Throughout Pokemon’s history, Dragon-type Pokemon have been some of the best-designed and some of the strongest. Starting with Dragonite, these Pokemon have become synonymous with power in the Pokemon world. Scarlet & Violet keep that trend going strong with several new amazing Dragon-types.
While most of the stronger Dragon-types are pseudo-legendaries, that’s not the case for all. Dragons come in all shapes and sizes, just like any other type. Due to no national Pokedex, not all Pokemon are in the game currently, but there’s a decent collection of them. Here are the best Dragon-types available in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.
Updated on October 10, 2023 by Doruk Kaptan: With the new DLC for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, as well as the introduction of Pokemon Home to the games, a whole bunch of new Pokemon are now available for usage. These include a wide array of Pokemon, and Dragon-types are among the more exciting ones.
The type has been popular and strong, starting with the inception of the franchise. Even since the Fairy-type has been introduced to balance things out, Dragons are still powerful. Here are the ones you should consider if power is what you need.
15 Goodra
Goodra broke the mold of pseudo-legendary design back when X & Y came out, being a cute, defensive dragon instead of a vicious attacker. Goodra may feel like it can’t keep up with the hyper-offensive meta of Scarlet & Violet, but that’s not necessarily true.
Yes, the current meta is incredibly focused on offense, and few defensive Pokemon survive the onslaught. However, Goodra has amazing Special Defense and a great ability in Sap Sipper. Thus, Terastallizing into a Water or Steel-type can infinitely increase Goodra’s survivability. With Chilling Water, Hydro Pump, and Hydration, it can even serve as a surprise rain sweeper with a Water Tera Type.
14 Dragapult
Dragapult is the pseudo-legendary of Galar and has not lost any usability since the last generation, still being one of the best Ghost-types. It’s as fast as it gets and has decent attacking stats. While it sometimes fails to hit hard enough, it makes up for it with versatility, being decent as a mixed attacker.
It’s got mostly the same moves as before, with the important addition of Tera Blast. Since Dragapult is very frail, Terastilazation helps it immensely, covering for weaknesses and potentially giving it an extra turn on the field. Dragapult is sure to be used a lot this generation.
13 Garchomp
Garchomp, the iconic ace of the fan-favorite champion Cynthia, is also obtainable in Scarlet & Violet. This land shark is as strong as ever, and its typing is still some of the best. Garchomp retains its great stats and moves.
The lack of Dragon Dance may hurt, as the new Pokemon are quite fast this generation. Despite that, Garchomp is still a great option, especially with a Tera Type to cover its weakness to ice.
12 Dragonite
Dragonite is an extremely iconic Pokemon, being the first pseudo-legendary and the first Dragon-type. It’s been used a lot over the years and still keeps up with the newcomers in terms of strength. While Dragonite is strong as is, the Terastal phenomenon makes it so much harder to counter.
As with many pseudo-legendary Dragon-types, Dragonite is four times weak to Ice-type attacks. That can be remedied with Terastallizing into a Water-type or a Steel-type. Dragonite has moves to take advantage of the Tera Type as well, with the likes of Aqua Jet, Waterfall, and Iron Head.
11 Hydreigon
Hydreigon used to be the primary wallbreaker back in Generation 5. It then took a dip in power with the introduction of Fairy-types. Still, with such a high Special Attack, Hydreigon can be extremely strong with the right tools.
Hydreigon has an incredibly vast moveset, so it can easily change its set to accommodate specific situations. What makes Hydreigon so good this generation is the potential Fire-type Terastallization. It gives you resistance to the normally annoying Fairy and Ice types, and thanks to Hydreigon’s ability Levitate, your now Fire-type dragon has one less weakness. This can give you a great opportunity to set up a Nasty Plot or Substitute.
10 Salamence
Salamence is a fan-favorite of many people, both due to how incredible it looks and how hard it hits. Salamence is like a slower but stronger Noivern in many ways, and it has both the same problems and silver linings.
Salamence has access to Dragon Dance, which is even better for this generation due to how effective some of the support moves are. Terastallization is also not a necessity for Salamence, so you can play around and change it according to what you’re looking for. While potentially overshadowed by its ancestor Roaring Moon, Salamence is still a great choice for any team.
9 Cyclizar
Cyclizar may not seem too powerful at first glance, but it’s an absolute beast in terms of utility. That’s mainly due to its move Shed Tail, which passes a Substitute to a teammate in exchange for half of Cyclizar’s HP. That is perfectly remedied by its Hidden Ability Regenerator though, which restored a third of Cyclizar’s HP when switched out.
That amazing combo, combined with utility moves such as Knock Off, Rapid Spin, Taunt, and U-Turn, make Cyclizar an incredible pivot. It’s even got a great speed of 121, so you don’t have to worry about tanking hits that often.
8 Roaring Moon
Roaring Moon is one of the few Paradox Pokemon introduced in Scarlet and Violet and seems to be heavily related to Salamence. Luckily, Roaring Moon borrows more than just looks from the iconic pseudo-legendary. With a great Speed and Attack stat, Roaring Moon is prime for being a physical sweeper.
It’s got the Dragon/Dark typing, which is great offensively, but you should beware of Fairy-types. Its movepool is vast, with great offensive tools and the very important Dragon Dance to set up. Finally, as with all ancient Paradox Pokemon, Roaring Moon has the ability Protosynthesis, which boosts your highest stat 30 percent (50 if it’s speed) if Sunny Day is active or it’s holding the item Booster Energy. Such a boost is incredible and is the main reason why Paradox Pokemon see a lot of play.
7 Baxcalibur
The pseudo-legendary of Paldea is Baxcalibur, a Godzilla-like beast of a Pokemon. It has the amazing offensive typing of Dragon/Ice, and its stats are that of a physical tank. Its ability Thermal Exchange prevents it from getting burned and boosts its attack upon being hit by a Fire-type attack.
That’s already an amazing toolset for a physical attacker, as burn is a common way to slow them down. Baxcalibur has the usual set of great moves like Dragon Dance, Earthquake, and Iron Head. It also has some great Ice-type moves and the amazing new move Glaive Rush. Baxcalibur instantly reaches the iconic pseudo-legendary power levels.
6 Haxorus
Haxorus, while not a pseudo-legendary, is as close as you can get to one without actually being one. This amazing pure Dragon-type from Generation Five can punch a hole in almost any team, thanks to its Attack stat of 147.
That’s not all, though; Haxorus can Dragon Dance to immediately increase its sweeping potential. With unique moves, including First Impression, Trailblaze, and Facade, it can be a pretty unique attacker. Sure, Haxorus is not as explosive as some other lists on these for sure, but it’s not to be overlooked.
5 Koraidon & Miraidon
The cover legendaries of Scarlet and Violet, Koraidon, and Miraidon are among the strongest Dragon-types of all time. They are both incredibly fast, with 135 Speed, and have 135 in their respective offensive stat. They also have decent bulk and can easily take a hit. Their abilities are great in double battles or teams that are built around Paradox Pokemon, as both dragons summon a field effect that buffs them.
Even by themselves, these two bikes are amazingly strong. With moves like Collision Course and Electro Drift, they can break through a lot of walls. While their typing is not the greatest, a good Terra Type can instantly fix that. These dragons are definitely worthy of being on the cover of a game.
4 Kommo-o
Kommo-O, the pseudo-legendary of Generation Seven, is yet another example of how threatening a Dragon-type with setup options can be. Kommo-O has access to the move Clangorous Soul, which is an omniboost, and can easily lead to sweeps.
Kommo-O also has incredible coverage options such as Ice Punch, Iron Head, and Poison Jab; it’s hard to find a decent counter to a beefed-up Kommo-O. Even its four times weakness to the popular Fairy-type is no longer an issue as a Poison or Steel-type Terastallization easily fixes that.
3 Walking Wake
Suicune has made a name for itself throughout the history of competitive Pokemon thanks to its iconic set of Substitute and Calm Mind. However, it seems that in its historic Paradox Form, it doesn’t even need the setup.
Walking Wake is a prebuilt special sweeper through and through. With a Speed of 109 and a Special Attack of 125, especially with a Protosynthesis boost, this monster is very hard to stop. With incredible typing, a great moveset, and amazing stats, Walking Wake will likely become a staple for a long time.
2 Hisuian Goodra
While regular Goodra sometimes falls short of living up to its status as a pseudo-legendary, its Hisuian form definitely does. This Steel/Dragon-type instantly outclasses its regular form due to its typing alone, with Steel-type being the best defensive type by far. However, Hisuian Goodra has much more to offer.
This monster’s stats paint the picture of a special wall right away, with a gargantuan 150 Special Defense. All three of its abilities are also semi-useful at worst, being Sap Sipper, Shel Armor, and Gooey. While it’s sad to see regular Godra get so outclassed, Hisuian Goodra is such a great wall that it’ll grab your heart as well.
1 Returning Legendaries
To be perfectly honest, this list could be made up of Legendary Pokemon and pseudo-legendaries. That’s because GameFreak has a tendency to give their newest and shiniest toys to the ever-iconic Dragon-type. Well, with the integration of Pokemon Home, a ton of older legendary Pokemon have once again become available.
This is a very high-power bunch, without a doubt. Most notably consisting of game-warping Pokemon such as Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Eternatus, the returning Dragon-type legendaries are definitely the strongest options out there. This only matters if the format you’re playing allows them, as in Ubers or Anything Goes.