Dragalge has been a very interesting Pokemon since the release of Pokemon X and Y. Its Poison / Dragon typing is unique to only Dragalge itself, and this allows it to defeat Fairy-type Pokemon with relative ease. Like with most Dragon-types, it has a very colorful movepool that includes coverage options, such as Thunderbolt, Focus Blast, Scald, Shadow Ball, and Hydro Pump. Dragalge even gets access to Toxic Spikes to make some use out of its incredible base 123 Special Defense. However, ever since its release, Dragalge was stuck in the depths of NU. Within NU, it was definitely a solid Pokemon with the ability to either support its team with Toxic Spikes and useful resistances to Electric, Fire, Grass, and Fighting, or being capable of unleashing powerful Draco Meteors to punch holes in opposing teams. Dragalges main sticking points were a lack of reliable recovery, a very poor base 44 Speed, and a base 97 Special Attack stat that just didnt let Dragalge hit as hard as it would have liked. However, everybody knew that the inability to hit as hard as it would like would be changed sooner or later. Dragalges Hidden Ability of Adaptability was not available for the duration of XY, but everyone knew that Dragalge would get a whole lot better once the ability was made legal. Finally, in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, this thought became reality. Dragalge quickly became one of the top powerhouses in RU by throwing around strong Adaptability, Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteors that teams need bulky Steel-types or a Fairy-type just to take on. Even the top Steel-type of RU, Cobalion, takes an incredible amount of damage from Draco Meteor with its support set, meaning teams have to resort to the likes of Bronzong and Registeel to tank out these attacks. The reason Fairy-types are so risky to switch-in is obvious. STAB Sludge Bomb is going to be eliminating them, making it almost mandatory to have both a sturdy Steel-type and a Fairy-type, such as Aromatisse or Whimsicott, to make it a challenge for the Dragalge user to get a KO at will. Dragalge is still held back by a very low Speed stat, and a lack of reliable recovery, but dont let this stop you from trying out one of the top wallbreakers in ORAS RU. So what should you be using with Dragalge anyway? As previously alluded to, a Choice Specs set is definitely the way to go thanks to Adaptability and strong coverage with just its STAB moves alone. In the end, it should look something like this: Dragalge @ Choice Specs Ability: Adaptability EVs: 200 HP / 252 SpA / 56 Spe Modest Nature - Draco Meteor - Sludge Bomb - Dragon Pulse - Focus Blast / Hidden Power Fire Draco Meteor and Sludge Bomb are fairly self-explanatory. Theyre Dragalges best STAB moves and offer a lot of power with Choice Specs and Adaptability backing them up. Dragon Pulse is there for when you will need to keep Dragalge in for a couple of turns, or if the opponent lacks a way to quickly take out Dragalge and has no Dragon-type resistances remaining on his or her team. The last slot is dedicated to Steel-types as they are the only ones that can handle both STAB moves. Focus Blast is stronger and harder to set up on in general, but it has shaky accuracy. Hidden Power Fire is much weaker, but it has one key advantage over Focus Blast: it hits Assault Vest Escavalier, the most common offensive switch-in for Dragalge in RU. If your team has issues with Escavalier, Hidden Power Fire is the way to go. Otherwise, Focus Blast will be good enough for you. The Speed EVs allow Dragalge to outspeed the likes of Druddigon, Registeel, and Tangrowth, all of which Dragalge can dispose of with the proper move. Dragalge has quite the middling Speed stat, so paralysis support can be a great way to get even more out of Dragalge against faster paced teams. Cresselia is, bar none, the best paralysis inducer RU has to offer thanks to her titanic mixed bulk and ability to handle virtually any attack that is aimed at Dragalge. If you cant afford paralysis support, but still want to bolster Dragalges performance against faster teams, you can opt to provide it with Trick Room support. Bronzong, Slowking, Reuniclus, and Cofagrigus are all solid Trick Room setters that can help Dragalge outspeed the opposition within the twisted dimensions. If you go this route, be sure to use a Quiet nature, allocate all Speed EVs to HP and reduce Speed IV to 0, (2 if youre using Hidden Power Fire) and change the item to a Life Orb to allow Dragalge to switch attacks. Outside of Speed support, Dragalge loves Spikes support since, outside of Bronzong, its best responses are all grounded. Omastar and Accelgor are great Spikes users for offensive teams while bulkier teams will find Qwilfish quite useful for this role. While Dragalge loves Spikes support, its not a major fan of having to deal with them upon switching in. As Dragalge switches in and out a lot like most other Choiced Pokemon, Rapid Spin or Defog support can be very beneficial. Gligar is easily the best Defogger in RU, but more offensive teams may prefer Shiftry or Skuntank for such support. As for Rapid Spin, Hitmonlee and Kabutops work for offensive teams, while Hitmontop is a viable option for bulkier teams. As Dragalge will be punching holes in the opposing team, fast special attackers that can take advantage of this are recommended. Mega Sceptile is the most notable one since it shares a lot of checks and counters with Dragalge and is only outsped by opposing Choice Scarf users. Other Pokemon to consider are Choice Scarf Moltres, Mega Pidgeot, and Jolteon. So, when the Pokemon youre trying to take hits from has strong coverage with its STAB moves alone, Adaptability to make said STAB moves even stronger, and is often wielding a Choice Specs in order to amplify this power even more, how do you go about beating it? As alluded to throughout this, Bronzong and Registeel are, bar none, the best switch-ins for Dragalge. If you have either of these Steel-types on your team, it is highly recommended to switch them in immediately if your opponent sends out Dragalge. However, be wary of the fact that these Steel-types lack reliable recovery, so they can be worn down by repeated switch-ins. Cresselia is the next best option at your disposal. Despite not having a resistance to Draco Meteor, Cresselia can switch into it and utilize Moonlight to regain much of the HP she lost. However, Draco Meteor outdamages Moonlight recovery, so its wise to not rely too much on Cresselia to take hits from Dragalge. Having a way to deter Draco Meteor can also be a very effective way to handle Dragalge, as that is the strongest move it has. Fairy-types, such as Aromatisse, Whimsicott, and Granbull are immune to Draco Meteor. Even having them in your team should make opposing Dragalge think twice about using Draco Meteor. As Dragalge lacks reliable recovery and will switch in and out quite a bit, entry hazards can wear it down fairly quickly in conjunction with the resisted attacks it will try to come in on. Finally, Dragalge is rather slow. If nothing else, you can keep it from getting many free chances to switch-in by keeping up offensive pressure. Volt Switch users, such as Eelektross, Jolteon, and Cobalion can be especially effective at this since these are types of Pokemon that Dragalge will likely want to come in against due to its resistance to their primary STAB options, thus allowing you to get some valuable chip damage while applying quick offensive pressure on Dragalge at the same time. Pokemon like Tyrantrum, Meloetta, and Mega Sceptile are solid Pokemon to follow up a Volt Switch on Dragalge with, but there is no better response after a Volt Switch on a Dragalge switching in than Dugtrio. Thanks to Arena Trap, Dugtrio will instantly KO Dragalge with Earthquake and remove it from the battle on the spot. It goes without saying that pulling this off can be very satisfying for you, and very frustrating for your opponent. Dragalge is a powerhouse in RU now that it has Adaptability backing up its powerful STAB moves. It certainly isnt without its faults, but Dragalge should make a very fine addition to almost any RU team out there thanks to its wallbreaking capabilities and useful resistances. Huge thanks to EonX for writing up this PotW, and to user: Foxeaf on DeviantArt for the picture. See you on Sunday ^_^ deviantart/art/Dragalge-418714250
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 00:26:24 +0000
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