Pokémon Go best Dragon-type Pokémon

Which are the best Dragon-type Pokémon for Go Battle League and raids in Pokémon Go?

Image credit: Eurogamer/The Pokémon Company

Guide by Nic Bunce Contributor

Published on March 3, 2025

Dragon-type Pokémon are just one of 18 different types in the world of Pokémon Go. While it is easily the most exciting type, each has its own strengths, weaknesses and best Pokémon. Some, like Dragons, are stronger than others, too.

As of March 2025, there are 884 Pokémon out of a possible 1025 in Pokémon Go. Of these, there are 60 regular forms and 9 Mega Pokémon available - the second-lowest after Ice. Despite the incredible strength that this type represents, some are worthy of your time, Candy and Stardust, and others are not.

As such, it’s getting pretty difficult keeping on top of the best Dragon-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go.

So, to make life easy for everyone, we’ve split this page into multiple sections, including an overview of what Dragon-type Pokémon are, the top-five best Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go and the top-five best non-Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go, including a brief analysis of each.

On this page:

Best Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon
Best non-Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon
What are Dragon-type Pokémon?

Best Dragon-type Legendary Pokémon

With so many different Dragon-type Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Go, it is getting incredibly difficult to know which ones you can rely on.

Level for level, is a perfect Dragonite better than a perfect Garchomp? How does the mono-type Goodra compare to these two dual types? Who is the best Dragon-type in Master League? As always, the strongest Pokémon depends on the situation, which is why our lists below come with a brief note for each Pokémon, telling you where and how it is useful.

As with our list of Best Pokémon in Pokémon Go, we’re going to avoid covering Shadow Pokémon and Mega Pokémon. Including them would pretty much knock everything else out of this list. If you want to read more about either of those, you can check out our best Shadow Pokémon and best Mega Pokémon in Pokémon Go guides.

And finally, it’s also worth adding that this is an editorialised list of Pokémon - it’s not strictly the Pokémon that throw the biggest punches.

Here’s a breakdown of the best Dragon-type Legendary Pokémon as of March 2025:

Black Kyurem

Black Kyurem types: Dragon/Ice
Black Kyurem weaknesses: Dragon, Fairy, Fighting, Rock and Steel
Black Kyurem recommended moves: Shadow Claw (Fast), Freeze Shock (Legacy Charged), Fusion Bolt (Charged)
Main use: ~~Being awesome~~ Master League, Raids, Adventure Effect

Black Kyurem is not an easy Pokémon to get. You need to fuse Kyurem and Zekrom using 1000 Volt Fusion Energy, 30 Kyurem Candy and 30 Zekrom Candy to get Black Kyurem. If Kyurem knew its signature move, Glaciate, the resulting Black Kyurem will know Freeze Shock. This fancy new 'Adventure Effect' move has an effect on the overworld: for 5000 Stardust and 5 Kyurem Candy, you can activate Freeze Shock’s Adventure Effect to stop wild Pokémon you encounter from moving, making them easier to catch.

So, yeah. Black Kyurem is a rare and powerful Pokémon. But is it useful for its Adventure Effect only, or is it good for anything else? In short, it's excellent everywhere. Its stats are tremendous, making it one of the best Dragon-type attackers with Dragon Tail and Outrage. It is beaten only by the three best Mega Dragons.

It's also incredibly strong and a newly minted demon in Master League, outperforming Zygarde Complete - the king of the previous meta. The moveset we have recommended above is what we would use in Master League. Bring one of those to the party and few things will be able to stop you.

Origin Forme Palkia

Origin Forme Palkia types: Water/Dragon
Origin Forme Palkia weaknesses: Dragon and Fairy
Origin Forme Palkia recommended moves: Dragon Breath (Fast), Aqua Tail (Charged), Spacial Rend (Legacy Charged)
Main use: Best Pokémon in Master League, Raids, Adventure Effect

Like Black Kyurem above, Palkia Origin can affect the overworld with its Adventure Effect. In this case, Spacial Rend allows you to increase the size of your area of influence (the circle around you). In short, you can see more Pokémon from further away with this move.

Again, the above moveset is what we would recommend for Master League, where Palkia Origin is currently the best Pokémon in the meta. If you want it to be purely a Raid attacker, we'd swap Dragon Breath for Dragon Tail.

There's not much else to say - this is a phenomenally strong Pokémon!

Origin Forme Dialga

Origin Forme Dialga types: Steel/Dragon
Origin Forme Dialga weaknesses: Fighting and Ground
Origin Forme Dialga recommended moves: Dragon Breath (Fast), Roar of Time (Legacy Charged), Iron Head (Charged)
Main use: Master League, Raids, Adventure Effect

Oh look, another Adventure Effect. Are you seeing a pattern here? This time, Roar of Time has the ability to pause timers for six minutes - that's your Incenses, Lucky Eggs and Star Pieces!

Special abilities aside, Dialga Origin is another phenomenally strong Pokémon. Its attack is slightly worse than regular Dialga, but it gains some impressive bulk. Roar of Time is also an incredible move in its own right...

Perhaps most importantly, this is the first Pokémon on our list not weak to Dragons, meaning it can bring the pain in Dragon-type raids, dealing super-effective STAB damage, but not taking it in return. This is huge.

As for PVP, while regular Dialga was once the menace, standing atop the meta for a very long time, Dialga Origin isn't even top 10. It's still excellent - not being weak to Dragon is again a boon, but be aware that it is not the be all and end all that it once was.

Rayquaza

Rayquaza types: Dragon/Flying
Rayquaza weaknesses: Dragon, Fairy and Rock
Rayquaza recommended moves: Dragon Tail (Fast), Breaking Swipe (Legacy Charged), Dragon Ascent (Legacy Charged)
Main use: Mega Pokémon, Raids

Mega Rayquaza is the best Pokémon in the game. Regular Rayquaza - the first on our list that isn't a regular Legendary, mind you - is still excellent. Simply put, you can't have six Mega Rayquaza, but you can have one and that starts with your regular Rayquaza. If you're lucky enough to have a perfect space noodle, max that thing out. The damage it puts out when Mega Evolved is terrifying.

At this point, many long-term players will have more Rayquaza than they actually need. Bringing these along to Raids is always welcome, as the damage a regular Rayquaza can put out is very respectable.

However, this Pokémon is pretty bad when it comes to PVP. Being a mono-Dragon type opens it up to the weaknesses that this meta revolves around: Ice, Fairy and of course, other Dragons.

White Kyurem

White Kyurem types: Dragon/Ice
White Kyurem weaknesses: Dragon, Fairy, Fighting, Rock, and Steel
White Kyurem recommended moves: Ice Fang (Fast), Fusion Flare (Charged), Ice Burn (Legacy Charged)
Main use: Ice-type Raid attacker, Master League, Adventure Effect

Oh look, the other fancy Kyurem...

This time, our Adventure Effect is Ice Burn: an ability that will slow the speed at which the catch circle changes size. Hopefully, this will make your Excellent Throws much easier to rack up!

You may have spotted that we're recommending zero Dragon-type moves. Again, these are the moves we recommend for Master League, thanks to White Kyurem being an incredible Pokémon in the meta. If you want it as a Dragon-type attacker, you want Dragon Breath and Dragon Pulse, but you will be wasting its potential if you do this.

The Might and Mastery Season has arrived. The Festival of Colors is currently running in Pokémon Go. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

Best Dragon-type non-Legendary Pokémon

As a rule of thumb, Legendary Pokémon are typically stronger than non-Legendary Pokémon. Given the number of Adventure Effects we've spoken about - and therefore the ability to change the world around you - this is truer for Dragons than it is any other type. We really are looking at the best of the very best in the above list.

However, if things were that simple you wouldn’t be here.

Some pseudo-Legendaries and even the odd regular Pokémon can go toe-to-toe with even the most famous Pokémon, and there are some excellent pseudo-Legendary Dragons out there. Given that maxing out a non-Legendary Pokémon is generally cheaper than doing the same for a Legendary, it’s good to know how they stack up when a more budget version is available.

Again, this is an editorialised list of Pokémon, not simply those who have the biggest attack stats.

Here’s a breakdown of the best Dragon-type non-Legendary Pokémon as of March 2025:

Haxorus

Haxorus types: Dragon
Haxorus weaknesses: Dragon, Fairy, and Ice
Haxorus recommended moves: Dragon Tail (Fast), Breaking Swipe (Legacy Charged), Dragon Claw (Charged)
Main use: Raid attacker

This mono-Dragon-type Pokémon has a very impressive attack stat - matching that of Rayquaza. With its moveset, this puts it just below White Kyurem as a Dragon-type attacker, and above Shadow Latios and regular Palkia. If you want a budget Dragon, this is the number-one choice.

Just be aware that the mono-typing means that the type-based coverage that the likes of Dialga has is not a factor here. Hacksaw is here for a good time, not a long time.

In terms of PVP, Haxorus is a total Glass Cannon thanks to its bevy of relevant weaknesses. We wouldn't recommend running it for the same reason we wouldn't run Rayquaza.

Garchomp

Garchomp types: Dragon/Ground
Garchomp weaknesses: Ice (2x), Dragon and Fairy
Garchomp recommended moves: Dragon Tail (Fast), Outrage (Charged), Earth Power (Legacy Charged)
Main use: Mega Evolution, Ground-type attacker

Garchomp is a fan favourite, and with good reason. While it is stronger as a Ground-type attacker, thanks to Earth Power, it is still very powerful as a Dragon-type Raid attacker - especially once you factor in Mega Evolution.

Its excellent stats and impressive moveset come together to make it one of the best pseudo-Legendary Pokémon in the game, not just for its typings. No matter how you plan on using it, you will be impressed with its results.

In terms of Master League, it is very good at taking down some very powerful Pokémon, reliably sitting at the top of the meta. Just be aware that its double weakness to Ice is no joke...

Salamence

Salamence types: Dragon/Flying
Salamence weaknesses: Ice (2x), Dragon, Fairy and Rock
Salamence recommended moves: Dragon Tail (Fast), Fly (Charged), Outrage (Legacy Charged)
Main use: Mega Evolution, Raid attacker

Mega Salamence is terrifying. Regular Salamence is very good, and an exceptional Flying-type attacker thanks to its Dragony stats. Sadly, it lacks a Flying-type Fast move, which hampers it slightly.

In terms of Dragon-type damage, Salamence is slightly worse than Garchomp but still above Zekrom, Reshiram and Dialga. It really is a very good Pokémon.

When it comes to Master League, though, it is significantly worse than Garchomp. It lacks the USP of taking down Steel-types with Earth Power, but gains the ability to beat Garchomp. It's not a great trade-off when you remember they're both double-weak to Ice...

Dragonite

Dragonite types: Dragon/Flying
Dragonite weaknesses: Ice (2x), Dragon, Fairy and Rock
Dragonite recommended moves: Dragon Breath (Fast), Dragon Claw (Charged), Superpower (Charged)
Main use: Master League

Dragonite - the Dragon Pokémon, is the quintessential Dragon. Don't be fooled by its chubby cuteness, this thing slays. And yes, it obviously slays Dragons with that moveset.

On paper, Dragonite looks like a worse Salamence. Same typings and lower attack for slightly more bulk... so why does Dragonite continue to outperform in Master League? It's the moveset. This spammy, agile Pokémon can put down all the Fast move and Shield pressure you need, with Superpower being great coverage should you need it.

We're very glad to see Dragonite still standing tall (seriously, it's 7'3") as the emblem of this typing. Long may its cute little reign continue.

Dragapult

Dragapult types: Dragon/Ghost
Dragapult weaknesses: Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost and Ice
Dragapult recommended moves: Astonish (Fast), Breaking Swipe (Charged), Shadow Ball (Charged)
Main use: Master League, Raid attacker

Did you forget that Dragapult is a Ghost-type? We did. Euther way, it's excellent, both as a Ghost- and Dragon-type attacker. If you want it to be a better Dragon-type though, swap Astonish for Dragon Tail.

Either way, this is still an impressive Pokémon. It is very reasonable in Master League for its Ghost-type attacks, taking down the likes of Mewtwo. Its bulk is something of an issue, but with debuff spam and decent nuke, it's a Pokémon you'll want to keep an eye out for.

What are Dragon-type Pokémon?

Dragon-type Pokémon are the original chase Pokémon. They're the most elusive and exclusive, and frequently the most powerful. In the main series games, they require more XP to train, too - but when you get there and fully evolve your Pokémon, you'll find the effort was worth it.

In the world of Pokémon Go, Dragons rule Master League - their high stats mean that the best Dragons are frequently ruled out of the lower two leagues. So, when the gloves (CP caps) are off, this is where they get their chance to shine. Naturally, this means that Ice and Fairy types (Dragons' natural weaknesses, apparently), also become very important in Master League.

Each type interacts with the rest in different ways, with some being favourable and others being less so. It’s basically a very, very complicated game of rock, paper, scissors. Be aware, though, that this doesn't work the same way as the main-series game, where Dragon-type moves have no effect on Fairy-type Pokémon. Instead, they are effectively promoted from ineffective to not very effective.