Is Dratini Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Fishing in Mt. Coronet after the National Dex. Dratini is the start of a long grind toward Dragonite at 55. AbilityShed Skin clears status randomly. The investment is massive, and the postgame timing means Dragonite arrives as a Battle Tower powerhouse.
Dratini has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Candice's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Dragonite resists most of Aaron's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Dragonite resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Dratini in Mt. Coronet (Super Rod fishing, Lv 15-20, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Lake Verity
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Veilstone Game Corner
- LV 35DragonDragon RushPower 150Accuracy 75%PP 10
- After Candice
- TUTORDragonDraco MeteorPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Route 210
- LV 45DragonDragon DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Volkner
- TM59DragonDragon PulsePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 51DragonOutragePower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 55NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Dratini to Dragonite
Dragonair evolves into Dragonite at Level 55. Level it up in the post-game, after you beat Cynthia.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 55)
- LV 55DragonDragon RushPower 150Accuracy 75%PP 10
- After Gardenia
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- After Maylene
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 135Accuracy 95%PP 15Inside the Galactic Warehouse in Veilstone City
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- After Candice
- TUTORDragonDraco MeteorPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Route 210
- After Volkner
- TM59DragonDragon PulsePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 64DragonOutragePower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 73NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Dratini in Diamond & Pearl
Dratini hides under Mt. Coronet, common off the Super Rod from level 15 up. The catch is reaching it, since you need the best rod and the deep interior water before the dragon will bite.
Wild Dratini may be holding when caught:
Dragon Scale (5% chance) Traded on a Seadra: Holder evolves into Kingdra.1 location to catch Dratini
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Badge 2Where To Catch Dratini in DP
The line opens with Dratini at Lv. 15-20 via fishing encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 1Dratini ✓
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into Dragonairor evolve from Dratini (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into DragoniteBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Dratini egg.
To plan your throws, open the Diamond & Pearl catch rate calculator with Dratini preloaded.
How to Get Shiny Dratini in Diamond & Pearl
Dratini breeds for its shiny best, so pair one with a foreign-language parent so each Masuda egg carries a real shiny chance. Compare Shiny Dratini odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Dratini Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
For time estimates and charm math, open the Diamond & Pearl shiny odds calculator with Dratini already selected.
Dratini Weakness
Dratini's Dragon typing leaves it vulnerable to Ice and Dragon. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Only 2 weaknesses makes it relatively easy to build around defensively.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ice, Dragon |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Electric, Grass |
Dratini Evolutions
Dratini is the start of a three-stage chain. It evolves into Dragonair first, then eventually reaches Dragonite. For breeding, takes forever to hatch with a decent partner pool via two egg groups. The evolved forms gain up to 300 total stats over Dratini. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Dratini easily with 30 breeding partners from the Dragon and Water 1 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Dragon Breath, Dragon Dance, Dragon Rush and 4 more to offspring.
DP Dratini Best Moveset
Dragon typing with stats in the 41-64 range. The moveset has Dragon attacks at low power, and nothing justifies using Dratini over evolving to Dragonair and then Dragonite. Evolve immediately.
Best Build
Dratini best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Dragon Breath and Dragon Dance on Dratini. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Draco Meteor and Outrage, they expand what Dratini can actually threaten in practice.
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
32 of 34 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It is called the “Mirage Pokémon” because so few have seen it. Its shed skin has been found.
Dratini Diamond & Pearl Guide
Yes. Wild Dratini in Diamond & Pearl can hold Dragon Scale (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Dragon Scale.
In Diamond & Pearl, Dratini has 300 BST and evolves into Dragonair. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Yes. Dratini is a post-game Pokemon. You need to defeat the Elite Four and enter the Hall of Fame first. Dratini becomes available after the main story is complete in Diamond & Pearl.
Game Availability
Dratini has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 21 titles across all 9 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.
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 Dratini.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List