Drapion

Pokémon GO Drapion is a Dark and Poison type Pokémon and evolves from the Gen 4 Pokémon Skorupi which is a Bug and Poison type. It takes 50 candies to evolve.

Drapion has a MAX CP of 2453, with an ATK of 180, DEF of 202 and STA of 172, which, unfortunately, don’t bring it into the top Dark types within the meta. The absence of its core abilities from the main games is crippling, as they often defined its purpose in teams.

Moveset

Drapion in the Meta

Tyranitar still reigns the meta as the best Dark type attacker in the game. Without its most valuable abilities, Drapion is a far reach from a contender, being significantly outclassed by all previous Generations and the rest of Generation 4.

In this chart, we will look at its viability as a Dark type Pokémon and how it sizes up to some of the other popular Dark types in the game.

Dark Type	Max CP	Attack	Defense	Stamina
Tyranitar	3834	251	207	225
Weavile	3005	243	171	172
Honchkrow	2711	243	103	225
Houndoom	2635	224	144	181
Absol	2526	246	120	163
Umbreon	2137	126	240	216
Drapion	2453	180	202	172

Overall, the Dark types sport a lower CP (and a lower end Defense and Stamina stats) but have some decent attacking power. In terms of attack, Drapion is waaaay down the list with even Sharpedo outperforming it in terms of sheer power (ATK 243).

With Dark types being in high demand in the coming generations, as many potential raid bosses for the future, and current times, are weak to the Dark type, Drapion very well might find itself on the roster for some raid battles, but generally only as fillers for those who have not managed to acquire other, easy to obtain contenders. Quite possibly only a  Pokémon for newer or returning players in Generation 4.

As a Poison type, unfortunately, the classes that dominate the Meta are either resistant to Poison type attacks or take neutral damage. The only Pokémon even close to meta consideration are Muk and Gengar at the time of writing. The latter being much more effective as a Ghost type attacker than Poison.

Pokémon	Max CP	Attack	Defense	Stamina
Gengar	2878	261	149	155
Muk	2757	190	172	233
Drapion	2453	180	202	172

Its best stat is its Defense, sitting at 202, but pairing with a sub-par Stamina of 172 it would not usually take many hits. However, as a Dark and Poison type it will only take super effective damage from Ground type moves; and is resistant to Poison, Dark, Grass and Ghost. Drapion would also be double resistant to Psychic moves, as Dark Pokémon are immune to Psychic attacks in the main games. When introduced in Pokémon Diamond / Pearl, our beastly scorpion was often paired with its Battle Armour ability to stop it taking critical hits. This gave it enough longevity in battle to set up moves such as Toxic Spikes in order to cripple opponents on a switch.

Main Game Ability – Battle Armor: Opponent’s moves cannot Critical Hit.

As a Dark type attacker, it’s suggested as use against Psychic and Ghost types. If you really wanted to use it as a Poison type attacker, it would be effective against Fairy and Grass types. In the main series games as an attacker it was paired with the Sniper ability and move sets that benefited from both STAB and high critical hit chance; such as Cross Poison and Night Slash, which allowed it to deal significant burst damage, when combined with stat-boosting moves and items.

Main Game Ability – Sniper: Power of critical-hit moves is increased to 225% rather than 150%.

Weather Influence on Drapion

With a weakness only to Ground we typically only need to be aware of Sunny weather. In weather that has pros, use Drapion all you want and let it tear through its enemies, but in the weather with cons, avoid using Drapion against foes that may have a super-effective Ground move.

The chart below will help you visualize what weather is beneficial or harmful for Drapion.

Shiny Drapion

Shiny Drapion differs from its regular counterpart by switching from a Purple/Lilac coloration to a Red/Pink ensemble.

Normal	Shiny

Pokedex Entries and Facts

Drapions’s pokédex entries from various games definitely give insight as to why it is called the “Ogre Scorp Pokémon”, focusing on its defensive shell, powerful claws, and bad attitude.

• Generation 4 has numerous entries
  • Diamond: It has the power in its clawed arms to make scrap of a car. The tips of its claws release poison.
  • Pearl: Its body is encased in a sturdy shell. Its head rotates 180 degrees, eliminating blind spots.
  • Platinum: Possessing a sturdy build, it takes pride in its strength, taking down foes without using toxins.
  • HeartGold & SoulSilver: It attacks people and Pokémon that cross the desert. This has only furthered its bad reputation.
• Generation 5 gave us one additional entry
  • Black 2 & White 2: It takes pride in its strength. Even though it can tear foes apart, it finishes them off with powerful poison.
• Generation 6 also added a single entry
  • X & AlphaSapphire: It has the power in its clawed arms to make scrap of a car. The tips of its claws release poison.

Venasto1se.