What is a good moveset for Salamence?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Salamence, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for any of its pre-evolutions can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here.

Salamence Pokédex and learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Shelgon @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Iron Defense
- Dragon Claw
- Toxic
- Protect

A wall. Iron Defense makes his already good Defense amazing. Dragon Claw has just one immunity (Fairy) and 1 resistance (Steel) which makes it very useful here. Toxic + Protect = EVIL.

Comments

I just noticed that Iron Defense can't be put on a DW Shelgon.

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Why does it have evolite it doesn't evolve so it doesn't get a boost.

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He meant to put Shelgon instead of Salamence

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Yea PM edited it he should've been more careful :(

Answer 2

Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 6 HP
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Brick Break

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Outrage + Choice Scarf + 405 Attack stat + STAB + Moxie = Death. Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Brick Break are coverage moves.

Warning

Salamence having Outrage and Moxie is banned in some places. Also if you are playing against someone whom you know dislikes things like this then do not use it or else there may be a fight.

Answer 3

Gen IV Physical Sweeper

Salamance @ Life Orb / Dragon Fang
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Dragon Rush
- Hone Claws
- Earthquake
- Steel Wing / Shadow Claw

• Dragon Rush -- Because I don't want to get locked into Outrage.
• Hone Claws -- Instead of DD, to fix Dragon Rush's accuracy.
• Earthquake -- For Steel types who resist Dragon Rush.
• Steel Wing / Shadow Claw -- Either kill pesky Fairy types, or get at least neutral coverage against everything.

Comments

I assume you meant Hone Claws, as A.) Nasty Plot doesn't boost Accuracy, and B.) Salamence can't learn Nasty Plot.

Answer 4

Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
- Brick Break

Dragon Claw is good STAB, Aerial Ace is STAB as well and never misses, Earthquake covers Electric types, and it's a must have on Salamence. Brick Break covers Ice and Rock weaknesses.

Answer 5

Speedy Sal
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Steel Wing / Iron Tail
- Dragon Dance
- Double-Edge / Headbutt / Return / Giga Impact
- Outrage / Dragon Rush / Dragon Tail / Dragon Claw

Bulky Salamence
Salamence @ Yache Berry / Starf Berry / Liechi Berry / Life Orb / Persim Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Attract / Hone Claws / Double Team
- Rage / Dragon Claw / Thrash
- Steel Wing/ Iron Tail
- Stone Edge / Rock Tomb / Substitute

Sweepamence
Salamence @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf / Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw / Dragon Rush
- Iron Tail
- Body Slam / Rock Slide
- Outrage / Fury Cutter / Shadow Claw

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Yay :3

Comments

hey thanks for posting the Speedy Sal build!  The Salamence I am working on will be a combination of your Speedy Sal and the Physical Mega-Mence set posted by K1, some moves from the post by you and some moves from the psot by K1. I don't use status moves very often in the main games except for when they are healing moves. The only Pokemon that has a status move is my level 1 Sawk and that has Pain Split with Sturdy.

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Put separate sets in different answers. Attract, Double Team, Giga Impact, Headbutt, Rage, and Fury Cutter are all terrible choices.

Answer 6

Physical Mega-Mence

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Return
- Outrage / Dragon Claw
- Earthquake / Fire Blast
- Dragon Dance / Roost

With Return, Salamence finally has good physical Flying STAB courtesy of Aerilate. It hits hard and demolishes anything that doesn't resist it, in particular Grass, Fighting and Bug types.
Outrage and Dragon Claw are the Dragon STABs of choice. Outrage smashes anything that isn't a Steel or Fairy type, which makes it a risky choice. Dragon Claw is the weaker but more reliable choice.
Earthquake is a great coverage move that hits Steel, Rock, Fire, Electric and Poison types hard. If certain Steel types are a problem then Fire Blast can be used over it.
Dragon Dance is the preferred choice in the last slot as it raises the Attack and Speed stat's by one stage, making it even more powerful and harder to revenge kill. Roost can also be used in this slot to restore health.

Answer 7

Special Mega-Mence

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Timid / Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor / Earthquake
- Roost / Hydro Pump / Hidden Power [Ground]

An underrated but equally viable specially offensive Mega Salamence set. Hyper Voice is a very strong STAB choice which is powered up by Aerilate and goes through subs. Smashes anything that doesn't resist it, especially Grass, Fighting and Bug types.
Fire Blast is used to roast Steel types, excluding Dialga and Heatran. Also hits Ice types.
Draco Meteor is another STAB that smashes anything that isn't Blissey, Chansey, Steel or Fairy types. Earthquake can be used over Draco Meteor to hit Heatran harder.
Roost is used to recover any lost health. Hydro Pump is used specifically for Heatran. Hidden Power Ground can also be used for Heatran if you don't want to use Earthquake.

Answer 8

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Spe / 244 HP / 12 Atk
Naive Nature
- Headbutt
- Hone Claws
- Roost
- Draco Meteor

• Headbutt (I prefer it over Return because of the chance to flinch!)
• Hone Claws (Boost Headbutt/Makes Draco Meteor's accuracy 100%)
• Roost (Softens the blow of Stone Edge and Ice moves)
• Draco Meteor (It's STAB and the Special Attack drop doesn't affect its other moves)

Use in Triples in the middle position (because of Intimidate) surrounded by Mawile (covers all of Salamence's weaknesses) and Mamoswine (because it's immune to its EQ). I use Headbutt 99% of the time.

Rather than investing in Special Defense bulk and hoping to survive a speedy Whimsicott's Fairy move, the Nature and EVs make it possible for Salamence to outspeed Moonblast / Dazzling Gleam-toting Whimsicott by just 5 speed points (189 compared to a Timid-natured Whimsicott's 184)! The HP EV investment kind of makes up for the low Special Defense, but if Headbutt doesn't OHKO due to Focus Sash, Whimsicott will probably OHKO it with Moonblast!

What do you think about running Headbutt over something else like Return? Do you prefer a possible OHKO over a definite 2-hit KO with a chance to flinch?

Comments

Use return 102 base power at full happiness.

Answer 9

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage / Dragon Claw
- Double-Edge
- Roost / Earthquake

This Salamence is a DD sweeper. After one Dragon Dance, he will outspeed basically the entire unboosted metagame, especially after Mega Evolving, which brings it to a good base 120 Speed, allowing it to easily outpace threats like Garchomp, who outspeeds Salamence before mega evolving or Dragon Dancing. Outrage is your STAB of choice, hitting very hard off MegaMence's base 145 attack, which will be boosted by Dragon Dance. Use Outrage carefully, though, as Fairy-types can easily switch in and set up on you, cripple you with burn or paralysis, or outright KO you. Dragon Claw can be used instead if you hate Outrage's side-effect of confusion or are afraid of Fairies switching in. Be aware though, it is considerably weaker. Double-Edge is your secondary STAB, with Aerilate making it Flying-type and giving it the equivalent of a Life Orb boost. Just watch out for the recoil, which can do a lot of damage to Salamence after a few KOs.
For your final slot, Roost provides Salamence with recovery, as well as working very well with Double-Edge as it allows you to heal off recoil damage. However, Earthquake can also be used as it is a great move in general, as well as providing Salamence with more coverage, especially against Steel-types, which resist both of your STAB moves. Intimidate is used as an Ability, to allow Salamence to switch into physical attacks better before mega evolving, as well as hurting physical attackers by lowering their most useful stat, which can force them to switch and gain Salamence a free Dragon Dance. An Adamant nature can be used for more power while a Jolly nature can be used for more Speed, whichever you prefer. EV spread is the standard 252 / 252 / 4 sweeper spread.
-RedGenesect

Answer 10

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Spe / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Double-Edge / Return
- Roost
- Earthquake

Dragon Dance sets up Salamence to become a powerful sweeper. Double-Edge or Return are changed to Flying type due to Aerilate, thus giving STAB. Roost is for healing, and Earthquake is for even more coverage.

Answer 11

Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpA
Naive Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast

Answer 12

Salamence @ Razor Fang / Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Outrage / Dragon Rush
- Fire Fang
- Thunder Fang
- Dragon Dance

This is meant for Smogon OU, where Arcanine, Gyarados, and other Intimidators are common. The idea is to get to +2 Attack, +2 Speed, and start flinching, if you don't OHKO. The 4 Special Defense is to make sure Porygon or its evolutions never get a Download boost in Special Attack.

Answer 13

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Return
- Roost

Strategy : First, make sure the enemy does NOT have a Pokemon out that can use any Ice attack. Then, proceed to use 2x Dragon Dance to increase its already monstrous Attack. Once done, Roost. Then eliminate the opponents using Return/Dragon Claw. Simple stuff. Beware of Fairies and Ice types!

Answer 14

I see some of you put Fly, some is better, let him Mega evolve to get Aerilate, but Hyper Voice??? That doesn't make any sense!!!
Here is mine:
For normal:

Salamence @ Focus Sash
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang / Thunder Fang

For Mega:

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Return

I think Return is the most powerful Normal-type for this guy. Also Fire Fang is to deal with Ice-type, but Thunder Fang is to deal with those Water-type that can use Ice-type moves. It's up to you.

Answer 15

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Modest / Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power [Steel]

Fairly standard SpecialMence set. Lead with it or switch on a resisted hit, then proceed to wreak havoc. D-Pulse is there to hit Dragon Types, Flamethrower hits Ice types, Hyper Voice kills many things with Aerilate as it turns into a Flying type move, and Hidden Power Steel hits Rock Types and Fairy types. This set is the one I use for most all of my online matches.

Answer 16

Salamence @ Muscle Band
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw / Dragon Rush / Outrage
- Earthquake
- Iron Tail

Comments

Is this moveset for competitive or ingame? Answers here are supposed to be for competitive.

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It can be used for both

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The only thing about using it for ingame is it would take a while for it to have most of its moves and you would have to breed the Dragon Dance as well as Dragon Rush if you chose to use it but if you put in the effort you could use it quite well by around ula'ula island and if you grind to get salamence either by or on ula'ula you could have everything except EQ in your move pool before you left

Answer 17

Salamence (M) @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Return
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge

Comments

Why Fly? MegaMence has Aerliate to turn Normal Moves into Flying moves, so shouldn't it run return or double edge?

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Fly is gone.

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Fly doesn't get powered up by Aerilate, It gets powered up by STAB. A max happiness Return Mega Salamence with Dragon Dance is the best. @T-Claper, why does that Salamence know Fly AND Giga Impact? When it Mega evolves it'll have two Flying type moves.

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Things were changed.

Answer 18

Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage
- Earthquake

Answer 19

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Return
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

Answer 20

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate / Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spe / 252 Atk or 252 SpA
Jolly / Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice / Return / Double Edge
- Dragon Claw/Outrage/Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower / Hydro Pump / Earthquake
- Dragon Dance / Roost / Tailwind

Salamence is a very good Pokemon without the Mega Evolution, but the mega is overpowered. Double Edge is basically Brave Bird with Aerilate. Hyper Voice is good in doubles. Return if you don't want recoil. Dragon Claw is STAB that doesn't confuse. Outrage is good for wrecking things. Draco Meteor is good special STAB. Dragon Pulse isn't as good because it isn't superior to Draco Meteor like Dragon Claw to Outrage is sometimes. Flamethrower hits Ice and Steel. Hydro Pump is for Rock types. Earthquake is for Steels. Dragon Dance is good for physical boosts. Roost is good when you need it. Tailwind supports your whole team.