Dragapult, The Stealth Pokémon. When it isn't battling, it keeps Dreepy in the holes on its horns. Once a fight starts, it launches the Dreepy like supersonic missiles. Apparently the Dreepy inside Dragapult's horns eagerly look forward to being launched out at Mach speeds.
Overview
The newest pseudo-legend and sharing typing with 1 other Pokemon, Dragapult was a very hyped inclusion. With good mixed base stats and excellent speed, it has the makings of an excellent wall breaker or sweeper, but sadly it misses out on some key moves that it wishes it had, such as Poltergeist. None of this is a major issue, however, as Dragapult is still one of the best new Pokemon we received this generation. Physical, Special, support, Dragapult can do all of this and it does it very well, especially with Dynamax to offset some of the drawbacks of some of its more awkward moves. After a few gens of slightly underwhelming "pseudo-legendary" Pokemon, Dragapult definitely makes up for it.
Positives
142 base Speed is insane, don't think that needs explanation.
120 base Attack and 100 base Special Attack gives it offensive stats close to Salamence, but trades 14 base Attack for 42 base Speed.
Slid Special movepool allows Dragapult to be an excellent mixed attacker, giving it a lot of unpredictability in set options.
Negatives
75 base defenses is rough and makes Dragapult weak to priority, so it's not the most durable Pokemon around.
While Dragapult's offenses are great, they're not the strongest around and without setup moves beyond Dragon Dance it can be tough to wallbreak without a Weakness Policy and Dynamax option.
Abilities
Cursed Body - 33% chance to disable a physical contact move when hit - This is actually a better ability than some people seem to believe, but on Dragapult it will almost always be inferior to the other options.
Infiltrator - Ignores Substitute, Safeguard, Light Screen, Reflect, Mist, Aurora Veil - This is a great ability overall and generally best option for Dragapult, as those are all very annoying support moves that could easily disrupt a team otherwise.
Clear Body - Prevents opponent from dropping stats - This is mostly good for physical sets that want to avoid Intimidate or any other annoying stat drops, but it's otherwise the best choice for such sets.
Movesets
Offensive Support
-Hex
-U-turn
-Will-O-Wisp / Thunder Wave
-Dragon Darts
Item Attached: Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs and Nature:
68 Atk / 188 SpAtk / 252 Speed
Mild Nature
Dragapult is an excellent offensive pivot with its high Speed and good offensive stats. Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp are excellent options as one can hinder physical attackers while the other hinders faster threats, so it depends on what your team needs. U-Turn allows Dragapult to scout out threats with its Speed and without Pursuit being a thing it's a riskless play. Hex fits well as a Ghost STAB due to its doubling its base power when the target is inflicted with a status, giving it overall more base power than Shadow Ball. Dragon Darts round out the set with an overall base power of 100, with an advantage in getting around Sturdy and Focus Sash which is more prevalent with Heavy-Duty Boots existing.
Physical Sweeper
-Dragon Dance / Phantom Force
-Dragon Darts
-Steel Wing
-Fire Blast
Item Attached: Life Orb / Weakness Policy
Ability: Infiltratorr / Clear Body
EVs and Nature:
252 Atk / 4 SpAtk / 252 Speed
Naughty / Naive Nature
With access to Dragon Dance, Dragapult can be a decent Dragon Dance user. Dragon Darts is the best physical Dragon move Dragapult has access to, and it's a very solid option at that due to being a two-hit attack. Steel Wing is an excellent coverage option for Fairies such as Haterrene, and also provides a useful Defense boost as Max Steelspike. Fire Blast rounds out the set as a way to hit Steels such as Ferrothorn, and also benefits from the Special Attack boosts from Weakness Policy if running this with a Dynamax set. It should be noted that if using Weakness Policy Dynamax sweeper then you can make it much bulkier to make it safer to activate Weakness Policy while Dynamaxed. You also can't really afford to drop Ghost coverage on a Dynamax set so Phantom Force becomes ideal over Dragon Dance, or even Fire Blast if you want the setup option. Phantom Force as a two-turn move is very useful at stalling out a foe's Dynamax turn otherwise, contrary to what some people may think of the move.
Other Options
- Choice Specs are an excellent option due to Dragapult having access to a wide special movepool with access to moves such as Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and Shadow Ball, while having Draco Meteor as a large damage option. - Baton Pass is a niche but valid option on a Dragon Dance set that makes setting up on a switch less risky, though Baton Passing safely is hard in a Dynamax metagame if that's a factor.
Partners
Excadrill - Its ability to reliable set up hazards makes Excadrill an excellent option, and it also checks Faires such as Mimikyu very well.
Scizor - Steel typing allows Scizor to pivot into Fairy types and can maintain momentum with U-Turn.
Corviknight - Similar to Scizor but brings more bulk to a team as well as has access to Bulk Up or Iron Defense to set up itself.
VGC & Double Battle Options
Another Pokemon that was too good in both Singles and Doubles and thus banned from Battle Stadium for Series 6. However, now that Players Cup has shown otherwise, there is still merit in talking about Dragapult at the moment regardless. Dragapult happens to be one of the stronger Dyanamx sweepers despite seemingly awkward STAB options on the physical side, but that's what Dynamax is for anyway. With all the various forms of damage mitigation it's very easy to get Dragapult to tank a super-effective hit while Dynamaxed and proceed to break through the opposing team with Weakness Policy boosts, or alternative fire off boosted Attacks with a Life Orb from the start while its teammate redirects attacks. Dragapult also happens to boast a very powerful STAB combination for its Max Moves that synergize well with a physical attacker, while Clear Body to prevent Intimidate from being a downer.
Negative Energy
- Phantom Force
- Dragon Darts
- Fly
- Protect / Dragon Dance
Item Attached: Weakness Policy / Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Phantom Force is a move that seems very easy to abuse in Doubles but actually turns out to be a very useful move for various reasons, the obvious one being Max Phantasm on a physical attacker. On a fast Pokemon like Dragapult, disappearing for a turn is very annoying for slower Dynamaxers who risk wasting a turn entirely if they attack into the Dragapult slot, and ignoring Protect makes it tricker to take advantage of it without having the correct switch-in. Dragon Darts also has very unique targetting interactions for both of its hits, and otherwise makes for a strong Max Wyrmwind option. Fly is a move you'll almost never use outside of Dynamax, but it provides Max Airstream which should require no explanation since Max Airstream is broken. Protect is the obvious defensive "positioning" move but if you're committing to Dragapult as a primary Dynamaxer you can actually use Dragon Dance instead, since it provides a direct setup option and still turns into Max Guard when Dynamaxing anyway.
Dragapult can run all sorts of EV spreads depending on whether you want a bulky Weakness Policy set or not, but otherwise you can't go wrong with maximum offensive investment. Jolly nature is useful for not losing the mirror and otherwise taking full advantage of its Speed tier against foes like Choice Scarf Dracovish. Clear Body is the obvious ability choice since physical attackers are usually best checked with Intimidate and this prevents that option entirely, while also preventing Max Wyrmwind on the opposing side from lowering your damage output. Weakness Policy and Life Orb are both good offensive items, though they can be in high demand so the choice can sometimes come down to which item is in lower demand on your team. The former has higher reward if you have a way to consistently activate Weakness Policy with something like Dusclops, though Life Orb is otherwise the consistent damage boosting item.
Other Options & Team Ideas
- Surf is a very specific option, but can be used on a support set with Coalossal to activate Steam Engine. Note that in this case you want Dragapult's Special Attack to be as low as possible to reduce the amount of damage Coalossal is taking from this.
- Ally Switch is a move that Dragapult gets so you can use this if you want your local VGC friends to hate you. I won't judge you for it though.
- Breaking Swipe is an interesting support option that lowers the Attack of both foes, unless they're Fairy-types since they're immune to the attack itself. Not a conventional option but certainly an annoying one if your opponent is leaning too heavily on physical attackers to threaten you.
- Beat Up is another team-specific option that can be used alongside Terrakion or Cobalion for boosting via Justified. Just be mindful of redirection on the opposing team denying you the boosts.
- Redirection is great for Dragapult as it will often be a primary target as a dedicated Dynamaxer, so Togekiss and Amoonguss are natural teammate considerations. Just be mindful to not redirect if you're planning to take advantage of Weakness Policy boosts.
- Fake Out support from the likes of Incineroar and Rillaboom are very useful for helping Dragapult keep up offensive pressure on the foe, and also makes it easier to set up if using Dragon Dance. They also offer Intimidate and Grassy Terrain support respectively, which are both helpful for longevity in their own ways.
Countering Dragapult
Single Strike Urshifu - Its typing and access to Sucker Punch makes it a relatively safe check, though low Special Defense makes it tricky to switch in sometimes and Will-o-Wisp can make Sucker Punch annoying at times.
Clefable - The giant pink wall is an excellent answer due to its Fairy typing and high Special Defense, only really fearing Weakness Policy sets with Max Steelspike.
Tyranitar - Good bulk and typing allows Tyranitar to check Dragapult quite easily, as it fears nothing from Special sets and only really fears a boosted Max Steelspike from physical sets.
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:
Not in game
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Not in game
Sun/Moon:
Not in game
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Not in game
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Evolve Drakloak
Max Raid Battles: Axew's Eye, Rolling Fields
Anime Appearences
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Dragapult has made a couple of appearances in the anime. Most notably, one is used by Leon |
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