Analysis of Flygon & Shadow Flygon in PvP

Flygon GroundDragon

Ah, Flygon! A criminally underrated Pokémon in design, lore and competitive viability. Being the pioneering Pokémon with the Ground and Dragon type combination (which is simply fantastic, by the way!). Flygon is almost always overshadowed by another Dragon and Ground monstrosity known as Garchomp, which is an absolutely dominant Pokémon in nearly any meta or format.

With similar movesets but inferior stats, Flygon was passable even in Pokémon Go until…

Dragon Tail got buffed and spamming moves in PvP increasingly became a favoured playstyle for many trainers.

With Flygon tailormade for both those parameters, it’s finally time for the Mystic Pokémon to use its inherent valour and natural instinct to threaten the PvP meta, particularly the Great and Ultra League where Flygon is convenient to use. 

I will also analyse Shadow Flygon, which has generated quite a hype for itself in recent times. 

And the pressing question… Mud Shot or Dragon Tail?

Flygon didn’t get a mega evolution for itself but it sure deserves a spotlight! So let’s venture into the desert and ride along the sandstorm with Flygon!

Typing and Match-ups

Flygon is a Ground and Dragon type and as such, is weak to the Dragon, Fairy and Ice types, with the Ice weakness being 2x.

Its dual typing hands Flygon useful resistances to the Fire, Electric, Poison and Rock types. 

Just like Garchomp and the upcoming Zygarde, what makes Flygon stand out as a Dragon is its ability to beat those pesky Steel types that otherwise yawn at dragons.

You see, with Ground and Dragon STAB attacks, Flygon deals at least neutral damage to the entire meta. Generally, a Ground and Dragon type is cancelled out by a Steel and Flying type like Skarmory or a Fairy and Flying type like Togekiss.

But guess what? Dragons are dominant for a reason. While Garchomp can deal SE damage to a Skarmory and neutral to Togekiss with Fire Blast, Flygon can deal SE damage to Togekiss and neutral to Skarmory with Stone Edge.

But that’s not what these dragons are supposed to do, right? Every Pokémon has its weaknesses and Fluygon with its amazing typing is meant to create its own niche. 

Stats

Flygon has the following stats in Pokémon Go:

Flygon GroundDragon
Max CP at Level 50 3008 | Max CP at Level 40 2661
ATK 205 DEF 168 HP 190
Weak to Strong Against
Dragon Fairy Ice Dragon Fire Electric Rock Poison Steel

 

Moveset Analysis

Flygon can learn the following moves in Pokémon Go:

Fast Moves Charged Moves
  • Dragon Tail Dragon
  • Mud Shot Ground
  • Dragon Claw Dragon
  • Earth Power* Ground
  • Earthquake Ground
  • Stone Edge Rock

*denotes an exclusive move

Dragon Tail gained a game-changing update and now boasts of a (DPT/EPT) set of (4.33/3.00). Shadow Flygon, in particular, is all about dealing massive damage and Dragon Tail is the natural way to go.

Mud Shot with (1.50/4.50) is infamous for its fabulous energy gains and makes non-shadow Flygon a very dangerous spammer.

Earth Power, Flygon’s Community Day exclusive move, is its main draw. Boasting of an impressive 90 DMG at just 55 energy and a 10% chance to debuff your opponent’s DEF stat by 1 stage, is quite easily Flygon’s most efficient move. In addition, it is absolutely necessary when you want to eliminate Steel types.

Earthquake is a nuke but with a costly 65 energy requirement in comparison to Earth Power, the latter is always preferred.

Dragon Claw makes Mud Shot Flygon super spammy and is also the cheapest charged move for Flygon, thereby even benefitting Dragon Tail Flygon. Sporting 50 DMG at just 35 energy, Dragon Claw makes Flygon a red alert for anything that’s not a Fairy or Steel type.

Stone Edge costs the same energy as Earth Power (55), deals 10 more damage (100 vs 90) but lacks STAB. In essence, it helps Flygon deal SE damage to Togekiss and the Ice types that trouble Flygon.

So what is Flygon’s ideal PvP moveset?

As I have mentioned already, I strongly recommend going for Mud Shot for Flygon and Dragon Tail for Shadow Flygon. And why is that? Let me explain.

Flygon is not exactly a bulky Pokémon per se and sure as Hoenn, it’s not a glass cannon either. So how do you optimise its PvP performance? You either:

  • Give it a fast and super spammy performance, making it bait shields, spam charged moves and deal considerable damage
  • Or, with the Shadow form that presents itself as lower bulk and more raw damage output, make it dish out unholy amounts of damage

Therefore, the ideal moveset for Flygon is Mud Shot paired with Dragon Claw and Earth Power/Stone Edge**  

The ideal moveset for Shadow Flygon is Dragon Tail paired with Dragon Claw and Earth Power/Stone Edge**  

**You can run a Flygon or S!Flygon with Stone Edge if you don’t have one with the legacy Earth Power or are running low/scarce on Elite Charged TMs. And don’t worry, I understand you can have better uses for your Elite TMs. So I will also include a brief dekko on Stone Edge in my analysis. I’ll just refrain from unnecessarily delving into Earthquake because Earth Power is clearly better.


Performance in the Great League 

Flygon

Flygon: Mud Shot paired with Dragon Claw and Earth Power

Flygon showcases a 65.3% win rate in the GL meta, obtaining key wins against a good portion of the meta.

Wins

  • Swampert
  • Galvantula
  • Stunfisk
  • Bastiodon
  • Registeel
  • Hypno (without Ice Punch)
  • Alolan Marowak
  • Nidoqueen
  • Nidoking

That being said, it also loses against some of the heavyweights of the GL meta.

Loses

  • Shadow Swampert
  • Azumarill
  • Galarian Stunfisk
  • Medicham
  • Venusaur
  • Umbreon
  • Sableye
  • Dragonite and Shadow Dragonite
  • Skarmory
  • Deoxys (Def)
  • Altaria
  • Politoed and Poliwrath

Flygon: Mud Shot paired with Dragon Claw and Stone Edge

By adding Stone Edge to the mix, Flygon actually gains a higher win rate of 67.6% in the GL. But does it wins against the real deal of GL?

The wins with Stone Edge include:

Wins

  • Swampert
  • Galvantula
  • Stunfisk
  • Bastiodon
  • Alolan Marowak
  • Nidoqueen
  • Nidoking

Loses

  • Registeel
  • Hypno
  • Shadow Swampert
  • Azumarill
  • Galarian Stunfisk
  • Medicham
  • Venusaur
  • Umbreon
  • Sableye
  • Dragonite and Shadow Dragonite
  • Deoxys (Def)
  • Skarmory
  • Altaria
  • Politoed and Poliwrath

So while Stone Edge Flygon can deal with the entirety of the GL meta better, it loses more against the meta that matters. Basically, Earth Power gives you quality while Stone Edge gives you quantity.

Shadow Flygon

S!Flygon: Dragon Tail paired with Dragon Claw and Earth Power

Shadow Flygon with Dragon Tail paired with Dragon Claw and Earth Power takes up its performance many notches higher with an impressive 74.8% win rate!

So how about its key wins? Let’s find out!

Wins

  • Venusaur (new win)
  • Beats Dragonite and Shadow Dragonite (new win)
  • Galvantula
  • Stunfisk
  • Altaria (new win)
  • Bastiodon
  • Registeel!!!
  • Hypno (even with Ice Punch… new win)
  • Alolan Marowak
  • Deoxys Def (new win)
  • Sableye (new win)
  • Umbreon (new win)
  • Nidoqueen
  • Nidoking

Loses

  • Swampert (new loss)
  • Shadow Swampert
  • Azumarill
  • Galarian Stunfisk
  • Medicham
  • Skarmory
  • Politoed and Poliwrath

Do you see the gain in the number of wins and the losses cutting down in size? And the big shots that Shadow Flygon with Dragon Tail shreds apart! Shadow Flygon in the GL meta is just amazing.

Note: Shadow Flygon with Stone Edge also has a win rate of more than 74% but it doesn’t make too much of a difference. That raw damage from Dragon Tail coupled with the spammy Dragon Claw and the Steel killing STAB Earth Power is the clear process here.


Performance in the Ultra League 

Flygon

In the Ultra League, Mud Shot Flygon displays a meagre 63.2% win rate which is rather underwhelming when you consider the fact that Dragon Tail Flygon flexes a 71.9% win rate.

Yes, your spammy Mud Shot still works in UL but Dragon Tail’s renovations make it more unpredictable and difficult to deal with by the crème de la crème of the UL meta.

Flygon: Dragon Tail paired with Dragon Claw and Earth Power

Wins

  • Giratina (Altered)
  • Shadow Dragonite
  • Shadow Swampert
  • Machamp
  • Venusaur
  • Obstagoon
  • Alolan Muk
  • Melmetal
  • Fire Spin Charizard
  • Empoleon
  • Waterfall Gyarados

Loses

  • Dragonite
  • Swampert
  • Shadow Machamp
  • Registeel
  • Cresselia
  • Steelix
  • Dragon Breath Charizard
  • Armored Mewtwo
  • Dragon Breath Gyarados

Shadow Flygon

S!Flygon: Dragon Tail paired with Dragon Claw and Earth Power

Shadow Flygon has a 74.3% win rate in the UL meta:

Wins

  • Giratina (Altered)
  • Dragonite (new win)
  • Shadow Dragonite
  • Swampert (new win)
  • Shadow Swampert
  • Obstagoon
  • Galarian Stunfisk
  • Alolan Muk
  • Melmetal
  • Fire Spin Charizard
  • Empoleon
  • Waterfall Gyarados
  • Registeel (new win)
  • Armored Mewtwo (new win)

Loses

  • Machamp (new loss)
  • Shadow Machamp
  • Venusaur (new loss)
  • Cresselia
  • Steelix
  • Dragon Breath Charizard
  • Dragon Breath Gyarados

Just like the Great League, Shadow Flygon gains some notable wins over its base form and is undoubtedly a better Pokémon to use. 

Verdict on Flygon in PvP

While Flygon is more or less a spice pick in both the GL and UL meta, Shadow Flygon is on a different level altogether! It salvages the Dragon Tail buff very efficiently and rounds up to be a really dangerous Dragon type generalist in PvP. It still falls like a pack of cards to the Fairy and Ice types. However, even with Dragon Tail, it can hold its own against steel types through Earth Power.

So Flygon and Shadow Flygon (in particular) may definitely be one of your deadliest Dragon types in the Great and Ultra Leagues. You just can’t go wrong with the infamous Ground and [Dragon] combo!

What about Flygon in the Master League?

No matter what moveset or form (Shadow) you go with, Flygon’s stats present a challenge for optimal and dependable usage. It can have its moments but then there is a certain pseudo legendary land shark jet dragon that totally dominates in this meta. So let’s keep Flygon only in the GL and UL meta. 🙂

BONUS: Flygon & Shadow Flygon in the Ultra League Remix

Both Flygon and Shadow Flygon are pretty good entrants to the Remix versions of the Great and Ultra League.

However, it’s the Ultra League Remix where Flygon truly takes the cakes.

Flygon wins over the likes of Giratina (Origin), Snorlax, Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Politoed while Shadow Flygon has more or less the same wins with new victories over Galarian Stunfisk and Armored Mewtwo.

So should you use Flygon in the UL Remix? Absolutely! With some major A-listers out of the picture, Flygon does put in its weight in this format.

In fact, Shadow Flygon has a surprisingly high win rate of more than 75% in the current UL Remix!

This Shadow is actually quite good and would definitely serve you well in your UL Remix adventures.


Parting Words

Flygon has always been under the shadow of Garchomp but of all irony, it’s the Shadow variant of Flygon that is making all the right noise in the PP meta.

It has a fun moveset, excellent typing and a really really cool design; all making Flygon worth using in your GL and UL battles.

The Dragon Tail buff is the true reason behind Flygon’s success. This move upgrade has been a very welcome step towards making a previously underwhelming PvP move fantastic, rendering numerous Pokémon relevant in battles.

Shadow Flygon with Dragon Tail has brought in a lot of flavour to GBL and it’s here to stay! Go run it and see for yourself how good it is! That said, base Flygon with the speedy and spammy Mud Shot shenanigans is also a treat.

Here’s hoping that Niantic makes similar move upgrades in the near future that make PvP fun, exciting and something to look forward to!

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MeteorAsh15
MeteorAsh15
My name is Niladri Sarkar. A Team Valor Trainer, I'm a Pokémon Battle Mechanics Specialist & a Dragon Master on Smogon's Pokémon Showdown where I particularly excel with Dragon types and Weather teams in Ubers / OU. I love to apply my vast knowledge and experience to the ever changing meta of Pokémon Go, specialising in DPS/TDO math, movesets, the Master League and Dragon types. Garchomp is my best Pokémon pal through and through.

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