Introduction
Dragonite, the very
first Dragon to grace the world of Pokemon. Even after Johto introduced a new
dragon (Kingdra), Dragonite was still the main Dragon-type, and the specialty of
the Champion, Lance, who had no fewer than three of them. Since 3rd generation,
though, Dragonite has largely lived in the shadow of Salamence, a competitively
superior Pokemon. Still, we're not exactly all about competition here, and
Dragonite is the cuter of the dragons, I'd say. That, and it's the Dragon-type
we're able to get before beating the Elite Four. Sort of.
About the Pokemon
Back when it first
appeared amongst the first generation of Pokemon, Dragonite was a Pokemon
shrouded in mystery. Its very existence in the wild was an enigma, sometimes
only that of a rumor. The only proof of its existence is its use by a few select
trainers. Even now, it remains a mystery, a Pokemon rumored to fly over the
seas, helping those who need help out there... Needless to say, if you run into
a wild Dragonite, you are very lucky indeed. If that wasn't impressive enough, the Pokemon also has an intelligence on
par with humans and can fly around the world in sixteen hours.
Well, what
did you expect? It's not just a dragon; back when it debuted, it was THE dragon
of Pokemon.
Height: 7'3", Weight: 463 lbs.
Capture/Training
There are many ways to
get a Dratini, but the best way for us to get one is simple: after beating
Clair, upon visiting the Dragon's Den, answer the old man's questions nicely,
and get a free Dratini with Extremespeed! Good stuff, and we can always
soft-reset if we want to get one with a good nature/IV build.
Training
it, on the other hand...
Dratini evolves into Dragonair at level 30.
Delaying the evolution one level to learn Aqua Tail is a possibility, but since
Waterfall does a fine job on its own, and you get that HM soon after beating
Clair anyway, that delay is not necessary. That said... Dragonair doesn't
evolve until level 55. In other words,
if we choose to bring this Pokemon to the first Elite Four battle, it will be a
Dragonair we will be bringing in... Oh, and Dragonair learns Outrage at Lv. 61,
while Dragonite learns it at Lv. 64... a three level differential for a six
level delay isn't particularly worth it, though.
Statistics
Base Stats:
91 HP, 134
Atk, 95 Def, 100 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def, 80 Spd
Very solid stats, overall.
134 Attack is definitely nothing to scoff at. That Speed stat is the only real
"weakness".
Soft-resetting is always an option to make sure Dratini gets
a good nature, but with those stats, it's hard to pinpoint a particular nature
that should be looked into. Rather, there are certain natures to be avoided:
those that reduce Attack or Speed. Other than that, stick with the nature you
get and move on. Same for IVs.
EV refocusing depends highly on the
moveset chosen, so we won't cover that here.
Overall, it's hard to argue
with those stats. Yeah, Salamence technically has better stats, but Dragonite
has it good, too. Watch out for those Ice-types, though!
Movesets
Hoo boy.
Well, first of
all, Inner Focus is its only ability, so
there's that. It prevents flinching. 'Nuff said.
As for actual moves,
boy, does Dragonite have a lot of options.
For a primary attack, you'll
want a nice Dragon-type attack. On the Physical side, Outrage is the option of choice; with a power
boost to 120, it will pretty much decimate opponents for the 2-3 turns it's
active for. Just watch out for the confusion effect afterwards. If you don't
want the downside of being locked into a move and being confused afterwards,
Dragon Claw is a safe, reliable
alternative. For a special attack, there's the hard-hitting (at first) Draco Meteor. Its reliable alternative is Dragon Pulse.
Dragonite doesn't really
need a Flying STAB primary attack. Considering that we'll be stuck using
Dragonair for a fair amount of time anyways, any Flying attack is more secondary
than anything. Nevertheless, Fly works
fine in-game; obviously, considerations have to be taken if it is used against
anyone with real intelligence. The only other physical attack in consideration
is Aerial Ace. Even with STAB, it's only
real feature is its role as a sure-hit attack, which is useful against enemies
that are evasion-happy... which I've definitely seen amongst certain Elite Four
members (I'm looking at you, Koga and Karen!). It's probably best not to bother
with the special side here.
As for secondary attacks...
hoo-wee.
Let's start with level-up moves. Fire Punch and Thunderpunch provide nice physical attacks. Fire is great for taking out many Ice-types, as
well as Dragon-resistant Steel-types, while Electric takes out Ice Beam-happy
Water-types. Thankfully, that's really it for level-up moves.
Now, TMs.
Focus Punch is an option, with or without
Substitute. If it's a Special Attack you
want, Dragonite can learn the full trio: Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam. The first two have the same
advantages as mentioned with the punches, while Ice Beam hits a number of other
types. (I shall mention here that, yes, Dragonite can be move-tutored Ice Punch.) Earthquake really goes without saying. Fire Blast is out there for those who like
power more than accuracy. Brick Break has
some usability; good for assorted Steel-types and Normal-types if you don't want
to risk Outrage. Stone Edge is probably
its best Rock-type move, for another type that might put the hurt on an
Ice-type. Surf and Waterfall are fairly reliable options in
general.
For Move Tutored attacks, the big one is Superpower, which is probably the best
Fighting-type attack Dragonite has access to, with high power, good accuracy,
and its only downside is a stat loss that can be recovered upon switching out.
Iron Head can hit hard against the two
main types that Dragonite is weak against, but other than that does not have
major stat coverage; it's still worth mentioning, though. Finally, Heat Wave middles the ground between Fire Blast
and Flamethrower; its main advantage over those two is being able to hit both
opponents in a Double Battle.
One final attack move in the pool is, of
course, Extremespeed, held right away on
the Dratini given, and also possibly given as an Egg Move. (Hint: make sure that
the Dratini given to you is male!) It's main feature is that it is a
first-strike move, which is always handy, and has that extra kick of power not
found in Quick Attack.
Now, let's speak of its options for buffing,
defensive, or supporting moves... *takes a deep breath*
Dragon Dance, Dragon Dance, Dragon Dance. It
only makes sense it can learn it, and it can definitely use it, what with its
average Speed. Use it and get ready to sweep. Roost can be Heart-Scaled onto Dragonite (no
need to use up that TM!) and gives it some healing power. Yay! The Dratini
family is somewhat unusual for being able to learn Thunder Wave on its own (another TM that needs
not be wasted!) and that makes a great disruptive move. (Toxic is also an option, though that will
require a TM...) Safeguard is a viable
supporting move for your team to prevent status conditions. Light Screen is an odd option considering it
cannot be taught by TM to Dragonite, and is instead one of its Egg Moves, but it
definitely works. Haze is an odd option:
it can reset the drops taken from Draco Meteor or Superpower. Obviously, it
shouldn't be used with Dragon Dance. Still, those stat drops are easily cured by
switching, so... yeah.
Moveset 1: Dragon
Dancer
- Dragon Dance
- (primary physical Dragon attack)
-
Earthquake/(secondary physical attack)
- (secondary physical
attack)/Roost
Probably the best physical attack to consider, other than
Earthquake, is Fire Punch. Anyways, Dragon Dance for that Attack and Speed
boost, then start sweeping. Outrage is a great move, but if you don't want to
deal with its drawbacks, switch to Dragon Claw. This set has a number of choices
for an attached item. A Yache Berry to reduce the impact of an Ice move is good;
a Lum Berry cures status, including Confusion from the end of an Outrage;
Leftovers are always good; a Life Orb really kicks up the damage done, but it is
recommended to use Roost if done so that Dragonite can heal off the recoil
damage.
For this set, refocus EVs out of Special Attack and into
Attack.
Moveset 2: Choice
-
(primary physical/special Dragon attack)
- (attack)
- (attack)
-
(attack)
You know how many options for moves Dragonite has? Yeah, choose
four and roll with them. Obviously, Choice Band requires physical attacks;
Choice Specs require special attacks, though you might want to consider
Superpower for Blissey. Choice Scarf can go with either, and should come with
both a physical and a special Dragon-type attack. Past that, choose the attacks
you like and strike! (For the Choice Band/Specs set, doubling up on primary
Dragon attacks (one powerful-but-has-drawbacks and one reliable) could
work.)
Moveset 3: Support
-
Roost
- Thunder Wave/Toxic
- Light Screen/Safeguard/(other support
move)
- Dragon Claw
Support Dragonite. Not too much to say here. Good
for more defensive Dragonite; obviously does not need Sp. Atk EVs.
Moveset 4: Hazer
- Draco Meteor
-
Superpower
- Haze
- Roost/Thunder Wave/Safeguard/Dragon
Claw/Outrage
A strange moveset based on using Haze to clear out the bad
stat-drops from Draco Meteor and Superpower. Obviously, it then doubles as a way
to clear out the opponent's attempts at stat-boosting (or stat-dropping you).
It's probably not that good of a set, but whatever. I suppose the idea would be
to hit as hard as you can, then try to predict an opponent's stat-boosts and
Haze them out. *shrug* Roost probably works best in that last slot, giving you
an opportunity to heal up damage taken upon using Haze. EVs? Probably Sp. Atk
and Speed. Hazers kind of need to be fast.
General Moveset
- (primary physical Dragon
attack)
- (secondary physical attack/primary special Dragon attack)
-
Roost
- (secondary attack)/(support move)
It's kind of hard to say no
to Roost on Dragonite, especially because it doesn't need a TM to learn it, so
you can save it for someone else. Other than that, Dragonite does learn a nice
variety of attacks.
Effective
Movesets
1. MixNite
-
Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Extremespeed
- Roost/Thunderbolt
Item:
Life Orb
2. Dragon Dancer
-
Dragon Dance
- Outrage/Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Roost
3. Heal Bell Supporter
- Dragon Claw
-
Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
4.
Light Screen Supporter
- Dragon Claw
- Light Screen
- Toxic
-
Roost
5. Choice Band
-
Outrage
- Earthquake
- Extremespeed
- Waterfall/Aqua Tail
6. Choice Specs
- Draco Meteor
-
Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Superpower
7. Cleric Dancer
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon
Dance
- Heal Bell
- Roost
8.
ExtremeSpeed
- Dragon Claw/Outrage
- Extremespeed
-
Surf/Waterfall
- Roost
Item: Life Orb
9. HazyNite
- Draco Meteor
- Superpower
-
Haze
- Roost
10.
RainbowNite
- Dragon Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
-
Surf
Breeding
-Best Egg
Moves: Extremespeed
Notes:
- Extremespeed can only be bred from another
Dratini family, which means it can only be bred from the Extremespeed Dratini
received from the Dragon's Den. For that reason, make sure that Dratini is male.
For this reason, Extremespeed is incompatible with any Egg Move that Dratini
cannot learn by level-up, namely Haze.
- Dratini's other notable Egg Move,
Dragon Dance, can be learned on the level up. This means it does not need a
female knowing the move to start out with it.
Dragonite has access to a number of interesting moves in Generation 5. Dragon Tail is
particularly interesting: it acts as a Whirlwind, except it does a spot of
damage too! Hurricane is an interesting move, using Dragonite's STAB and having a
nice confusion effect, but having bad accuracy... except during any sort of
weather, where its accuracy is perfect! Weather-abusing Dragonite? Weather looks
to be a common occurrence in the game now, so...
Dragonite also got a decent ability. Multi-Scale halves damage while
Dragonite is at full health. Note that it works *anytime* Dragonite is at full
health, which means he can Roost to full health and easily absorb the opponent's
next attack! All-in-all, Dragonite looks to find its niche as a bulky
sweeper/supporter Pokemon, and that is not a bad thing at all.
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