Pokemon GO: Top 5 Pokemon to use against Dragon-types

Whether it’s the main series game or Pokemon GO, the fact remains that Dragons are very scary to go up against.

There are literally more pseudo-legendary Dragons in the game than there are ordinary Dragon-type Pokemon. Therefore, most of these Pokemon have ridiculously boosted stats as well. Dragonite, Salamence, Palkia, and Dialga all do absurd amounts of damage during a battle. Failing to plan for these Pokemon is planning to fail.

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Which Pokemon can defeat the strongest Dragon-types?

Here are the top 5 Pokemon that trainers can use to battle the strongest of Dragon-type Pokemon in Pokemon GO:

5) Mamoswine

Mamoswine's rookie evolution, Swinub, can be found in icy areas like the Ice Path in Johto (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Ice-types are often the most potent way to counter Dragons. This is because most Dragons are either part Flying-type (Dragonite, Rayquaza) or part Ground-type (Garchomp, Flygon). In these cases, Ice attacks are quadruple times effective than other types, and Mamoswine has one of the best damage outputs for a Ice-type Pokemon.

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4) Galarian Darmanitan

Darmanitan gained an Ice typing in the Galar region (Image via Niantic)

The only Ice-type that can really go toe to toe with Mamoswine in Pokemon GO is Galarian Darmanitan. Its 263 Attack stat is significantly higher than Mamoswine’s 247. Looking at the raid counters for Dragonite (who is 4x weak to Ice), Galarian Darmanitan takes the number one spot away from Mamoswine by quite literally one second.

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3) Togekiss

Togekiss was a new evolution for Togetic, introduced in Generation IV (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Whereas Ice-types are particularly good for certain Dragons, Fairies are effective against almost all Dragon-types in Pokemon GO. Dragalge and Dialga are the only Pokemon with a Dragon typing that doesn't take super-effective damage from Fairies, and there's no better way to attack with Fairies than Charm Spam. Togekiss is feared in the Ultra League as well as other meta leagues due to how effectively it can Charm Spam.

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2) Gardevoir

Gardevoir can learn both powerful Psychic and Fairy moves (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Gardevoir essentially does what Togekiss does, but better. They both run Charm and Dazzling Gleam. The difference is, with 237 Attack, Gardevoir is more powerful than Togekiss. Looking at the raid counters for Goodra, Gardevoir and Togekiss won out with the same time (19.8 seconds). It’s really close between the two, but Gardevoir also helps win other matchups outside of Dragons.

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1) Dialga

As good as Fairy-type and Ice-type Pokemon are in this game, the best strategy is to use the Dragons to destroy the Dragons. Raid counters for most Dragon-types have other Dragons in the number one slot.

In all honesty, there are several Dragons that are more powerful than Dialgia (Salamence, Palkia, etc.) Dialga separates itself, though, by its Steel typing, which allows it to take neutral damage from Dragon-type attacks. It will, therefore, take less damage from other Dragons while firing off Draco Meteors in return.

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In general, the best way to be prepared for Dragon-types is to have a high-powered Dragon or Fairy available. Ice-types will be better, though, against Pokemon like Rayquaza and Garchomp, who are extra weak to Ice.

Note: The article reflects the views of the writer.