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Shadow Salamence

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#373
Default
277
ATK
168
DEF
216
STA
Lvl 50Max CP
4239
Lvl 40
3749
Lvl 25Weather Boost
2678
Lvl 20Raids/Eggs
2142
Lvl 15Research
1607

PvE Analysis

Shadow Salamence is an insanely powerful dragon, able to dish out more damage than the vast majority of its competition. It's an expensive investment, but its performance is definitely worth the high stardust cost and even an Elite TM to unlock Outrage.

Best PvE Offensive Moveset

Dragon Tail + Outrage*Best
Fire Fang + FlySituational
Dragon Tail + Draco MeteorGreat
  • Dragon Tail can be paired with Outrage for maximum damage potential.  
  • Draco Meteor is an okay alternative for Dragon-type DPS.
  • Fire Fang and Fly can definitely work to maim Grass Types, a job that Shadow Salamence is surprisingly good at.
  • Bite pales in comparison to Dragon Tail.
  • Hydro Pump is preferred to Fire Blast for being faster and stronger. 

Best PvE Defensive Moveset

Fire Fang or Dragon Tail + Outrage*Best
  • Dragon Tail excels in STAB power, but Fire Fang shines against many Salamence counters.

  • Bite offers no defensive utility on Salamence. 

  • Outrage is Salamence's only multi-bar charge move, making it a great choice to squeeze in damage.

  • 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.

PvP Analysis

Dragon Tail + Fly and Outrage*Best

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.

Great League1 / 5

Salamence is weighted towards attack and has a poor PvP moveset, leaving it unviable in the Great League.

Ultra League1 / 5

While not as bad off, Salamence is still a poor pick for the Ultra League

Master League2.5 / 5

Salamence has almost what it takes to be decent in Master League, but it really needs a cheaper Charged Attack. Even though Fly is an excellent move, it's simply not cheap enough to let Salamence compete against its other Dragon/Flying brethrens Dragonite and Rayquaza. At this time of writing (Season 19, Shared Skies), Dragonite and Rayquaza are struggling to stand out in the Master League when behemoths like Palkia-O and Zygarde simply outclass them, so Salamence will need a LOT before it can be a viable part of the Master League metagame. It certainly has more room to breathe in Master Premier, but Dragonite still exists.

Purification Cost
5 Candy + 5,000 Stardust
Flee Rate
5 %
Buddy Distance
5 KM
Catch Rate
5 %
Female Ratio
50 %
Male Ratio
50 %