History Characters / PokemonSpecialTypes

[[quoteright:313:[[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragon_types.png]]]]

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Dragon is often treated as one of the most special and powerful types in-universe. For example, it's UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga's type specialty in ''VideoGame/PokemonConquest''. Many Legendary and pseudo-legendary Pokémon are Dragon-type as a testament to their power.

* SixthRanger: Charizard and Gyarados, despite not being Dragon-type in most of their forms,[[note]]except for one of Charizard's Mega Evolutions,[[/note]] are treated as dragons and sometimes grouped together with Dragon-types, with both of them being in the Dragon egg group and learning most non-exclusive moves of the type. Most notably, Lance uses Gyarados on most of his teams and Charizard on his Johto and ''Let's Go'' teams, as does his cousin Clair with Gyarados,[[note]]except in the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 Pokémon World Tournament]] where type specialist restrictions are much stricter[[/note]] and the Dragon-type GO Rocket Grunt in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' sometimes uses a Gyarados on their team (the only "off-type" Pokémon that can be found on a Grunt's team). In the TCG, the Dragon Majesty expansion depicts Charizard as this even more blatantly, with one of its promotional booklets labeling it as an "honorary Dragon type". There are other Pokémon treated as this such as Aerodactyl, Tyranitar and Lugia, but to a much lesser extent.

* SixthRanger: Charizard and Gyarados, despite not being Dragon-type in most of their forms,[[note]]except for one of Charizard's Mega Evolutions,[[/note]] are treated as dragons and sometimes grouped together with Dragon-types, with both of them being in the Dragon egg group and learning most non-exclusive moves of the type. Most notably, Lance uses Gyarados on most of his teams and Charizard on his Johto and ''Let's Go'' teams, as does his cousin Clair with Gyarados,[[note]]except in the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 Pokémon World Tournament]] where type specialist restrictions are much stricter[[/note]] and the Dragon-type GO Rocket Grunt in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' sometimes uses a Gyarados on their team (the only "off-type" Pokémon that can be found on a Grunt's team). In the TCG, the Dragon Majesty expansion depicts Charizard as this even more blatantly, with one of its promotional booklets labeling it as an "honorary Dragon type".

* PlayingWithFire: Since dragons are traditionally associated with fire[[note]]at least in Western folklore[[/note]], the majority of Dragon-types get Fire attacks, letting them bypass Steel-Types, the only thing that could wall them before the introduction of Fairies, and Ice-Types, the only other Type that hit them hard. Kingdra, Mega Sceptile, Latias, Latios, Zekrom, Kyurem[[note]]except for White Kyurem[[/note]], Haxorus, and Dragalge are the only Dragons that can't learn Fire attacks besides Hidden Power. Despite this, there are only three Fire/Dragon dual-types: Reshiram, Turtonator, and Mega Charizard X, the latter of which is the only one based on archetypical Western dragons (although Reshiram has features of a wyvern and an Eastern dragon).

* UselessUsefulSpell: Most of the Electric Pokémon that learn Electro Ball aren't that fast to begin with.[[note]]Only Voltorb, Electrode, Electabuzz, Mega Manectric, Emolga, and Galvantula are fast enough to abuse it, and even then, the opponent needs to be ''[[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Electro_Ball significantly]]'' slower for the move to outdamage [[BoringButPractical Thunderbolt]].[[/note]]

* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: Pulled off by Dragalge, Naganadel, and Duraludon against Fairy-types, which are normally the bane of dragons. The first two are '''Poison'''/Dragon types, with Dragalge being a specialized MightyGlacier and Naganadel being a specialized FragileSpeedster. The last is a '''Steel'''/Dragon specially oriented MightyGlacier. As such, the three can ''melt'' any Fairy that so much looks at them funny. The only other dragons that can do something similar are the legendaries Eternatus, another Poison/Dragon, and Dialga, another Steel/Dragon.

* DinosaursAreDragons: Many Dragon-types have characteristics of dinosaurs, most notably Tyrunt and Tyrantrum, the definitive ''TyrannosaurusRex'' Pokémon. Haxorus is [[WordOfGod stated]] to be based on herbivorous dinosaurs, though it also seems to be a bit of a {{Mix And Match Critter|s}}; Duraludon, likewise, seems to be an ambiguous theropod, likely inspired by [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Mechagodzilla]]. Jangmo-o and its evolutions, Hakamo-o and Kommo-o, are said to be a cross between theropods and ankylosaurs. Gabite and Garchomp generally resemble [[RaptorAttack dromaeosaurids]]. If you choose to get technical, then the birdlike Dragon-types such as Latios, Latias, Altaria and Reshiram also qualify for this. Also inverted with Pokémon who resemble dinosaurs or other prehistoric reptiles learning Dragon-type moves but not being Dragon-types themselves. Archeops, Aerodactyl and Tyranitar are good examples.

* SpaceMaster: Downplayed; Generation IV did most of the heavy lifting, creating Dragons with literally cosmic significance in Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, and further introducing the ultimate Dragon-type move (barring Dialga's SecretArt) Draco Meteor. In Generation VI, using Camouflage in space will give the user the Dragon type.

** The weather condition related to the Water type, rain, is ''far'' superior to the other weather conditions. Intense sunlight powers up Fire-type moves, but the Abilities powered up by intense sunlight are usually given to Grass-types, which are roasted even harder by the powered-up Fire moves. Rock- and Ground-types might enjoy having their weaknesses to Water being reduced, but in turn, they risk taking a no-charge Solar Beam. Sandstorm's powering-up Abilities, Sand Force and Sand Rush, are mutually exclusive and not innate boosts. Rain gives a boost to Water-type attacks ''and'' its Abilities are granted to mostly Water-types, who make extremely good use of them.

** While they don't directly correlate to dealing damage, Water Pulse, Waterfall, Muddy Water and Octazooka are relatively weak or average in power but carry greater-than-average chances[[note]]20% chance of confusion, 20% chance of flinching, and 30 and 50% chances to lower accuracy, respectively[[/note]] to activate. The excellent defensive properties of the Water type and the generally good bulk that most Water-types have works well with this, allowing Water-types plenty of turns to stay on the field and wear the opponent down.

* IceMagicIsWater: ''Every'' Water-Type (except Magikarp, Rotom Wash, and Pyukumuku) has access to an Ice-Type attack (usually from Technical Machines or Move Tutors), giving them a chance at beating Grass-types and Dragon-types.
* JackOfAllStats: Water is useful offensively and defensively, and most Water types are capable of serving as [[MightyGlacier any]] [[LightningBruiser of]] [[StoneWall the]] [[FragileSpeedster competitive]] [[GlassCannon archetypes]].

** Gigantamax Inteleon's G-Max Hydrosnipe is a blast of water from its harpoon that explodes upon impact.

* MakingASplash: Naturally, the Water-Type's arsenal revolves around all things water-based, mostly focusing on moving around large quantities of water, shooting streams of water (sometimes heated) and bubbles at your opponent and traveling around in the element itself. Some Water type moves involve more magical/precise control of their shape though, turning water into blades (Liquidation) or throwing stars (Water Shuriken).

* SeaMonster: Many of the more powerful Water-types have a place in in-game lore as these, especially Gyarados, a vicious sea serpent whose rages can lay whole coastal cities to waste; [[TheWormThatWalks Wishiwashi]], an individually small and weak fish that can school in large groups to take the form of a giant, powerful, and [[TheDreaded widely feared]] monster; and [[OlympusMons Kyogre]], a massive leviathan and the primordial god of the sea.

** The ability Mega Launcher increases the power of Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse, Water Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and Heal Pulse by 50%.[[note]][[DevelopersForesight It boosts Origin Pulse as well]], though this is more a curiosity than anything, as Kyogre doesn't get Mega Launcher naturally and changing its ability mid-battle requires several steps.[[/note]]

* SimpleYetAwesome: Surf has no additional effects in battle aside from hitting everything around the user and all it does is attack with a giant wave of water. But, it's vital for getting around and is strong enough that it's actually a legitimately good move, unlike other Hidden Machines.
** Waterfall is another Water-type Hidden Machine (and like Surf eventually became a TM), and it's every bit as useful as Surf. While Surf is the more powerful move, Waterfall has a chance to cause flinching, and it's decently powerful and runs off the Attack stat, making it a common option for physical attackers like Gyarados.

* KryptoniteIsEverywhere: The Fire type only has three weaknesses, but they're practically ubiquitous and counter it quite well. Good physical attackers of almost any type can learn Ground- and Rock-type attacks via TM, and most Fire-types have poor physical bulk with which to take these attacks. Meanwhile, Water is ''the most common type in the game'', and most Fire-types will be stuck with the unwieldy Solar Beam when dealing with them. [[note]]Many Fire-types can learn weak or impractical coverage moves to handle Water-types like Thunder Fang, Thunder Punch, Grass Knot, and Wild Charge. However, the more powerful Grass- and Electric-type moves are limited to just a few legendary Pokémon, Magmortar, and the Vulpix, Litwick, and Larvesta lines.[[/note]]

** Gigantamax Cinderace's G-Max Move is G-Max Fireball, an enormous Pyro Ball that it kicks towards its enemy.

* SuperMode: Charizard, Houndoom, Blaziken, and Camerupt are capable of Mega Evolution, with Charizard notably being one of two Pokémon to boast ''two'' Mega Evolutions. Groudon gains the Fire-type upon undergoing Primal Reversion. Charizard, Coalossal, Centiskorch and Cinderace are also all capable of Gigantamax, though Coalossal's G-Max Move focuses on its other type (Rock).

* GrimyWater: The move Muddy Water uses Surf's animation, but with the water a sickly brown instead of blue. It has a chance to lower the target's accuracy, an effect borrowed from the Ground-type's wheelhouse.

* SixthRanger: Charizard and Gyarados, despite not being Dragon-type in most of their forms,[[note]]except for one of Charizard's Mega Evolutions,[[/note]] are treated as dragons and sometimes grouped together with Dragon-types, with both of them being in the Dragon egg group and learning most non-exclusive moves of the type. Most notably, Lance uses Gyarados on most of his teams and Charizard on his Johto and ''Let's Go'' teams, as does his cousin Clair with Gyarados,[[note]]except in the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 Pokémon World Tournament]] where type specialist restrictions are much stricter[[/note]] and the Dragon-type GO Rocket Grunt in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' sometimes uses a Gyarados on their team (the only "off-type" Pokémon that can be found on a Grunt's team).

* SixthRanger: Charizard and Gyarados, despite not being Dragon-type in most of their forms,[[note]]except for one of Charizard's Mega Evolutions,[[/note]] are treated as dragons and sometimes grouped together with Dragon-types, with both of them being in the Dragon egg group and learning most non-exclusive moves of the type. Most notably, Lance uses Gyarados on most of his teams and both of them on his Johto teams, as does his cousin Clair with Gyarados,[[note]]except in the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 Pokémon World Tournament]] where type specialist restrictions are much stricter[[/note]] and the Dragon-type GO Rocket Grunt in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' sometimes uses a Gyarados on their team (the only "off-type" Pokémon that can be found on a Grunt's team).

* {{Kaiju}}: While no non-Dynamaxed Pokémon is quite Kaiju-sized, this type tends to be pretty close in spirit, with many species being both physically imposing and able to deliver highly destructive attacks. The fact that, outside of Fairy-types, [[TakesOneToKillOne their best counter is another Dragon-type]] is also reminiscent of [[BehemothBattle Kaiju-on-Kaiju combat]]. Some are even directly reminiscent of specific [[{{Kaiju}} Kaijus]], like [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Hydreigon]], based on [[Characters/GodzillaTheGhidorahs King Ghidorah]], and [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Duraludon]], based on [[Characters/{{Godzilla}} Mechagodzilla]].

* SixthRanger: Charizard and Gyarados, despite not being Dragon-type in most of their forms,[[note]]except for one of Charizard's Mega Evolutions,[[/note]] are treated as dragons and sometimes grouped together with Dragon-types, with both of them being in the Dragon egg group and learning most non-exclusive moves of the type. Most notably, Lance uses both of them on most of his teams, as does his cousin Clair with Gyarados,[[note]]except in the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 Pokémon World Tournament]] where type specialist restrictions are much stricter[[/note]] and the Dragon-type GO Rocket Grunt in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' sometimes uses a Gyarados on their team (the only "off-type" Pokémon that can be found on a Grunt's team).

* SixthRanger: Charizard and Gyarados, despite not being Dragon-type in most of their forms,[[note]]except for one of Charizard's Mega Evolutions,[[/note]] are treated as dragons and sometimes grouped together with Dragon-types, with both of them being in the Dragon egg group and learning most non-exclusive moves of the type. Most notably, Lance uses both of them on most of his teams, as does his cousin Clair with Gyarados, and the Dragon-type GO Rocket Grunt in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' sometimes uses a Gyarados on their team (the only "off-type" Pokémon that can be found on a Grunt's team).

* SixthRanger: Charizard and Gyarados, despite not being Dragon-type in most of their forms,[[note]]except for one of Charizard's Mega Evolutions,[[/note]] are treated as dragons and grouped together with Dragon-types on occasion, with both of them being in the Dragon egg group and learning most non-exclusive moves of the type. Most notably, Lance uses both of them on most of his teams, as does his cousin Clair with Gyarados, and the Dragon-type GO Rocket Grunt in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' sometimes uses a Gyarados on their team (the only "off-type" Pokémon that can be found on a Grunt's team).

* SixthRanger: Charizard and Gyarados, despite not being Dragon-type in most of their forms,[[note]]except for one of Charizard's Mega Evolutions,[[/note]] are treated as dragons and grouped together with Dragon-types on occasion, with both of them being in the Dragon egg group. Most notably, Lance uses both of them on most of his teams, as does his cousin Clair with Gyarados, and the Dragon-type GO Rocket Grunt in ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'' sometimes uses a Gyarados on their team (the only "off-type" Pokémon that can be found on a Grunt's team).

* LogicalWeakness:
** It has been noted several times in the anime that Water-types are weak against Electric-types because water is conductive to electricity. [[note]]Specifically water with impurities and dissolved electrolytes, at least, like salt water, which is what sea water is. Deionized pure water doesn't conduct electricity.[[/note]]
** Real-life plants store water, rely on water to grow, and play a huge role in preventing floods and storms from washing away the ground. In the games, the one-time-use Absorb Bulb and Luminous Moss items convert incoming Water-type attacks to stat boosts — additionally, the Cacnea and Maractus lines can potentially have Water Absorb as an ability, reflecting the particularly thirsty plants they're based off of.

* TheresNoKillLikeOverkill: [[AwesomeButImpractical While almost impossible to set up]], a Fire-type attack can reach a damage multiplier of ''x36''.[[note]]During harsh sunlight and while having Flash Fire or Blaze activated, attack a Bug/Steel or Ice/Steel type given the Ability Fluffy after it has been afflicted with Forest's Curse.[[/note]]
** In a similar vein, a Fire-type attack also has the lowest attainable non-zero multiplier, a pitiful ''0.02065x''.[[note]]This is done by attacking a dual-type Pokémon under rain whose types both resist Fire-type attacks (such as the Water/Dragon type Kingdra), with Thick Fat or Heatproof as its ability while Water Sport is in effect.[[/note]]

A group based on dragons and similar monsters from around the world. They are among the most elusive types, usually only appearing in secluded areas. As such, they are the third-rarest type. Their elusiveness is [[PowerEqualsRarity often related to their power]], and some of the strongest and most dangerous Pokémon in the series are Dragon-type. This power, combined with their mysteriousness, makes them very well-regarded in some circles. Dragon is a popular type for Legendaries. While the Dragon type covers most dragonlike Pokémon, there are a few dragonlike species that lack the typing but have similar properties and movepools; conversely, not all Dragon-type Pokémon are based on animals that can be classified as (or even resemble) dragons.

* LightEmUp: For the longest time, it was the closest in-game equivalent. Starting with Gen II, Pokémon associated with the [[ThePowerOfTheSun sun]] and light were cast as this type, including angelic Pokémon like Gardevoir[[note]]now part-Fairy as well[[/note]], Cresselia, and Celebi. They were always contrasted against the traditionally "dark" Ghost and Dark types, albeit ''weak'' to them. Even after the debut of Fairy-types, the ''de facto'' sun Pokémon, Solgaleo, is Psychic/Steel, and its moon-themed counterpart, Lunala, is Psychic/Ghost. Necrozma takes it to its logical conclusion, with it absorbing light, having [[FrickinLaserBeams Prismatic Laser]] and Photon Geyser for {{Secret Art}}s, and [[spoiler:having a true form made of light]]. Further supporting this is the fact that many of them can learn the Bug-type move Signal Beam (itself an example of LightEmUp), which helps them deal with Dark-types.

* AnimalisticAbomination: This is what the legendary dragons fall into. Between a mediator for a pair of world-destroying monstrosities[[note]]Rayquaza[[/note]], universal concepts made flesh[[note]]Dialga and Palkia[[/note]], an extradimensional guardian of reality which also embodies {{antimatter}}[[note]]Giratina[[/note]], three fragments of a god that may or may not have been an alien[[note]]Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem[[/note]], a guardian of the land that balances the powers of avatars of life and death[[note]]Zygarde[[/note]], an extradimensional being fixated on consuming light to repair itself[[note]]Ultra Necrozma[[/note]], and an alien monstrosity responsible for the phenomenon of gigantic Pokémon[[note]]Eternatus[[/note]], the type's legendaries get awfully eldritch.

** Dragon-types have all sorts of inspiration and basis, from classical Eastern or Western dragons[[note]]such as Mega Charizard X, Dragonite, Salamence, Rayquaza, and the Tao trio[[/note]] to weirder but still recognizable dragons[[note]]such as the creation trio, Kommo-o, Ultra Necrozma, Duraludon and base Eternatus[[/note]] to real-world reptiles[[note]]such as Mega Sceptile, Tyrantrum, and Turtonator[[/note]] to MixAndMatchCritters with aspects of dragons[[note]]such as Flygon, Garchomp, Naganadel and Dragapult[[/note]] to "out there" concepts that only vaguely resemble dragons[[note]]such as Mega Ampharos, Altaria, Alolan Exeggutor, Guzzlord, all of Zygarde's forms and Eternamax Eternatus[[/note]].