Salamence is a niche Pokémon you can use in Pokémon Go. It might not be viable for every situation, but it can be exceptionally useful if you pit it against specific ‘mon and give it the best moveset possible.
There are a handful of options for Salamence, but one stands above all. It comes down to knowing what those choices are and how to best take advantage of Salamence in Pokémon Go. Thankfully, we can highlight those choices, giving you the best chance to crush anyone in your way.
Salamence’s best moveset in Pokémon Go
In terms of the best attacks you can give Salamence, you want to go with the fast move Dragon Tail, and then Outrage and Hydro Pump for its charged moves.
You have two other options for Salamence’s fast move: Bite and Fire Fang. However, Dragon Tail is superior to them as it does 13 damage and generates three energy, whereas Bite does four damage and generates two energy, and Fire Fang does eight damage and generates 2.5 energy.
Dragon Tail is a slower attack, as it takes three turns to use, but the overall damage and energy generation make it a far better choice. As a Dragon-type, Salamence does slightly more damage with this attack, but there are stronger Dragon-types, such as Garchomp.
Next, we have Salamence’s charged moves and several other choices in this category. These are all the charged moves Salamence can learn in Pokémon Go.
- Draco Meteor (Dragon-type)
- Fire Blast (Fire-type)
- Hydro Pump (Water-type)
- Outrage (Dragon-type)
Previously, Draco Meteor was the better choice. However, with the addition of Outrage, Salamence’s moveset received a well-deserved improvement. Draco Meteor is a powerful attack that can do 150 damage and requires 65 energy, but it has a 100% chance to lower the user’s attack.
Outrage doesn’t suffer from a similar debuff. You only need 60 energy to use Outrage, which does 110 damage. The downside is it does less damage. Then, you must choose between Fire Blast and Hydro Pump, and I lean towards Hydro Pump because it doesn’t require as much energy.
Is Salamence good in Pokémon Go?
Salamence is a much better PvE Pokémon than it is to use in PvP situations. You wouldn’t want to use it in the Great, Ultra, or Master Leagues, but it does shine in a handful of niche cups, typically those in the Ultra League category. However, because of its many weaknesses and lackluster moveset, it’s far better to focus on using it in five-star raids or against Team Rocket.
Salamence is great against fighting other Dragon-types, and Hydro Pump allows it to be a viable option when battling Fire, Ground, and Rock-type Pokémon. Because of its subpar stats, I don’t use Salamence too often unless I have a reliable team backing it up.
