Salamence, the Dragon Pokémon. It's uncontrollable if enraged. It flies around spouting flames, scorching fields and mountains. .
Overview
After taking the first two formats off in Champions, Salamence has returned in Regulation M-C to wreak untold havoc with its absurd Mega Evolution. That is not to say that Salamence is without a niche, given its long and storied history as one of the most diverse attackers in the game. Base 110 Special Attack is a good start, for while low, Salamence is more than capable of compensating with held items and the absurdly high power of its Special STAB and coverage options in Draco Meteor, Hurricane, Fire Blast and Hydro Pump. Yet Salamence’s key claim to fame is that as one of the most terrifying Dragon Dance sweepers in all of Pokémon. Base 135 Attack is already a terrifying starting point before any boosts and with Dragon STAB and Earthquake, Salamence already hits just about every Pokémon for neutral damage, even before accounting for its myriad of other coverage options. Base 100 Speed is a fantastic baseline for any aspiring attacker and frighteningly difficult to outspeed after a single boost. The fact that Salamence’s abilities facilitate such destruction further increases Salamence’s value. Moxie is the most self evident, allowing Salamence to become one of the most efficient setup sweepers in the game, escalating in lethality with each knockout it takes. Intimidate cannot be discounted either, with the Attack drop in conjunction with Dragon Flying’s many resistances greatly facilitating the initial Dragon Dance setup in the first place. Even the shift to Champions has been a boon to Salamence, with Unaware walls far less prominent and the current lack of Terastalization making Outrage a much safer option to use.
Yet despite the drop in defensive counterplay, the Champions environment may be too hostile for Salamence. The generational speed creep has made base 100 Speed far less impressive than in generations past, and there is no lack of Pokémon, old, new or returning that can offensively pressure Salamence. Salamence’s underwhelming base 80 defenses do not help matters either, meaning any foes that can get around Salamence’s typing and Intimidate have a relatively squishy target to deal with. What really hurts Salamence is the issues with its STAB options, with its strongest options (Draco Meteor, Hurricane, Outrage) having severe reliability issues and/or drawbacks, to say nothing of its best physical Flying STAB option being the underwhelming and inconsistent Dual Wingbeat. This means Dragon Dance sets struggle not only with ungrounded Steel types, but also Fairy types given the lack of a strong secondary STAB to cleanly deal with them. Yet the biggest roadblock to Salamence’s success is its own Mega Evolution. Mega Salamence can perform any set Salamence can do to greater effect and its whirlwind success means teams are prepared for Mega Salamence and thus Salamence as a result. Even without Mega Salamence, (Mega) Gyarados can pull off near identical sets without the crippling weakness to Ice, and Mega Dragonite wholly outclasses Salamence as a special attacking Flying Dragon type. Being overshadowed by its own Mega Evolution is still a small price to pay for Salamence whose own base strengths ensure it may once again spread its wings.
Positives
135 Attack is amazing and Salamence can easily push it higher with Dragon Dance and Moxie.
110 Special Attack is potent, especially when backed by powerful STABs and coverage.
Absurd movepool with a plethora of coverage options, boosting and recovery to choose from.
Base 100 Speed meets a good standard tying with many prominent offensive threats before Dragon Dance.
Decent defensive profile between Intimidate and Dragon Flying typing
Negatives
Defensive merits mean little in the face of a quadruple Ice weakness and easily exploitable Dragon and Fairy weaknesses.
Speed creep has left Salamence exposed to a huge range of staples and Mega Evolved threats.
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Movesets
Soaring Sweeper
-Dragon Dance
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Temper Flare
Ability: Moxie / Intimidate
Item: Life Orb
Stats and Nature:
2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Jolly Nature
Salamence is famed as one of the best Dragon Dance sweepers in the game for good reason with both the ease it can set up and the way it can escalate out of control with Moxie. Dragon Claw is primary STAB, taking full advantage of Dragon's wide neutral coverage and invaluable super effective coverage against the many opposing Dragons Salamence will inevitably face. Dragon Claw, while not the strongest, is preferred here for its reliability with no drawbacks. Earthquake is a staple coverage for Dragon types for its ability to threaten most Steel types and Salamence is no exception, loving +1 Earthquake threatening the likes of 32 HP Kingambit (75% chance to OHKO), 2 HP Mega Lucario Z (guaranteed OHKO), 32 HP Archaludon (62% chance to OHKO), and 2 HP Mega Metagross (guaranteed OHKO). Temper Flare is secondary Steel coverage, handling Steel types when Rillaboom's Grassy Terrain is in play as well as handling Ground neutral/immune Steel types like Corviknight, Air Balloon Gholdengo, and Mega Golisopod. Earthquake is not completely redundant in this scenario either, its extra power invaluable for getting OHKOs on bulky Steel types that Temper Flare otherwise misses, and out damaging Temper Flare in the rain. Moxie is generally preferred as if Salamence can get just one knock out, the extra Attack boost is often enough to compromise any other defensive check an opponent may have. Intimidate is still a strong option, making it far easier for Salamence to setup in the face of physical attackers and allows Salamence to hinder the opponent even if caught in a bad matchup like against Baxcalibur.
Stats and Items:
Max Speed and Attack investment are recommended to get the most out of Dragon Dance. Max Speed and Jolly are highly recommended given how crowded the base 100 Speed tier is, where missing a point of speed can mean the difference between outspeeding a threat and knocking it out, or being knocked out in turn. Dropping down to Adamant leaves Salamence exposed to the likes of Mimikyu, Indeedee-M, Mega Charizard X, Mega Dragonite, and Volcarona pre–Dragon Dance as well as Adamant Swift Swim Mega Swampert and Adamant Scarf Garchomp post Dragon Dance. For items, Life Orb is strongly recommended, as it gives Salamence a power boost that eclipses even Mega Salamence on non-Flying STAB attacks, allowing Salamence to surpass its Mega Evolution at least in this regard. Given how popular it is to cripple Dragon Dancing Salamence with status, Lum Berry is a strong option as well and can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Haban Berry is also a strong option, enabling Salamence to setup even in the face of Scarf Hydreigon or Archaludon and get the Dragon Dance necessary to to go on the offensive.
Partners:
Answers to Fairy types are strongly recommended for Dragon Dance Salamence given the difficulties it has justifying Iron Head on its sets. Of those, (Mega) Excadrill probably suits Salamence best, having Steel STAB to address Fairy types, along with brutal STAB Earthquakes to remove or at least compromise key Steel types as well as Skeledirge. In turn, Salamence can use the Water, Fire, Fighting and Ground attacks Excadrill draws in as its own entry point. Mega Golisopod and Mega Scizor are other strong anti Fairy allies that can also soak up Dragon and Ice attacks as needed, while appreciating Salamence able to tank Fire attacks and threaten Fire types with Earthquake. The latter is also notable as a slow pivot that can get Salamence into position.
Other Options:
Outrage is Salamence's strongest STAB option and can clean up entire teams in one use in 3v3 but cannot be used at all if there are Fairy types as it is an guaranteed free switch in.
Iron Head is Salamence's best option against Fairy types, but its coverage is otherwise poor.
Dual Wingbeat is Salamence's best Flying STAB option and good for the likes of Mega Meganium.
Type 0 Dragon Fighter
-Hurricane
-Draco Meteor
-Hydro Pump
-Fire Blast
Ability: Intimidate
Item: Life Orb
Stats and Nature:
2 HP / 32 SAtk / 32 Spe
Timid Nature
While Special Attacking Salamence is largely redundant with Mega Dragonite, it does have a small niche in that it can perform this role without the need to Mega Evolve. This makes Special Salamence invaluable on Rain teams that want to run Mega Swampert but still have a strong answer to Rillaboom that isn’t compromised by a High Horsepower. This set also has the bonus of being a nasty surprise to opponents expecting Dragon Dance Salamence given how well equipped this is to handle physical walls. Hurricane is the star of the show here, being powerful Flying STAB that is ideal for removing Grass types like Rillaboom, Mega Venusaur, and Mega Meganium, on top of being quite spammable in the rain. Draco Meteor is secondary STAB that is ideal for punishing neutral targets and removing any Dragon type that attempts to switch into Salamence, on top of being a great option to remove or compromise Archaludon depending on the latter’s HP investment, an otherwise difficult foe for Rain teams. Hydro Pump is effectively tertiary STAB in the Rain and even out of it is fantastic for allowing Salamence to surprise and remove Pokémon that normally check it like Hippowdon, and Skeledirge. While Fire Blast is anti-synergistic given this set is meant to go on Rain teams, the ability to threaten Steel types in and out of the Rain, especially the juggernaut that is Mega Golisopod is too good to ignore. Intimidate is preferred for this set, giving Salamence more defensive utility and facilitates repositioning by sapping opposing attackers.
Stats and Items:
As standard for an attacker, max Special Attack and Speed are recommended. Speed is vital given Salamence’s crowded Speed tier, and dropping down to Modest opens it up to a whole range of threats including Mimikyu, Indeedee-M, Mega Charizard X, and Mega Dragonite, especially as this Salamence cannot afford to increase its speed. Max Special Attack investment is hard to drop too, as Base 110 Special Attack is on the cusp of viability and leans as much on the high power of Salamence’s special attacks. Life Orb is again recommended, helping Salamence make up for its lower Special Attack in comparison to Mega Salamence and Mega Dragonite. If they return, Choice Specs is also a powerful option for the power boost they provide.
Partners:
Special Attacking Salamence is a natural inclusion on Rain teams, who address Hurricane’s biggest issue in its poor accuracy while giving Hydro Pump a nice boost and Salamence returns the favor cleaning up opposing Grass and Water types that such teams may otherwise struggle against. Pelipper is a natural Rain setter, and not being relied upon to handle Rillaboom makes it that much easier to keep it up to reestablish Rain. Mega Swampert is the main payoff for Rain teams, and by far benefits the most from having a reliable answer to Grass types. Basculegion is another Swift Swim attacker that does also greatly benefit from Salamence stifling Rillaboom.
Other Options:
Air Slash and Dragon Pulse are far more reliable STAB options, but the power drop is severe.
Countering Salamence
Salamence’s wide and varied arsenal defies hard counters, but it struggles to handle every threat and there are always weak points to exploit.
For Dragon Dance Salamence, Unaware walls are easily the most consistent answer to it, not caring how many Dragon Dances Salamence gets, though not without some caveats. 32 HP/32+ Def Skeledirge easily checks Salamence without Life Orb taking at most 48% from Earthquake and able to ruin Salamence with Will-O-Wisp. However, with Life Orb, Earthquake jumps to 53-63%, overwhelming Skeledirge even through Leftovers. 32 HP/32+ Def Unaware Clefable is perhaps even more reliable, only fearing Life Orb Iron Head, which is a 2HKO and can cripple with Thunder Wave or 2HKO back with its own Moonblast.
Other physical walls can also arrest Dragon Dance Salamence’s assault. 32 HP/32+ Def Corviknight and Skarmory do well into any move except +1 Life Orb Temper Flare, which deals about 57-69%. Anything else, they can easily outlast between Roost, Leftovers and Iron Defense. 32 HP/32+ Defense Hippowdon is only threatened by +1 Outrage (dealing 61-73%), and can switch into any other move, and pHaze any boosts with Whirlwind, but struggles to otherwise deal damage. Mega Golisopod also does well into any move except Temper Flare, and to a lesser extent Life Orb Dual Wingbeat, the latter dealing 47-57%, and can counter boost with Bulk Up and outlast with Leech Life, if not grab a quick knock out with Iron Head.
Status is also a clean way to handle Dragon Dance Salamence. Sableye, Mega Bannette can easily land a Will-O-Wisp thanks to their Prankster abilities, while Mimikyu is also a reliable Burn setter because of its Disguise. Grimmsnarl is also an annoyance due to its Prankster Thunder Wave, while Mega Scovillain is an unavoidable Burn.
Specially offensive Salamence is great at subverting these physical checks, but at the cost of the sheer power and speed the Dragon Dance set boasts. Fairy types are a consistent problem for the specially offensive set given their good Special Defense and immunity to Draco Meteor. Primarina, Mega Clefable and Mega Floette can pivot into any attack except Life Orb Hurricane and OHKO back with their own STABs. 32 HP Sylveon is even bulkier, with Hurricane being a very unlikely 2HKO at best. Hisuian Goodra is also notable for its sheer Special bulk allowing it to endure any Life Orb boosted attack and OHKO back with Dragon STAB/Ice Beam, but must remain healthy as Draco Meteor still does 48-58%. Umbreon’s special bulk is also impressive, though Life Orb Hurricane (43-51%) into Draco Meteor (50-60%) is still a frequent knockout, but can otherwise outlast with Wish and Protect while 2-3HKOing with Foul Play.
Offensive checking Salamence is a fair bit easier given its weaknesses and lacking defenses. This is kept somewhat in check by Dragon Dance’s Speed boost, but even then, Scarf users like Dragapult, Meowscarada, Greninja, Garchomp, and Floette-Eternal can all reliably outspeed +1 Salamence and OHKO it with their Super Effective STAB options. Otherwise, the number of Pokémon that can outspeed and OHKO an unboosted Salamence is vast, including Mega Garchomp Z, Mega Sceptile, Mega Greninja, Triple Axel Mega Lopunny, Icy Wind Mega Gengar, Mega Raichu Y with Zap Cannon, Weavile, Mega Starmie, Mega Froslass, Mega Salamence, Maushold, Mega Staraptor (provided it isn’t Intimidated pre Mega Evolution), and Mega Floette. All this before even considering slower Scarf users like Hydreigon and Gholdengo.
For a Salamence with multiple Dragon Dances, Ice Shard users are exceptionally effective, especially Baxcalibur and Mamoswine who can both stop Salamence cold.
Mega Salamence, the Dragon Pokémon. To streamline itself for flight, it pulls its forelegs into its shell. Salamence flies at high speeds even when faced with complex topographical features.
Overview
One of the strongest Mega Evolutions of all time, Mega Salamence dominates all in its path with a near perfect blend of speed, power and defenses, leaving its opponents with little to no quarter. Base 120 Speed is a fantastic starting point; even with the massive speed creep of many new Mega Evolutions, base 120 still eclipses many popular Mega Evolutions and staples including Mega Metagross, Mega Staraptor, Cinderace and Garchomp. This speed is put to good use too, with Mega Salamence’s terrifying offense. While Base 145 Attack is not that much improved over base Salamence, and may in fact be a downgrade given the locked item and lack of the self escalation of Moxie, Mega Salamence’s Aerialate more than makes up for it. With Aerialate, Mega Salamence finally has offensive options for its secondary STAB, and powerful ones at that, with the 1.2 boost more than making up for Mega Salamence’s inability to hold an item. Flying and Dragon alone offer absurdly wide coverage and Salamence’s plentiful offensive options ensure that those that do resist its STABs aren’t safe. Yet, Mega Salamence’s biggest coup is its defensive profile. Base 130 Defense is a massive upgrade over Mega Salamence’s base form, allowing Mega Salamence to reliably setup and greatly decreasing its vulnerability to priority attacks. Add in pre Mega Evolution Intimidate and the plentiful resistances offered by Dragon-Flying typing, and Mega Salamence becomes incredibly difficult to take down with physical attacks and can even function as a physical wall with Roost.
Mega Salamence does have some weakpoints in its armor. Its Special Defense is barely boosted from its base form, meaning strong special attacks can deal serious damage and take it out relatively quickly despite its otherwise fantastic bulk. The extreme Ice weakness does Mega Salamence no favors either, especially with fast Ice attackers like Meowscarada, (Mega) Greninja, Weavile and Mega Froslass. Furthermore, while Mega Salamence does wield an incredible speed tier and is near impossible to outspeed after a Dragon Dance, the few naturally faster attackers like Mega Raichu Y, Mega Gengar, Dragapult and Mega Sceptile do all significantly threaten Mega Salamence one way or another. Offensively, despite Mega Salamence possessing coverage for them, Steel types remain a persistent issue, especially ungrounded Steel types like Corviknight and Skarmory, since physical Mega Salamence struggles to fit the Fire coverage needed for them. These issues will come up given the popularity of Mega Salamence and Garchomp who shares the same issues and as such most team will be preparing to beat these two threats. As small price to pay for the sheer heights that Mega Salamence has ascended to.
Positives
Base 120 Speed is fantastic, making Mega Salamence difficult to outspeed.
Base 145 Attack is immense, and with Dragon Dance, Mega Salamence can crush entire teams
Incredible offensive coverage movepool, especially from Dragon and Aerialate empowered STABs
Between base 130 Defense, base Salamence’s Intimidate, and Roost, Mega Salamence has phenomenal physical bulk.
Base 120 Special attack, while lower, makes Special sets viable for a surprise assault.
Negatives
Can’t take many special attacks due to base 90 Special Defense.
Good Defense let down by extreme Ice weakness.
Physical sets walled by ungrounded Steel types and Special sets miss OHKOs
Movesets
Skyclimber
-Dragon Dance
-Outrage
-Body Slam
-Earthquake
Ability: Intimidate -> Aerilate
Item: Salamencite
Stats and Nature:
2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Adamant Nature
Mega Salamence is one of the most fearsome Dragon Dance sweepers in the game. Part of the reason is due to its excellent bulk, and base Intimidate alongside the valuable Fighting, Grass, Fire, and Water resistances and Ground immunity, making it very easy for Mega Salamence to come in, even in base form, and setup. After a single Dragon Dance, Mega Salamence becomes nigh unstoppable, outrunning even Scarf Garchomp, while all but the sturdiest of physical walls are sent reeling from Mega Salamence’s blows. Outrage is recommended as primary STAB due to its insane power and wide neutral coverage, with even something as durable as Hippowdon taking 54-64% from +1 Outrage. While normally unattractive due to how heavily Fairy types punish the move, Mega Salamence’s Aerialate STAB makes quick work of most Fairy types, especially due to the poor Defense of many Fairy types. Body Slam performs this role to perfection, while not further compromising Mega Salamence’s bulk and punishing the likes of Minimize users trying to bypass Mega Salamence like Overqwill. Being able to efficiently deal with bulky targets like Mega Venusaur and Mega Meganium is a nice bonus. Earthquake rounds out the set as Mega Salamence’s answer to the Steel types that otherwise resist both STABs, efficiently breaking the likes of Kingambit (84-95%), Mega Metagross (50% to OHKO), and Aegislash (50% to OHKO).
Stats and Items:
Max Speed and Attack are recommended to get the most out of Dragon Dance and better pressure walls and opposing Scarf users. Adamant is recommended for the extra power, allowing Mega Salamence to better pick up knock outs. With Adamant, Mega Salamence will OHKO Primarina with +1 Body Slam, potentially OHKO 2 HP Archaludon with Outrage, secures the 2HKO on Mega Golisopod with +1 Body Slam (discounting Leech Life recovery), as well as Leftovers Hippowdon with Outrage through Leftovers. If running Double Edge, extra targets are added like 2 shotting 32 HP/32+ Def Unaware Clefable through Sitrus Berry, and all but guaranteeing the same to 32 HP/32+ Def Skeledirge. Jolly has its place too. Without Jolly, Mega Salamence is outran by positive speed natured base 109+ Pokémon like Mega Metagross, and Alolan-Ninetales while losing the speed tie to Mega Froslass and Mega Starmie pre–Dragon Dance, while post Dragon Dance being able to outrun Modest Shell Smash Mega Blastoise. Investing in defenses isn’t unreasonable either. 21 HP for example ensures 2 Ally Supreme Overlord Blackglasses Kingambit’s Sucker Punch cannot 2HKO Mega Salamence. Or just go all in on HP to facilitate setup and potentially grab multiple Dragon Dance boosts. Item is locked to the Salamencite. Going mixed with this set is viable as well. As such one should aim for natures like Naďve, or Naughty to not sink Mega Salamence’s Special Attack.
Partners:
Allies that can tank Ice, Dragon and Fairy attacks are greatly appreciated given that Mega Salamence will be drawing such attacks in, so having a safe pivot that can deal with such threats is ideal. Primarina resists two of the three and its high Special Defense compliments Mega Salamence’s physical Defense quite well. Being able to facilitate Dragon Dance setup with Encore is another incredible boon, while Mega Salamence easily crushes the Grass types that give Primarina trouble. Primarina’s ability to compromise prominent physical walls like Skeledirge, Hippowdon and Corviknight with its Special prowess is further points in its favor. Otherwise, Steel types in general fulfill this role quite nicely given their innate resistance to all three types, while Mega Salamence returns the favor being resistant to Fire and Fighting attacks while being outright immune to Ground, covering each other’s weaknesses quite nicely. Gholdengo is a more offensive example, its Special prowess compromising physical walls, especially Corviknight, while denying most hazard control and disruptive options an opponent may try, like Will-O-Wisp or Thunder Wave. While Archaludon lacks the necessary resistances, its ability to threaten opposing Mega Salamence and Corviknight while being able to setup Stealth Rocks makes it a strong option, nonetheless. Other Mega Steel types like Mega Metagross, Mega Lucario Z and Mega Golisopod all make fine alternative Mega Evolutions when facing teams that are extremely hostile to Mega Salamence.
Other Options:
Double Edge is Mega Salamence’s strongest STAB option, enabling it to muscle past even Unaware walls, but at the cost of its durability.
Fire Blast is Mega Salamence’s best option into Corviknight and Mega Golisopod, two extremely bulky Steel types it otherwise struggles to break through.
Temper Flare is a physical alternative to Fire Blast that can perform similarly, though mandates Mega Salamence running an Attack boosting nature to match neutral natured Fire Blast.
Roost can be ran alongside Double Edge to compensate for the recoil and make Mega Salamence much harder to wear down.
Draco Meteor is alternative Dragon STAB that is ideal for removing physically bulky walls like Hippowdon and Skeledirge, especially if they pivot into a Double Edge first.
Façade, while niche, does punish opponents looking to cripple Dragon Dance Mega Salamence with Will-O-Wisp.
Doubles and VGC Options
Mega Salamence’s overwhelming prowess and traits serve it well in Doubles as well. In many ways Mega Salamence serves as a more immediately threatening Mega Staraptor, a major star in Regulation M-B. Intimidate pre-Mega Evolution, Tailwind, incredible defenses and massively damaging recoil inducing Flying STAB are common to both and enable Mega Salamence to provide team support and offer sever damage while being hard to remove. However, Mega Salamence goes a step beyond Mega Staraptor with its access to Aerilate Hyper Voice, giving it an incredible spread damage option that is rarely resisted, much akin to the Hyper Voice spam of Pixelate Sylveon and Mega Gardevoir. This spread damage allows Mega Salamence to threaten significant damage regardless of which opponent is protecting. Add on to this Dragon Dance sets that are just as viable in Doubles as they are in singles, and it is little surprise that Mega Salamence is everywhere. That is not to say that Mega Salamence doesn’t have its own struggles in Doubles. With the addition of Tailwind and Protect as extremely desirable moves, Mega Salamence struggles to fit coverage for Steel types into its moveset, even before getting into the reduced power of Earthquake due to spread damage and Rillaboom’s Grassy Terrain. Furthermore, measures to check Intimidate, especially Defiant Kingambit and Competitive Milotic are much more prevalent in Doubles and can turn one of Salamence’s biggest assets into an outright detriment.
Dragon's Sky
-Hyper Voice
-Double Edge
-Tailwind
-Protect
Ability: Intimidate -> Aerilate
Item: Salamencite
Stat Points and Nature:
2 HP / 32 SAtk / 32 Spe
Naive Nature
This Mega Salamence pushes Flying spam to the limit, with both spread and single target options to fit the situation, especially given how many teams lack Flying resistances. Hyper Voice is Mega Salamence's spread option and as both Sylveon and Mega Gardevoir have shown to great effect, an -iate empowered STAB Hyper Voice is something to be feared. This allows Mega Salamence to deal significant damage to opposing teams, pushing foes into KO range without having to play a guessing game with Protect. Double Edge is nightmarish single target damage. Even without investment, the power boost from Aerilate gives it an effective base power of 144 before STAB, allowing Mega Salamence to outright delete key threats before they can act. Tailwind is speed control, and between pre Mega Evolution Intimidate, Base 130 Defense and Flying-Dragon's considerable resistances, on top of Mega Salamence's Speed it is very reliable at setting Tailwind up from the word go and doing so repeatedly. Protect is the best move in Doubles and natural for any Pokémon, denying Fake Out, blocking surprise Ice or Fairy coverage, stalling out detrimental field conditions and more.
Despite being a mixed set, Mega Salamence's base Attack is high enough to be viable without investment, allowing it to go all in on Special Attack to maximize the output of Hyper Voice and its spread damage, while also synergizing other special options like Flamethrower and Draco Meteor. Max Speed is highly recommended; even a neutral Speed nature drops Mega Salamence below base 110s including Mega Metagross and its Ice Punches, as well as breaking the Speed tie it has with Mega Froslass. Naive nature drops the lower of Mega Salamence's defenses to give a bit more bite to Double Edge, but Timid is still viable given the sheer base power Aerialate Double Edge boasts. If wanting to forego Hyper Voice and instead run a more traditional Dragon Dance set, full Attack investment is an option.
Preferred Partners & Other Options:
Given Mega Salamence’s difficulty in fitting coverage for Steel types, allies that can directly answer them are greatly appreciated. Hisuian Arcanine has risen to prominence in this role thanks not only due to its Steel smashing Flare Blitzes, but also its ability to check opposing Mega Salamences with its own Head Smash. VGC Superstar Incineroar also does well at this, on top of the enormous amount of defensive utility it provides. Both these Fire types also being able to switch into Ice attacks in a pinch is a nice bonus.
Mega Salamence also fits nicely onto Sand teams, its Flying STABs obliterating the ubiquitous support Grass types like Rillaboom, Whimsicott and Sinistcha that give such teams trouble as well as being a difficult matchup for Rain. In turn, Excadrill annihilates every non Ground immune Flying resist along with the Fairy and Ice types that threaten Mega Salamence. The ability to freely spam Earthquake next to Mega Salamence offers a devastating one two punch of spread damage. Tyranitar too is invaluable for checking opposing Mega Salamence with its phenomenal Special Defense, Flying resist and STAB Rock attacks.
Draco Meteor is a powerful single target removal option, especially for the man opposing Dragon types Mega Salamence must contend with.
Flamethrower answers Mega Golisopod, Kingambit, and Mega Metagross more effective than its STABs.
Dragon Dance is completely viable, allowing Mega Salamence to pick up knock outs left and right with Double Edge, though Roost is strongly recommended to offset Double Edge’s recoil.
Countering Mega Salamence
Mega Salamence’s dizzying array of power, speed and bulk make it a nightmare to take down, with it having an answer for just about every check, even if it is unable to use all of them.
Scarce few Pokémon can check Dragon Dance Mega Salamence once it has set up, its speed and power are just that fantastic. 32 HP/32+ Def Unaware Clefable and 32 HP/32+ Def Unaware Skeledirge are the closest to counters for this, and even then, they cannot switch into Aerilate Double Edge with even Jolly Double Edge dealing 58-68% to Clefable and 45-54% to Skeledirge. If they can come in safely, Clefable threatens an easy KO with Moonblast + Double Edge recoil while Skeledirge can cripple Mega Salamence with Will-O-Wisp. 32 HP/32+ Def Corviknight does do better with even +1 Double Edge capping out at 43%, but it struggles to deal damage in return and will need Iron Defenses to match further Dragon Dances, but if Mega Salamence lacks Roost, can win in a war of attrition. Ungrounded Steel types in general are an issue for Mega Salamence if it is running Earthquake for Anti-Steel coverage, though Skarmory and Mega Chimecho are far more niche, while Air Balloon users cannot reliably pivot in for fear of a non-Earthquake attack popping the balloon. Bulky Steel types do make for a good general check. 16 HP Mega Metagross will survive +1 Earthquake if fully healthy and will OHKO back with Ice Punch. 32 HP Kingambit is likewise able to survive and Earthquake from full HP and Blackglasses 2 Ally Supreme Overlord Kowtow Cleave into Sucker Punch is enough to knockout Mega Salamence. Even without the Supreme Overlord boost, still deals 45-54% with Kowtow Cleave.
Special Mega Salamence has arguably better coverage by dint of lack of Fire immune Steel types, but is easier to stave off due to lack of boosting and far lower power. 32 HP/29 SDef Empoleon is notable for being a Fire neutral Steel type whose incredible special bulk means even Fire Blast only deals 27-32% at most while easily OHKOing back with Ice Beam, to say nothing of a potential Competitive boost. 32 HP/2 SDef Milotic is also similarly troublesome, with Draco Meteor only dealing 46-55% and can be easily outlasted with Recover and also has Competitive. Hisuian-Goodra also fulfills this role well, with Draco Meteor maxing out at 51% and the next best option in Dragon Pulse only dealing 28-34% while its own Ice Beam is an assured OHKO and 32+ Special Attack Dragon Pulse is a 43% chance to OHKO.
Offensively checking Mega Salamence is a fair bit easier given its lower Special Defense, horrendous weakness to Ice and equally common weaknesses to Dragon and Fairy. However, this is complicated by Mega Salamence being nigh impossible to outspeed after a Dragon Dance. Choice Scarf Meowscarada and Choice Scarf Greninja are two of the few Scarf users who will still outspeed Mega Salamence after a Dragon Dance and both have access to Protean Ice attacks to put it down quickly. Priority would be an option, but between Intimidate, and Mega Salamence’s insane Defense, priority moves are often insufficient to check Mega Salamence. Ice Shard is a notable exception thanks to Mega Salamence’s onerous weakness to Ice, though these users must still avoid Intimidate. Mega Baxcalibur is easily the best available user of Ice Shard and even then only has a 43% chance at best of OHKOing Mega Salamence before Intimidate. Base Baxcalibur still pulls an impressive 76-93% with its own Ice Shard, and Mamoswine can deal 72-86% while being immune to Intimidate via Oblivious.
If able to catch Mega Salamence before it Dragon Dances, the pool of available checks widely increases, including Mega Raichu Y and its immensely crippling Zap Cannons dealing 75-89% and Paralyzing. Mega Starmie and Mega Froslass who speed tie with Mega Salamence and can outspeed if they are running Max Speed and Mega Salamence isn’t. Icy Wind Mega Gengar who ensures it keeps the speed advantage, Triple Axel Mega Lopunny, Dragapult, Mega Garchomp Z, Mega Sceptile and Scarf users like Hydreigon and base Garchomp.
For Dragon Dance Mega Salamence, crippling it with status does a lot to curtail its power. Sableye, Mega Bannette can easily land a Will-O-Wisp thanks to their Prankster abilities, while Mimikyu is also a reliable Burn setter because of its Disguise. Grimmsnarl is also an annoyance due to its Prankster Thunder Wave. Do note this can backfire on the off chance Mega Salamence is running Façade. Mega Victreebel and its access to Stun Spore is also excellent at placing a setup Mega Salamence into an awkward position.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Evolve Shelgon
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Colosseum/XD:
Snagged from Cipher Admin Eldes in Citadark Isle (XD)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Shelgon (Pearl, Platinum)
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Shelgon
Black/White:
Evolve Shelgon (White)
Black 2/White 2:
Evolve Shelgon
X/Y:
Evolve Shelgon
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Shelgon
Sun/Moon:
Route 3
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Route 3
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Tunnel to the Top, Path to the Peak (Sword)
Max Raid Battles: Giant's Bed, Path to the Peak, Frigid Sea, Three-Point Pass, Ballimere Lake
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Evolve Shelgon (Shining Pearl)
Legends: Arceus:
Not in game
Scarlet/Violet:
Evolve Shelgon (Violet)
Tera Raid Battles: 5 Star Raid Battles, 6 Star Raid Battles
Legends: Z-A:
Wild Zone 18
Anime Appearences
