Shadow Salamence
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Shadow Salamence is an insanely powerful dragon, able to dish out more damage than the vast majority of its competition. Not only can Shadow Salamence cause massive damage, it can also deal crushing non-STAB damage with Fire Fang and Fly, which have strong synergy against both Grass and Bug Types. And as if THAT wasn't enough, it's also a good Dark Type attacker, and is at least decent performance with a pure Fire Type moveset! On the whole, this is a treasure of a Pokemon that is definitely worthy of investment!
Offense
- Dragon Tail is the Fast Move of choice for a Dragon Type moveset
- Draco Meteor out-paces Outrage* by a bit, but the latter's comparative ease of use keeps it competitive.
- Fire Fang and Fly can definitely work to maim Grass Types, a job that Shadow Salamence is surprisingly good at.
- Bite and Brutal Swing makes Shadow Salamence a a SURPRISINGLY good Dark Type attacker.
- Fire Fang and Fire Blast can work for Fire damage, but aren't great.
- Hydro Pump and Crunch have no genuine utility on Salamence.
Defense
- Dragon Tail excels in STAB power, but Fire Fang shines against many of Shadow Salamence's counters.
- Bite offers no defensive utility on Salamence.
- Brutal Swing is generally the best option here due to its wide neutral coverage and the fact that it's 3-bar. On defense, Crunch is basically a copy of Brutal Swing, but easier to dodge.
- Outrage is a great choice to squeeze in damage, while Fly is a bit weaker.
- Hydro Pump is a decent charge move because of how early it hits.
- Although Draco Meteor hits late, it does a number if not dodged.
- Fire Blast’s counter coverage is offset by a late damage window.
Dragon Tail provides average damage and decent energy generation that Salamence needs for its expensive moves, as well as solid neutral coverage.
Fly is Salamence's cheapest Charged Attack and benefits from STAB; its excellent overall parameters allow it to become Salamence's primary weapon. Outrage is fairly expensive, but it deals tremendous damage and is cheaper than Salamence's other options. Fire Blast can be ran instead to incinerate Steel-type Pokemon that would otherwise wall it, but its extreme cost makes it an unreliable move. Draco Meteor is an alternative option to Outrage for more even power, but its drawback and slightly higher cost makes it a generally inferior option. Hydro Pump can be used for coverage, but Fire Blast is generally better for that purpose. Frustration obviously has no use.
Shadow Salamence is weighted towards attack and has a poor PvP moveset, leaving it unviable in the Great League.
