N]

Oh hmm I might consider using that set. Thanks for the calcs juts so I can seee how much damage it does.

 

[Sickist]

Once the metagame settles down, I think Salamence could end up being a potent special attacker this gen thanks to Hurricane. A 110 / 100 spread isn't bad for a special attacker and access to coverage moves like Earthquake, Flamethrower, and Draco Meteor let it get past a lot of Hurricane resist like Corviknight and Tapu Koko. Of course, it will face a lot of competition from both Tornadus forms due to their better speed tiers and Nasty Plot.

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Earthquake / Draco Meteor

Spoiler

0- Atk Life Orb Salamence Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 250-296 (88.9 - 105.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 447-530 (103.7 - 122.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 226-266 (57.3 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 269-317 (70 - 82.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Corviknight: 226-268 (56.5 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 181-214 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

I feel like you should slash Hydro in the Draco/EQ slot, as while you have Hurricane to consistently hit Toxapex, Hydro Pump allows you to hit Landorus-T and Heatran all in one slot, so there will be no prediction games.

 

[Magcargo]

I feel like you should slash Hydro in the Draco/EQ slot, as while you have Hurricane to consistently hit Toxapex, Hydro Pump allows you to hit Landorus-T and Heatran all in one slot, so there will be no prediction games.

Good point. It deals pretty good damage to most other common Hurricane switch-ins like Ttar, Tapu Koko, etc.

 

[RaikouLover]

I’m crushing people with the standard DD set.

IMO Intimidate > Moxie especially with HDB as Salamence can set up on any physical attacker. It also stops Blaziken and Rillaboom dead in their tracks and can annoy things like Hawlucha a bit. I also think the extra power of Outrage is worth it, as Dual Wingbeat can be used when the lock is undesirable. I’m actually using DD Outrage Earthquake Iron Tail atm.

Also regarding CB, Dragonite does it better. CB Salamence if you even bother should be Jolly for the speed tier, Intimidate for its ability to switch in or just overpower physical attackers 1v1, and different move choice. I’d probably use something like this:

Salamence @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Dual Wingbeat
- Double-Edge / Iron Tail / Roost / Sleep Talk
- Earthquake / Aqua Tail / Roost

The whole point of a Choice Band Dragon is to nuke shit with Outrage. Yes it has drawbacks but overpowering shit like Hippo and Pex is important. And if you outrage directly into a fairy you can just switch out. Dual Wingbeat makes most fairies unable to come in for free.

252 Atk Choice Band Salamence Outrage vs. 252 HP / 248+ Def Hippowdon: 195-229 (46.4 - 54.5%) -- 57.4% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Salamence Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 160-190 (52.6 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[Guidorealmsmc]

Once the metagame settles down, I think Salamence could end up being a potent special attacker this gen thanks to Hurricane. A 110 / 100 spread isn't bad for a special attacker and access to coverage moves like Earthquake, Flamethrower, and Draco Meteor let it get past a lot of Hurricane resist like Corviknight and Tapu Koko. Of course, it will face a lot of competition from both Tornadus forms due to their better speed tiers and Nasty Plot.

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Earthquake / Draco Meteor / Hydro Pump

Spoiler

0- Atk Life Orb Salamence Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 250-296 (88.9 - 105.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 447-530 (103.7 - 122.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 226-266 (57.3 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 269-317 (70 - 82.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 228+ SpD Corviknight: 226-268 (56.5 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 181-214 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

I experimented with this special mence set and I got to say, it performed better than I expected and uses mences strengths over it's main form of competition in dragonite fairly well. Because dnite is slower, weaker, and forced to run boots for multiscale, salamence can pull off the special nuke way better. However, I always found myself wanting a extra moveslot when I used it. Hurricane and roost are mandatory imo, and losing out on any of fire blast, hydro, earthquake, or draco leaves it walled by something. Losing out on draco is bad vs zapdos, no eq and you'll have issues with some rocks and heatran, no hydro and you don't break fat grounds as easily, and finally losing out on fire blast for corv and skarmory is very rough. Also compared to lati twins, flying is better than psychic offensively.

 

[Ast0rga]

I would think this set would be seen more:


Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dual Wingbeat
- Fire Blast
- Iron Tail/Outrage/Earthquake

Neutral max speed still outspeeds everything non scarfed after one dance. +1 405 Atk, +2 after a Moxie and with LO is pretty solid. You can run good coverage for Clefable, Ferro, Tangrowth, pex.....it's just nuts to see it so low in usage but I guess that's the power creep for you.