Physical
Sweeper
BTier
100Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

The stat budget goes to damage. Attack and Sp. Atk carry the offense, Defense doesn't even come close. A Dragon Pokemon on a slow 1.25M XP grind, worth 3 Attack EVs per KO.

Base Stats
Legend
HP95
B
Attack135
A
Defense80
C
Sp. Atk110
B
Sp. Def80
C
Speed100
B
Total600
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging45 / 255
Growth Rate
Slow1.25M XP
Height1.5 m
4'11"Average
Weight102.6 kg
226.2 lbsHeavy
Base XP300
Elite Yield
Abilities
IntimidatePopular
Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
MoxieHAPopular
Raises Attack one stage upon KOing a Pokémon.
EV Yield
HPAtk+3DefSpASpDSpe
Strong Attack training target
Pokedex Entries

Anyone standing in its path gets sliced right in two, while this Pokémon continues its flight without interruption.

Salamence Weakness

Ice, Rock, Dragon, and Fairy moves hit Salamence for super-effective damage. Ice hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. The upside? Ground-type moves can't touch it at all. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses.

Salamence Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
4x (Critical)Ice
2x (Weak)Rock, Dragon, Fairy
0.5x (Resist)Fire, Water, Fighting, Bug
0.25x (Resist)Grass
0x (Immune)Ground
Type ChartGood
4Weak
5Resist
1Immune
Score-1
4xCritical
Ice
2xWeak
RockDragonFairy
½xResist
FireWaterFightingBug
¼xResist
Grass
0xImmune
Ground
STAB (4)
DragonGrassFightingBug
How to Beat Salamence in Sun & Moon (Best Counters)
Primarina
Primarina
WaterFairy
A
Available Moves
Moves
  • MoonblastLv. 44
  • Disarming VoiceLv. 9
Damage vs Salamence
Moonblast 2x
94-111%KO
Disarming Voice 2x
40-48%
View Primarina builds →

Sun & Moon Evolution

End of the line. Salamence caps a three-stage chain that started at Bagon. Breeding produces the base form, and eggs are takes forever to hatch. Sp.Atk grew the most through evolution (+70 over Bagon), and Salamence peaks at 600 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Bagon
#371Bagon
30
Level 30
Shelgon
#372Shelgon
50
Level 50
Salamence
#373Salamence
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Bagon
Dragon
Shelgon
Dragon
Salamence
DragonFlying
HP
45
65+20
95+30
ATK
75
95+20
135+40
DEF
60
100+40
80-20
SP.ATK
40
60+20
110+50
SP.DEF
30
50+20
80+30
SPE
50
50
100+50
BST
300C-Tier
420D-Tier+120
600B-Tier+180
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Sweeper
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Moderate

Breed with Salamence to get Bagon eggs using 57 partners from the Dragon egg group. Notable egg moves include Defense Curl, Dragon Dance, Dragon Pulse and 7 more.

Egg Groups
Dragon
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
40 cycles·10,280 steps
Slow~10 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
10moves
Breed With (best first)
gyaradoscharizardkingdrasceptileflygonmiloticnoivernaltariascraftydragalgehelioliskarbok
12 of 57·

Sun & Moon Salamence Best Moveset

The game plan is straightforward: click Dragon Dance, then sweep. Flyiniumz and Moxie support the setup turn. EVs go into max Attack and Speed so Salamence hits hard once it's boosted.

Best Build

Solid pick
Ability
Moxie
Item
Flyiniumz
Best Nature for Salamence
Jolly+SPE

Salamence best EVs are Attack and Speed

EVs

Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset

  • EarthquakeCoverage
  • Dragon DanceSTAB
  • OutrageSTAB
  • Dragon ClawSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Metagross
MetagrossDecent

Moves

Need something that threatens multiple types? Salamence's movepool delivers. Coverage across 12 types plus STAB from Draco Meteor and Dragon Rush gives it answers for most defensive cores you'll run into.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Bite
C6010025Dark
Lv 1
Dragon Tail-6
C609010Dragon
Lv 1
Ember
—4010025Fire
Lv 1
Fire Fang
A659515Fire
Lv 1
Fly
B909515Flying
Lv 1
Leer
——10030Normal
Lv 1
Protect+4
A——10Normal
Lv 1
Rage
D2010020Normal
Lv 1
Thunder Fang
C659515Electric
Lv 4
Ember
—4010025Fire
Lv 7
Leer
——10030Normal
Lv 10
Bite
C6010025Dark
Lv 13
Dragon Breath
—6010020Dragon
Lv 17
Headbutt
C7010015Normal
Lv 21
Focus Energy
D——30Normal
Lv 25
Crunch
C8010015Dark
Lv 29
Dragon Claw
A8010015Dragon
Lv 35
Zen Headbutt
C809015Psychic
Lv 42
Scary Face
——10010Normal
Lv 49
Flamethrower
B9010015Fire
Lv 63
Double-Edge
B12010015Normal

TM Moves

TM
TM40
Aerial Ace
B60—20Flying
TM45
Attract
C—10015Normal
TM31
Brick Break
C7510015Fighting
TM59
Brutal Swing
C6010020Dark
TM78
Bulldoze
C6010020Ground
TM100
Confide
D——20Normal
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM02
Dragon Claw
A8010015Dragon
TM82
Dragon Tail-6
C609010Dragon
TM26
Earthquake
S10010010Ground
TM42
Facade
C7010020Normal
TM38
Fire Blast
C110855Fire
TM35
Flamethrower
B9010015Fire
TM76
Fly
B909515Flying
TM21
Frustration
D—10020Normal
TM68
Giga Impact
B150905Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
B150905Normal
TM17
Protect+4
A——10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
C——5Water
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
TM05
Roar-6
C——20Normal
TM80
Rock Slide
C759010Rock
TM39
Rock Tomb
C609515Rock
TM19
Roost
C——10Flying
TM48
Round
C6010015Normal
TM65
Shadow Claw
B7010015Ghost
TM88
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM51
Steel Wing
C709025Steel
TM71
Stone Edge
C100805Rock
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
D—8515Normal
TM06
Toxic
C—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Defense Curl
D——40Normal
Egg
Dragon Dance
S——20Dragon
Egg
Dragon Pulse
B8510010Dragon
Egg
Dragon Rage
——10010Dragon
Egg
Dragon Rush
—1007510Dragon
Egg
Endure+4
C——10Normal
Egg
Fire Fang
A659515Fire
Egg
Hydro Pump
C110805Water
Egg
Thrash
B12010010Normal
Egg
Twister
C4010020Dragon

Tutor Moves

Tut
Tutor
Draco Meteor
B130905Dragon

Reminder Moves

Rem
Rem
Protect+4
A——10Normal

Transfer Moves

Gen
Gen 4
Air Cutter
C609525Flying
Gen 3
Body Slam
C8510015Normal
Gen 4
Captivate
——10020Normal
Gen 6
Cut
—509530Normal
Gen 4
Fury Cutter
D409520Bug
Gen 6
Hone Claws
C——15Dark
Gen 6
Incinerate
—6010015Fire
Gen 3
Mimic
D——10Normal
Gen 4
Mud-Slap
D2010010Ground
Gen 4
Natural Gift
——10015Normal
Gen 4
Ominous Wind
—601005Ghost
Gen 6
Rock Smash
D4010015Fighting
Gen 4
Rollout
D309020Rock
Gen 6
Secret Power
—7010020Normal
Gen 6
Strength
—8010015Normal
Gen 4
Swift
C60—20Normal

How to Get Salamence in Sun & Moon

Salamence appears at moderate rates across 2 spots in early-game routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.

Where To Catch Salamence in Sun & Moon

Bagon is your first catch on the way to Salamence. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 9-18 across 8 total spots in the chain.

  1. Bagon
    Step 1Catch Bagon
    Kala'e Bay
    MoonGrass Lv.15-18 Water
    10%Early
    Kala'e Bay
    SunGrass Lv.15-18 Water
    10%Early
    Route 3 - South
    MoonGrass Lv.9-12 Route
    1%Early
    Route 3 - South
    SunGrass Lv.9-12 Route
    1%Early
  2. Shelgon
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Shelgon
    Kala'e Bay
    SunGrass Lv.15-18 Water
    Early
    SOS from Bagon
    Kala'e Bay
    MoonGrass Lv.15-18 Water
    Early
    SOS from Bagon
    or evolve from Bagon (Step 1)
  3. Salamence
    Step 3Salamence ✓
    Route 3 - South
    SunGrass Lv.9-12 Route
    Early
    SOS from Bagon
    Route 3 - South
    MoonGrass Lv.9-12 Route
    Early
    SOS from Bagon
    or evolve from Shelgon (Step 2)

Salamence Guide

  • In Sun & Moon, Intimidate changes the entire equation for Salamence. The 600 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked B-Tier as a sweeper. Earthquake with Flyiniumz is the standard set.

  • In Sun & Moon, Salamence can Mega Evolve into Mega Salamence. That's 700 BST, up from 600. The stat redistribution often changes its best role. Mega Stone required, one per battle.

  • In Sun & Moon, watch for Cloyster (Ice), Aerodactyl (Rock), and Dragonite (Dragon) when using Salamence. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Cloyster is the most dangerous since Ice moves deal 4x damage. Fairy-type attackers are also a problem.

  • Intimidate is what you want on Salamence. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Moxie) work on paper but Intimidate is what makes Salamence worth using. With base 100 Speed, Intimidate gives Salamence an edge before opponents can react.

  • Base 100 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Salamence is a physical attacker with base 135 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a sweeper.

Game Availability

Since debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Salamence has appeared in 16 titles over 8 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 7, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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