The best Dragonite build and items for Pokemon Unite

Dragonite has arrived in Pokemon Unite and the original dragon Pokemon is an absolute beast with the right build.

Dragonite has always looked silly, but the Pokemon is tailor-made to terrorize in Pokemon Unite as part of the new season. With a number of different unique mechanics, it has the highest skill ceiling in the game by a significant margin. 

This also requires Dragonite to use a different build than anything else seen in Pokemon Unite. While there are a couple of catch-all builds that work for the vast majority of Pokemon, Dragonite needs to dust off some of the held items that players haven’t really used before. This might actually make the Pokemon unviable for most players that aren’t pumping money into Item Enhancers, but those who have loose pursestrings will get to thrash their way through enemies with Dragonite.

Dragonite is a powerful new Ranged All-Rounder that makes a big impact! Add it to your #PokemonUNITE roster on 11/19 at 4:00pm PT! pic.twitter.com/KzTVgPMQ0I

— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) December 13, 2021

How to build Dragonite in Pokemon Unite

Dragonite has a few viable builds, but this guide will focus on one that turns Dragonite into a rampaging monster. This one opts for Dragon Dance and Outrage with items built around boosting Dragonite’s damage after initiating with a Unite Move. Dragonite has a unique Unite Move that doesn’t go from 100% to 0% upon use, meaning the Pokemon can get much more mileage out of held items designed to bolster Unite Moves.

Dragonite also has a rotating water, fire, and electric boosted attack, with each having a different effect. Players should familiarize themselves with the order and effects of these attacks to make the most out of Dragonite in high-level play.

Twister

Twister is the preferred level-one move for Dratini. Per usual, there isn’t a radical difference in terms of how quickly players can snowball but Twister does offer better neutral Pokemon clearing in the very early game.

Dragon Dance

At level five, players upgrade their first attack with Dragon Dance being preferred to Extreme Speed. Extreme Speed is the superior mobility attack, but Dragon Dance offers some maneuverability to Dragonite with a buff to attacks. This is important for level eight, when Dragonair evolves and learns its second upgraded attack.

Outrage

At level eight, Dragonite learns either Hyper Beam or Outrage. Outrage turns Dragonite from a ranged character into a melee one, with the bonus of dealing boosted attacks with each hit. This ability allows Dragonite to stand and trade with enemies comfortably, and escape, pursue, or change targets with Dragon Dance.

Dragonite Unite Move: Draco Impact

Dragonite’s Unite Move is Draco Impact, and it is arguably the best Unite Move in the game so far. It offers peerless mobility, with the option to use it as an initiation tool, an escape tool, or a mobility tool to sneak in goals behind enemy lines. It does solid damage and allows Dragonite to land on enemies, stomp them with Outrage, and then annihilate the competition.

Best Held Items for Dragonite in Pokemon Unite

• Buddy Barrier
• Energy Amplifier
• Razor Claw
• Eject Button

The combination to maximize Dragonite’s damage output in Pokemon Unite is to use a Unite Move to drop onto enemies, stun them with Outrage, then Dragon Dance to deal as much damage as possible before Outrage ends. While this isn’t an unusual concept, it does require an unusual build.

Dragons and birds are natural enemies, since they can both fly! Or at least Dragonite seems to think so. #PokemonUNITE pic.twitter.com/GbPMnvvlc9

— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) December 22, 2021

Buddy Barrier is a standard item at this point, and Dragonite squeezes some extra juice out of it thanks to its ability to use Unite Moves more frequently than anyone else. This can be boosted further using Energy Amplifier, which boosts the regeneration of Unite Moves and gives Dragonite a damage boost after using one.

There are a number of hypothetical options for a third Held Item, with Focus Band, Muscle Band, and Scope Lens all being reasonable. The fact that Dragonite can effectively spam Dragon Dance makes Razor Claw the best for quickly and efficiently decimating enemies.

As for the Battle Item, Eject Button is the standard and gets the nod here, but Dragonite does have other options. X-Attack effectively amplifies the Pokemon’s damage even further while Full Heal has some use against enemy team compositions that are heavy with disables.