Dragonair Movesets & Competitive Sets

Item

Eviolite

Ability

Marvel Scale

Nature

Careful

EVs

HP 252 / Sp. Def 236 / Speed 20

Moves

Item

Eviolite

Nature

Adamant

EVs

Attack 252 / Sp. Def 4 / Speed 252

Moves

Item

Eviolite

Ability

Marvel Scale

Nature

Careful

EVs

HP 244 / Defense 56 / Sp. Def 208

Moves

Analysis

Dragonair's goal for this set is to spread paralysis against the opposing team, which can be achieved thanks to her access to Eviolite, recovery from Rest, and the Defense boost from Marvel Scale when Dragonair is afflicted with status. Rest is the key move in this set, as it keeps Dragonair healthy. Thunder Wave is an important move to the set because it can not only cripple the opposing sweepers, but can give an opportunity for teammates to attack. Dragon Tail in conjunction with Thunder Wave allows Dragonair to pass paralysis to the adversary, as well as stopping setup sweepers from advancing, such as Swords Dance Samurott. However, due to Dragonair's lackluster Attack stat, she is often setup bait to Substitute users, who can then set up entry hazards, Leech Seed, or power up. In such a scenario, Outrage is a solution, allowing Dragonair to have some sort of offensive presence. Sleep Talk is the final move of the set, allowing Dragonair to continue to act while she is asleep from Rest. Marvel Scale encourages Rest to be used, as the 50% Defense boost helps maintain Dragonair's longevity, allowing her to fare well against physical attackers, such as Rapidash, non-Mold Breaker Pinsir, and Swellow. The given EV spread balances her defensive stats when Marvel Scale is activated. A Careful nature enhances her Special Defense. Eviolite also increases her defenses, allowing her to survive hits much easier. If Thunder Wave isn't used, Dragon Dance can be replaced with it, giving her the chance to deal with more offensive threats. Toxic can also replace Thunder Wave to cripple bulky walls, such as Regirock and Alomomola. Pokemon that benefit from having paralyzed opponents, such as Choice Band Sawk, Butterfree, and Braviary, are great allies, as they can perform sweeps on the opposing team with fewer difficulties. Rotom-F and Jynx are great Pokemon to handle powerful physical attackers, such as Golurk and Braviary, but they must be careful of opposing Fighting-type moves. Golurk is also a good partner, as it can deal with Steel-types, Sawk, and Musharna. This variant of Dragonair is Taunt bait, which attracts Pokemon such as Liepard and Misdreavus to prevent Dragonair from using her support moves. Gurdurr and Sawk can easily deal with the former, while Charizard can take a Will-O-Wisp from the latter and proceed to KO it.

Item

Eviolite

Ability

Shed Skin

Nature

Careful

EVs

HP 252 / Defense 4 / Sp. Def 252

Moves

Analysis

Dragonair can function well with a bulky offensive set. She can set up Dragon Dance on special attackers such as Eelektross, Serperior, Seismitoad, and Charizard by taking advantage of her decent bulk, in contrast to other frail sweepers. In spite of her defensive boost, this set isn't meant to set up on powerhouses and bulky setup sweepers, such as Sawk and Carracosta, but it is rather meant to set up on special attackers and walls, which in some cases cannot stop at least one Dragon Dance. Thanks to Dragonair's great ability options, Rest can be used with succession, giving Dragonair a recovery option. Dragon Dance raises Dragonair's Speed and Attack to viable levels. Rest is Dragonair's only source of recovery, and while two turns asleep can hinder Dragonair's capabilities, Shed Skin and Marvel Scale can mend it. If she finds an opportunity to set up, Dragonair can break through opposing teams with her powerful STAB move, Outrage, as there aren't many Pokemon in the tier that can resist it. Sleep Talk is the preferred option in the final moveslot, as it takes advantage of Rest and works well in conjunction with Marvel Scale. Sleep Talk also allows Outrage to be used without being locked into it. However, Waterfall can be used for extra coverage, but unless Dragonair encounters a Steel-type, Outrage is almost always the superior choice. Shed Skin and Marvel Scale both have their merits and should be used accordingly. Shed Skin gives the opportunity for Dragonair to wake up from Rest 33% of the time, which can be useful in the midst of setting up. However, Marvel Scale gives Dragonair a 50% boost in Defense when Dragonair is inflicted with status, which allows Dragonair to be even harder to defeat. Full investment in both HP and Special Defense allows Dragonair to obtain the bulk necessary to set up on her main target. With Eviolite, the given Special Defense EVs, and her great defensive typing, Dragonair doesn't have many difficulties setting up against special attackers, such as Eelektross and Charizard. A Careful nature maximizes her Special Defense. An EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe is optional to handle physical attackers such as Tauros and Primeape. Extremespeed is an option that could be used in the last moveslot. However, it offers nothing in terms of coverage, and Dragonair usually isn't going to be attacking much until it has attained several boosts anyways. As Dragonair's attacks are usually underwhelming, entry hazards are appreciated so that Dragonair can manage to land a KO. Scolipede, Garbodor, and Probopass are good partners for that role; Probopass in particular has good synergy with Dragonair, as it takes the Ice-type attacks aimed at her and can eliminate pesky Steel-types with Magnet Pull. Pokemon that can spread paralysis or burn, such as Volbeat, Liepard, or Misdreavus, can be helpful in weakening the opponent for Dragonair. Heal Bell support can be useful for Dragonair, especially when not running Sleep Talk. Lickilicky and Miltank are great selections as Heal Bell partners, and Lickilicky can also pass Wishes to Dragonair.

Item

Life Orb

Nature

Adamant

EVs

HP 52 / Attack 252 / Speed 204

Moves

Analysis

Despite its impressive movepool, Dragonair cannot successfully utilize many of its potential moves due to its mediocre stats, which is typical for a NFE Pokemon. Nevertheless, its access to Dragon Dance allows Dragonair to function as a moderately powerful physical sweeper. Additionally, unlike other sweepers, Dragonair does not fear getting inflicted with status thanks to its awesome ability, Shed Skin. After a single Dragon Dance, Dragonair hits a respectable 341 Speed, outspeeding everything up to positive-natured base 105s, a large majority of the UU metagame. Although there are Pokemon that outspeed Dragonair even after a Dragon Dance boost, such as Dugtrio and Alakazam, they are also fragile enough to be taken down by a boosted Extreme Speed. As stated above, Extreme Speed is one of the biggest reasons to consider Dragonair over the other Dragon-types in UU; it not only allows it to revenge kill weakened, faster threats, but also to protect itself from priority revenge kills after it has set up a Dragon Dance or two. Outrage is Dragonair's most reliable physical STAB move, since Dragon Rush's poor accuracy can cause a potential sweep to go astray, not to mention the vital extra power that Outrage provides. Aqua Tail has almost unresisted coverage alongside Outrage, and helps Dragonair deal with bulky Ground- and Steel-types, hitting the likes of Registeel for neutral damage. One of the primary reasons Aqua Tail is used over Waterfall is that it can OHKO 140 HP / 0 Def Rhyperior after Stealth Rock, something Waterfall can only very rarely accomplish. The EV spread is tailored to outspeed specific Pokemon, as well as giving Dragonair maximum power. 204 Speed EVs with an Adamant nature allows Dragonair to outspeed and crush the likes of Mismagius and Scyther after a single Dragon Dance boost. If 341 Speed is not sufficient for you, a Jolly nature combined with 232 Speed EVs allow Dragonair to outrun even positive-natured base 125 Speed Pokemon after a Dragon Dance, though Dragonair will miss out on the power provided by the listed EV spread. Due to Dragonair's mediocre offensive stats, entry hazard support is greatly appreciated. Omastar and Qwilfish have good synergy with Dragonair, and can set up multiple entry hazards. Donphan shares an Ice-type weakness with the dragon snake, but it still makes a good teammate due to its ability to set up Stealth Rock, as well as utilize Rapid Spin to remove them from your side. Donphan can also deal with Steel-types that would otherwise trouble Dragonair, such as Registeel, with its powerful STAB Earthquake. Venusaur is another great teammate for Dragonair, as it can put opposing Pokemon to sleep, thereby granting Dragonair a safe switch-in (and possibly a few turns to set up). Dragonair's defensive stats are mediocre at best, so finding time to set up is quite a task. Dragonair can set up against Chansey and Clefable, due to Seismic Toss being the main form of offense for the aforementioned Pokemon. Non-offensive Spiritomb are good set-up bait as well, since Shadow Sneak and Will-O-Wisp won't be doing much to Dragonair. Paralysis support is also invaluable, as Dragonair finds it much easier to set up and sweep when the opposing team is crippled thus. Uxie and Chansey have access to Thunder Wave, and are bulky enough to reliably utilize it throughout the match, as well as absorb powerful physical and special attacks aimed at Dragonair, respectively.

Item

Leftovers

Nature

Adamant

EVs

Attack 252 / Sp. Def 4 / Speed 252

Moves

Item

Leftovers

Nature

Modest

EVs

Sp. Atk 252 / Sp. Def 4 / Speed 252

Moves

Item

Leftovers

Nature

Calm

EVs

HP 252 / Sp. Def 160 / Speed 96

IVs

Attack 0

Moves

Item

Leftovers

Moves

Analysis

Dragonair is a unique choice that makes full use of its wide special attacking movepool to hit as many targets as possible for super effective damage as possible while spreading paralysis with Thunder Wave to provide both offensive and defensive utility and prevent RestTalk users that are not weak to any of its attacks like Stantler and Primeape from completely taking advantage of Dragonair. Fire Blast hits Pineco, Magnemite, and Grass-types like Gloom, Surf hits Fire-, Ground-, and Rock-types like Flareon, Dugtrio, Graveler, Sudowoodo, and Rapidash, and Thunder hits Octillery, Xatu, Fearow, and Dewgong. However, Dragonair is reliant on super effective hits and Thunder Wave to make progress, so it should be used alongside Pineco for Spikes, Primeape to handle opposing Stantler and Wigglytuff, and Weezing or Gloom to handle opposing Primeape and Hitmonlee, the four of which pack RestTalk and are not weak to any of its moves. Dragonair also has competition with Chinchou as an answer to Hidden Power Electric Octillery and Magmar and as a coverage attacker.

Item

Leftovers

Moves

Analysis

Dragonair stands out as the best dedicated dual screens setter in the tier, starting off the game by paralyzing opposing Pokemon with Thunder Wave and setting up Reflect and Light Screen to support dangerous teammates with setup moves, primarily Growth + Baton Pass Flareon, but also others like Swords Dance Kingler. Dragonair has decent bulk, a comfortable Speed tier backed by Thunder Wave, and unique typing that grants it a resistance to all of Electric-, Water-, and Fire-type moves, giving it ample opportunity to take advantage of almost any opposing Pokemon and set up screens. Importantly, Dragonair is one of the best ways for frail setup-based offensive teams, like those centered around Growth + Baton Pass Flareon or those that stack physical boosters, to handle Magmar and Hidden Power Electric Octillery. Even most Pokemon that take little from Fire Blast and often run RestTalk like Xatu, Stantler, Primeape, Octillery, and Rapidash are still heavily hindered by screens and paralysis from Thunder Wave. These foes are often forced to use Rest, and if left undamaged while paralyzed, are severely exploitable, facilitating easier setup for teammates. Lastly, Fire Blast is used to threaten severe damage on Pineco and prevent it from safely using Spikes. Fire Blast also does solid damage to Magnemite, which threatens the frail teams Dragonair is often found on, and is also the best move available to force chip damage on Weezing. Surf can also be used instead to hit Ground-types like Dugtrio and Graveler that are immune to Thunder Wave and take little from Fire Blast, but usually it isn't worth being taken advantage of by Pineco. Additionally, Dragonair has competition with other strong offensive Pokemon like Curse Stantler and Wigglytuff, as these teams might forgo Dragonair's support early-game in favor of a more potent late-game.

Moves

Analysis

Dragonair's main purpose is to land Thunder Wave on fast Psychic-types such as Alakazam and Starmie to enable Wrap from its stronger, more versatile teammates. Wrap allows Dragonair to force paralysis past slower common paralysis absorbers, such as Chansey. It also allows Dragonair to pivot out of uncomfortable situations to one of its teammates safely. Blizzard is Dragonair's most versatile coverage move; it hits Flying- and Grass-types such as Zapdos and Exeggutor for super effective damage, as well as 2HKOing Rhydon. Blizzard is also Dragonair's best option to finish off weakened foes. Thunderbolt is Dragonair's strongest move against Water-types, 3HKOing Cloyster and Starmie. Hyper Beam allows Dragonair to meaningfully threaten and finish off physically frailer foes such Chansey and Alakazam, doing 37.4% minimum to the former and 48.2% minimum to the latter. Agility can be used in favor of a secondary coverage move, as it allows Dragonair to spread chip and paralysis across the opposing team and not just become a useless sacrifice after it becomes paralyzed. Dragonair can also use Agility against foes that do not carry paralysis-afflicting moves, such as Rhydon. Dragonair wants to be used early-game to get paralysis off on faster threats as soon as possible, as the Wrap teams it fits on live and die by their ability to paralyze these foes. Dragonair can hit the field safely either by being pivoted in on Wrap from one of its teammates or by coming in after one of its teammates has been KOed. It can also switch in on a predicted Recover. After Dragonair becomes paralyzed, if it lacks Agility, the best use for it is to enable its other, more powerful Wrap teammates by being used as a sacrifice or a pivot.