In Sword & Shield, Intimidate changes the entire equation for Salamence. The 600 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked S-Tier as a sweeper. Dualwingbeat with Heavy-Duty Boots is the standard set.

Does Salamence mega evolve?

Mega Evolution isn't available in Sword & Shield, but Salamence does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Salamence hits 700 BST.

What is Salamence weak to?

In Sword & Shield, 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.

What is the best ability for Salamence?

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.

What role does Salamence play in battle?

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.

Salamence - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Sweeper

STier

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

Attack135

Defense80

Sp. Atk110

Sp. Def80

Speed100

Total600

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height1.5 m

Weight102.6 kg

Base XP300

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

Salamence is an unusual Pokémon in that it was able to evolve a body with wings just by constantly wishing to be able to fly.

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
Damage	Types
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

Rock Dragon Fairy

½xResist

Fire Water Fighting Bug

¼xResist

Grass

0xImmune

Ground

STAB (4)

Dragon Grass Fighting Bug

How to Beat Salamence in Sword & Shield (Best Counters)

TangrowthRecovers HP on switch via Regenerator, walls physical sets Grass	A
Recommended Build AbilityRegenerator ItemAssault Vest NatureRelaxed Moves Knock Off Sludge Bomb Power Whip Focus Blast Damage vs Salamence Knock Off 17-20% Sludge Bomb 26-30% Focus Blast 17-20% View Tangrowth builds →
ScizorResists Dragon, recovers with Roost BugSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilityTechnician ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureAdamant Moves Bullet Punch Knock Off RoostRecovery Swords Dance Damage vs Salamence Bullet Punch 22-26% Knock Off 24-28% View Scizor builds →
Conkeldurr Fighting	A
Recommended Build AbilityGuts ItemFlame Orb NatureAdamant Moves Mach Punch Drain Punch Knock Off Facade Damage vs Salamence Mach Punch 14-16% Drain Punch 26-31% Knock Off 30-35% Facade 32-38% View Conkeldurr builds →
CobalionResists Dragon, outspeeds, walls physical sets SteelFighting	A
Recommended Build AbilityJustified ItemRocky Helmet NatureJolly Moves Close Combat Swords Dance Iron Head Stealth Rock Damage vs Salamence Close Combat 28-33% View Cobalion builds →
ExcadrillResists Dragon GroundSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilityMold Breaker ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Rapid Spin Iron Head Swords Dance Damage vs Salamence Rapid Spin 21-24% View Excadrill builds →

Sword & Shield 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

#371Bagon

Level 30

#372Shelgon

Level 50

#373Salamence

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Bagon

Dragon

Shelgon

Dragon

Salamence

DragonFlying

65+20

95+30

ATK

95+20

135+40

DEF

100+40

80-20

SP.ATK

60+20

110+50

SP.DEF

50+20

80+30

SPE

100+50

BST

300C-Tier

420D-Tier+120

600B-Tier+180

ROLE

Balanced

Sweeper

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Moderate

Breed with Salamence to get Bagon eggs using 63 partners from the Dragon egg group.

Egg Groups

Dragon

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

40 cycles·10,280 steps

Slow~10 min with Flame Body

Breed With (best first)

Sword & Shield Salamence Best Moveset

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

Best Build

Solid pick

Ability

Intimidate

Item

Heavy Duty Boots

Best Nature for Salamence

Jolly+SPE

Salamence best EVs are Attack and Speed

EVs

Atk

SpD

Spe

Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset

Dual WingbeatSTAB
EarthquakeCoverage
Dragon DanceSTAB
RoostRecovery

Recommended Teammates

CobalionDecent

Moves

Need something that threatens multiple types? Salamence's movepool delivers. Coverage across 11 types plus STAB from Outrage and Hurricane gives it answers for most defensive cores you'll run into.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Bite

C6010025Dark

Lv 1

Dragon Breath

—6010020Dragon

Lv 1

Dragon Tail-6

C609010Dragon

Lv 1

Ember

D4010025Fire

Lv 1

Fly

B909515Flying

Lv 1

Leer

D—10030Normal

Lv 1

Protect+4

A——10Normal

Lv 15

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

Lv 20

Scary Face

——10010Normal

Lv 25

Crunch

C8010015Dark

Lv 33

Dragon Claw

A8010015Dragon

Lv 39

Zen Headbutt

C809015Psychic

Lv 46

Focus Energy

C——30Normal

Lv 55

Flamethrower

A9010015Fire

Lv 64

Outrage

A12010010Dragon

Lv 73

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

TM Moves

TM95

Air Slash

A759515Flying

TM31

Attract

C—10015Normal

TR01

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

TM99

Breaking Swipe

B6010015Dragon

TM43

Brick Break

C7510015Fighting

TM97

Brutal Swing

C6010020Dark

TM81

Bulldoze

B6010020Ground

TR32

Crunch

C8010015Dark

TR47

Dragon Claw

A8010015Dragon

TR51

Dragon Dance

A——20Dragon

TR62

Dragon Pulse

B8510010Dragon

TR10

Earthquake

S10010010Ground

TR26

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM39

Facade

C7010020Normal

TR15

Fire Blast

C110855Fire

TM68

Fire Fang

B659515Fire

TR02

Flamethrower

A9010015Fire

TM06

Fly

B909515Flying

TR13

Focus Energy

C——30Normal

TM09

Giga Impact

B150905Normal

TR36

Heat Wave

C959010Fire

TR89

Hurricane

B1107010Flying

TR03

Hydro Pump

C110805Water

TM08

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TR42

Hyper Voice

C9010010Normal

TR46

Iron Defense

C——15Steel

TR31

Iron Tail

C1007515Steel

TR24

Outrage

A12010010Dragon

TM25

Protect+4

A——10Normal

TM33

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM21

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM22

Rock Slide

C759010Rock

TM48

Rock Tomb

C609515Rock

TM76

Round

C6010015Normal

TM26

Scary Face

——10010Normal

TM65

Shadow Claw

C7010015Ghost

TR27

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM24

Snore

—5010015Normal

TM30

Steel Wing

C709025Steel

TR75

Stone Edge

C100805Rock

TR20

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM34

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM40

Swift

C60—20Normal

TM66

Thunder Fang

C659515Electric

TR69

Zen Headbutt

C809015Psychic

Egg Moves

Salamence doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Dual Wingbeat

S409010Flying

How to Get Salamence in Sword & Shield

Salamence doesn't appear wild. Catch Bagon instead, it shows up at moderate rates. Evolve it at level 50 to get Salamence. The 3-stage chain is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Salamence in Sword & Shield

Step 1Catch Bagon
Tunnel to the Top
Overworld Lv.60-65 Cave
10%Post
All Weather
Train until Level 30
Step 2Evolve into Shelgon
Train until Level 50
Step 3Salamence ✓

Salamence Guide

In Sword & Shield, Intimidate changes the entire equation for Salamence. The 600 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked S-Tier as a sweeper. Dualwingbeat with Heavy-Duty Boots is the standard set.
Mega Evolution isn't available in Sword & Shield, but Salamence does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Salamence hits 700 BST.
In Sword & Shield, 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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