Is Dratini Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Dragon's Den gift from the Elder after beating Clair, or Goldenrod Game Corner purchase. Dragon-type with AbilityShed Skin clearing status randomly. The Elder's Dratini comes with Extremespeed. Dragonite at level 55 is a long grind, but 600 BST handles everything through Red.
Dratini has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Dratini has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Dragonair has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Dragonair trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Dragonair trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Dragonair has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Dragonair has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Dragonite resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Dragonite resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite resists most of Janine's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Dragonite resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Dragonite resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite resists most of Karen's coverage and hits back hard.
Dragonite resists most of Lance's coverage and hits back hard.
Gift
Dratini is given to you as a gift in Goldenrod City at Lv 15. Redeem at the Goldenrod Game Corner prize counter for 2100 coins.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Pryce
- TUTORDragonDraco MeteorPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Blackthorn City
- LV 35DragonDragon RushPower 150Accuracy 75%PP 10
- After Clair
- TM59DragonDragon PulsePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Clair in the Dragon's Den after the Dragon Shrine test
- LV 45DragonDragon DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 51DragonOutragePower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 55NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
Catch Dratini
Catch Dratini in the Safari Zone (Super Rod fishing, Lv 36-37, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 36)
- LV 36DragonDragon RushPower 150Accuracy 75%PP 10
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Pryce
- TUTORDragonDraco MeteorPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Blackthorn City
- After Clair
- TM59DragonDragon PulsePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Clair in the Dragon's Den after the Dragon Shrine test
- LV 45DragonDragon DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 51DragonOutragePower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 55NormalHyper 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 Morty, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Pryce
- TUTORDragonDraco MeteorPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Blackthorn City
- LV 39DragonDragon RushPower 150Accuracy 75%PP 10
- After Clair
- TM59DragonDragon PulsePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Clair in the Dragon's Den after the Dragon Shrine test
- LV 53DragonDragon DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 61DragonOutragePower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 67NormalHyper 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 Brock, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 55)
- LV 55DragonDragon RushPower 150Accuracy 75%PP 10
- After Chuck
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 135Accuracy 95%PP 15From Chuck's wife outside Cianwood Gym
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Pryce
- TUTORDragonDraco MeteorPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5Blackthorn City
- After Clair
- TM59DragonDragon PulsePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Clair in the Dragon's Den after the Dragon Shrine test
- TM02DragonDragon ClawPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 27
- LV 64DragonOutragePower 180Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 73NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
How to Get Dratini in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Dratini has the richest set of options here. Fish or surf one up around the water, claim the gift one in the Dragon's Den, or buy a level 15 from the Goldenrod Game Corner for 2,100 Coins.
Wild Dratini may be holding when caught:
Dragon Scale (5% chance) A thick and tough scale. Dragon-type Pokemon may be holding this item when caught.3 locations to catch Dratini
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Dratini in HGSS
The line opens with Dratini at Lv. 5-40 via fishing, gift, and more encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
To plan your throws, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver catch rate calculator with Dratini preloaded.
How to Get Shiny Dratini in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Dratini swims through the Dragon's Den, but breeding it Masuda-style is the quicker path to a shiny. Compare Shiny Dratini odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Dratini Calculator
3 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.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
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 HeartGold & SoulSilver 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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Dratini Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Dratini
 Glaceon Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter | ||
Dragonair Dragon | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Dratini (Goldenrod City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dratini View Dragonair builds →Ice Beam 2x81-95% Twister 2x54-64% | ||
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 5 more to offspring.
HGSS Dratini Best Moveset
Dragon type with stats around 50 across the board and AbilityShed Skin clearing status one-third of the time. The moveset has no competitive presence at this stage. Two evolutions from Dragonite's real power.
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
All 26 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It is born large to start with. It repeatedly sheds its skin as it steadily grows longer.
This Pokémon is full of life energy. It continually sheds its skin and grows steadily larger.
Dratini HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- Where in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone can I find Dratini?
See the Locations section above for where to find Dratini in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Dratini from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Dratini easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Dratini costs 2,100 Coins in HeartGold. Dratini costs 2,100 Coins in SoulSilver. Earn coins by playing the slot machines on the Game Corner floor or buying them at the counter (1,000 coins for ₽10,000).
Yes. Wild Dratini in HeartGold & SoulSilver 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 HeartGold & SoulSilver, Dratini does the job early-game if you need a Dragon type on your team. Evolve it into Dragonair before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
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
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