A powerful Pokemon of generation three, Salamence is a dragon/flying pseudo-legendary Pokemon with great battle capabilities. The final form of Bagon, it will evolve from Shelgon at level 50. A favorite of players who used it in battle, Salamence has only become stronger throughout the years with the addition of Mega Salamence. Generation three introduced many powerful Pokemon and Salamence is no exception. This guide will showcase Salamence’s appearances in the anime, its capability in Pokemon battles, and other general facts about Salamence.
About Salamence
First debuting in the sixth Pokemon movie, Salamence played a minor role as an antagonist. It was first introduced in the third generation with Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire. While its pre-evolutions did not resemble dragons, the Pokedex states that it grew its large wings as a result of a long-held dream of growing wings. Its Mega Evolution emphasizes this dream by removing Salamence’s legs and making the wings grow larger. As a pseudo-legendary Pokemon, its stats are very high and its capability in battle is excellent.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon: Jirachi: Wish Maker Pokemon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire Vanity Affair |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire |
| Region | Hoenn |
| Evolution | Final evolution of Bagon, evolves from Shellgon |
| 1st Evo level | 30 |
| 2nd Evo level | 50 |
| Pokedex Entry | Salamence came about as a result of a strong, long-held dream of growing wings. It is said that this powerful desire triggered a sudden mutation in this Pokémon's cells, causing it to sprout its magnificent wings. |
Salamence Base Stats
| HP | 95 |
| ATTACK | 135 |
| DEFENCE | 80 |
| SP. ATTACK | 110 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 80 |
| SPEED | 100 |
| TOTAL | 600 |
Appearance of Salamence
Salamence is a large blue dragon with huge red wings. Interestingly enough, the Pokedex states that Salamence’s wings were made from its ambition to fly. It has a white armored stomach, four legs that end in three-pointed claws, and at its base, it has a long blue tail. While Salamence is mostly blue, it also has red accents throughout its body. Its mouth has four pointed teeth, and around its head are six-pointed fins. The stomach resembles its pre-evolution Shelgon, as the white shell did not disappear entirely. Salamence first appeared as an antagonist in the Pokemon movie Jirachi: Wish Maker. It also appeared in episode 18 of the Pokemon Chronicles where it was used by Silver to take on Moltres.
Behavior of Salamence
As a bulky dragon type, it is prone to rampaging and its temperament is rather violent. It is known to go on a rampage when angered, and will not stop until tired out. Quite the showman, it will spout fire into the air upon defeating a Pokemon. Salamence is also known for burning fields and mountains as a way to express its joy. As its dream was to grow wings and fly, it seems natural that it spends most of its free time flying in the sky, but it seems to also enjoy burning things to a crisp.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Salamence is quite the menace in battle, and its mega evolution is strong enough to compete with other Pokemon in the Uber bracket. If you want to use Salamence in competitive battles, consider using the mega evolution for the best chance of success. This does mean its held item is reserved for Salamencite, but its incredible stat distribution and the ability Aerilate makes up for it. A full setup Mega Salamence can easily make quick work of an opposing team. It can be difficult to get through a Mega Salamence, but its lowest stat is its special defense making it a good target for 4x effective ice type moves. In order to get through Mega Salamence, you will want a very fast Pokemon to use an ice move in hopes of removing it early.
Mega Salamence
Even without its mega evolution, Salamence would be a force to be reckoned with. Mega Salamence increases all of its stats, except for health, and grants it the ability to Aerilate. This ability makes any of Mega Salamence’s normal moves count for flying and deal 1.2x damage. The increase in damage does not account for STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) so any normal move from Mega Salamence becomes flying, gains the 1.2x damage from Aerilate, and gains the 1.5x damage boost from STAB. All of this combined makes Mega Salamence quite the sweeper and any move that connects will likely knock the opposing Pokemon out. Mega Salamence loses its arms, but its wings become larger and crescent-shaped. Perhaps its ambitions to fly make its evolution emphasize its wingspan.
Shiny Salamence
Shiny Salamence swaps out its blue color palette for a lime green color. The wings for Shiny Salamence stay the same, as does the shell-like armor on its stomach. Nothing changes for the red accents for Shiny Salamence and it will of course maintain the starry entrance of any shiny Pokemon. Shiny Salamence is a desirable Pokemon as its ability in competitive battle is huge. To increase your odds of getting a Shiny Salamence, you can breed them to get a Shiny Bagon from eggs using the Masuda method. This is accomplished by breeding two Pokemon with different origins of language. While lime-green shinies are not loved by the community, Shiny Salamence is still desirable due to its popularity.
Best Moveset
To get the most success out of using Salamence, you should use Mega Salamence for its stat boosts. This does mean its held item is reserved for Salamencite, but the trade-off of higher status and the ability to Aerilate is worth the cost. Since Aerilate increases the damage of normal type moves and converts it to flying for an additional bonus of STAB, you should consider normal type moves for Mega Salamence. Moves like Dragon Dance, Double-Edge, Roost, and Facade are the recommended set. Dragon Dance is a no-brainer for a powerful sweeping Pokemon, Double-Edge works fantastically with Aerilate, Roost to regain some of its HP, and Facade will deal more damage than Double-Edge when Salamence is afflicted with a status effect.
| Dragon Dance | Double-Edge |
| Roost | Facade |
How to Catch Salamence in Pokemon Go
While Bagon’s spawns are relatively rare in Pokemon Go, you were able to find Bagon in one-star raids, but only during the Hoenn Collection Challenge event. Salamence itself does not appear in the wild, it can appear in 4-star raids in Pokemon Gyms. Keep your eyes peeled for a Salamence raid and gather some friends to capture one yourself. The easiest way to obtain a Salamence in Pokemon Go is to either catch it from raids or locate a Bagon in the wild. Bagon’s spawns are supposedly higher during windy weather, but it is still quite rare. If you manage to find a Bagon, keep it as your buddy in order to collect enough candies to evolve it. Bagon needs 25 candies to evolve into Shelgon and 100 to evolve into Salamence.
Video Guide
Trivia
- Salamence has an identical base attack stat with Metagross, another popular pseudo-legendary Pokemon.
- Salamence’s design seems to be based on European dragons.
- Only two Pokemon are able to have the ability Aerilate, Mega Salamence and Mega Pinsir.
FAQs
Q. Is Salamence better than Dragonite?
Regular Salamence and Dragonite is a tough call, but Mega Salamence is indisputably better than Dragonite. The only stat that Dragonite has higher than Mega Salamence is special defense, but just barely. With Mega Salamence’s ability Aerilate, it often outperforms any of Dragonite’s best moves.
Q. Which is better: Hydreigon or Salamence?
This is a question that is difficult to pin down. It is much more subjective, but the bottom line is if mega-evolutions are available, Salamence is better. In brackets where mega evolution is not available, Hydreigon is better. This is mostly because of the Pokemon you would face in competitive battles. For Hydreigon, much of what it was bad against went away in Pokemon Sword and Shield. In terms of base stats, they are very comparable, but Hydreigon has a better special attack while Salamence has a better physical attack. It is very subjective, and for casual play either will play their role very well.
Q. Is Salamence a dragon?
Salamence’s design seems to be based on European dragons. As it is also a dragon type, it is easy to conclude that Salamence is indeed a dragon. While its pre-evolutions are harder to argue for a dragon typing, it is easy to conclude that Salamence is a dragon. It would be difficult to argue that Salamence is not a dragon.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know what Salamence’s role in the anime was, its fearsome capability in battle, as well as how to capture one for yourself in Pokemon Go. Salamence is one of those Pokemon that if you used it, you would understand why it is so powerful. It is rare to see a setup Salamence not succeed in battle. Its popularity stems from its battle capabilities, but many fans are also happy to see dragons on their team. A powerful Pokemon through and through, you will always be happy to have a Salamence on your team.
