About this Series
Welcome to my newest series here on Pokémon GO Hub! The Best of Types series aims to help trainers understand which Pokémon are best for each type in the game when it comes to PVE. Through the use of in-depth statistics, defined below, we can make a ranked list. This series will feature an article and an infographic for each type. Each Pokémon in the series must be a pure attacker, meaning their fast and charged attack must be the same type. Credits go to GamePress for the statistics found on this article. Let’s get started!
NOTE: This series also analyses future unreleased Pokémon and what their rank and statistics may be like. This can be found near the end of the article.
Definitions
PVE – Player Vs Environment
PVE means Player vs Environment which involves any battle in-game involving battling against a non-playable character or Pokémon, for example Raid Battles, Gym Battles and Team GO Rocket.
ER – Equivalent Rating
Equivalent Rating is a combination of Total Damage Output and Damage Per Second, and is calculated by the formula DPS^3*TDO.
TDO – Total Damage Output
Total Damage Output is the average amount of damage a Pokémon can deal before it runs out of HP.
DPS – Damage Per Second
Damage Per Second is the average amount of damage a Pokémon can deal per second.
Infographic
Best Dragon Types – PVE Rankings
* means an attack is Exclusive/Legacy
1. Mega Rayquaza
Rayquaza (Mega)
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Outrage
ER: 58.97 DPS: 24.14 TDO: 912.4
Mega Rayquaza is by far the best Dragon-type in the game and is extremely recommended to be used as a Dragon-type attacker in PVE.
2. Mega Salamence
Salamence (Mega)
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Outrage*
ER: 50.79 DPS: 19.87 TDO: 847.4
Mega Salamence is a very good Dragon-type and is highly recommended to be used as a Dragon-type attacker in PVE.
3. Shadow Salamence
Salamence (Shadow)
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Outrage*
ER: 49.28 DPS: 22.16 TDO: 541.8
Shadow Salamence is very similar to Mega Salamence. It is also highly recommended to be used as a Dragon-type attacker in PVE.
4. Shadow Garchomp
Garchomp (Shadow)
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Outrage
ER: 48.96 DPS: 20.82 TDO: 636.3
Although Shadow Garchomp is quite uncommon, if you have one it is a great Dragon-type attacker in PVE. However, it performs great as a Ground-type PVE attacker and may be of better usage there.
5. Mega Latios
Latios (Mega)
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Breath & Dragon Dragon Claw
ER: 48.15 DPS: 19.15 TDO: 713.8
Mega Latios is a very spammy Dragon-type and is a great choice as a Dragon-type attacker in PVE. Mega Latios is also good as a Psychic-type attacker too, so that is another concideration.
6. Shadow Dragonite
Dragonite (Shadow)
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Outrage
ER: 47.8 DPS: 20.85 TDO: 575.4
Shadow Dragonite has a high DPS and is a great Dragon-type and is recommended to use as a Dragon-type attacker in PVE.
7. Mega Latias
Latias (Mega)
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Breath & Dragon Outrage*
ER: 46.17 DPS: 17.88 TDO: 794
Mega Latias is a decent Dragon-type and is okay to be used as a Dragon-type attacker in PVE, but its counterpart Mega Latios is a better choice. Mega Latias is also worth considering as a Psychic-type attacker.
8. Shadow Latios
Latios (Shadow)
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Breath & Dragon Dragon Claw
ER: 44.21 DPS: 19.41 TDO: 522.4
Shadow Latios is an okay Dragon-type and is recommended to use as a Dragon-type attacker in PVE. As previously mentioned, it is also worth considering a Psychic-type PVE attacker if you don’t have many of them.
9. Rayquaza
Rayquaza
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Outrage
ER: 43.45 DPS: 18.68 TDO: 546.8
Rayquaza is a great Dragon-type if you don’t have any Megas or Shadows. However it is recommended that you Mega Evolve it into Mega Rayquaza instead for a substantial power increase.
Honorable Mentions:
10. Palkia
Palkia
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Draco Meteor
ER: 42.78 DPS: 17.91 TDO: 583.2
11. Salamence
Salamence
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Outrage*
ER: 42.52 DPS: 18.27 TDO: 536
12. Garchomp
Garchomp
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Tail & Dragon Outrage
ER: 42.3 DPS: 17.19 TDO: 630.3
13. Zekrom
Zekrom
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Breath & Dragon Outrage
ER: 42.22 DPS: 17.41 TDO: 601
14. Dialga
Dialga
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Breath & Dragon Draco Meteor
ER: 41.42 DPS: 17.09 TDO: 589.7
15. Reshiram
Reshiram
Moveset: Dragon Dragon Breath & Dragon Draco Meteor
ER: 41.42 DPS: 17.09 TDO: 589.7
Future Meta Shake-Ups
The following Pokémon are currently unreleased but will be high ranking additions to the Dragon-type PVE Meta. They are all estimated statistics and rankings as we don’t have their finalised moves or stats until they are added.
Mega Garchomp
Garchomp (Mega)
Based on current statistics, Mega Garchomp would be a powerhouse, ranking a close 2nd behind Mega Rayquaza, with a ER of 55.41.
Eternamax Eternatus
Eternatus (Eternamax)
With its current stats, which could be subject to change, Eternamax Eternatus would likely rank 3rd with a ER of 53.21.
Shadow Rayquaza
Rayquaza (Shadow)
Shadow Rayquaza is nowhere near as good as its Mega, but would still be Top 5 with an ER of 50.35.
Black Kyurem
Kyurem (Black)
Black Kyurem would just be slightly worse than Mega Salamence with an ER of 49.55.
Shadow Zekrom
Zekrom (Shadow)
Shadow Zekrom would be an interesting additon to the Dragon-type Meta with an ER of 48.74.
Shadow Haxorus, Dialga & Reshiram
Shadow Haxorus would have an ER of 47.38, while Shadow Dialga & Reshiram are very similar with both having an ER of 47.31.
White Kyurem
Kyurem (White)
White Kyurem would not be as good as Black Kyurem, with White ranking around 9th with an ER of 43.88.
Shadow Baxcalibur
Baxcalibur (Shadow)
Shadow Baxcalibur doesn’t seem a possibility for an extremely long time, but with its current moves it would have an ER of 45.06.
The next type in the series is Bug! See you next time…
