
Is Dratini Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Not native to Hoenn. Trade from FireRed or LeafGreen. Dragonite gains AbilityInner Focus in Gen 3, blocking flinch. The grind to level 55 still takes forever. RS has Salamence as a native Dragon-type pseudo-legendary with AbilityIntimidate, making the Dragonite import less compelling.
Roxanne's typing presses Dratini's defenses.
Dratini has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Norman's typing presses Dratini's defenses.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Dratini has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Dratini trades roughly evenly with Steven's team.
Trade
Dratini 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.
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- HM03WaterSurfPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- LV 50DragonOutragePower 135Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 57NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
How to Get Dratini in Ruby & Sapphire
The Safari Zone fishing and Game Corner odds that got you a Kanto Dratini are gone in Hoenn. The dragon line can only begin here with a traded one.
How to Obtain Dratini in RS
Step 1Dratini ✓CARTRIDGE 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 3Evolve into Dragonite
How to Get Shiny Dratini in Ruby & Sapphire
Dratini reports in through trade alone, so reel a shiny out of the Safari Zone's central area in FireRed or LeafGreen, then send it home. See every game where Shiny Dratini can be hunted
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Dratini Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Dratini
Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dratini View Latios builds →Dragon Claw 2x170-200%KO Ice Beam 2x133-157%KO | ||
Rayquaza Dragon | S | |
Obtain MethodSky Pillar Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dratini View Rayquaza builds →Outrage 2x214-253%KO Ice Beam 2x152-179%KO | ||
Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dratini View Latias builds →Dragon Claw 2x147-174%KO Ice Beam 2x115-136%KO | ||
Regice Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 105 Interact Encounter | ||
Walrein IceWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Spheal (Shoal Cave Surfing) | ||
Glalie Ice | C | |
Salamence Dragon | S | |
Altaria Dragon | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dratini View Altaria builds →Dragon Claw 2x103-121%KO Ice Beam 2x80-94% | ||
Flygon GroundDragon | B | |
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 27 breeding partners from the Dragon and Water 1 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Dragon Breath, Dragon Dance, Haze and 3 more to offspring.
RS Dratini Best Moveset
Dragon pre-evolution heading toward Dragonite. AbilityShed Skin has a chance to cure status each turn, but the stats can't use MoveDragon Dance competitively. Two evolutions away.
Best Build
Dratini best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Dragon Dance
- Body Slam
- Outrage
- Hidden Power Flying
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 Outrage and Dragon Breath, 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
DRATINI continually molts and sloughs off its old skin. It does so because the life energy within its body steadily builds to reach uncontrollable levels.
Dratini Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Dratini isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it to Ruby & Sapphire.
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.
