The 10 best Dragon Pokemon of all time

The best Dragon Pokémon stand tall and powerful, but can still come in unexpected shapes and sizes

Author:
Ryan Woodrow
Publish date:
Jul 15, 2023 4:00 AM EDT

If you’re trying to catch Pokémon that pack a punch and have a vicious look to match, then Dragon-type Pokémon are your best bet. Even Game Freak were afraid of Dragons at first, famously preventing Charizard from being Dragon-type despite its obvious look, all because they were worried it would be too powerful.

Now we have a strong selection of Ice-types, and Generation 6’s introduction of the Fairy-type has made these beasts less scary than they once were, but they’re still very cool. We’ve picked out the best Dragon Pokémon to beef up your team.

If you want to see more Pokémon rankings then check out our lists of the best Psychic Pokémon, the best Dark Pokémon, and the best Fire Pokémon.

Altaria

This unassuming fluffy bird may not look like a powerful Dragon, but if you’ve ever had to face one, you’ll know just how troublesome it can be. With heavy defenses, a wide movepool full of status moves, and a few powerful Dragon-type attacks, any battle with Altaria can go south in a hurry. It means that if you catch one, you get to have a cute partner who can wreck your foes with ease – it’s the best of both worlds.

Goodra

One of the more underrated pseudo-legendaries, Goodra is another Pokémon that goes for unassuming vibes. Dragon/Water is a strong defensive type combination, which helps its monstrous special defense stat. Plus, it can come at you with some of the most powerful attacks in the game, capable of pulling off moves from a surprising amount of types. All that, plus a smile that will brighten up anyone’s day.

Kingdra

This is a Pokémon you may not even realize is a Dragon-type at first, especially as it’s based on a seahorse. However, it still fits in with the type. It has that regal “mightier than thou” aura that a lot of Dragons give off, plus access to Ice Beam makes it highly capable of taking out opposing Dragon-types. Plus, it’s got a beautiful deep purple shiny form, which is what really matters.

Flygon

In an ironic twist, Game Freak’s refusal to give Flygon a spotlight has enhanced the world’s love for it. As a strong Dragon/Ground-type, it had the potential to be Garchomp before Garchomp existed, but it kept just falling short of that mark. Still, it’s one of the best examples of how to adapt a real-life animal into a powerful Pokémon, as this beefy dragonfly is rather terrifying to look at.

Latias & Latios

A two-for-one deal here, as you can’t separate these twins. They glide so gracefully through the air, with simple and colorful designs that make them easily identifiable. Despite that simplicity, they have such strong personalities, especially when compared to each other. They both feel like calm and gentle Pokémon, but you can see just by looking at them that Latias is the energetic younger sibling, while Latios is older, wiser, and more serious.

Salamence

While Flygon is underserved with cool new features, Salamence is arguably over-served. It’s easy to see why though, it only makes small twists on the traditional idea of a dragon, making it a bright red and blue to feel almost like some kind of superhero – especially with its soft expression. Still, with a cool Mega-Evolved form and a Paradox form in Roaring Moon, it’s also a Pokémon you don’t want to mess with, or it’ll burn your house down.

Noivern

As we said in our best Flying Pokémon list, Noivern feels like it shouldn’t work as a design – but it just does. The massive boombox ears, and the cyan, purple, and black color scheme feel like they should make a goofy disaster, yet the sharp edges and deadly speed of Noivern make it a thing of beauty both on and off the battlefield.

Rayquaza

It took Game Freak three generations to make Dragon-type legendary Pokémon, and then it got a little obsessed with the idea, as every generation since has had at least one. Rayquaza is still one of the best though. A being powerful enough to quell the fight between Kyogre and Groudon, this space snake moves with deadly efficiency and stands out as one of the coolest legendaries ever.

Dialga

Whether you think Rayquaza or Dialga is better comes down to personal preference, but even though this lord of time isn’t as flashy as Rayquaza, it’s still a fantastic Pokémon. Its deep blue body has this beautiful glow to it that is perfectly accented by its armor plating. It has access to many powerful moves from some hard-hitting types, and it has a signature move called “Roar of Time”. Moves do not get cooler than that.

Garchomp

The legendary Dragon-types may be awesome in an overpowered way, but you’re not going to be able to use them for most of your adventure. Garchomp is the uber-powerful Pokémon that you can have as one of your beloved partners and conquer the world with. It’s been a force in competitive play for many years due to its overwhelming speed and attacking power, combined with a Dragon/Ground typing that makes it very hard to crack.