Is Dragonite Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
600 BST with AbilityInner Focus. Trade-only in RS. Dragonite is still a powerhouse, but Salamence is native to Hoenn with AbilityIntimidate and evolves 5 levels earlier at 50. For the first time, Dragonite has a local rival that matches it. The trade import tax makes Salamence the better choice.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Roxanne's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Dragonite trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Norman's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Winona's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Dragonite resists most of Sidney's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Dragonite resists most of Drake's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Trade
Dragonite cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 55.
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- After Norman
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 105Accuracy 95%PP 15Route 119
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- After Wallace
- TM02DragonDragon ClawPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Meteor Falls
- LV 61DragonOutragePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 75NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
How to Get Dragonite in Ruby & Sapphire
Dragonite caps a trade-fed dragon line. Bring a Dratini over, reach Dragonair at 30, then grind all the way to level 55 for the final stage.
How to Obtain Dragonite in RS
- Step 1Obtain DratiniCARTRIDGE TRADEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenAvailableCatch in FireRed & LeafGreen via Super rod · Safari Zone, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Super rod · Safari Zone. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Super rod · Safari Zone. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Super rod · Route 45. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom CrystalNot TradeableAppears in Crystal via Super rod · Route 45. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Super rod · Mt. Coronet. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Super rod · Mt. Coronet. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Dragonair
- Step 3Dragonite ✓
How to Get Shiny Dragonite in Ruby & Sapphire
Dragonite joins the roster only once the National Dex opens, so trade a shiny in from FireRed or LeafGreen. See every game where Shiny Dragonite can be hunted
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Dragonite Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Dragonite
 Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Latios builds →Ice Beam 4x108-128%KO Dragon Claw 2x69-81% | ||
 Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Latias builds →Ice Beam 4x93-110%KO Dragon Claw 2x60-71% | ||
 Rayquaza Dragon | S | |
Obtain MethodSky Pillar Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Rayquaza builds →Ice Beam 4x123-145%KO Outrage 2x86-102%KO Ancient Power 2x41-48% | ||
 Walrein IceWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Spheal (Shoal Cave Surfing) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Walrein builds →Ice Beam 4x124-147%KO Rock Tomb 2x21-24% | ||
 Regice Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 105 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Regice builds →Ice Beam 4x131-155%KO Ancient Power 2x17-20% | ||
 Glalie Ice | C | |
 Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Aggron builds →Ice Beam 4x58-68% Rock Tomb 2x39-46% Dragon Claw 2x24-29% | ||
 Regirock Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 111 Interact Encounter Available Move Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Regirock builds →Ancient Power 2x43-51% | ||
 Altaria Dragon | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Altaria builds →Ice Beam 4x65-77% Dragon Claw 2x41-48% | ||
 Armaldo RockBug | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Rustboro City Gift) Available Move Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Armaldo builds →Ancient Power 2x52-62% | ||
 Salamence Dragon | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Salamence builds →Dragon Claw 2x60-71% Rock Tomb 2x31-37% | ||
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) Available Move Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Cradily builds →Ancient Power 2x37-43% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Rhydon builds →Rock Tomb 2x45-54% Ice Beam 4x47-56% | ||
 Flygon GroundDragon | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dragonite View Flygon builds →Dragon Claw 2x45-54% Rock Tomb 2x24-29% | ||
Dragonite Evolutions
The three-stage chain from Dratini through Dragonair ends here at Dragonite. Want more? Breed for Dratini eggs. A decent partner pool available via two egg groups. 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
Breeding
Breed with Dragonite to get Dratini eggs easily using 27 partners from the Dragon and Water 1 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Dragon Breath, Dragon Dance, Haze and 3 more.
RS Dragonite Best Moveset
MoveDragon Dance boosts Attack and Speed simultaneously on one of the highest stat totals outside of legendaries. 134 Attack and 100 Sp. Atk hit from both sides. AbilityInner Focus prevents flinch. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Dragon Dance attacker with the raw stats to close games after one boost.
Best Build
Dragonite best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Flying
- Dragon Dance
- Ice Beam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Dragonite misses out on Dragon Breath and Dragon Dance. That's 6 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Outrage and Fly, with coverage across 9 types rounding things out.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- 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. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, 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, Egg, 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 40 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
DRAGONITE is capable of circling the globe in just sixteen hours. It is a kindhearted POKéMON that leads lost and foundering ships in a storm to the safety of land.
Dragonite Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Dragonite isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Obtain one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it to Ruby & Sapphire.
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.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List