Druddigon is now available in Pokemon GO, from December 7th until the 12th as part of the Season of Heritage Dragonspiral Event. Not only that, but Druddigon is debuting alongside its Shiny. Is Druddigon available in the wild? Of course not. Druddigon will be available during this time exclusively in Raids and Research Tasks; Research Tasks that require you to do Raids. Shiny hunting aside, is this Pokemon good in the meta? Well, yes and no.
Druddigon Basics
- Druddigon is a pure Dragon-type Pokemon
- Druddigon’s max CP is 2732 at level 40 and 3088 at level 50
- 100% IV catch CP is 1171 for Research, 1561 for Raids, and and 1951 for Weather Boosted Raids
- Druddigon’s Fast Moves are Dragon Tail and Bite
- Druddigon’s Charge Moves are Dragon Claw, Night Slash, and Hyper Beam
Capping out at 3088 (level 50) suggests Druddigon won’t be making waves in Raids or Master League PvP, but Dragon Tail, Dragon Claw, and Night Slash means Druddigon could have a place in the Great League and Ultra League.
PvP Performance
Great League Druddigon
In the Great League, Druddigon’s stat product, stat distribution, and playstyle are almost identical to Dragonair. Druddigon similarly has as much potential as Dragonair in the Open Great League meta (very little). Where you fail in Open, you could be good in a limited format though, so being roughly as good as Dragonair isn’t exactly terrible. What will make or break Druddigon in limited formats is how much its Dark-type utility with Night Slash helps out compared to just using Zweilous or Dragonair instead.
Overall, it could be good to pick one up, just in case, but nothing really worth Raiding hard for. It’s Dragonair, with a chance to boost with Night Slash, crawling right out of the meme cave.
Ultra League Druddigon
Druddigon fails to fight Giratina effectively, so it’s condemned to the Premier Cup. In the Premier Cup, Druddigon is slightly tankier than the Dragonites but is softer than Kingdra and Goodra. Like the Dragonites, Druddigon has a more consistent moveset opposed to a gimmicky debuff/bait-nuke one.
Comparing the Dragons of the UL Premier Classic format, Druddigon stands out in that it has stronger Dragon Breath Charizard, Gallade, Venusaur, Sir Fetch’d, Machamp, and Toxicroak matchups. In the 2 shield scenario specifically, Druddigon has consistent victories against Obstagoon, Escavalier, and Crobat, but struggles to overcome Empoleon without a Night Slash boost. One other notable upside is that Druddigon can counterswap on Kingdra effectively, even after getting hit with a Octazooka debuff, either winning or gaining shield advantage while heavily crippling Kingdra. The biggest downside to Druddigon is that it doesn’t have a Hurricane or Power Whip to pray to when trapped by Fairy-type Pokemon.
Overall, Druddigon is pretty competitive with other Dragon-type Pokemon in the UL Premier Classic but doesn’t stand out much from the crowd. Its access to Night Slash can be a boon or bane depending on how often you get the boost and how often you get trapped by Fairy-type Pokemon. If you’re tired on gambling wins on an Octazooka debuff, maybe you’ll have better luck with the Night Slash boost.
Closing Thoughts
Druddigon is a fairly lackluster, middle of the road Pokemon in PvP. With very ok stats, Dragon Tail, Dragon Claw, and Night Slash, no one is going to say Druddigon is “bad” but there’s probably a reason why Pokemon GO is releasing Shiny Druddigon right away. You’ll want to pick a few up just in case, but this Pokemon is almost just a Dex Entry.
