Dragonite

Everyone knows Dragonite’s claim to fame. While a wide move pool, a base stat total bested only by that of Mewtwo, and a unique Dragon typing are all distinguishing features, Dragonite’s true niche rests in its access to Wrap. With an unparalleled Attack stat and two excellent speed control options in Thunder Wave and Agility, Dragonite can immobilize and whittle away at its foes. In Ubers, Dragonite is much the same frustrating but effective Pokemon it is in other tiers.

Dragonite is a powerful pivot and potential sweeper with a lot of utility options. It can meticulously prepare favorable endgames against paralyzed and slow teams for its teammates to sweep, or it can even painfully choke out entire teams itself. A wide pool of coverage moves makes Dragonite unpredictable and quite difficult to wall. Its Flying typing is also quite nice for slowing down Earthquake users, most notably Mew. It’s not terribly uncommon for Mew to run Earthquake as its only reliable attacking move, meaning that Dragonite can wall some variants indefinitely.

Despite many positive traits, Dragonite has many limitations that keep it from dominating the tier. For starters, Dragonite relies heavily on paralysis to function. If Dragonite is slower than its foe, it cannot use Wrap safely. It is very vulnerable to paralysis itself, as it becomes incapable of using Wrap effectively or reliably given its already imperfect accuracy. Its typing, while useful for some matchups, also means that Ice-type moves from common Pokemon like Mewtwo are a terror. Thus, Dragonite requires strategic play to position such that it can actually make its way through teams with little risk. Another obvious issue is its reliance on Wrap, which, even in the best of circumstances, can miss and immediately result in Dragonite failing to pivot or sweep.