
Is Dragonite Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
600 BST makes Dragonite the strongest non-legendary Pokemon in Red and Blue. The problem is getting there: level 55 evolution means you won't have it until the very end. If you commit to the grind, Dragonite dominates everything it faces. Most players reach the E4 before the evolution happens.
Brock's typing presses Dratini's defenses.
Misty's typing presses Dratini's defenses.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Dragonair trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Sabrina's typing presses Dragonair's defenses.
Dragonair has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Dragonair resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonair trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Dragonite trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Buy Dratini
Dratini can be purchased in Celadon City at Lv 18. 2,800 Coins. Purchase from the Celadon Game Corner prize counter. Coins can be bought at the counter or won at the slot machines.
Recommended Moves
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- HM03WaterSurfPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
- LV 50NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
Evolve Dratini to Dragonair
Dratini evolves into Dragonair at Level 30. Your Dratini should hit Level 30 before you reach Koga, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 30)
- LV 30ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
- LV 55NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
Evolve Dragonair to Dragonite
Dragonair evolves into Dragonite at Level 55. Your Dragonair should hit Level 55 before you reach Bruno, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 55)
- LV 55PsychicAgilityPower —Accuracy 100%PP 30
- LV 55ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
- LV 60NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
How to Get Dragonite in Red & Blue
Dragonair becomes Dragonite at level 55, the latest evolution in all of Kanto. Reaching it from a Safari Zone Dratini is one of the longest grinds the game asks of you, but the result is a pseudo-legendary.
Catch Dratini at any of these 2 spots to eventually evolve into Dragonite.
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
How to Obtain Dragonite in RB
The path to Dragonite starts with Dratini at Lv. 15-24 via fishing and gift encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 2Evolve into Dragonair
Step 3Dragonite ✓
Dragonite Weakness
Ice, Rock, and Dragon moves hit Dragonite for super-effective damage. Ice hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. The upside? Ground-type moves can't touch it at all. The Dragon/Flying typing picks up 5 resistances to work with. Dragonite's overall bulk (91/95/100) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Ice |
| 2x (Weak) | Rock, Dragon |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Fighting, Bug |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Dragonite Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Dragonite
Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter | ||
Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift | ||
Dewgong WaterIce | C | |
Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Cinnabar Island Gift) | ||
Cloyster WaterIce | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Shellder (Route 6 Super Rod) | ||
Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Cinnabar Island Gift) | ||
Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Rhydon builds →Rock Slide 2x67-79% Blizzard 4x55-65% | ||
Dragonair Dragon | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Dratini (Celadon City Gift) | ||
Graveler RockGround | C | |
Onix RockGround | C | |
Dragonite Evolutions
You get Dragonite from Dratini at level 55. This Dragon/Flying-type hits 600 total stats and can't produce eggs. The evolution from Dratini pushed Dragonite to 600 total stats. Attack saw the largest single gain at +70. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Dragonite Best Moveset
Highest base stat total of any non-legendary available, but Dragon moves barely existed and 80 Speed left Dragonite slower than most top threats. MoveHyper Beam skips recharge on KO and MoveBlizzard covers nearly everything. Raw power compensates for the Speed gap.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Wrap
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Agility
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Dragonite's Normal and Ice coverage and more all comes from technical machines, built on top of Dragon Rage for same-type damage. Hyper Beam and Blizzard are the payoff moves.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 27 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
An extremely rarely seen marine POKéMON. Its intelligence is said to match that of humans.
Dragonite Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, use Dragonite as a wallbreaker. Splits damage between physical and special. Speed is middling, Set up with Agility when you get a free turn.
Game Availability
Present since Red & Blue, Dragonite appears in 21 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Dragonite have the longest track record of availability in the series.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut

Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS

Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS

Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG

FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP

Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS

HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW

Black & White - Gen 5B2W2

Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY

X & Y - Gen 6ORAS

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM

Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh

Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV

Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW

Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Dragonite.