[Pokémon] Dragon Ascent: A Dragon Lover's Club

[faf]

hi, i missed a lot, catch up time!
LATI TWINS:
I prefer Latios, probably because he has a meaner expression and the blue is nice.
Watched the movie, sad ending, been a while tho.
I did catch them as roaming encounters, in Emerald and SS iirc.
Played ORAS and used them as HM slaves because I was doing a solo run.

FAVOURITE REPTILES:
Well there's my favourite Pokemon, Scrafty and the others are Heliolisk, Salazzle, Inteleon, and Sceptile. Outside of Pokemon I do like many of the Dragon Quest reptiles (non-Dragons): Pit Viper, Flython, and Argon Lizard. Sadly, that's all I can think of as favourites but if there's a reptile character I will like it regardless.

MEGA DENIED
I'd say Flygon's a solid 8.5, not a favourite but I like it a lot.
I did go to a Vibrava raid and I haven't Dynamaxed my Flygon.
It's kind of a bummer it never got a mega but my head's empty rn so I'm not sure how to design it. Stat wise, I guess more Special Attack and Speed would be cool, pull something like Pidgeot, idk.
Never watched Wishmaker.

BEST DRAGONS
So, I averaged it based off my personal rankings of the dragons (yes, I included the forms too).
Gen 1: 6.3
Gen 2: 8.25
Gen 3: 7.4
Gen 4: 8.2
Gen 5: 9.7
Gen 6: 8.7
Gen 7: 8.75
Gen 8: 8.75

So, Gen 5 is the clear winner here. :P Gen 2 has not a whole lot of bragging rights considering they have two Dragons. And I'm a little surprised to see 7 tied with 8 because I found a lot of 8's designs underwhelming but it looks like it doesn't apply to dragons. And I just find Gen 1 underwhelming imo.

 

[DragonKing48]

You're a Dragon/Reptile AND Scrafty lover!?! You've seen my Dragon Scrafty Variant I came up with right?🤔🤯

 

[Ninetales]

I followed a similar point system to Fafrir, and these are my results:

Kanto: 7.3
Johto: 7.75
Hoenn: 8.65
Sinnoh: 8.83
Unova: 7.8
Kalos: 7.8
Alola: 5
Galar: 5.6

Sinnoh takes the cake! It's not a surprise, considering the fact that Garchomp is my favourite dragon type!

If you're curious, my favourite Dragon types are:
1. Garchomp/Mega Sceptile (If we're counting Megas)
2. Salamence
3. Reshiram
4. Flygon
5. Giratina
6. Noivern
7. Goodra
8. Rayquaza
9. Hydreigon
10. Dragonair

 

[DragonKing48]

No Sliggoo? Get out. Hahaha jk. And yes. Mega Sceptile absolutely counts lol.

 

[Ninetales]

No Sliggoo? Get out. Hahaha jk. And yes. Mega Sceptile absolutely counts lol.

Not a chance! Not when Goodra exists! I actually do consider Sliggoo to be cute though! Goomy as well! ^-^

 

[Firebolt]

Honestly, the Creation trio alone (+ Garchomp) puts Sinnoh very high on the list for me. Love their designs to death. Hoenn and Unova would be tied next because they definitely have some of the cooler Dragon designs around as well. Sadly I can't think of more than one or two Pokemon from each of the other regions, and as much as I like them, can't compare to the three mentioned regions for that reason.

 

[DragonKing48]

Not a chance! Not when Goodra exists! I actually do consider Sliggoo to be cute though! Goomy as well! ^-^

Nawh Goodra is great, I just said that because out of all Dragons, Sliggoo is probably my favorite middle. Sooo well rounded with great abilities and such a diverse and helpful movepool. Hard to compare to what she brings to the table.

I also see you have, Dragonair, but NOT Dragonite lol.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

Hello dragon tamers! We previously celebrated Flygon as our Dragon of the Month. As August draws to close and the leaves begin to turn I thought I would pass the torch to a dragon that I think suits the autumn season. When I think of the fall I think of piles of golden leaves, cool breezes and harvests of sweet potatoes, pumpkins, pears and of course... apples. Wink, hint.

The changing seasons have inspired me to welcome none other than the apple core pokemon Applin, and it's evolutions Appletun and Flapple to take their turn in the spotlight this month!

We haven't highlighted a gen 8 pokemon yet for Dragon of the Month, so this is exciting and new for me. I don't have a Nintendo Switch yet, so I haven't raised an Applin or it's branch evolutions just yet either. But this unique line of dragon pokemon has captured my interest since the Galar Dex was first leaked last year last November, and I'm really looking forward to being able to battle with these pokemon some day. I have done some research into them, and hope that I am able to give them some of the love they deserve.



Gen 8 is crawling lots of dragon pokemon- there's Eternatus, Regidrago Duraludon, Dragapault, Dracovish, Dracozolt. Where do these grass/dragon pokemon fit in among the dragons of Galar for you?


Applin, Flapple and Appletun are some of my favorite gen 8 pokemon period. The Applin line is such a whimsical concept, I love it! Appletun would be my favorite dragon pokemon in the Galar Dex after Dragapault.



Which do you prefer Flapple the apple wing pokemon, or Appletun the apple nectar pokemon?

From a visual standpoint I am charmed by both. Flapple and Appletun each have designs that I think are clever evolutions from Applin, with Flapple's more worm-like appearance seeming almost like a different form of Applin than an evolution in the way that Hoopa, Meloetta, Rotom or Shaymin have different forms. I could imagine Applin looking something like this when you peek beneath the surface of the apple it's hiding inside of, and this is "eaten apple" form Applin who has just burst out of the fruit and yelled surprise

I think Flapple having apple skin for wings is really cool, and watching him flap them is delightful. He has these panicked big yellow eyes that just tickle me. His surreal signature attacking move grav apple is one of my favorite battle animations in history, and I love the inspiration behind it of Sir Isaac Newton sitting under the apple tree contemplating the law of gravity. I think it's not a coincidence that Flapple's hands are more newt-like i.e Newton.

However, though I like Flapple, I like Appletun even more! He really looks like a sweetie pie, no pun intended. I love the big, round apple pie body, it's cute. The way the apple helmet covers half of his face and you never see his eyes is adorable, especially with those long floppy ears that hang out like a basset hound.

A look at the stats, signature moves and abilities of Appletun and Flapple shows me that these pokemon are meant to do very different things, so who would be the best to battle with really would depend on the situation. Flapple being an offensive pokemon that inclines towards the physical side of things, and Appletun being a bulky defensive pokemon with a better special attack.

While Appletun is very slow, this is the pokemon I think I would rather use because of how solid and balanced it's defenses are, he learns recover and has a ton of health. While normally grass/dragon would be better as an offensive typing like with Mega Sceptile, and not what i would immediately think of as defensive because of the 4X ice weakness, since Appletun has thick fat as a hidden ability that makes the weakness only 2X, and he gets resistance to fire as a bonus along with ground, water, electric and grass resistances. So that's a gamd-changer in my opinion. Even though the Applin line all have a promising signature ability with ripen doubling the effects of berries held in battle, I think with Appletun thick fat is where it's at!

Iron defense is a move I also think is underrated, and would like to try on my appletun too since he can learn it, or perhaps the special variant amnesia? Or slowly give the apple pie of death with a leech seed. Decisions, Decisions!

Flapple has more raw power than Appletun. I can imagine outrage from this pokemon with a choice band, coming off of hustle. There's more you can do with a Flapple, with fuller coverage like flying type moves, U-turn, it's the better sucker punch user, of course the grav appple. Appletun is more limited to his stab of apple acid and dragon pulse. But I'd rather still go with the reliable option over the high risk high reward pokemon. The 50% attack boost for Flapple with the cost of 20% accuracy would be nerve-racking for me, though I have seen a lot of creative ways people turn it to their benefit like with the new item blunder policy and partners with gravity. There are alternative sets with dragon dance and using liechi berry on a ripen to get two stages higher in attack. Still,there's not as much room for error, since this guy is not built to take any hits, so the tanky appletun is the one for me.



Have you ever Gmaxed one of these guys? Have you ever used one of the exclusive move like G-Max tartness or G-Max sweetness?

 

[DragonKing48]

Well...They're both interesting and really cool, and I actually used both during the story, sometimes at the same time even for extra Grass or just switching out between them for a while. Yes, Flapple is fast and physical while Appletun can actually play both Physical and Special, and so can Flapple really, they're just both one side or the other moreso.

Something I always enjoyed greatly, was Gluttony + Healing Berry, then Acrobatics with Flapple to really do damage off the boost. He was really solid in that instance and both were my first evolutions obviously.

Appletun is slower, but can use fat boy moves like Body Press to capitalize off his high defense, and also Gyro Ball to literally roll with his low Speed. I haven't quite integrated him into the set yet, but this guy can be scary in a Trick Room set for certain.

Thick Fat is undoubtedly a game changer for Appletun, and he does learn a couple more coverage moves than Flapple, but barely...which brings me to the downside of these two...

They're great. Really fun at their desired uses. Grass Dragon is something we definitely needed more of...but: they quite possibly have the lowest move pool of any and all Dragons. No Ice Beam, Surf, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt either. Heck, besides their signatures?, and Bullet Seed, Solar Beam, and some others, there's several other Grass type moves they can't actually use either.

They have an extremely tight learnset, but Appletun makes up for it with with some support moves like Recover and others like Rest, Reflect, and Light Screen. Flapple is fast and hard hitting either way.

YES, both of mine are capable of Gigantamax, which I do every time I use them in Raids, and their Max moves are cool, and it's definitely great since not many Dragons are capable of Gmax besides Duraludon. Just a bit strange they both have literally the same Gmax form exactly lol. Makes sense I guess since they're not very different at all.

Gmax Sweetness is great, which heals all Status Conditions and not just your own. Its power and type varies based on the move it's based from.

It always gets me quoting "Sweetness " from Jimmy Eat World also.

Gmax Tartness is the same style, except it lowers evasiveness.

Both definitely wonderful new Dragons, and for those who didn't know this, we're now in Grass and Electric Raid Month, and we finally got some Dragons! Gmax Flapple and Appletun are more common in their respective games now!

 

[Nah]

Both definitely wonder new Dragons, and for those who didn't know this, we're now in Grass and Electric Raid Month, and we finally got some Dragons! Gmax Flapple and Appletun are more common in their respective games now!

If I remember right, I still don't have Gmax forms of either of them, so I guess now's the time to try again

 

[DragonKing48]

If I remember right, I still don't have Gmax forms of either of them, so I guess now's the time to try again

Have you no Max Soup for them? Or I'm guessing no Expansion lol.

 

[Nah]

nah I have the DLC, I just don't have a supply of shrooms for the soup

 

[DragonKing48]

nah I have the DLC, I just don't have a supply of shrooms for the soup

I've found out they're actually connected to Raids, like each one spawns 3 or something like that.

 

[Ninetales]

To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of the Applin line. I find their designs to be a little cheesy for me. Flapple is certainly my favourite out of all of them, I think it looks kind of cool, though I think Appletun is a tad underwhelming. I would've preferred if Flapple evolved into a more serpentine, elegant dragon, or something that looks a tad more intimidating. Overall, I much prefer Duraludon and the Dragapult line!

 

[DragonKing48]

To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of the Applin line. I find their designs to be a little cheesy for me. Flapple is certainly my favourite out of all of them, I think it looks kind of cool, though I think Appletun is a tad underwhelming. I would've preferred if Flapple evolved into a more serpentine, elegant dragon, or something that looks a tad more intimidating. Overall, I much prefer Duraludon and the Dragapult line!

Both extremely strong new additions, Dragapult might BE the MOST DIVERSE Dragon this King has ever seen, and Duraludon is another Ultimate answer to Fairy and Ice Types...guy's like The Son Of Dialga or something.

 

[Fairy]

I've got a question for the Dragon club:

Tyranitar, should it have been a Dragon type?

 

[DragonKing48]

I've got a question for the Dragon club:

Tyranitar, should it have been a Dragon type?

Yes! I've probably even told you this before lol.

I always say it this exact same way to friends:

Duraludon is essentially based off the Metal Mecha Godzilla...Steel Dragon...

Tyranitar is essentially based off the standard Godzilla, which is why it's been stated they're great rivals over turf and what not....but....

Dark and...Rock?

You just can't do something like this GF!

Absolutely pigheaded to say something like that as to act like they're almost the same, but yet so different...WHAT is even "Rock" about Tyranitar?

He's just a giant nasty aggressive Reptile lizard...which as I've told you all before, is the obvious GF 101 for what makes a Dragon type, a Dragon type, 85 percent of the time or more.

I'd probably have cut Pupitar out altogether entirely, and just replaced him with a more developing hybrid of Larvitar and Tyranitar if this was the case, we don't need any more "pupa" stages.

 

[Nah]

Maybe in the future we'll get lucky and get a part-Dragon regional variant of Tyranitar

make it happen Game Freak

 

[Ninetales]

I've never actually thought of Tyranitar as a dragon type but I could definitely see it as one!

 

[DragonKing48]

I'd probably do Dark Dragon, I mean as useful as the Rock Typing would be...research shows he's just a viscous unending jerk with a hard as stone body...you ain't a Rock brother.🤦*♂️