In Diamond & Pearl, Intimidate changes the entire equation for Salamence. The 600 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier as a sweeper.

Does Salamence mega evolve?

Mega Evolution isn't available in Diamond & Pearl, but Salamence does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Salamence hits 700 BST.

What is Salamence weak to?

In Diamond & Pearl, watch for Cloyster (Ice), Aerodactyl (Rock), and Dragonite (Dragon) when using Salamence. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Cloyster is the most dangerous since Ice moves deal 4x damage.

What is the best ability for Salamence?

Intimidate is what you want on Salamence. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Moxie) work on paper but Intimidate is what makes Salamence worth using. With base 100 Speed, Intimidate gives Salamence an edge before opponents can react.

What role does Salamence play in battle?

Base 100 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Salamence is a physical attacker with base 135 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a sweeper.

Salamence - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Sweeper

CTier

100Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

The stat budget goes to damage. Attack and Sp. Atk carry the offense, Defense doesn't even come close. A Dragon Pokemon on a slow 1.25M XP grind, worth 3 Attack EVs per KO.

Base Stats

Legend

HP95

Attack135

Defense80

Sp. Atk110

Sp. Def80

Speed100

Total600

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height1.5 m

Weight102.6 kg

Base XP300

Abilities

Intimidate

Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.

MoxieHANot in game

Raises Attack one stage upon KOing a Pokémon.

EV Yield

HPAtk+3DefSpASpDSpe

Strong Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

As a result of its long-held dream of flying, its cellular structure changed, and wings grew out.

Salamence Weakness

Ice, Rock, and Dragon moves hit Salamence 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. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. With 95 HP and balanced defenses, Salamence can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.

Salamence Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
4x (Critical)	Ice
2x (Weak)	Rock, Dragon
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Water, Fighting, Bug
0.25x (Resist)	Grass
0x (Immune)	Ground

Type ChartGood

3Weak

5Resist

1Immune

Score+1

Gen IV Type Chart

Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)

4xCritical

Ice

2xWeak

Rock Dragon

½xResist

Fire Water Fighting Bug

¼xResist

Grass

0xImmune

Ground

STAB (4)

Dragon Grass Fighting Bug

How to Beat Salamence in Diamond & Pearl (Best Counters)

In Diamond & Pearl, Dragonite can KO Salamence with Outrage (209-246%). Aerodactyl threatens a KO with Stone Edge (103-121%). Weavile's Ice Shard also KOs at 92-109%.

Dragonite DragonFlying	A
Recommended Build AbilityInnerfocus ItemLife Orb NatureAdamant Moves Extreme Speed OutrageSTAB Dragon Dance Fire Punch Damage vs Salamence Extreme Speed 47-55% Outrage 2x 209-246%KO View Dragonite builds →
Aerodactyl RockFlying	B
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemFocus Sash NatureJolly Moves Earthquake Stealth Rock TauntUtility Stone Edge Damage vs Salamence Stone Edge 2x 103-121%KO View Aerodactyl builds →
Weavile DarkIce	B
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemExpert Belt NatureJolly Moves Ice Shard Night Slash Low Kick PursuitSTAB Damage vs Salamence Ice Shard 4x 92-109%KO Pursuit 23-27% View Weavile builds →
Rhyperior GroundRock	B
Recommended Build AbilitySolidrock ItemLeftovers NatureBrave Moves EarthquakeSTAB Stone Edge Fire Punch Megahorn Damage vs Salamence Stone Edge 2x 139-163%KO Megahorn 27-32% View Rhyperior builds →
Garchomp DragonGround	C
Dragon is super effective against SalamenceView Garchomp →

Diamond & Pearl Evolution

End of the line. Salamence caps a three-stage chain that started at Bagon. Breeding produces the base form, and eggs are takes forever to hatch. Sp.Atk grew the most through evolution (+70 over Bagon), and Salamence peaks at 600 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms

#371Bagon

Level 30

#372Shelgon

Level 50

#373Salamence

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Bagon

Dragon

Shelgon

Dragon

Salamence

DragonFlying

65+20

95+30

ATK

95+20

135+40

DEF

100+40

80-20

SP.ATK

60+20

110+50

SP.DEF

50+20

80+30

SPE

100+50

BST

300C-Tier

420D-Tier+120

600B-Tier+180

ROLE

Balanced

Sweeper

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Moderate

Breed with Salamence to get Bagon eggs using 30 partners from the Dragon egg group. Notable egg moves include Dragon Dance, Dragon Rage, Dragon Rush and 5 more.

Egg Groups

Dragon

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

40 cycles·10,280 steps

Slow~10 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

8moves

Breed With (best first)

Diamond & Pearl Salamence Best Moveset

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 4.

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

Need something that threatens multiple types? Salamence's movepool delivers. Coverage across 11 types plus STAB from Draco Meteor and Dragon Rush gives it answers for most defensive cores you'll run into.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Bite

C6010025Dark

Lv 1

Fire Fang

C659515Fire

Lv 1

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

Lv 1

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 1

Rage

D2010020Normal

Lv 1

Thunder Fang

C659515Electric

Lv 5

Bite

C6010025Dark

Lv 10

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 16

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

Lv 20

Focus Energy

———30Normal

Lv 25

Ember

—4010025Fire

Lv 30

Protect+4

C——10Normal

Lv 32

Dragon Breath

—6010020Dragon

Lv 37

Zen Headbutt

C809015Psychic

Lv 43

Scary Face

D—9010Normal

Lv 50

Fly

B909515Flying

Lv 53

Crunch

C8010015Dark

Lv 61

Dragon Claw

B8010015Dragon

Lv 70

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

TM Moves

TM40

Aerial Ace

B60—20Flying

TM45

Attract

——10015Normal

TM31

Brick Break

C7510015Fighting

TM78

Captivate

——10020Normal

HM01

Cut

—509530Normal

HM05

Defog

———15Flying

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM02

Dragon Claw

B8010015Dragon

TM59

Dragon Pulse

B9010010Dragon

TM26

Earthquake

B10010010Ground

TM58

Endure+4

———10Normal

TM42

Facade

C7010020Normal

TM38

Fire Blast

C120855Fire

TM35

Flamethrower

C9510015Fire

HM02

Fly

B909515Flying

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM68

Giga Impact

B150905Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TM23

Iron Tail

C1007515Steel

TM83

Natural Gift

D—10015Normal

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM05

Roar-6

C——20Normal

TM80

Rock Slide

C759010Rock

HM06

Rock Smash

D4010015Fighting

TM39

Rock Tomb

C609510Rock

TM51

Roost

C——10Flying

TM43

Secret Power

—7010020Normal

TM65

Shadow Claw

C7010015Ghost

TM82

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM47

Steel Wing

C709025Steel

TM71

Stone Edge

C100805Rock

HM04

Strength

C8010015Normal

TM90

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM87

Swagger

——9015Normal

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Dragon Dance

C——20Dragon

Egg

Dragon Rage

——10010Dragon

Egg

Dragon Rush

—1007510Dragon

Egg

Fire Fang

C659515Fire

Egg

Hydro Pump

C120805Water

Egg

Shadow Claw

C7010015Ghost

Egg

Thrash

—12010020Normal

Egg

Twister

—4010020Dragon

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Draco Meteor

B140905Dragon

Transfer Moves

Gen

Gen 3

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

Gen 3

Defense Curl

———40Normal

Gen 3

Mimic

———10Normal

How to Get Salamence in Diamond & Pearl

No wild encounters for Salamence. The 3-stage chain runs through Bagon, which you can catch at decent rates from the locations below. Evolve at level 50 once you've got the levels.

How to Obtain Salamence in Diamond & Pearl

Step 1Catch Bagon
Route 210 - North
Using PokeRadar Lv.25-26 Route
UncommonMid
Train until Level 30
Step 2Evolve into Shelgon
Train until Level 50
Step 3Salamence ✓

Salamence Guide

In Diamond & Pearl, Intimidate changes the entire equation for Salamence. The 600 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier as a sweeper.
Mega Evolution isn't available in Diamond & Pearl, but Salamence does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Salamence hits 700 BST.
In Diamond & Pearl, watch for Cloyster (Ice), Aerodactyl (Rock), and Dragonite (Dragon) when using Salamence. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Cloyster is the most dangerous since Ice moves deal 4x damage.
Intimidate is what you want on Salamence. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Moxie) work on paper but Intimidate is what makes Salamence worth using. With base 100 Speed, Intimidate gives Salamence an edge before opponents can react.
Base 100 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Salamence is a physical attacker with base 135 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a sweeper.

Game Availability

Since debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Salamence has appeared in 16 titles over 8 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 7, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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