Is Salamence Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Bagon's final form at level 50. Dragon/Flying with AbilityIntimidate dropping Attack on entry. 600 BST handles almost everything. Breed-only chain makes Salamence a dedication project for the Battle Frontier.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Shelgon resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Chuck's team.
Shelgon trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Shelgon trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Shelgon trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Shelgon trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Shelgon trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Shelgon trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Shelgon has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Shelgon trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catch Shelgon
Catch Shelgon in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 46). Requires 63 Peak objects placed in Wetland.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 46)
- LV 46DragonDragon BreathPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- 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 50DarkCrunchPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 55DragonDragon ClawPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 61NormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Salamence in HeartGold & SoulSilver
You're catching Bagon first, not Salamence. Bagon appears in the wild in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 3-stage chain with evolution methods between each stage.
Wild Salamence may be holding when caught:
Dragon Fang (5% chance) An item to be held by a Pokemon. It is a hard and sharp fang that ups the power of Dragon-type moves.Catch Bagon or Shelgon at any of these 1 spot to eventually evolve into Salamence.
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8How to Obtain Salamence in HGSS
To get Salamence, start by catching Bagon through walking encounters at Lv. 44-45. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve Shelgonor evolve from Bagon (Step 1)
- Step 3Salamence ✓
How to Get Shiny Salamence in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Salamence tops the Bagon line, so breed that base form Masuda-style at 1 in 1,638 and raise it into the dragon. Compare Shiny Salamence odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Salamence 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.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver with Salamence preloaded.
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Ice |
| 2x (Weak) | Rock, Dragon |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Fighting, Bug |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Salamence Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Salamence
 Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodPewter City Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Latios builds →Ice Beam 4x126-149%KO Dragon Pulse 2x90-106%KO | ||
 Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodPewter City Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Latias builds →Ice Beam 4x110-130%KO Dragon Pulse 2x78-92% | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
 Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Rampardos builds →Head Smash 2x184-217%KO Avalanche 4x100-118%KO Dragon Pulse 2x34-40% | ||
 Glaceon Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Rayquaza Dragon | S | |
Obtain MethodEmbedded Tower Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Rayquaza builds →Ice Beam 4x144-169%KO Outrage 2x136-160%KO Stone Edge 2x75-89% | ||
 Articuno Ice | C | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Articuno builds →Ice Beam 4x146-172%KO Ancient Power 2x31-37% | ||
 Dragonite Dragon | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Dratini (Dragons Den Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Dragonite builds →Outrage 2x123-145%KO Ice Beam 4x102-120%KO Stone Edge 2x69-81% | ||
 Aggron SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Aggron builds →Avalanche 4x70-82% Stone Edge 2x87-103%KO Dragon Claw 2x46-55% | ||
 Weavile DarkIce | B | |
 Walrein IceWater | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Walrein builds →Ice Beam 4x146-172%KO Rock Slide 2x34-40% | ||
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Lapras builds →Ice Beam 4x133-156%KO Dragon Pulse 2x42-50% | ||
 Mamoswine IceGround | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Mamoswine builds →Ice Fang 4x131-154%KO Stone Edge 2x67-79% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Salamence View Rhydon builds →Stone Edge 2x100-118%KO Avalanche 4x81-96% Dragon Pulse 2x26-31% | ||
Salamence Evolutions
End of the line. Salamence caps a three-stage chain that started at Bagon. Breeding produces the base form, and eggs take 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
Breeding
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.
HGSS Salamence Best Moveset
Dragon/Flying at 135 Attack and 100 Speed with AbilityIntimidate softening physical threats on the switch. One MoveDragon Dance makes the moveset almost impossible to outrun or survive. 110 Sp. Atk gives mixed potential. 25% MoveStealth Rock cost is manageable.
Best Build
Salamence best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Need something that threatens multiple types? Salamence's movepool delivers. Coverage across 12 types plus STAB from Draco Meteor and Outrage gives it answers for most defensive cores you'll run into.
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
29 of 30 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Base Stats
It’s uncontrollable if enraged. It flies around spouting flames and scorching fields and mountains.
Salamence HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in HeartGold & SoulSilver, but Salamence does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Salamence hits 700 BST.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Salamence as a sweeper. Splits damage between physical and special. It outspeeds most threats, Outrage is the primary attack.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Jolly on Salamence. +Speed is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the sweeper role.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Salamence has appeared in 16 titles over 7 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 6, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
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 6ORASMega
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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