Goodra, The Dragon Pokémon. Sometimes it misunderstands instructions and appears dazed or bewildered. Many Trainers don't mind, finding this behavior to be adorable. Its form of offense is forcefully stretching out its horns. The strikes land 100 times harder than any blow from a heavyweight boxer.
Overview
The pseudo legendary of XY, Goodra is an interesting Pokemon. Having stats more aimed for defensive roles, Goodra on paper looks similar to Tyranitar with good bulk, average offensive stats, and middling Speed. However, Goodra comes up short in almost all categories in this comparison. This is partly due to its mono Dragon typing which is great, but with how strong Fairy type is, the lack of utility it brings is a hindrance. The other issue is it's just a slower Latias with more Special Defense. However as neither Latios nor Latias are available currently, Goodra has a nice niche as a big sponge with some unique niche tools.
Positives
150 base Special Defense is insane, and even without investment Goodra can be a great pivot against special attackers.
Being Dragon type means Goodra has a massive movepool to pull from, including moves such as Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and even Sludge Bomb.
Negatives
Lacking access to Dragon Dance is a big issue and thus limits what it can do for a team, often relegating it to specially inclined roles.
70 base Defense can hurt Goodra as it will have issues with mixed wall breakers, such as Lucario, and struggle against threats such as Urshifu.
Abilities
Gooey - Contact moves lower the attacker's Speed by 1 stage - Gooey is a nice option as it can really hurt some faster threats and force them to switch out, but it is a bit inferior to Sap Sipper.
Sap Sipper - Grants immunity to Grass moves and raises Attack by 1 stage - Any ability that grants an immunity is always great and makes this Goodra's best ability, even though it tends to be used more for Special Attacks. This notably makes Goodra immune to Spore, which is very nice.
Hydration - Removes status conditions while it is raining - This is great again, and if permanent Rain was a thing Goodra would have a great role as a wall with Rest. However, this is overall less consistent than the other abilities.
Movesets
Choice Specs
-Draco Meteor
-Hydro Pump
-Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt
Item Attached: Choice Specs
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs and Nature:
252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef / 252 Speed
Timid Nature
With 110 Special Attack Goodra can be a potent wallbreaker with Choice Specs. Draco Meteor is the primary move of the set as it's a 130 base power STAB and thus just chunks everything except Fairies and Steels. Fire Blast helps with the Steel-types while Hydro Pump will help with bulky threats such as Incineroar and Rhyperior. Thunderbolt rounds the set out with a way to handle bulky Waters such as Milotic. Goodra still has other options that can be considered, such as Sludge Bomb for Fairy-types, though that will come down to what you need for the team.
This set wants to be as offensive as possible so Choice Specs Goodra wants all the Special Attack and Speed investment possible to make the most of its middling offense. Sap Sipper's Attack boost may be worthless on this set and it may already be resistant to Grass-types anyway, but the Grass immunity alone is worth it since it also grants immunity to Sleep Powder and Spore.
Partners
-Toxtricity is a nice option as it can pivot into Fairy types such as Clefable that threaten Goodra, while Goodra can destroy Rhyperior and other Toxtricity checks.
- Galarian Slowbro is nice here as it can pivot into any Fairy that you would run into with Goodra and threaten with its strong STAB Poison options. Galarian Slowbro can also absorb Toxic Spikes to help Goodra stay around longer as well.
Countering Goodra
-Sylveon is an excellent answer as it can pivot into any of Goodra's moves, as it has solid Special Defense and can threaten with Hyper Voice boosted through Pixilate. -Galarian Weezing is in a similar area to Sylveon but can't take as many hits as Sylveon. However, it does bring status options to the table with Toxic or Toxic Spikes.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Not in game
Black 2/White 2:
Not in game
X/Y:
Evolve Sliggoo
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X & Y
Sun/Moon:
Evolve Sliggoo
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Evolve Sliggoo
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Evolve Sliggoo (Shield)
Max Raid Battles: Axew's Eye, Rolling Fields, Loop Lagoon, Workout Sea, Honeycalm Sea (Shield)
Trade from Shield (Sword)
Anime Appearences
