Physical
Balanced
300Low
50Slow
CTier

Mid-stage Pokemon like Bagon rarely see competitive play outside of special formats. It's a waypoint on the road to Salamence, which is where the real potential kicks in. Part of the Gen 3 roster. Only weak to Ice, Dragon, and Fairy.

Nothing fancy in Bagon's spread. It leans physical with Attack out front. And you'll get 1 Attack EV per KO for it. Follows a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats
300Avg
HP45
D
Attack75
C
Defense60
C
Sp. Atk40
D
Sp. Def30
F
Speed50
D
Total300
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Bagon yields +1 Atk
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch45ChallengingSlow1.25M XP0.6m / 2'00"42.1kg / 92.8 lbs60Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Its steel-hard head can shatter boulders. It longingly hopes for wings to grow so it can fly.

Scarlet

Its belief that it will be able to fly one day is apparently the influence of information carried in its genes.

Violet

Bagon Weakness

Avg

Bagon's Dragon typing leaves it vulnerable to Ice, Dragon, and Fairy moves. The Dragon typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Bagon's physical bulk (base 60 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

4xCriticali
None
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
None
STAB (1)i
3Weak
4Resist
0Immune
Scorei-2
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Rock HeadProtects against recoil damage.
Sheer ForceHAStrengthens moves with extra effects to 1.3× their power, but prevents their extra effects.

Bagon kicks off a three-stage evolution line through Shelgon all the way to Salamence. For breeding, takes forever to hatch with plenty of partners via one egg group. The evolved forms gain up to 300 total stats over Bagon.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Bagon
Dragon
Shelgon
Dragon
Salamence
DragonFlying
HP
45
65+20
95+30
ATK
75
95+20
135+40
DEF
60
100+40
80-20
SP.ATK
40
60+20
110+50
SP.DEF
30
50+20
80+30
SPE
50
50
100+50
BST
300C-Tier
420D-Tier+120
600B-Tier+180
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Sweeper
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Moderate

Breed Bagon with 65 breeding partners from the Dragon egg group. Pass egg moves like Defense Curl, Dragon Rush, Thrash and 1 more to offspring.

Egg Groups
Dragon
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
40 cycles·10,280 steps
Slow~10 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
4moves
Breed With (best first)
gyaradoscharizardkingdrasceptileflygonmiloticnoivernaltariascraftydragalgesalazzlearbok

Bagon runs Dragon Dance to boost before sweeping. Sheerforce and Adamant nature shape the build, with a spread EV build EVs to capitalize after one turn of setup, plus the remaining moves to back it up.

Best Build

Physical Attacker
Ability
Sheerforce
Item
Life OrbPOWER
Nature
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Best Bagon Moveset

  • Dragon DanceSTAB
  • Iron Head
  • Dragon RushSTAB
  • OutrageSTAB

Recommended Teammates

STAB runs through Draco Meteor and Outrage for the basics, but Bagon's real strength is the 11-type coverage spread. Fire and Dark hit common defensive types, and the movepool keeps going.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Ember
4010025Fire
Lv 1
Leer
10030Normal
Lv 5
Bite
6010025Dark
Lv 10
Dragon Breath
6010020Dragon
Lv 15
Headbutt
7010015Normal
Lv 20
Scary Face
10010Normal
Lv 25
Crunch
8010015Dark
Lv 31
Dragon Claw
8010015Dragon
Lv 35
Zen Headbutt
809015Psychic
Lv 40
Focus Energy
30Normal
Lv 45
Flamethrower
9010015Fire
Lv 50
Outrage
12010010Dragon
Lv 55
Double-Edge
12010015Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM66
Body Slam
8510015Normal
TM58
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
TM108
Crunch
8010015Dark
TM204
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
TM169
Draco Meteor
130905Dragon
TM226
Dragon Cheer
15Dragon
TM78
Dragon Claw
8010015Dragon
TM100
Dragon Dance
20Dragon
TM115
Dragon Pulse
8510010Dragon
TM44
Dragon Tail-6
609010Dragon
TM47
Endure+4
10Normal
TM25
Facade
7010020Normal
TM141
Fire Blast
110855Fire
TM08
Fire Fang
659515Fire
TM24
Fire Spin
358515Fire
TM125
Flamethrower
9010015Fire
TM130
Helping Hand+5
20Normal
TM142
Hydro Pump
110805Water
TM117
Hyper Voice
9010010Normal
TM104
Iron Defense
15Steel
TM99
Iron Head
8010015Steel
TM05
Mud-Slap
2010010Ground
TM156
Outrage
12010010Dragon
TM07
Protect+4
10Normal
TM50
Rain Dance
5Water
TM85
Rest
5Psychic
TM172
Roar-6
20Normal
TM86
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM36
Rock Tomb
609515Rock
TM06
Scary Face
10010Normal
TM61
Shadow Claw
7010015Ghost
TM70
Sleep Talk
10Normal
TM103
Substitute
10Normal
TM49
Sunny Day
5Fire
TM01
Take Down
908520Normal
TM171
Tera Blast
8010010Normal
TM09
Thunder Fang
659515Electric
TM59
Zen Headbutt
809015Psychic

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Defense Curl
40Normal
Egg
Dragon Rush
1007510Dragon
Egg
Thrash
12010010Normal
Egg
Twister
4010020Dragon

Tutor Moves

Bagon can't learn any Tutor moves

Easy grab on Bagon with decent spawn rates across 14 locations in mid-game routes. The sorted list below shows the full spread so you can pick the most convenient spot.

Best Locations

Bagon shows up in 14 walking spots from Lv. 16-38. Plenty of options, and the list is sorted so the highest-rate locations at each progression stage come first.

South Province (Area Five) - Mountain
OverworldLv.16-2825%MidRoute
EASY
East Province (Area One) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
East Province (Area Three) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
Glaseado Mountain
OverworldLv.16-385%MidCave
MODERATE
Glaseado Mountain
OverworldLv.16-385%MidCave
MODERATE
North Province (Area One) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
North Province (Area Three) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
North Province (Area Two) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
South Province (Area One) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
South Province (Area Six) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
West Province (Area One) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
West Province (Area Three) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
West Province (Area Two) - Cave
OverworldLv.16-385%MidRoute
MODERATE
East Province (Area Three) - Mine
OverworldLv.16-382%MidRoute
CHALLENGING
  • At 300 BST, Bagon is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Shelgon before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Watch for Walrein (Ice), Dragonite (Dragon), and Gardevoir (Fairy) when using Bagon. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

  • Bagon evolves into Shelgon at level 30. Bagon is the base form in a 3-stage evolutionary line.

  • Bagon gets Sheer Force and Rock Head. But Sheer Force is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Bagon is a physical attacker with base 75 Attack. Fragile — can't afford to take many hits, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 50 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go.

  • Bagon appears in 16 games, including Ruby & Sapphire, FireRed & LeafGreen, and Emerald.

Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Bagon appears in 16 games across 7 generations. A reliable presence in most mainline games, typically found through catching or hatching as a base form.