Dragon Type Pokémon are some of the strongest Pokémon in the games. They’re also pretty rare, making up only 6.7% of the total Pokedex. So how will you know which ones belong to your team?

Before the Fairy types were introduced, Dragon type Pokémon dominated the metagame. They were absolute beasts with amazing stats and versatile movesets that can wreak havoc on the enemy team. While these Pokémon are generally strong and most of them can be really good additions to your lineup, we’ve gathered some of the best Pokémon the Dragon type has to offer. So without further ado, here are the Dragon Pokémon that you should have on your team.

Duraludon

Type: Steel/Dragon

Locations: Route 10, Giant’s Seat, Lake of Outrage, Trade Frosmoth in Wyndon, Giant’s Seat, Stony Wilderness, Dusty Bowl (Max Raid Battle), Giant’s Seat (Max Raid Battle)

Weakness: Fighting 2x, Ground 2x

Is it a dinosaur? Or is it a skyscraper? It’s actually both and more. Well, Duraludon technically isn’t a skyscraper but it sure looks like one. Especially when it’s gigantamaxed. Anyway, Duraludon is one of the best new Pokémon introduced in Generation VIII. Being a Dragon type, this Pokémon has an extensive move pool that makes it versatile enough to fill a variety of roles on your team. It’s also a Steel type making it resistant to Fairy Pokémon that are so overused in the meta and counters Dragon types. Being a Steel type also makes Duraludon resistant to Poison types as well. Overall, Duraludon is a solid Pokémon that can be a sort of a Tank-Sweeper hybrid thanks to its high Defense and Special Attack. 

Goodra

Type: Dragon

Locations: (Sword) Trade; (Shield) Axew’s Eye, Rolling Fields (Max Raid Battle)

Weakness: Ice 2x, Dragon 2x, Fairy 2x

On the surface, Goodra seems like a rather friendly Pokémon. It doesn’t look particularly intimidating which makes most players tend to overlook this Dragon type Pokémon. But those who take the time to invest and get to know Goodra will be rewarded with one of the best Tanks in the game. Goodra has an absurdly high Special Defense stat that can reach up to 438 when maxed out. That’s insane. Goodra can basically take hits from any special attack in existence and shrug it off like it was nothing. On top of being extremely tanky, Goodra can learn a wide variety of moves; a trait it shares with most Dragon type Pokémon. It can learn moves like Flamethrower (Fire), Thunderbolt (Electric), Sludge Bomb (Poison), Ice Beam (Ice), Hydro Pump (Water), Power Whip (Grass), and more. The only drawback is that Goodra has an abysmal Defense stat so you may want to be careful when against Physical Attackers. Despite this, Goodra is a very powerful Pokémon that you definitely would want on your team.

Hydreigon

Type: Dark/Dragon

Locations: (Sword) Bridge Field, Dusty Bowl, Giant’s Mirror, Stony Wilderness, West Lake Axewell (Max Raid Battle); (Shield) Trade

Weakness: Fighting 2x, Bug 2x, Ice 2x, Dragon 2x, Fairy 4x

If Goodra has the best Special Defense among Dragon types, Hydreigon is its Special Attack counterpart. This Pokémon has a whopping base Special Attack of 125. Not to mention, it has a base stat total of 600 making it an extremely well rounded Pokémon perfect for competitive battles. As typical with most Dragon types, Hydreigon has access to a whole host of moves that make it a nightmare to deal with if you’re unprepared. It does have a lot of weaknesses but when you learn to play around them, Hydreigon can be a very strong hybrid Sweeper that can wreak havoc on any Pokémon team that dared to go against it.

Dracovish

Type: Water/Dragon

Locations: Revive from Fossilized Fish and Fossilized Drake by Cara Liss on Route 6

Weakness: Dragon 2x, Fairy 2x

Dracovish is the latest iteration of Fossil Pokémon that’s present in every generation of Pokémon games. Now, you would be forgiven if you took one look at Dracovish and dismissed it as something not worth your time. After all, it looks like a crime against nature. Despite this though, Dracovish is actually one of the strongest Dragon types to ever exist. But all this strength can only be accessed in certain situations. Dracovish won’t wow you with its raw stats although it is very well-rounded with its HP, Attack, and Defense standing out. What makes Dracovish strong is strategies built around its signature move, Fishious Rend, and its hidden ability, Sand Rush. Sand Rush doubles the ability-bearer’s Speed during a sandstorm, while Fishious Rend is a physical Water type move that has 85 power. When paired with a Pokémon that can set up the weather effect Sandstorm,  Dracovish is guaranteed to always attack first and Fishious Rend will always pack a punch.

Dragapult

Type:Dragon/Ghost

Locations: Axew’s Eye, Rolling Fields (Max Raid Battle)

Weakness: Ghost 2x, Ice 2x, Dragon 2x, Dark 2x, Fairy 2x

First introduced in Sword and Shield, Dragapult is arguably one of if not the best Dragon type across all Pokémon games. It has a very unique dual type combination being both a Dragon type and a Ghost type. Despite being powerful, this unique typing also makes Dragapult susceptible to a lot of weaknesses; essentially making it a glass cannon. This Pokémon has a very high Attack, Special Attack, and Speed making it ideal as a hybrid Sweeper that can take out half the enemy team in the right conditions. If that wasn’t enough, Dragapult can also possess the abilities Clear Body or Infiltrator. Clear Body makes it immune to stat lowering effects from enemy Pokémon while Infiltrator allows it to ignore the effects of moves like Reflect, Light Screen and Safeguard. Overall, Dragapult is the best Dragon type Pokémon to have on your team. It does have some glaring flaws but it’s extremely good at what it does well, which is decimating the enemy team.

So there you have it! These are the best Dragon type Pokémon in Pokémon Sword and Shield. There are lots of Dragon Pokémon that could’ve made this list but we find that these five Pokémon are stronger than the rest and can easily be successful in most scenarios. 

We hope this guide helps and make sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games! Have fun!