Dragonite

Dragonite faces stiff competition in Battle Spot Singles due to seemingly more powerful Dragon-types such as Mega Salamence, Garchomp, and Mega Charizard X running amok in the metagame. However, Dragonite has a few neat tricks up its sleeve that set it apart from these powerhouses; Multiscale gives it significant bulk when at full health, and it is the only Dragon-type with access to a priority move in Extreme Speed. Dragonite also has an expansive movepool, giving it coverage against almost anything that it wants to hit, which, when backed by its monstrous Attack and usable Special Attack, means that it can tailor its moveset to get past some of its common checks. Dragonite is also one of the best Choice Band users in the metagame, as the item gives immediate power to Outrage and Extreme Speed, allowing it to punch holes early or effectively clean up the opposing team. However, Dragonite hates status conditions, as they severely hinder its ability to sweep the opposing team; while a Lum Berry gives it a second chance when using the Dragon Dance set, the Choice Band set needs to look out for common Will-O-Wisp users such as Sableye, Gengar, Talonflame, and Rotom-W. Dragonite also has trouble fitting all the moves it needs onto one set, as its movepool is so large that it often has a hard time choosing exactly what it needs; this is especially true for the Dragon Dance set, which already has a moveslot taken up by Dragon Dance itself and needs to decide between great options such as Fire Punch, Roost, Substitute, and Iron Head. It is also quite hard to switch Dragonite into the battle, as taking damage nullifies Multiscale, and Dragonite is actually quite frail without it. Due to this, Dragonite should also be kept away from common Fake Out users such as Mega Lopunny, Weavile, Mega Medicham, and Mega Kangaskhan. Dragonite's 4x weakness to Ice-type moves is also easily exploitable, as those moves are very popular in the metagame to defeat popular threats such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Mega Salamence. Dragonite may seem like an underwhelming choice; however, because it doesn't require a Mega slot, it is able to set itself apart from Mega Salamence and Mega Charizard X and can fit on most teams very easily.