While I’ve been sunsetting my interest in competitive Pokemon, the franchise still has that nostalgic pull on me, and Wolfe Glick has always made very interesting videos about strategy and how certain less popular Pokemon can be made to work in a high-competition setting. And yes, he’s talking about what the worst Dragon-type Pokemon is competitively. Some of the “worst” Pokemon he’s mentioned in the past are, in fact, some of his favorite designs in the franchise. Wolfey emphasizes that in the world of professional Pokémon, “bad” is a relative term frequently redefined by creative team building.

When Wolfey examines the competitive viability of various Dragon-type Pokémon, he concludes that the type is so relatively powerful that even its “worst” members have niche uses. High base stats and a prevalence of Legendary Pokémon make this category unique, as almost every entry has achieved some level of tournament success. Even the weaker Dragon Pokemon, including Altaria, Noivern, and Flygon, have specific abilities or unique movepools that allow them to function in high-level play. Strategic combinations, such as Shed Tail on Cyclizar or Hustle paired with Dynamaxing for Flapple (in Sword and Shield it had playability, not so much without Dynamax in future games), are analyzed to show how players maximize these creatures’ potential. 

Inevitably, Tyrantrum is labeled the weakest of the group due to its awkward typing (Rock/Dragon) and poor special defense, though it remains far more capable than the worst representatives of other types. (I found that it even sees some limited play in Pokemon Champions as a Choice-Scarfed Rock Head Head Smash sweeper.) To be fair, I forgot Tyrantrum was even part Dragon type. The whole video is worth watching just to illustrate how pretty much any Pokemon can be useful if given the right environment and teammates.