Dratini Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Dragon Dance boosts both Dratini's Attack and Speed stats, allowing it to sweep. Outrage is an extremely powerful STAB move that hits Pokemon that don't resist it hard when Dratini is at +1. Extreme Speed works well with Dragon Dance, as at 80 Base Power, it hits most weakened Pokemon very hard when Dratini is boosted. Iron Tail hits Fairy-type Pokemon very hard, but due to its low accuracy, Fire Blast should be used to hit Steel-type Pokemon instead. Set Details The Attack EVs with a boosting nature maximize Dratini's Attack, allowing it to hit as hard as possible after a Dragon Dance. A Naughty nature should be used if Fire Blast is chosen. The Speed EVs allow Dratini to hit 21 Speed after a Dragon Dance and outspeed the majority of the metagame. A Life Orb boosts Dratini's damage output at the cost of some HP each hit. 0 HP IVs reduce Life Orb recoil to 1 HP point per hit. Shed Skin allows Dratini to shrug off burns and paralysis. Usage Tips Dratini doesn't have much coverage, so getting rid of all of Dratini's checks and counters is preferred, as it makes Dratini's sweeping much easier. That being said, Dratini is best used late-game. Dratini can also punch holes in the opponent's team so that another sweeper can come in and attempt to sweep. Fairy-types are a complete stop to Dratini if it is locked into Outrage, so it's ideal to clear them out before setting up. Lastly, Fake Out users can easily KO a weakened Dratini as Fake Out always moves before Extreme Speed, so sometimes it is better to switch out rather than allow Dratini to be KOed. Team Options Dratini is pretty frail, so dual screens support from Bronzor or Encore support from Cottonee is ideal to make setting up Dragon Dance easier. Wynaut easily traps and gets rid of Dratini's checks, also allowing Dratini to set up easier. Cottonee has priority Encore and Memento, which usually forces the opponent to switch out, giving Dratini a free turn to use Dragon Dance. Magnemite traps Steel-types and can hit Fairies with Flash Cannon. Entry hazards setters such as Dwebble and Ferroseed can provide hazard support to allow Dratini to net more KOs. Timburr can also clear out Steel-types if they are a problem.

Moves Draco Meteor is an insanely powerful STAB move that hits like a nuke in combination with a Life Orb. Extreme Speed finishes off weakened Pokemon. Fire Blast hits Ferroseed, Pawniard, and Foongus fairly hard. Iron Tail is used to hit Fairy-types, most notably Spritzee. Set Details The EVs maximize Special Attack while also boosting Attack. The Speed EVs are to hit 13 Speed, allowing Dratini to outspeed most walls. A Rash nature boosts Special Attack while not hindering the power of Extreme Speed. A Life Orb boosts the power of Dratini's moves at the cost of some HP. 0 HP IVs minimize Life Orb recoil. Shed Skin gets rid of paralysis and burns. Usage Tips This set aims to wallbreak, not sweep. Draco Meteor should be the main move used, as it hits most threats very hard. Steel- and Fairy-type switch-ins should be predicted and punished with the appropriate coverage move. Extreme Speed can also allow Dratini to function as a revenge killer. Team Options Entry hazards support from Dwebble or Ferroseed is greatly appreciated as it helps score many notable KOs, including the 2HKO on Chinchou with Draco Meteor and Extreme Speed. Dratini can also clean out threats on the opposing teams to make the job easier for sweepers such as Tirtouga, Shellder, Scraggy, and Pawniard. Magnemite resists Fairy- and Ice-type attacks and can Volt Switch Dratini in. Mienfoo scares Ice-types and can lure in Fairies, which Dratini can hit hard with Iron Tail.

This set can be very dangerous due to its ability to accumulate Dragon Dance boosts thanks to Dratini's top-notch bulk and resistances. The key to Dratini's ease in setting up lies in part in its Dragon typing, which resists several common attacks. Marvel Scale, however, is the real gem of the set. When using Rest, Marvel Scale sends Dratini's Defense sky-high, allowing it to shrug off many physical moves. Because of this, setting up on many common Pokemon, such as Lileep and RestTalk Chinchou, is a breeze. This set is a mono-attacking set, but getting locked into Outrage is irritating despite how powerful it is. This set is an excellent choice to deal with Fire / Water / Grass cores due to its resistances and focus on bulk, allowing it to shut down a lot of defensive cores. With the given EVs, Dratini takes hits like a champ, making its setup job easier. Because this is a mono-attacking set, it really likes having Steel-types out of the way or weakened. Thus, one of the best support Pokemon for this set is Magnemite, which traps and removes Steel-types easily. If Magnemite is not used, Knock Off is helpful to weaken Steel-types so they crumple in the face of +6 Outrages. Other useful Pokemon to pair with this Dratini set are hazard setters, which generally have a field day setting up in the face of Steel-types that switch into Dratini. One excellent hazard setter that partners well with Dratini is Ferroseed, as this set can switch into Fire-type attacks easily, and Ferroseed handles its Dragon-type weakness.

With this set, Dratini can act as an excellent sweeper, using the perfect coverage of Outrage accompanied by Fire Blast to steamroll through teams. Extreme Speed is the move that sets Dratini apart from other Dragon-types, allowing it to pick off faster Choice Scarf users that either have been weakened or are frail. Shed Skin allows it to set up without fear of status conditions. Life Orb is the item of choice here to maximize Dratini's offensive potential. If the Life Orb makes it difficult to set up however, you can run Eviolite instead. The additional bulk gives Dratini more setup opportunities against various Grass-, Fire-, and Water-type attacks. However, this comes at the cost of lower damage output, which means Dratini needs more Dragon Dance boosts to sweep. Lonely is generally the preferable nature when holding a Life Orb because it still enables Dratini to attain 14 Speed before Dragon Dance, which means that at +1, it hits the special number, 21, needed to outspeed all unboosted Pokemon in the metagame. Hasty is always an option in order to outspeed Choice Scarf Pokemon that also aim to hit 21 Speed. However, Hasty is best when using Eviolite because Extreme Speed cannot KO Choice Scarf Snover without Life Orb and Lonely. Keep in mind that when using Life Orb, using 0 HP IVs is necessary in order to reduce Life Orb damage to 1 HP per hit instead of 2. As with most setup sweepers, Dratini greatly appreciates entry hazard support, so Pokemon such as Dwebble aid greatly in the sweeping process. When holding Life Orb, Dratini especially likes dual screen support in order to set up more often without worrying about being KOed. Knock Off is also very important because it removes the high defensive ability of certain threats by getting rid of Eviolite, letting Dratini make up for the KOs it lacks when using Eviolite itself due to not carrying Life Orb. Because Dratini uses Fire Blast as coverage and it is not boosted by Dragon Dance, it prefers having Steel-types weakened if they have the bulk to take a Fire Blast. Following this idea of weakening common answers to Dratini, wallbreaking support is also useful to enhance Dratini's sweeps. For example, the most common wallbreaker in the tier, the dreaded MixKrow, aids this set a lot by punching holes in common defensive cores and weakening them to the point where Dratini can just sweep at +1.

Dratini packs an excellent special movepool, but only has a mediocre base 50 Special Attack stat to work with. However, Dratini still has enough power to OHKO many Pokemon with either a super effective attack or STAB Draco Meteor, allowing it to be an effective revenge killer. Draco Meteor severely damages almost anything that doesn't resist Dragon-type attacks, even from only 15 Special Attack, while Fire Blast will stop Bronzor and Magnemite from being comfortable switching in. Ice Beam takes care of Swords Dance Gligar in case it manages to set up, while Outrage fits into the last slot to hit specially bulky Pokemon hard. Surf can be used over Ice Beam if you want to always OHKO Aron; however, you miss the guaranteed OHKO on Gligar. This set uses a specially oriented EV spread, as the main attacks are special. After Special Attack and Speed are maximized with 196 EVs each, 84 EVs are put into Attack to give Outrage a little extra kick. The remaining EVs are put into HP to give Dratini better overall defenses. Offensively, this Dratini set really helps out Pokemon like Gligar who want Bronzor gone because of its ability to lure out and deal major damage to it with Fire Blast. It also helps Pokemon like Machop and Mankey who want Ghost-types removed from battle, because they will often switch into Dratini expecting a Dragon Dance, only to be met with a Draco Meteor. Drifloon might try to set up after the Special Attack drop, but with Choice Scarf it will be outsped and 2HKOed by Draco Meteor. Dratini will require a good amount of defensive support because of the downside of using Draco Meteor. The Special Attack drop from Draco Meteor allows many bulkier sweepers to come in and set up, meaning some counters are needed for these Pokemon. An example of a particularly threatening bulky sweeper is Gligar, who can set up Rock Polish on Dratini after the Special Attack drop. Gligar can be easily taken care of by Duskull, who can burn it and hit it with Ice Beam. Drifloon can come in and set up Substitute on Dratini, which can be very dangerous if you don't have a Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Houndour or Stunky to switch in and revenge kill it.

Dragon Dance Dratini is one of the most dangerous Pokemon in Little Cup thanks to its excellent movepool, solid Attack, and good Speed after a boost. After a Dragon Dance, Dratini reaches a whopping 25 Attack and 21 Speed, making it faster than every Pokemon in the metagame not carrying a Choice Scarf. With 25 Attack, STAB Outrage is terrifying for all but the most physically bulky Pokemon, and those with a resistance to Dragon. Basically, the only Pokemon who can avoid being 2HKOed by Outrage are Bronzor, Shieldon, and Aron (to demonstrate Outrage's raw power, other than Steel types, only max HP / Def Onix with a nature boost and Oran Berry has any chance of surviving two +1 Life Orb boosted Outrages. And Onix won't last against Water attacks.). Waterfall is used to OHKO Aron and Shieldon after a Dragon Dance, and it also hits Bronzor for a solid 3HKO with Oran Berry factored in; however, Waterfall can 2HKO if it has a low damage roll followed by a high one since this avoids Oran Berry being activated. Without Life Orb, Dratini can't OHKO Aron with Waterfall. This means that if you opt for Oran Berry, Aqua Tail is the preferred option since it is able to OHKO Aron most of the time, and it's a guaranteed OHKO if Aron has switched into Stealth Rock once before. Dratini's true strength lies in its fourth move: Extreme Speed. Extreme Speed on a Pokemon with Dragon Dance is extremely difficult to stop, as the normal methods of revenge killing with priority or fast Choice Scarf users aren't as effective. Many of the most popular hard-hitting Choice Scarf users in Little Cup are vulnerable to being OHKOed by Extreme Speed after Stealth Rock. Also, priority is not an option to revenge kill Dratini since it's faster than every other common priority user, will hit first with Extreme Speed, and can OHKO some of the main priority users, such as Croagunk, Diglett, and Houndour, after Stealth Rock. Adamant nature is recommended as the extra power comes into play more often than the boost from 21 Speed to 22 Speed. With Jolly, you have a significantly lower chance to OHKO Aron with a +1 Waterfall, and miss out on the chance to OHKO Gligar with a +1 Outrage without Stealth Rock. Oran Berry can be used over Life Orb, but Adamant should remain as Dratini needs all the firepower it can get. Dratini's biggest problem is finding the time to set up, even with its decent defenses and great defensive typing. What helps Dratini set up most are Pokemon like Wynaut and dual screen users such as Abra or Bronzor. After dual screens, many Pokemon are essentially turned into set-up bait, and Dratini can safely come in and set up on them. Wynaut is great at getting Pokemon free turns with Encore, and Dratini appreciates this more than most, since with just one free turn of set up, Dratini can plow through a team. Dratini has problems with Choice Scarf Pokemon who can take an Extreme Speed and are faster than 21 Speed. Choice Scarf Magnemite and Gastly are perfect Pokemon to stop a Dratini sweep. Neither can quite OHKO Dratini (barring Explosion), but Magnemite's Hidden Power Ice and Gastly's Sludge Bomb will both do well over 70% to Dratini, which is generally enough to stop a sweep. Munchlax helps Dratini against both of those Pokemon, taking little damage from either Pokemon, while Pursuit and Earthquake take care of Gastly and Magnemite respectively.

Dratini has the rare ability to 2HKO almost every Pokemon with a STAB move followed by a priority attack. Against the top leads, all Dratini needs to do is Protect versus Fake Out leads like Chimchar and Meowth, then use Draco Meteor followed by Extreme Speed. Surf 2HKOes Phanpy, meaning it needs to pick whether to set up Stealth Rock or KO Dratini with Ice Shard. Leads such as Kabuto and Gligar also find themselves in a similar situation with Aqua Jet and Quick Attack respectively. Hippopotas has a chance to OHKO Dratini with Earthquake and sandstorm damage, but Dratini 2HKOes with Surf meaning it will not be able to set up Stealth Rock if it attacks. Fire Blast hurts Bronzor and easily OHKOes lead Snover, but hail and its Blizzard will KO Dratini at the end of the turn. At first glance, Dratini may seem like an inferior Houndour, but its true strengths lie in Extreme Speed and its typing. Unlike Houndour, Dratini's priority attack doesn't rely on the opponent using an attack for it to work, so Pokemon like Diglett will have trouble with Dratini even though they have none with Houndour. Dratini is also fast enough to outpace lead Houndour and Phanpy. Once Dratini has KOed the opponent's lead with Draco Meteor, it is extremely vulnerable to Substitute sweepers, especially ones that resist or are immune to Extreme Speed. Drifloon is the most obvious example. If Drifloon uses Substitute until Dratini has very little Special Attack left, it will likely get to keep its Substitute after your second or third attack. Drifloon is definitely something you don't want behind a Substitute, so packing a Ghost-type switch-in like Stunky is a good choice. Keeping Wynaut around is a good idea because it can come in and Encore on a set up move from the many Pokemon who will try to set up against a -2 Special Attack Dratini.

This set focuses on Dratini's excellent coverage and utility with Extreme Speed. Due to Substitute, this set is much more versatile than the other sets that Dratini can use. For example, similar to the Dragon Dance set, it can take advantage of the opponent's switches. It also can lure in and destroy Pokemon like Bronzor in the same way as the mixed set. It also works as a decent revenge killer with Extreme Speed. The EVs given allow Dratini to outpace many of the Pokemon who don't invest in Speed due to being bulky or having priority while also retaining enough power to deal with Bronzor. Outrage takes out Pokemon such as Munchlax, and will most likely OHKO whatever comes in, unless they outpace Dratini. Draco Meteor is a decent alternative, however, because it doesn't lock Dratini into one move and avoids confusion. With a Substitute up Dratini is quite dangerous, meaning Pokemon who aid Dratini's set up are recommended. For example, this set works quite well with Wynaut because of its ability to get Dratini an easy Substitute with Encore and Tickle. Mantyke is another good example of a Pokemon who Dratini benefits from because it lures in Pokemon such as Chinchou who practically give Dratini a free turn. Since Dratini makes such a good Bronzor and Munchlax lure, Pokemon who are countered by these two defensive Pokemon greatly appreciate Dratini's presence. With Bronzor out of the way, Pokemon such as Bagon, Taillow, and Gligar will have a much easier time sweeping. Munchlax walls many special attackers such as Gastly, so they will have an easier time functioning with Munchlax gone.

With three coverage moves and a powerful priority attack, Dratini can make an excellent mixed priority attacker. The basic strategy of the set is to pick off Steel-types and bulky Rock-types with Fire Blast and Surf, while hurting any Choice Scarfer that comes in. If you hit something relatively frail with Fire Blast or Surf, Dratini can usually finish them off with Extreme Speed. Once these Pokemon are out of the way, and your opponent has nothing that can take a powerful Dragon-type attack, use Outrage and watch your opponent's team crumble. The mixed priority sweeper uses purely offensive EVs, as it needs to do as much damage as possible. First, it maximizes Attack to do as much damage as possible with its two main attacks, Outrage and Extreme Speed. 116 Special Attack EVs guarantee that Fire Blast 2HKOes Bronzor, and as a bonus, Surf followed by Fire Blast (but not vice versa) always KOes as well, as it avoids activating Oran Berry. This Dratini works well as a wall breaking sweeper, making offensive support unnecessary; however, Dratini does need some serious defensive support. As Ghost-types like Drifloon and Gastly can switch into Extreme Speed, using a Pursuiter like Munchlax or Stunky is helpful as they can trap and KO Ghost-types with Pursuit. If a bulky Choice Scarfer who can survive an Extreme Speed comes in to revenge kill Dratini, having something to soak the hit will stop you from having to sacrifice. Machop is a very common bulky Choice Scarf Pokemon, and nothing stops Machop better than Slowpoke due to its ability, Own Tempo. Slowpoke's opportunities to spread paralysis helps Dratini in the long run. This set also makes a great Baton Pass recipient, benefiting from any Attack, Special Attack, and Speed boosts passed to it, while also having great coverage.