Pokémon Dragapult

[CaptainDaimyo]

Base Stats: 88 HP / 120 Attack / 75Defense / 100 Special Attack / 75 Special Defense / 142 Speed
Abilities: Clear Body | Infiltrator | Cursed Body (H)
Notable Moves:
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Darts
- Fire Blast
- Flamethrower
- Hex
- Hydro Pump
- Phantom Force
- Scald
- Shadow Ball
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn
- Will-O-Wisp

Movepool

Level Up:
Dragon Darts @ Evolution
Bite @ Lv. 1
Quick Attack @ Lv. 1
Dragon Breath @ Lv. 1
Astonish @ Lv. 1
Infestation @ Lv. 1
Lock-On @ Lv. 6
Assurance @ Lv. 12
Hex @ Lv. 18
Agility @ Lv. 24
Double Hit @ Lv. 30
U-turn @ Lv. 36
Dragon Dance @ Lv. 42
Phantom Force @ Lv. 48
Take Down @ Lv. 54
Dragon Rush @ Lv. 63
Double-Edge @ Lv. 70
Last Resort @ Lv. 78

TM:
[TM01] Take Down
[TM04] Agility
[TM06] Fly
[TM07] Protect
[TM14] Acrobatics
[TM18] Reflect
[TM21] Pounce
[TM25] Facade
[TM29] Hex
[TM32] Swift
[TM42] Night Shade
[TM44] Dragon Tail
[TM47] Endure
[TM49] Sunny Day
[TM60] U-turn
[TM63] Psychic Fangs
[TM66] Body Slam
[TM70] Sleep Talk
[TM74] Reflect
[TM75] Light Screen
[TM78] Dragon Claw
[TM82] Thunder Wave
[TM85] Rest
[TM97] Fly
[TM100] Dragon Dance
[TM103] Substitute
[TM107] Will-O-Wisp
[TM114] Shadow Ball
[TM115] Dragon Pulse
[TM123] Surf
[TM125] Flamethrower
[TM126] Thunderbolt
[TM130] Helping Hand
[TM132] Baton Pass
[TM141] Fire Blast
[TM142] Hydro Pump
[TM151] Phantom Force
[TM152] Giga Impact
[TM156] Outrage
[TM163] Hyper Beam
[TM166] Thunder
[TM168] Solar Beam
[TM169] Draco Meteor
[TM171] Tera Blast

Pros:
- Dragapult has very good (sometimes spammable) STAB moves in Draco Meteor, Shadow Ball, Dragon Darts, etc. It also has a wide range of coverage options, such as Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, and Thunderbolt.
- It's decent Attack and SpA stats allow it to serve as either a physical or special attacker.
- With access to a wide range of moves, Dragapult can serve a lot of roles for a team, from status abuser to late-game sweeper.
- With Infiltrator, Dragapult is able to handle Substitute users such as Cyclizar.
- With a blistering Speed stat of 142, Dragapult has one of the best speed tiers in the tier.
- Dragon/Ghost is a scary offensive type combination, which means that very few Pokémon can switch in safely into Dragapult's dual STAB attacks.

Cons:
- Poor bulk means that it is susceptible to revenge-killing, and it often finds a hard time switching in, often relying on pivot support.
- In Choice item sets, Dragapult can often be forced out by Pokemon that can check it, thus losing momentum.
- Dragapult lacks longevity because it does not have access to reliable recovery options, meaning it often has to rely on Wish support.

Terastal Potential:
- Being an offensively-oriented Pokémon, Dragapult can serve as a very strong abuser of Terastalizing.
- With access to already spammable STAB moves, Dragapult can Terastalize into either of its types to make its STAB even more abusable. Notably, a Dragon Terestal functions well with sets that utilize Dragon Darts, while Ghost Terestal makes Shadow Ball even less safer to switch into.
- Due to Dragapult's access to plenty of coverage options, it can utilize Terestal for those moves as well (Fire Terestal for Flamethrower/Fire Blast, Electric Terestal for Thunderbolt, etc.).
- In order to handle its checks, Dragapult could utilize as well a Steel or Fairy Terestal in order to better handle Fairy and Dark-type Pokemon, respectively, that would otherwise force Dragapult out.

Potential Sets:
Choice Specs
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Ghost / Fire / Electric / Steel / Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn / Tera Blast
- Flamethrower / Thunderbolt / Tera Blast

A special attack-oriented Dragapult allows it to utilize its vast coverage, making it a very strong wallbreaker like in the previous generation. Draco Meteor and Shadow Ball are strong STAB options, although Draco Meteor is a risky option that almost always forces Dragapult out, requiring good prediction to utilize well. U-turn allows Dragapult to keep momentum going by pivoting to teammates that appreciate it bringing them in, although Tera Blast (especially Fairy and Steel) may be used over U-turn to improve Dragapult's coverage at the expense of its utility. The fourth move can vary depending on what a team may appreciate from Dragapult's coverage.

Dragon Dance Sweeper
Dragapult @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body / Infiltrator
Tera Type: Dragon / Ghost / Steel / Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Darts
- Phantom Force
- Tera Blast

Dragapult's physical coverage seems shallow compared to its special coverage, but thanks to Tera Blast, its physical coverage has improved, allowing it to take on a wider range of threats. After one DD, Dragapult becomes harder to outspeed even for Scarfed mons, with very few sets such as Rain Barraskewda being able to outspeed it. Tera Blast is best utilized with Steel or Fairy Tera Types in order to handle Pokemon that would normally check it, such as Fairy and Dark-types. Clear Body has been picked over Infiltrator as the ability so that Dragapult's sweeping doesn't get hampered by stat dropping abilities or moves such as Intimidate. Infiltrator can be picked as an ability as well in order to better handle Shed Tail Cyclizar teams.

Dragapult @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Dragon / Ghost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave

This set revolves around spreading status, abusing status + Hex, and serving as a fast pivot to teammates. Thunder Wave is picked as the status option in order to disrupt potential sweepers, such as Baxcalibur and Roaring Moon, as well as slow down rival speedy Pokemon, such as Meowscarada and Flutter Mane. HDB allows Dragapult safety against hazards, allowing it to spread status and pivot to teammates more safely.

Overall, Dragapult returns from Gen 8 still remaining a menace. It has somewhat improved its already top-tier status in OverUsed thanks to the absence of 2 of its greatest threats: Clefable and Heatran. With access to a wide movepool and a very good stat spread, Dragapult is a very flexible Pokémon that can fit into all sorts of teams in all sorts of roles, whether that's a sweeper, a wallbreaker, or a pivot. However, Dragapult faces new rivals in the tier. Baxcalibur is a fellow Dragon-type that can do the things Dragapult can do, albeit without Dragapult's amazing speed and coverage, but with the good bulk that Dragapult lacks. Meowscarada is just like the Libero Cinderace that Dragapult could handle in the previous generation, but Meowscarada's Dark-typing makes it more difficult to handle compared to Cinderace.

How do you think Dragapult will perform in Generation 9? Do you think it will be the same top-tier threat just like in Gen 8 OU, or will the new Pokemon introduced this generation prove to be more effective than Dragapult? Lastly, how do you think it will benefit from the removal of Clefable, probably its most important check last generation, as well as less Pokemon gaining access to Teleport? Feel free to discuss!

 

[Eeveeto]

I think Band Ghost Terablast has some merit on this. BandPult was already viable in SS without good Ghost STAB, now it's even better with one, even if it won't use it in every battle. At the same time, there are not many fairies left, so Dragon Darts alone hits hard with Band.

 

[CaptainDaimyo]

I think Band Ghost Terablast has some merit on this. BandPult was already viable in SS without good Ghost STAB, now it's even better with one, even if it won't use it in every battle. At the same time, there are not many fairies left, so Dragon Darts alone hits hard with Band.

I'd agree, although one of those remaining Fairies is probs the most common mons in the current meta (Flutter Mane). BandPult could be a mainstay if Flutter Mane got banned (might be)

 

[Eeveeto]

I'd agree, although one of those remaining Fairies is probs the most common mons in the current meta (Flutter Mane). BandPult could be a mainstay if Flutter Mane got banned (might be)

Well, precisely Flutter Many is one fairy that dies from the Terablast while being outspeed. And I think from band Steel Wing too if you Terastal another Mon.

 

[Soiramio3000]

I rarely see people using dragapult.

this guy probably will not be in OU this month and will have to wait for a few bans to happen before he goes back in being an OU staple.

 

[ninth]

Getting outsped by Booster Flutter Mane really sucks for Dragapult, it kills it with everything except Moonblast on a Tera Ghost (53-62%).

Wait a second, this mon doesn't get Sneak, I'm the worst player of all time. Without Tera, Adamant 252Atk Shadow Sneak is only a 25% chance to kill. Banded Shadow Sneak does always get the job done though.

 

[escarlata]

I'm kinda liking Dragapult + Flutter Mane Ghost spam actually.
Dragapult is fast enough that it often forces opposing Paradox mons to burn Booster Energy on their Paradox mons early to deal with it; and also allows you to quickly reveal any Scarf user on the opposing team, giving you a positional advantage where Flutter Mane sweep become significantly more consistent.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

I'm kinda liking Dragapult + Flutter Mane Ghost spam actually.
Dragapult is fast enough that it often forces opposing Paradox mons to burn Booster Energy on their Paradox mons early to deal with it; and also allows you to quickly reveal any Scarf user on the opposing team, giving you a positional advantage where Flutter Mane sweep become significantly more consistent.

Dragapult can't handle the paradox mons too well sadly. It's frail and pretty weak without specs. Ting Lu basically sits on Specs Dragapult all day, as does Clodsire

It will be decent after the second wave of bans are done. But not now.

 

[escarlata]

Dragapult can't handle the paradox mons too well sadly. It's frail and pretty weak without specs. Ting Lu basically sits on Specs Dragapult all day, as does Clodsire

It will be decent after the second wave of bans are done. But not now.

I'm just using him to spam Specs Shadow Ball or Draco to force responses. Specs Shadow Ball may not shred through teams as easily as last gen, but using it with Flutter Mane puts more pressure on stuff that the opponent might want to save for Flutter Mane.

Defensively, Ting-Lu and Clodsire can sit on it forever, but dropping a Draco on them on the switch still softens them up significantly while giving you a free switch to whatever you want. While Clodsire can heal up, Ting-Lu is just not switching into Dragapult ever again later in the game. If you can force Clodsire out before he could click Recover, he's just outright dying to Psyshock from Flutter Mane.

Offensively, it naturally outspeeds a lot of stuff with a pretty solid resistance to priority moves. It being the single fastest mon in the tier means that teams lacking a Scarf user are often forced to burn their Booster Energy on their paradox mons early in order to answer it, which puts my own Flutter Mane in a positional advantage later on.

It's honestly like how it helped to exhaust Spectier checks last gen until they could no longer deal with Spectier, except Fluttering Mane is even more dangerous than Spectier. Against some teams, you can even just spam Shadow Ball until something kills you, then switch into Flutter Mane and blow through everything left because their Ghost resist has been softened so much.

 

[nimzowitsch]

I find that the Dragon Dance set (DD/Darts/Phantom Force/Tera Blast) is surprisingly underrated as a late game cleaning option. It outspeeds even Speed boosting Flutter Mane. Tera Fairy or Steel is great against potential revenge killing options such as Sucker Punch or Ice Shard from Chien-Pao. Of course you can also just double down on your existing STABs for maximum breaking power.

 

[Dreadfury]

This thing is being slept on HARD right now; Tera Blast gives this thing a physical Ghost STAB that isn't Phantom Force and with how ridiculously hyper-offensive the meta is leaning right now this thing can pretty easily find its home onto Cyclizar HO squads as an anti-Cyclizar HO threat thanks to its great Speed and Infiltrator.

This thing is EASILY a top threat right now, and that's even in a meta where it's coexisting alongside Flutter Mane and Chien-Pao. And I think it's a bigger Tera offender than Roaring Moon could ever hope to be.

 

[CaptainDaimyo]

So the thread has been getting a lot of attention recently, so I'd like to add a few more points of discussion to keep it a bit more relevant in the coming days:

• When is Dragapult worth using in teams over arguably bigger metagame Dragon threats like Roaring Moon?
• Potential teammates for DD and Specs Pult? (Hex Pult is quite irrelevant rn.)
• How would a BandPult set work, since it's gotten more viable this generation thanks to Terastalizing.

 

[nimzowitsch]

So the thread has been getting a lot of attention recently, so I'd like to add a few more points of discussion to keep it a bit more relevant in the coming days:

• When is Dragapult worth using in teams over arguably bigger metagame Dragon threats like Roaring Moon?
• Potential teammates for DD and Specs Pult? (Hex Pult is quite irrelevant rn.)
• How would a BandPult set work, since it's gotten more viable this generation thanks to Terastalizing.

Dragapult has a much better speed tier over Roaring Moon (142 vs 119) which allows it to outspeed many crucial threats such as Scarfers, Chien Pao, and Cyclizar. Infiltrator is a good ability against teams with the aforementioned Cyclizar. Dragapult's Ghost typing also makes it immune to Mach Punch from Breloom, which is a common way of keeping Roaring Moon in check.

I would say the now-banned Flutter Mane would be a good teammate for Specs Pult just to abuse Ghost Spam to the max. Now I'm not so sure about a teammate. I personally actually prefer DD Pult in this meta. Pult is quite frail so screens support and/or Shed Tail from Cyclizar could be very helpful for DD Pult.

For Choice Band Pult, I would probably run Darts/Phantom Force/Sucker Punch, and for the last slot either Tera Blast or U-turn depending on your Tera type.

 

[CaptainDaimyo]

So Flutter Mane just got banned, so ig Tera Steel might now be worth as much anymore. Tera Fighting and Tera Fairy might be better options for it rn.

Edit: Our beloved pseudo legendary might see increased usage now that Mane's banned, considering Dragapult gets outsped by the recently banned mon. We still need to worry about Rain Palafin tho

 

[Porygon2Bandit]

Tera Steel still changes you from Weak Ghost, Weak Dragon, Weak Fairy, Weak Ice -> Neutral Ghost, Resist Fairy, Resist Dragon, Resist Ice.

In the middle of a sweep this change is so insanely hard to deal with that it almost forces the primary check to die for a secondary check to finish it. I predict throughout this week, we'll see Dragapult take over not just as a solid choice but a premiere sweeper/cleaner.

 

[SlakingBestWaifu]

Pult is definitely underrated but I think he's outclassed as a sweeper atm with monsters like Moon running around. He's still got more than enough going for him to justify his use, especially as a Ghost type in a post Flutter Mane world. I think an underappreciated aspect of Pult atm is that he does really well as a stopgap to Cyclizar shenanigans between Dragon Darts and Infiltrator, and is among the best tera users.

With Mane gone I think we'll see a lot of uptick in Roaring Moon, Iron Valiant, and Chien-Pao so Tera Fairy will probably be best as a means of beating those. Tera Steel will also be solid as a means to dodge Ice Shard revenge killers & Fairies, and I can also see fringe uses for Tera Electric/Grass for Palafin and if Unaware Dondozo and other fat waters pick up in usage. Tera Ghost is also always an option for ghost spam, it feels like there aren't as many people running answers to ghost spam like in Gen 8.

 

[Cratersmash]

I personally run this DD set:

Dragapult @ Spell Tag
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Tera Blast
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Dance
Spell Tag boosted Tera Blast is terrifying. I’ve had times when I pivot this thing in at the same time Cyclizar uses Shed Tail and then I use Ghost Tera Blast and the Mon behind the sub just dies. If you can manage to get in position to set up DD, that’s just about ggs. Answers to this include…um…the speed boosting Paradoxes if it doesn’t have a DD up. If it does, then that’s unfortunate.

 

[Senni]

physically oriented (banded or three attacks dd, even t-wave or wisp in one slot) is much better rn imo. but as the meta settles, tera likely being banned, and as balance teams start to form i’m sure the specs set will reign supreme again.

infiltrator + darts helps against cyclizar cheese. tera ghost is strong. and being a v fast spin blocker. it’s great in a lot of ways.

 

[Clas]

I rarely see people using dragapult.

this guy probably will not be in OU this month and will have to wait for a few bans to happen before he goes back in being an OU staple.

flutter mane is gone now so its probably not the case

 

[Soiramio3000]

flutter mane is gone now so its probably not the case

It was not banned when I posted the comment.
also at this very moment it hasn't been fully banned either (I can still use it).

 

[lordkira]

Most underrated and underused mon for how insanely good it is atm.
Specs, SubHex, max speed+ DD (only with ghost tera imo), and CB are all fantastic sets atm.
Speed tier is, as always, godsend.
Though with the speed creep, I often find myself needing to speed+ nature with enough speed EV to outrun as many iron bundles as possible, aka non speed boosted iron bundles.

 

[Qaos-System]

‖ː‖`Given that Dragapult was banned from NatDex last gen for Ghostium Z making its Physical set oppressive, it'll certainly be interesting to see what Tera Blast does for it in Gen nine`.‖ː‖

 

[Dusk Mage Necrozma]

I think it’s manageable. This gen’s power creep and powerful priority keeps it in check, plus it burns your Tera which is a lot more important for the overall team than a Z-Move is.

 

[lordkira]

I find dragapult to be suspect worthy. It’s really the reason why tera blast is being considered for tera complex ban (which is one of the worst options for tera complex bans imo). The strongest super stab tera abusers are bigger problems than stab tera priority abusers from my experience. Though I don’t find it to be clearly ban worthy atm tbh either. Without tera blast though I think it’s very manageable since it will really just be specs like last gen (tera ghost specs exists but 100 spA is meh and there’s be better tera users than specs pult).

 

[Lectrys]

Without tera blast though I think it’s very manageable since it will really just be specs like last gen (tera ghost specs exists but 100 spA is meh and there’s be better tera users than specs pult).

I found Dragapult's ability to go Tera Steel/Tera Fairy (yes, on Specs Pult to boot) to be problematic in the teambuilder when finding revenge killers for it (I also actually tried Tera Steel Specs Pult and won a game I should not have won Teraing it). At the very least, I needed to go for Choice Band Chien-Pao Sucker Punch into Scizor Bullet Punch (not necessarily Choice Band), which gets exploited by Substitute/Will-o-Wisp Dragapult. At least you can use Lokix First Impression instead of Scizor (you need at least Jolly Life Orb to OHKO Dragapult with Lokix Sucker Punch pre-Tera).