Goodra, The Dragon Pokémon. This very friendly Dragon-type Pokémon will hug its beloved Trainer, leaving that Trainer covered in sticky slime. It attacks with retractable horns. It throws a punch that's the equivalent of the force of a hundred pro boxers.
Overview
So this week we cover Goodra, the slimy dragon that evolves from the little blob that many call their lord and savior. Goodra is a great Pokemon for sure, but from a competitive standpoint, it is not quite as good as its reputation. Still, Goodra is a viable and versatile Pokemon, and that high Sp. Defense and great movepool give it just enough of a niche to be usable in just about any metagame it's played in.
Positives
+ Tied with Mega Latias for the highest Sp. Defense among Dragon type Pokémon with 150.
+ Decent Base 90 HP too on top of all that making Goodra fantastic at taking special attacks and living to tell the tale.
+ Also not to be taken lightly is its 100/110 Atk and SpA stats respectively making Goodra quite the powerhouse for a mostly tank oriented Pokemon.
Negatives
- It no doubt wishes it had more speed. Sporting only a measly 80 base speed.
- Lacks any sorta of reliable recovery sadly outside of Rest. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?
- If this was Gen 5, it'd be a complete monster. With the dominance of Fairy-types, however, in its generation of release, its uses are much more limited
Abilities
Hydration cures status conditions in the rain. Really nice if you're running a rain team. This would have been awesome in Gen 5, but the nerf to weather hurts its viability.
Sap Sipper gives Goodra an immunity to Grass attacks and gives it a free Attack boost on top of it. This is Goodra's most reliable ability and has use even on special sets since it makes Goodra immune to moves like Spore, Sleep Powder, and Leech Seed.
Hidden Ability (Available):
Gooey is exclusive to the Goodra line, and it lowers the Speed of any attacker that makes physical contact. Goodra doesn't take physical hits well, so this ability is a bit of a double-edged sword. Additionally, you do NOT want something like Bisharp to nab a free Defiant boost from this, so I'd just stick with Sap Sipper.
Movesets
The Slime Lord's Final Form
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Dragon Tail
Item Attached: Assault Vest
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
Draco Meteor hits ridiculously hard, and is great for hit and run tactics; heck, even two consecutive Draco Meteors outdamage two Dragon Pulses. The discrepancy arises when you need to switch attacks, as the special attack drop can then be a hindrance. Fire Blast (or Flamethrower if you prefer accuracy over power) is your preferred coverage move since many a Steel type don't fear much from Goodra otherwise. Sludge Bomb and Sludge Wave are viable anti-fairy coverage moves. Although Sludge Wave is stronger, Sludge Bomb's higher chance to poison can be significant; plus, unlike, oh say, Gengar, since Goodra has Fire Blast to hit Chesnaught, the whole Bulletproof issue isn't such a concern. The final moveslot is largely filler, but I prefer Dragon Tail to phase out things that otherwise might try to set up on you.
Other Options
Choice Band - It's not very viable in most metagames , but without it our friend Goodra is going to have a really tough time rising to meet the challenge of taking down Special Walls.
Countering Goodra
Obviously Fairy Types are going to be a major problem seeing as they are immune to its STAB so I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about that. Hopefully you'll get lucky and catch them on the switch with Sludge Bomb. It also runs into considerable problems when it tries to take on physical mons such as Mienshao and Machamp will do a ton of damage, and especially Choice Band Infernape which will actually OHKO Goodra once Stealth Rock damage is factored in so keep that in mind. Mega Swampert also breezes past the Assault Vest set easily so be on the lookout for that and get out of there. Lastly avoid common Toxic and Scald/Will-O-Wisp users that will try to come in on you and whittle down its precious HP.
Overview
Our Lord and Savior
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Item Attached: Eviolite
Ability: Gooey
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 76 HP / 236 Def / 156 SpD / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
Goomy's Draco Meteor is so powerful that two Draco Meteors will always out damage two Dragon Pulses, even with the drop in SpA. The second slot is entirely up to you it's just filler. I highly recommend Sludge Wave though because it hits Fairy Typed that will inevitably try to switch in on you especially hard. Rest provides the recovery necessary to prolong Goomy's Def utility. Last but not least Sleep Talk keeps Goomy from being total setup bait during the two turns of sleep demanded by Rest.
Locations in Games
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
Animé Appearences
