Summary

Salamence is a top tier pick in ADV Draft. Its main strength, beyond its obviously impressive stat total, is its versatility. It can run Dragon Dance, Choice Band, and Mixed sets, with other fringe options sometimes proving worthwhile as well. Because of this versatility, Salamence is a strong first pickup for any team, as it will fit on essentially any archetype. Beyond the draft, versatility is also a valuable trait in the teambuilder due to draft matchups being known. This also means that every opponent will have to prepare for multiple possible Salamence sets, reducing their freedom in the builder. This versatility is the reason why Salamence is even better in ADV Draft than it already is in ADV OU.

The main Salamence set utilized in draft is a mixed set, although, as mentioned, many different sets are viable. The usual four moves provide Salamence with coverage that hits almost the entire metagame, thus making it a potent wallbreaker that can rip balance teams apart. It also provides utility as a pivot by virtue of having Intimidate, and interesting options beyond the standard set include Hydro Pump, which can act as a mid-range option and surprise certain mons such as Tyranitar, Hidden Power Electric to hit Gyarados, and a plethora of other moves on both sides of the physical/special binary.

Choice Band Salamence is an even more potent wallbreaker, at the cost of being choice-locked. It is especially potent against stall. It also benefits from stall itself, enabling safer switch-ins and potentially Wish-support to keep it healthy without Leftovers. However, once the set is revealed, opponents can take advantage of the choice-lock. Dragon Dance Salamence is similar in that it is a physical threat, but it can more easily sweep teams at the cost of having to set up. The sheer presence of Salamence on a team requires the opponent to prepare fail safes against a potential Dragon Dance sweep. Common moves on the Dragon Dance set include Brick Break as an option against Tyranitar, Snorlax and Blissey, and Hidden Power Flying (although one might also opt for a different Hidden Power than Flying, such as Ghost enabling potential OHKOs on mons such as standard defensive Gengar and offensive Starmie after one Dragon Dance). However, carrying a different Hidden Power comes at a high cost, as Aerial Ace is too weak in most cases with its 60 BP, which means that Salamence is often left without STAB if it chooses not to run Hidden Power Flying. There are also some other fringe options Salamence can take -- bulky Wish sets which are sometimes seen in OU, Toxic against particularly stall-heavy opponents, and Roar can be used to prevent sweepers from setting up. Roar is particularly strong against pinch berry users, who won’t expect Salamence to carry Roar, thus substituting into pinch range, losing health and wasting their item for no gain.

As mentioned, Salamence fits on almost any team. It does appreciate bulkier teammates and Wish support if you are planning to bring the Choice Band set often. Swampert, Quagsire, and, to a lesser degree, other Water types can be a good pairing to disincentivize the opponent from bringing Hidden Power Ice. Generally, however, Salamence is not a Pokemon you build around -- rather, a versatile enabler of other draft pieces. Whether you are running physical offense, balance, bulky offense or stall, Salamence can get the job done at a somewhat underrated value.

Salamence’s best check is Milotic, being able to avoid a 2HKO from any Salamence set and hitting back with Ice Beam or Toxic. Other bulky water types also pose difficulties for Salamence. Blissey and Snorlax can do a decent job of stalling the mixed Set, while Swampert can stop a Dragon Dance Sweep (but struggles against the Mixed set). Skarmory does well into both the Choice Band and Dragon Dance set, although it will have to be weary of Fire Blast. Hidden Power Ice is an obvious counter to Salamence, and many Pokemon take it -- Salamence’s 4x Ice weakness is arguably the only thing holding it back from being the best pick in ADV Draft altogether). Faster special attackers such as Starmie, Jolteon and Gengar are especially difficult to pivot around when using Salamence, as they always threaten a revenge kill with super-effective coverage. The Choice Band set struggles against chip damage, although Sand and Leech Seed are rare in Draft. Status conditions also strongly hinder Salamence’s effectiveness, with burn in particular devastating it. Protect can be a great option, particularly against Choice Band Salamence, but also generally to scout which Salamence set is being used.

Summary written by Janis105

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