Dragonite was treated like a joke for 25 years - then it won a tournament. This is the story of how Scarlet and Violet transformed the original Dragon.
Check out all my Scarlet and Violet videos here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb_5fF_O3FvjEglm1tAGgGVuJo4YTzrV4
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Check out all my Scarlet and Violet videos here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb_5fF_O3FvjEglm1tAGgGVuJo4YTzrV4
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GamingTranscript
00:00If I told you that Dragonite was a bad Pokemon, you probably wouldn't believe me.
00:05After all, how could it be?
00:06It is the original Dragon type Pokemon, it's somehow both cool and cute at the same time,
00:11and it's one of the most iconic Pokemon ever.
00:14But while all of this is true, it doesn't change the fact that Dragonite has never won
00:18a single official competitive tournament.
00:21Had.
00:22Had never won.
00:24Because in Scarlet and Violet, Dragonite became not only usable, but one of the top threats
00:28for the first time ever, and finally got the tournament win it had been chasing for
00:33over two decades.
00:34Okay, but maybe you think I'm exaggerating for dramatic effect.
00:38I am a YouTuber after all, that is something that we are known for.
00:41But actually, that's not what's going on here.
00:43Here is a list of all of Dragonite's recorded accomplishments prior to Scarlet and Violet.
00:48And here is some of Dragonite's results after these games released.
00:55There's a bit of a difference, huh?
00:57We're going to talk about what changed for Dragonite that allowed it to unlock its hidden
01:00potential.
01:01But before we do that, we need to understand what made it so difficult to use Dragonite
01:05in the first place.
01:06So let's go all the way back to Generation 4, and the birth of the modern official competitive
01:11Pokemon circuit.
01:12Back in Generation 4, Dragon was the best type in the game.
01:16With only a single type that could resist them, access to the unbelievably powerful
01:20move Draco Meteor, and far better stats across the board than most of the other types, Dragon's
01:25dominated competitive play.
01:27But if Dragon types were so strong, where was Dragonite?
01:30Nowhere to be found, because players didn't think Dragonite was worth using.
01:34These are the four main ways that we evaluate how good a Pokemon is.
01:39Dragonite fell short in all of them.
01:41Dragonite's single biggest weakness is its stats, which is probably surprising because
01:45across the board, Dragonite's stats range from good to great.
01:49In fact, Dragonite does not have a single bad stat, especially by Generation 4 standards,
01:54before Pokemon like these existed.
01:57So if every individual stat is good, what exactly is the problem here?
02:01Each of Dragonite's stats is good, but only in a vacuum.
02:05When you consider how these stats work together, it becomes clearer what the issue is.
02:09For example, Dragonite has a sky-high attack stat, so you might think it wants to operate
02:14as a powerful physical attacker.
02:16But then you look at its speed, far too slow to keep up with other offensive Pokemon, especially
02:21other Dragon types like Garchomp, Salamence, Kingdra, and Latios.
02:25Dragonite is actually naturally slower than Cresselia, who is not only one of the best
02:28Pokemon in Generation 4, but also almost always carried an ice move that can deal quadruple
02:34damage to Dragonite, threatening to knock out the Dragon in a single hit.
02:38Dragonite has really good bulk across the board, but if you invest your stat points
02:42to maximize its bulk, you have to give up on speed, power, or both.
02:46Sacrificing your already limited speed means you can forget about ever moving before your
02:51opponents, but sacrificing your power means you aren't investing in Dragonite's main
02:55weapon.
02:56You could also forego training your bulk altogether, but then Dragonite won't be able to stick
03:00around nearly as long.
03:01It's like one of those triangle charts where you can only pick two of the three options.
03:05A lot of the issues with the stats are compounded because of Dragonite's typing.
03:09As a Dragon and Flying type, Dragonite has weaknesses to Dragon and Rock, as well as
03:14that nasty quadruple weakness to Ice.
03:17Back in Generation 4, these were some of the most common attacking types in the game.
03:21Rock Slide being a broken move, and Tyranitar being an incredible Pokemon made Rock type
03:25attacks commonplace.
03:27Dragon was the best type in the game, meaning most teams had at least one Dragon type, and
03:31because Dragon types were so popular, there was good reason to put Ice Beam onto your
03:35team if you could afford it.
03:37Especially given that Rain was a popular strategy, Ice Beam Pokemon were everywhere.
03:41Now if Dragonite could knock out the users of these super effective moves before getting
03:46hit, that would change things, but its low speed stat makes this impossible.
03:50Of course, Pokemon can compensate for their weaknesses with more than just their stats
03:54or their typing.
03:55In fact, if a Pokemon has a really strong ability, it can often single-handedly redeem
04:00an otherwise unremarkable Pokemon.
04:03So what is Dragonite working with?
04:05Inner Focus.
04:07An ability that prevents flinches, and that's it.
04:10Definitely nice to have sometimes, but nowhere near a good enough ability to save Dragonite,
04:15which just leaves the moves.
04:17In general, Dragon types tend to have phenomenal movepools, with access to many strong attacks
04:22that don't match their types.
04:24This is true for Dragonite, getting access to moves like Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice
04:27Punch, Aqua Tail, and Super Power to name a few.
04:31However, there is one type of move that is suspiciously absent from Dragonite's kit,
04:36a type that you would really expect it to be able to use.
04:39Flying.
04:40The strongest flying-type move Dragonite could use was Wing Attack, which has a pitiful 60
04:46base power.
04:47Oh actually, technically that's not true, it can use Fly, which is a two-turn move with
04:51only 90 base power, arguably worse than Wing Attack.
04:55Other than these two moves, nothing.
04:56Now because Dragonite learns so many good moves of other types, you might think that
05:00it's not such a big deal that it can't use any good flying-type moves.
05:04But here's the thing, when a Pokemon uses a move that matches one of their types, that
05:08move gets a whopping 50% power boost.
05:11This bonus, called the Same-Type Attack Bonus, or STAB for short, is really important to
05:16take advantage of in order to bring out your Pokemon's full potential.
05:20Without any good flying-type moves, Dragonite doesn't get the benefit of having a second
05:24type, but still has to pay the price with additional weaknesses.
05:28To understand the full picture, let's talk about another Dragon-type Pokemon that actually
05:32managed to win the World Championships during Generation 4.
05:35Salamence.
05:36Dragonite has a lot in common with Salamence.
05:39They both have the Dragon and Flying typing, they both lack good flying-type attacks, and
05:43their stats are comparable.
05:45But if they're so similar, why is one a World Champion while the other can't even
05:49make it into the venue?
05:50To start, let's compare their stats.
05:52Dragonite and Salamence have very similar offensive stats, with attack stats within
05:56a point of each other, and special attack stats within 10.
05:59Defensively, Dragonite has a slight edge over Salamence, though their bulk is similar enough.
06:04The big difference, then, is the speed.
06:06With 20 more base speed, Salamence is able to consistently outspeed far more Pokemon.
06:12And by giving it the Choice Scarf item, Salamence is able to outspeed nearly every other Dragon-type,
06:17allowing it to KO them before they can attack.
06:20These stats also allow Salamence to run a different set of moves.
06:24Despite Salamence having a much higher physical attack stat, in competitive play, Salamence
06:28was mostly used as a special attacker.
06:30This is largely because the special move Draco Meteor is so much stronger than the
06:34physical attack of Dragon Claw, allowing Salamence to actually do far more damage via the special
06:40side.
06:41Outrage is nearly as strong and as a physical attack, but the random targeting and the fact
06:44that it locks you in for 2-3 turns makes it inconsistent as a primary attack.
06:49The reliable special moves being stronger is true of Salamence's other move types
06:53as well, with moves like Fire Blast, Heat Wave, and Hydro Pump being much more powerful
06:58than their counterparts of Fire Punch, Fire Fang, and Aqua Tail.
07:01Special attackers also don't have to worry about Intimidate slowing them down, often
07:05turning 1-hit KOs into 2-hit KOs.
07:07And speaking of Intimidate, Salamence's ability is one of the best in the entire game.
07:12Even though Salamence is intended to be used as an offensive Pokemon, its ability provides
07:17passive support for the whole team just by bringing it to the battle.
07:20With Intimidate, Salamence could either use the Choice Scarf item to allow it to work
07:24as an anti-Dragon delete button while still providing a bit of team-wide support, or it
07:29could lean into a more defensive role, using items like the Citrus Berry to help keep it
07:33alive, and relying on Dragon's natural resistances and Intimidate to make it difficult to remove.
07:38Salamence also couldn't learn any good Flying-type moves, and still had to worry about the same
07:42Ice, Rock, and Dragon-type attacks that Dragonite did, but this was much less of an issue because
07:47thanks to its higher speed, Salamence was able to play at a much more offensive pace.
07:52The more offensive a Pokemon is, the less likely it is that it'll stick around for multiple turns,
07:57meaning you can worry less about its defensive attributes, and more about wiping the opponent's
08:02Pokemon off the face of the earth. Some of you probably want to learn how to wipe the opponent's
08:06Pokemon off the face of the earth for yourselves, and the best way to get that knowledge is to
08:11subscribe. I post a new video every single week, not only ones like this where I go over the
08:15history of the game, but also ones where I enter tournaments with wacky and off-the-wall strategies
08:20We've got some banger videos in the works right now that I'm sure you're not going to want to
08:24miss. So back to Dragonite. With Salamence around as seemingly just a straight upgrade,
08:29nobody was willing to give Dragonite a shot, and that's how things remained for the duration of
08:34Generation 4. But nothing in Pokemon stays the same forever, and a new generation meant a new
08:40buff for Dragonite. Welcome to Generation 5. Generation 5 shook the series up in a major way,
09:02with new Pokemon, a new region, new items, and more. One of the biggest changes was the
09:07introduction of the Dream World, and with it the new mechanic of Hidden Abilities. These are
09:13special abilities not accessible to a Pokemon through normal means, and they breathed new
09:17life into many classic Pokemon. While not every Pokemon received a hidden ability, Dragonite did,
09:23and it was certainly an upgrade over Inner Focus. Dragonite was now the proud owner of the brand
09:28new ability, Multiscale. Multiscale is a great ability. It's simple enough to understand. If a
09:35Pokemon with Multiscale is at full HP, cut the amount of damage that the next attack was gonna
09:39do in half. This effect can even trigger multiple times per battle, if the Pokemon manages to heal
09:44back up to full HP using moves like Roost or Recover. However, while this ability was a big
09:49upgrade over Inner Focus, Generation 5 may have inadvertently made things harder for Dragonite.
09:55See, Black and White introduced new items called Gems. There was one of every type,
10:00and when a Pokemon connected with a move that matched the type of the Gem they were holding,
10:04the Gem would be consumed and the move would become 50% stronger. This was very, very powerful,
10:11as previously, the only way for an item to give a power boost this large was to use one of the
10:16choice items, which greatly limits your Pokemon's options. Realizing the strength of Gems, players
10:21quickly looked to find the strongest attacks they could, searching for an instant delete button,
10:26and find one they did. Dragon Gem Dracometeor Latios
10:31With the base stats of a Legendary Dragon, the absurd power of Dracometeor, and the multiplicative
10:37effect of Dragon Gem, this became the strongest, most commonplace attack of the generation. And
10:42unfortunately, even with multiscale, Dragonite couldn't survive it without investing numerous
10:47stat points into its bulk. And even if you could justify bulking up Dragonite, the presence of such
10:52an incredibly powerful Dragon-type attack, which at the time was only resisted by one single other
10:57type, meant that every single team had multiple Pokemon dedicated to taking down Dragons. In other
11:03words, Latios not only beat down Dragonite itself, it made the entire format a hostile work environment
11:10for it. And that's not even to mention the fact that Garchomp, Salamence, Kingdra, and the new
11:14addition of Hydreigon were all other incredible Dragon-type options, each offering far more than
11:19Dragonite could. Once again, Dragonite found itself without a seat at the table. But maybe
11:25things could change for our hero with a generation that shook things up more than any other.
11:44Generation 6. Ah, Generation 6. The games that introduced the most important feature in any
11:50Pokemon game. Rollerblading. Apart from introducing the single most confusing city in any
11:55Pokemon game, X and Y also changed the game forever by introducing a new type. Dragons had been
12:01dominating the game for too long, and Game Freak's solution was simple, efficient, and largely pink.
12:08The Fairy type. Unfortunately, creating a new type that was not only specifically designed to
12:12counter Dragons, but also happened to be the best type in the game, did not improve Dragonite's
12:17viability for some reason. But there was a chance for Dragonite. A new path towards redemption.
12:23Generation 6 introduced Mega Evolution, and with it, the chance to breathe new life into
12:28older Pokemon that had been struggling to keep up. Many Dragon-type Pokemon even got Mega Evolutions
12:34themselves, perhaps to help keep them relevant in the face of Fairies. With tons of new Mega
12:39Evolutions being given away to Dragon-types, surely this was Dragonite's chance. Salamence
12:44got a Mega Evolution. Garchomp got a Mega Evolution. Latios got a Mega Evolution. Ampharos
12:49and Charizard got Mega Evolutions that turned them into Dragon-types. Dragonite got...
12:54Access to secret power. Now you can use it to make a secret base. Yay.
13:01Generation 6 was Dragonite's worst generation yet, which is saying something because the prior
13:07generations weren't exactly kind to it. With Fairies and Mega Evolutions everywhere, Dragonite
13:12could barely poke its head out of hiding. But having weathered the primordial weather of the
13:166th generation, Dragonite was given new hope, with a generation that would be its best performance
13:23in the tropical land of Alola.
13:42Now on paper, Dragonite didn't receive any meaningful buffs going into Generation 7.
13:46However, these three years were dominated by the Fire, Water, and Grass-type core of Pokemon,
13:52thanks in part to strong new additions such as Kartana, Tapu Fini, and...
13:58Incineroar.
13:59As a bulky Dragon-type, Dragonite saw a little use in these years, thanks to its resistances
14:04to all of Fire, Water, and Grass. Though it did still have to worry about the new,
14:08powerful Fairy-types and Mega Evolutions that these games introduced as well.
14:12This generation also gave Dragonite its most famous competitive appearance to date.
14:17It's North American Internationals in 2017, and Giovanni Costa has brought an unusual team
14:22featuring not only Dragonite, but also...
14:25Eevee!
14:26Eevee was given a signature Z-move in Sun and Moon that doubled all of its stats.
14:30So Geo's strategy was to double Eevee's stats,
14:33then use Baton Pass to give these boosts to another Pokemon.
14:36In this case, his bulky Dragonite with Roost and Leftovers for healing,
14:40using Multiscale as additional insurance, with his now doubled defenses.
14:44Now at the time, Dragonite was not a common pick, even on Eevee-based strategies.
14:49Other Pokemon were considered better most of the time.
14:52But Dragonite is Geo's favorite Pokemon, so he was determined to try and make it work.
14:57As a fun fact, Geo is now an editor on this channel.
15:00Say, Geo, why do you like Dragonite so much anyway?
15:03So the reason why Dragonite is my favorite Pokemon of all time is because back when I was a kid,
15:07I was playing through Pokemon Red, and I really wanted to have a Dragonite on my team.
15:11And the only way to get one was to go to the Safari Zone and fish for a Dratini.
15:16So, you know, I went there, started fishing for one, and actually found one right away.
15:20But unfortunately, it ran away from me because the Safari Zone sucks.
15:23But I was like, well, you know, it probably won't take me that long to find another one.
15:27But turns out another one wouldn't show up for several hours.
15:31And I was so angry.
15:33I was just like, you know what?
15:34I already put this much time into it.
15:35I'm not going to give up.
15:36Let me just keep going.
15:38And eventually I did get one, but it took so long that I actually forgot to do my homework
15:43and got in trouble at school the next day because of it.
15:46But I was just the happiest kid in the world that I had a Dragonite on my team.
15:50So whenever I look at Dragonite, I think of a simpler time back when, you know,
15:54your biggest worry was having to do homework.
15:56Now I have to do taxes and stuff.
15:58In this streamed match, the game appears to be completely over.
16:01Geo's Eevee was KO'd before it could pass the stat boost to Dragonite,
16:05thanks to an untimely poison.
16:07And every one of his other Pokemon has already been KO'd.
16:10In exchange, Geo has only managed to land one single attack for half of Hariyama's HP,
16:16meaning he hasn't taken even a single KO.
16:19Down one against four, the match is presumed to be over.
16:23Do you think he has any chance to win?
16:25And then, yep, hidden power ice power gem.
16:28Yeah, because if time runs out, you win four Pokemon to one.
16:31Spore.
16:32Smeargle outspeeding that Dragonite using Spore to put it to sleep.
16:36I don't know my damage counts for that,
16:38because I have not faced off against a Dragonite in this format before.
16:42Smeargle saving that Spore for later.
16:44Nihilego revealing it brought the hidden power ice.
16:47It's not a one-hit knockout, though.
16:50Dragonite living.
16:51Oh, and Dragonite wakes up and goes for an Earthquake,
16:55targeting down this Nihilego and this Hariyama.
16:58It gets the knockout of Nihilego.
17:00It gets the knockout of Hariyama.
17:01You don't even see that common on Dragonite,
17:04and it picks up the knockout onto both Pokemon.
17:06Fake out.
17:07Got down to zero just a little bit ago, but I...
17:10Wow.
17:12But despite Dragonite's newfound stardom,
17:14this was the last time it would be relevant,
17:16not just in Generation 7, but in Generation 8, too.
17:28There is not a single recorded instance of any player using Dragonite in all of Sword and Shield.
17:39Not one.
17:40These games weren't kind to Dragonite.
17:42Dynamax didn't especially favor it,
17:44and as the Pokemon got stronger and stronger each generation,
17:47Dragonite just fell further and further behind.
17:51Of course, Dragonite wasn't even allowed to begin the generation at the starting line.
17:55Sword and Shield were especially rude to Dragonite,
17:57as these were the first Pokemon games that did not feature every Pokemon in them.
18:02And though Dragonite was eventually added in the second DLC,
18:05by then, the power level had far eclipsed Generation 1 standards.
18:10However, these games were arguably the most important
18:13in setting Dragonite up for future redemption.
18:16For you see, Dragonite received not one, but two major buffs in Sword and Shield.
18:22The first has to do with its ability.
18:24Not multiscale.
18:26Inner focus.
18:27In Sword and Shield, Inner Focus received a buff.
18:29Now, in addition to preventing flinching, this ability also blocks Intimidate.
18:33Intimidate was on nearly every team at this point,
18:35and it's the main tool used to slow physical attackers down,
18:39so ignoring it is a huge deal.
18:41The other buff was to Dragonite's movepool.
18:44While it still didn't get access to a good flying-type attack,
18:46Dragonite did get access to a new move called Scale Shot.
18:50This move is like a souped-up, dragon-type version of Bullet Seed.
18:54It hits 2-5 times, then lowers Dragonite's defense and raises its speed.
18:58Of course, it is more likely to only hit 2 or 3 times,
19:01so in Sword and Shield, it wasn't considered very strong because of its inconsistent nature.
19:06But it will be important later.
19:08Because with this improved ability and new move,
19:11Generation 9 would finally free Dragonite from the shackles of mediocrity,
19:15and catapult it into a top threat for the first time in history.
19:19Welcome to Scarlet and Violet.
19:34Going into Generation 9, nobody other than Geo was thinking about Dragonite.
19:39After all, why would they?
19:41It hadn't been strong in any prior generation,
19:43and with more and more powerful Pokemon being added to the game,
19:46it was laughable to think that a Generation 1 Pokemon with no results to speak of could keep up,
19:52especially with the new best Pokemon in the game
19:55seeming to be designed specifically to counter it.
19:58Ultimately though, it was Dragonite who got the last laugh,
20:01and the reason why begins with the core mechanic of these games, Terrastalization.
20:06Every generation since Generation 5 has added some core new mechanic to battles.
20:11Black and White added Gems, X and Y added Mega Evolutions,
20:14Sun and Moon added Z-Moves, and Sword and Shield added Dynamax.
20:18Mega Evolutions were their own thing, either a Pokemon had one or it didn't,
20:21but for the other three mechanics, they all shared something in common.
20:25These mechanics were all about scaling.
20:27What I mean by this is that, in order to bring out their full potential,
20:30you needed to use Pokemon that were already powerful.
20:33For both Gems and Dynamax, the Pokemon taking advantage of the mechanic would become about
20:3850% stronger.
20:40But think about it, if your Pokemon wasn't strong to begin with,
20:43how much is this actually going to help?
20:45Z-Moves would roughly double a Pokemon's damage output,
20:48making it even more important that the base move was doing as much as possible.
20:53Given you're only able to use these mechanics for between 1 and 3 turns each battle,
20:57it didn't take long for players to realize that the best way to optimize around them
21:01was to focus on Pokemon that were already strong.
21:04Put another way, every single one of these mechanics created a rich get richer effect,
21:08where Pokemon that were already strong could become even stronger,
21:11and in doing so, it became even harder for weaker Pokemon to keep up.
21:16But this philosophy of scaling doesn't apply to Scarlet and Violet's mechanic of Terrestrialization.
21:21Terrestrialization allows one of your Pokemon to change their type,
21:24and while this can result in a power boost,
21:27it's equally as viable to rewrite your defensive relationships
21:30and give a new type of move a stab boost.
21:33Because this mechanic is much more flexible and far less centered around
21:36make big Pokemon do big damage,
21:38it opened the door for previously forgotten Pokemon to take center stage,
21:43and none made a grander appearance than Dragonite.
21:46Remember that Dragonite had four primary things holding it back.
21:50Typing, movepool, ability, and stats.
21:53Terrestrialization improves Dragonite's typing, yes,
21:56but it also allows it to make better use of both its movepool and its stats.
22:01For Dragonite, the go-to Terra type quickly became Terra Normal.
22:05Normal only has one weakness, to fighting.
22:08A type that Dragonite resists before it Terrestrializes.
22:11Going from four weaknesses to only one is an upgrade obviously,
22:14but the main reason Normal is chosen actually has to do with offense.
22:18You see, at the start of Scarlet and Violet,
22:20Dragonite was the single strongest user of the move Extreme Speed that was legal in tournaments,
22:25and it's now second only to Rayquaza, since Dragonite has more attack than Arceus.
22:31Extreme Speed is a very, very powerful move.
22:34It is only 80 base power, which lands it in the strong but not remarkable category,
22:38but the reason you use it isn't the power alone, it's the priority.
22:42This move has plus two priority, meaning it will go before almost every other move in the game.
22:48For context, most priority moves cap out at 40 base power,
22:53half of Extreme Speed, and most of them only have plus one priority.
22:57When a priority move is allowed to be stronger,
22:59it normally has some extra condition it needs to fulfill,
23:02like Sucker Punch or Thunderclap or Grassy Glide.
23:06Extreme Speed has no such condition, and is stronger than these other moves anyway,
23:10while also having more priority than them.
23:13Dragonite has always had access to Extreme Speed,
23:15but without the same type attack bonus, it wasn't really worth using.
23:19Terra Normal changes that.
23:20By making Dragonite's primary attacking type Normal,
23:23this also fixes some issues with Dragonite's movepool.
23:26It doesn't matter that Dragonite doesn't learn a Flying type move,
23:29because it's not going to bother using a Flying type move
23:32when Extreme Speed just knocks everything out anyway.
23:34However, if Dragonite really does want to use a powerful Flying type move,
23:38Terrastalization can grant that wish instead.
23:41Some players had success using Dragonite with Terra Flying, Terra Blast,
23:45as at the start of Scarlet and Violet, good offensive Flying types were hard to come by.
23:49Dragonite's huge attack stat can be put to good use by boosting it even further
23:53with the power of Terrastalization, dealing massive Flying type damage
23:57that hit a large portion of the format for tons of their health.
24:00Of course, the main set that Dragonite used was still Terra Normal,
24:03building around Extreme Speed.
24:04And this inadvertently fixes the main issue with Dragonite's stats.
24:08Remember, Dragonite's primary weakness here was its low speed stat.
24:12But when your primary attack is a move that nearly always goes first anyway,
24:16you don't even need to worry about your speed stat.
24:18Now, Dragonite could much more freely invest in its bulk and power,
24:22neglecting speed altogether.
24:24I think the Game Freak realized that, as a move, Extreme Speed is just way too powerful.
24:29And that is probably part of the reason that, in Scarlet and Violet,
24:32there is not a single tournament-legal Normal type Pokemon that can learn it.
24:36A move with this much power, this much priority,
24:39and the same type attack bonus would clearly be unhealthy for the game.
24:43Being able to knock Pokemon out before they can even attack is a nightmare scenario.
24:47Of course, even if there was a Pokemon that could pull off Terra Normal Extreme Speed,
24:51it can always be kept in check by the fact that all physical attackers can be slowed down by
24:55Intimidate.
24:56Unless, of course, the user is immune to Intimidate.
25:00The buff to Interfocus didn't do anything for Dragonite in Sword and Shield,
25:03but here in Paldea, it's another story.
25:05Now, your Terra Normal 80 base power plus 2 priority attack
25:09is not only immune to flinging from Fake Out, it also can't be slowed down by Intimidate.
25:14Give Dragonite a choice ban for another 50% damage amp,
25:17and things are starting to really get out of hand, but we still aren't done yet.
25:21Scarlet and Violet introduced another buff for Dragonite,
25:24in the form of a new partner Pokemon, Chen Pau.
25:27Chen Pau is a fast and frail Ice and Dark type,
25:30capable of threatening the Dragon types that hit Dragonite out of Terra,
25:33and the Ghost types that are immune to Extreme Speed.
25:36It can also hit the Rock and Steel types that resist Extreme Speed
25:39with Sacred Sword, providing exceptional coverage for Dragonite.
25:43Of course, the main reason to use Chen Pau has to do with its ability,
25:47Sword of Ruin.
25:48This ability passively lowers the defense stat of all other Pokemon on the field,
25:53while Chen Pau is out.
25:55Meaning, not only is Dragonite using an 80 base power move that almost always hits first,
26:00not only is it being multiplied by 50% from the same type attack bonus,
26:04granted via Terrestrialization,
26:06not only is Dragonite immune to flinching and Intimidate from its ability,
26:09not only does Dragonite get another 50% multiplier from the choice ban item,
26:14not only does Dragonite's partner naturally threaten the Pokemon that could survive Extreme
26:18Speed,
26:19but also it receives another 25% damage amp just by having Chen Pau next to it on the field.
26:26Terrestrialization was so good to Dragonite that it even won a tournament before Chen Pau became
26:31legal, using an Assault Vest set with Terra Flying, Terra Blast.
26:34Once Chen Pau was added to the game though,
26:36the dominant set by far became choice banned Terra Normal, Extreme Speed.
26:41In early Scarlet and Violet, this was one of the main,
26:43if not THE main physical attacks that players had to plan around.
26:47An attack from Dragonite,
26:49a Pokemon that couldn't even keep up back in Generation 4,
26:52was now a central focal point of competitive play.
26:55But Scarlet and Violet were so good to Dragonite that,
26:58even after Chen Pau became legal, other Dragonite sets still found major success.
27:02The first international event in Oceania was won by a Lumbery,
27:06multiscale Terra Flying, Terra Blast Dragonite,
27:09providing some anti-Amoonga support for the team,
27:12and using Ice Spinner to handle opposing Garchomp and Psychic Terrain based teams.
27:16This same Lumbery Dragonite set won a regional in Canada a few months later,
27:20paired with a Sun strategy,
27:22using Dragonite's bulk with multiscale and resistances to fire and water,
27:26to give an otherwise offensive team a great defensive pivot.
27:29Another multiscale Lumbery Dragonite won a tournament in Italy with Dragon Dance.
27:34The strategy was to use Orthworm's new attack, Shed Tail,
27:38to give Dragonite a substitute that was extra hard to break thanks to multiscale,
27:42allowing Dragonite to set up a Dragon Dance or two,
27:44and then sweep through the opponent's team.
27:46Normally a Dragon Dance Pokemon would prefer to use Inner Focus,
27:49to prevent opponents from taking away the attack boosts,
27:52but since Substitute already blocks Fake Out and Intimidate,
27:54multiscale lets you get the best of both worlds.
27:57Finally, at the end of the first year in Scarlet and Violet,
28:00Dragonite placed 4th at the World Championships,
28:02with a Choice Band, Inner Focus set that used Terra Flying, Terra Blast,
28:07instead of the more conventional Terra Normal Extreme Speed.
28:10Dragonite's first win of the second year of Scarlet and Violet,
28:13was once again as the classic Terra Normal Choice Band Extreme Speed set,
28:17paired with Chen Pao, of course.
28:19But unfortunately, this was also its last win of the 2024 season.
28:24While it was still one of the most used Pokemon,
28:26and at this point almost exclusively used the Terra Normal Choice Band build,
28:29Dragonite was unable to bring home another win.
28:32Though that's not to say that it wasn't strong.
28:34Dragonite got very close several times,
28:36and even finished 6th at the 2024 World Championships,
28:39in a format where it wasn't even thought to be especially strong.
28:43Which brings us to this season.
28:45What you need to know about the 2025 season,
28:47is that in the 4 months following the World Championships,
28:50all Legendary and Paradox Pokemon were banned.
28:53With Chen Pao gone, would Dragonite be able to keep up?
28:56Dragonite won more tournaments during this 4 month stretch,
28:59than it did in all of the 2024 season.
29:02It also placed 2nd at nearly every major event when it didn't win.
29:06Of course, without Chen Pao around, the primary set changed.
29:10Many players went back to Lumbery or Assault Vest with Terra Flying and Multiscale,
29:14using Dragonite as a strong physical attacker with flying coverage and great bulk.
29:18However, a new set would quickly rise in popularity,
29:22becoming a brand new threat so immense, the entire format warped around it.
29:26I told you we'd come back to it.
29:28Let's talk about Scaleshot.
29:30You see, I haven't told you about one final buff to Dragonite and Scarlet and Violet.
29:34This comes in the form of a new item, called the Loaded Dice.
29:38This item does nothing for most attacks,
29:40but is very powerful when the holder uses a move that hits multiple times.
29:45Remember how Scaleshot was more likely to hit 2 or 3 times rather than 4 or 5,
29:49making it really inconsistent?
29:50Well, if the Pokemon holding the Loaded Dice uses a multi-hit move,
29:54that move will always hit either 4 or 5 times.
29:58In other words, Loaded Dice Scaleshot Dragonite is a move that is always
30:02either 100 or 125 base power that ignores Focus Sash and gives Dragonite a speed boost,
30:09and all you have to do to use it is give up your item slot.
30:12For context, Outrage is 120 base power, meaning half the time, Scaleshot is stronger
30:18without the drawback of locking you into the move or targeting a random opponent.
30:22Scaleshot also raises Dragonite's speed after connecting,
30:25though connecting with the move does lower your defense stat in exchange.
30:28However, with multiscale increasing your survivability,
30:31and Dragonite resisting many of the common physical attacks like
30:34Flare Blitz, Grassy Glide, Wave Crash in close combat,
30:37this is a small price to pay for a speed boost and a ton of damage.
30:41Unlike any prior Dragonite, Scaleshot Loaded Dice Dragonite played a weird role.
30:45It was able to do damage, yes, but it often used the speed boost that Scaleshot provided
30:50to support the team rather than doing more damage.
30:53These Dragonite would normally use moves like Tailwind,
30:55Haze, and even Encore to change the flow of the battle.
30:58Many Dragonite didn't even use a second attacking move,
31:01trusting that Scaleshot would be enough and believing the support to be more important.
31:06Another difference to past Dragonite is the Terra type.
31:08While nearly every Dragonite before had used an offensive type of Flying or Normal,
31:13for this New Age Dragonite, the standard became either Steel,
31:16which has the best defensive type matchups in a vacuum,
31:19or Fairy, which had the benefit of making your Dragonite immune to other Scaleshot Dragonite.
31:24With this set rising in infamy, Dragonite had cemented itself as a Pokemon with not one,
31:29not two, but three different tournament winning sets over the course of Scarlet and Violet.
31:34Terra Normal Choice Band Extreme Speed,
31:37Terra Flying Terra Blast, and Terra Fairy Loaded Dice Scaleshot.
31:40Dragonite had proven itself to be not just a flash in the pan,
31:44but one of the standout competitive Pokemon in all of Generation 9.
31:48Geo even used it to pull off another ridiculous Dragonite comeback,
31:52landing the perfect Outrage target turn after turn,
31:55and just barely surviving a crucial attack at the last moment.
31:58Seems like Dragonite isn't only Geo's favorite Pokemon,
32:01but Geo might just be Dragonite's favorite trainer.
32:04I think there's a lesson here in all of this.
32:07Dragonite is a Pokemon that looked like it was going to be forgotten to time and competitive
32:10Pokemon. But with just a few small improvements over the years, and the perfect conditions
32:15thanks to Scarlet and Violet's new mechanic, it was able to even outperform Pokemon released
32:198 generations after it. I think this is part of what makes Pokemon so cool as a competitive game.
32:24I seriously doubt that Game Freak went into Scarlet and Violet intending to make Dragonite
32:29one of the best Pokemon, and yet it happened anyway because of how these small buffs over
32:33time added up, and how terrestrialization happened to favor a Pokemon with exactly
32:38Dragonite's toolkit. Personally, it makes me really excited for Generation 10,
32:42not just to see what other silly new Pokemon they come up with, but also to discover which
32:47other Pokemon can shatter the chains of destiny to try and claim the throne for themselves.
32:52Maybe it's finally time for Luvdisc's Reign of Terror.
32:55I made a video talking about how Zacian, formerly the strongest Pokemon in the game,
33:00lost everything. Kind of like an opposite arc of Dragonite.
33:03If you liked this video, you might be interested in that story as well.