Dragonite, The Dragon Pokémon. It is said to make its home somewhere in the sea. It guides crews of shipwrecks to shore. It is said that this Pokémon constantly flies over the immense seas and rescues drowning people. This marine Pokémon has an impressive build that lets it freely fly over raging seas without trouble.

Overview

Dragonite is probably one of them more versatile Pokemon in 5th Generation, being able to run a variety of sets, as well and having a vast movepool. But what really sets the first Dragon apart from the others is the ability it received this generation; Multiscale. This allows Dragonite to be able to survive many hits it otherwise couldn't, and also take advantage of the fact by either healing it off or setting up on the hit. Whatever it does, Multiscale is really what sets Dragonite apart from the other Dragons, making it quite a tank and allowing it to better handle the opponent's team.

Abilities

Inner Focus: Prevents Dragonite from being Flinched, this is a decent ability as it shields Dragonite from Paraflinch strategies and such, but it is really situational and doesn't help Dragonite too much in the long run. Multiscale: Reduces any damage by half if Dragonite is at full health, a very good ability that allows Dragonite to survive hits and switch in on moves that it otherwise would avoid like the plague, meaning it has a lot more freedom than it used to. Only drawback is Stealth Rock can ruin your day, so it'd be best to have a Rapid Spinner.

Movesets

Enter the Dragonite

-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Claw / Outrage
-Fire Punch
-ExtremeSpeed / Roost / Earthquake
Item Attached: Leftovers / Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) or Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)

Dragonite has always had quite a few things to play with in its movepool, and Dragon Dance is probably one of the best things it was given. Boosting both its Attack and Speed by one stage, Dragonite is very capable of outspeeding and KOing many Pokemon it couldn't otherwise. Dragon Claw is a strong STAB move that hits several types for neutral damage, but gets key super effective hits on Pokemon like Kyurem-B, Garchomp, other Dragonites, and the Lati twins. Outrage is far more powerful than Dragon Claw, but has the drawback of locking you into the move and then inflicting you with Confusion at the end of the 2-5 turns it lasts. Fire Punch rips through Steel types that otherwise stop Dragonite's Dragon type spamming in its tracks, with things such as Ferrothorn, Forretress, and some Skarmory falling to it pretty quickly. The last slot goes to either ExtremeSpeed, which is a powerful priority move that outpaces most other priority, Roost, which allows Dragonite to heal itself and possibly allow Multiscale to help with another hit, or Earthquake, which allows it to beat more bulky Steels such as Jirachi and Heatran (the latter being immune to Fire Punch), and non-Steels like Tentacruel, Ninetales, and Tyranitar. Leftovers as an item is useful in most scenarios as it recovers some of your health each turn, making it easier for Dragonite to get Multiscale back up as well as stick around a lot longer. Lum Berry is useufl for keeping status away long enough for Dragonite to kill what's attempting to give him status, or to recover from Outrage's confusion. The choice between natures is simple, Adamant boosting power more, while Jolly allows you to outspeed more threats either on the onset or at +1.

How To Train Your Dragon

-Outrage
-ExtremeSpeed
-Earthquake / Superpower
-Fire Punch / Waterfall
Item Attached: Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

Attaching a Choice Band to Dragonite makes it extremely powerful and dangerous, especially with the right support, making this one of the most viable sets to use on Dragonite. Outrage rips through any team lacking a Steel type to resist it, allowing Dragonite to plow through teams without having to worry about being stopped by too much. ExtremeSpeed can be used on Dragonite to let it be a great revenge-killer, with a powerful priority move that can even take down some Pokemon from pretty high health. Earthquake hits the same bulkier Steels and others as it did for the last set, while Superpower hits most Steels and some other obscure things. Fire Punch and Waterfall both are helped out by Sun and Rain respectively, which is generally the reason to run one over the other, as they both provide coverage on certain threats. .

Taking Back The Dragonite

-Hurricane
-Thunder
-Aqua Tail / Superpower
-ExtremeSpeed / Roost / Earthquake
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Multiscale
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 76 Atk / 252 SAtk / 180 Spe
Mild Nature (+SAtk, -Def)

With Rain being ever present in the 5th generation competitive scene, a Dragonite set that abuses it was bound to turn up. And not only did it appear, but also turned out to be quite a good mixed attacker. Hurricane is strong Flying STAB with a chance to Confuse that also has perfect accuracy in Rain, meaning Dragonite can fire them off with no drawbacks and a possible status infliction on the opponent. Thunder is similar, having perfect accuracy and a higher chance to inflict Paralysis, making it a powerful coverage move. Aqua Tail works very well under Rain, and hits quite a few threats for very high damage with the Rain boost. Superpower does manage to hit several threats harder than Aqua Tail, notably Blissey and Tyranitar, as well as some Steels. Dragonite can pick off weakened opponents with ExtremeSpeed, with its other options being easy recovery ad Life Orb recoil nullification through Roost and a bit more coverage in Earthquake.

This battle is starting to Drag-on

-Substitute
-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Claw / Outrage
-Roost
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 60 SDef / 124 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)

Taking the Dragon Dance set and tweaking it a little made it so that DD Dragonite can not only dish out a ton of damage, but is better able to take it as well as status. Substitute gives Dragonite a buffer of protection, keeping away status and higher damage, as well as giving it a good opportunity to use Dragon Dance if the opponent switched out of Dragonite ont he Substitute. Dragon Dance is there to boost Dragonite, the same as with the previous DD set. Dragon Claw and Outrage are Dragonite's STAB options, with Dragon Claw being the preferred choice and the safer option, while Outrage does hit harder but also locks you in as well as causes Confusion, which generally leads to you switching out and losing your boosts. Roost is there to make sure Dragonite stays around to take advantage of its sweeping potential, as well as quickly heal off damage from using Substitute. The EVs allow for it to outrun Alakazam at +1 Speed, and the bulk allows it to take certain hits that will, with those EVs, not break the Substitute.

Other Options

Agility, Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Tail, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Focus Blast, Stone Edge, Surf, Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt, Toxic
Agility is an alternate boosting move Dragonite can use, making it much faster so it is better able to sweep, as well as be faster than several Choice Scarf Pokemon.
Draco Meteor is an option for a specially based set, using its massive base power to annihiliate a large portion of the metagame, although it will need to retreat often after the drop in Special Attack.
Dragon Pulse is the alternate to Draco Meteor, having far less power but also having no drawbacks (lowered stats, accuracy, etc) like Draco Meteor.
Dragon Tail allows Dragonite to phaze out an opponent while still doing damage, working well on a Parashuffler set.
Fire Blast allows for Fire special coverage on a more specially oriented Dragonite, doing massive damage to Steels and others weak to it.
Flamethrower is the alternate to Fire Blast, and like Dragon Pulse is weaker but more accurate, which canbe a great benefit.
Focus Blast is an interesting special option, being Dragonite's sole option for a Fighting special coverage move, which could be very useful against Steels and Normal types (and some particular Rocks), but does have terrible accuracy.
Stone Edge can hit a variety of Pokemon from the physical side of things, hitting Flying types such as other Dragonites and Thundurus-T for high damage.
Surf is another option for a special Dragonite, getting the boost from Rain like Aqua Tail and Waterfall on the physical sets and hitting the same threats.
Thunder Wave is good on bulkier Dragonite sets, or on the aforementioned Parashuffler set, letting Dragonite cripple switch ins, as well as anything that can't OHKO it.
Thunderbolt is usable over Thunder if you're not running Rain and don't want to have to depnd on your opponent to, but generally if you're running a Dragonite that runs Thunder, you should run Rain.
Toxic is another option for status that Dragonite has, allowing it to cripple non-Steel or Poison walls that could potentially cause Dragonite some grief.

Double & Triple Battle Options

Dragonite isn't really any different in these formats than it is in Singles, though it does run Protect on several sets (which is generally required in these formats anyhow). It still serves as either a physical attacker or a Rain boosted special attacker in general though.

Partners

Politoed is the obvious partner for Rain themed Dragonite sets, and most Dragonite also appreciate having a Rapid Spinner as a partner like Tentacruel and Donphan to keep their Multiscale intact.

Countering Dragonite

Mamoswine is one of the better counters to Dragonite, being able to OHKO through Multiscale with Icicle Crash and do around 60% of its health with Ice Shard. Beyond that, it's mostly fast choice Scarf users with super effective coverage moves (Keldeo, Terrakion, Latios, etc.), most defensive tanks like Skarmory and Ferrothorn in Rain (they can at least cripple it or phaze it, or wall a Dragonite stuck in Outrage), or Intimidate pivots like Landorus-Therian. It really depends on the set that Dragonite is using though, as it has enough diversity to be a problem. Stealth Rock still on the field is probably the best counter to Dragonite, as it breaks Multiscale and gets Dragonite down 25% of its health right off the bat.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen/XD

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Evolve Dragonair

Colosseum/XD:
Snagged from Wanderer Miror B in Gateon Port (XD)

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Dragonair

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Dragonair

Black/White:
Dragonspiral Tower

Black 2/White 2:
Dragonspiral Tower

Animé Appearences

Dragonite has made a few appearances. Most notably, it was used by Iris after she captured a rogue one in Unova. In addition to that, Blackthorn City Gym Leader Clair had one # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics 13 Mystery at the Lighthouse Bill's Lighthouse Pics M1 Mewtwo Strikes Back Mewtwo's Counterattack Pics 113 Hello Pummelo Winner's Cup! 6 vs. 6! Pics 114 Enter The Dragonite Final Battle! Dragonite's Appearance! Pics 237 Talkin' 'Bout an Evolution Lance and the Red Gyarados! Lake Of Rage!! Pics 238 Rage Of Innocence Rage of the Red Gyarados! Pics 254 Fangs for Nothin' Blackthorn City Gym's Dragon's Fang! Pics 255 Great Bowls of Fire Dragonite! Invoke the Imperial Wrath! Pics 374 The Scuffle of Legends Groudon VS Kyogre! (Part Two) Pics 399 Deceit And Assist! Fierce Fighting! Grand Festival! (2)! Pics 403 Saved by the Beldum Start The Preliminaries! Morrison Appears!! Pics S20 The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon The Terrifying Mirage Pokémon Pics 586 Pursuing a Lofty Goal PokéRinger! Big Decisive Sky Battle!! Pics 609 Challenging A Towering Figure! Tower Tycoon! That Man, Palmer! Pics 750 Iris and the Rogue Dragonite Iris and the Roughneck Dragonite! Pics 751 Jostling for the Junior Cup! The Junior Cup Gets Underway! Dragonite VS Beartic!! Pics 752 Battling Authority Once Again! Power Battle! Iris VS Dawn! Pics 753 Ash, Iris and Trip: Then There Were Three! Ash, Iris & Trip's Final Battle Pics 758 Unova's Survival Crisis Advance of the Therian Formes! Unova's Greatest Crisis!! Pics 761 A Village Homecoming! Iris, Return to Dragon Village! Pics 762 Drayden Versus Iris: Past, Present, and Future! Opelucid Gym! Iris VS Drayden!! Pics 774 The Light of Floccesy Ranch! The Foggy Floccesy Ranch! Ampharos' Light! Pics 777 Flames of a Red-Hot Reunion! Burn, Charizard! VS Dragonite! Pics 778 Team Plasma's Pokemon Manipulation! Team Plasma's Aspiration! The Manipulated Pokémon!! Pics 779 Secrets From Out of the Fog! N's Secret...Beyond the Fog! Pics 780 Meowth, Colress and Team Rivalry! Team Rocket VS Team Plasma! Meowth and Colress!! Pics 781 Ash and N: A Clash of Ideals! The White Ruins! Ash VS N!! Pics 782 Team Plasma and the Awakening Ceremony! Team Plasma Strikes! The Ressurection Ritual!! Pics 783 What Lies Beyond Truth and Ideals! Reshiram VS N! Beyond Ideals and Truth!! Pics 785 Danger, Sweet as Honey! Sweet Honeymitsu is Filled with Danger! Pics M16 Genesect & The Legend Awakened Extremespeed Genesect: Mewtwo Awakens Pics 795 The Journalist from Another Region! Alexa Appears! Helioptile & Gogoat!! Pics 796 Mystery on a Deserted Island! The Mystery of the Treasure! Adventure on an Uninhabited Island!! Pics 797 A Pokémon of a Different Color! Clair & Iris! The Shiny Druddigon!! Pics 800 Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit! Emolga Joins Team Rocket!? Pics 801 Survival of the Striaton Gym! Cilan VS The Ice Challenger! The Crisis at Striation Gym!! Pics S34 TBC Iris VS Clair! The Road to Dragon Master! Pics 863 Showcase, Debut! Aim to Become Kalos Queen! Serena's Grand Debut!! Pics M18 Hoopa & The Clash of Ages The Archdjinni of the Rings: Hoopa Pics 1099 A Test in Paradise! The Dragonite Paradise and the Dragonair Trial! Pics 1100 Best Friend ... Worst Nightmare! Chloe, Yamper, and Sometimes Gengar Too! Pics 1103 Raid Battle in the Ruins! The First Visit to the Unova Region! Raid Battle at the Ruins!! Pics 1104 A Snow Day for Searching! Snow Day: Where is Cubone's Bone? Pics 1105 A Chilling Curse! Ash Has Been Cursed...! Pics 1110 Caring for a Mystery! Hit Your Mark, Aura! Ash and the Mysterious Egg!! Pics 1112 Panic in the Park! Massive Panic! Cerise Park!! Pics 1114 A Festival Reunion! A Battle Festival Exploding With Life! VS Mega Lucario!! Pics 1118 There's a New Kid in Town! One Crackling Fit of Jealousy: Yamper's Fantasy Pics 1123 Solitary and Menacing! Bea, the Lone Warrior! The Grapploct Menace!! Pics 1124 Gotta Catch a What?! I Got Pikachu Pics 1126 The New Old Gang of Mine I Am Back! Nice to See You, Alola! Pics 1128 Octo-Gridlock at the Gym! Ash VS Bea! Overcome Octolock Pics 1131 Sword and Shield: Slumbering Weald Sword & Shield I: Slumbering Weald Pics 1132 Sword and Shield: The Darkest Day! Sword & Shield II: Darkest Day Pics 1133 Sword and Shield: From Here to Eternatus! Sword & Shield III: Eternatus Pics 1135 Getting More Than You Battled For! Battling & Getting! Mewtwo Comes Back Pics 1136 Crowning the Chow Crusher! Pokémon Champion! The Battle of Big Eaters!! Pics 1140 Trials of a Budding Master! The Great Farfetch'd Trial! Pics 1149 Beyond Chivalry... Aiming to be a Leek Master! Aim to Become Leek Master! Stay With Me, Chivalry!! Pics 1154 Thrash of the Titans! Dragon Battle! Ash VS Iris!! Pics 1159 Take My Thief! Please! Please Get Morpeko!! Pics 1160 Leaping Towards the Dream! Let's Go! Project Mew!! Pics 1166 Excitement from the Ultra-Shocking Start! A Super-Electromagnetic Hyper Class Battle! Pics 1173 An Adventure of Mega Proportions! The Lucarionite! Adventure on Mega Island!! Pics 1174 Battle Three with Bea! Rival Showdown! Ash VS Bea!! Pics 1177 Looking Out for Number Two! Trial Mission! The Deep Sea Diver Research Team!! Pics 1179 Showdown at the Gates of Warp! Dialga & Palkia! The Decisive Space-time Battle!! Pics 1182 It's all in the Name! Your Name is Francois Pics 1184 The Good, The Bad, and The Lucky! Farewell! The Wandering Team Rocket Pics 1192 The Future is Now, Thanks to Strategy! Ash & Clemont! Special Friendship Training!! Pics 1194 Reuniting for the First Time! Eevee and Sylveon! Encounters and Reunions!! Pics 1197 Catching the Aura of Fate! Lucario & Greninja! The Aura of Fate!! Pics 1198 Aim for the Eight! VS Raihan! A Fight with Masters Eight on the Line!! Pics 1201 Helping the Hometown Hero! A Triumphant Return! The Alola Champion!! Pics 1202 Chasing to the Finish! Last Mission! Get Regieleki & Regidrago!! Pics 1203 Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit! Fire Training Battle! Ash VS Paul!! Pics 1205 Pride of a Champion! Champions' Pride! Lance VS Diantha!! Pics 1206 The Fiery Road to Mastership! VS Cynthia! Iris' Road to Dragon Master Pics 1207 Battling as Hard as Stone! Ash Heads Into Battle! VS Steven!! Pics 1210 TBC The Climax Begins: Ash's Masters Tournament Experience Pics 1211 It's Champion Time! The Semifinals I: Sweep Pics 1212 Bewitch, Battle, and Bewilder! The Semifinals II: Dazzle Pics 1213 Valor: A Strategic Part of Battling! The Semifinals III: Valor Pics 1214 Whittle While You Work! The Semifinals IV: Impact Pics 1217 TBC Climax! The Night Before the Decisive Match: Ash VS Leon!! Pics 1218 A Flood of Torrential Gains The Finals I: Torrent Pics 1219 Toying With Your Motions! The Finals II: Toying Pics 1220 Paring Pokémon While Parrying! The Finals III: Smashing Pics 1221 Partners in Time! The Finals IV: Partner Pics 1224 Heroes Unite! Pokémon! I Am Glad I Got To Meet You Pics 1225 These Could be the Start of Something Big! Ash and Goh! Setting Off Anew!! Pics 1233 Getting to the Heart of it All! What Banette Is Looking For! Pics 1236 The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master! Pics 68 TBC Taking to New Skies! The Brave Olivine!! Pics