Dragapult

Galar was filled with new dragons in 2019, and the one Sword and Shield saved for the final battle of the journey, the Champion battle, was this one. The Pokédex explains where the fear comes from: a three-metre body, fifty kilos, and Dreepy living inside its horns.

That is the whole design. It isn't a dragon that breathes fire, but one that transports. It houses its young in cavities in its head and fires them at supersonic speed when it fights, and the Dreepy agree that the whole thing is exciting: they look forward to being propelled out. Fifty kilos spread over three metres gives it the density of a balloon, and the translucent tail barely weighs anything because it's barely there.

The official category, Stealth Pokémon, points to the other half of the idea. Its head is shaped like a flying wing, and the animal moves without being heard coming.

It closes out a line that arrives late and costs dearly. Dreepy evolves into Drakloak at level 50, and the adult form doesn't appear until 60, with a Slow growth rate in between. The Dreepy that starts the game with you won't become this until the very end.

The 600 points are distributed with no attempt to hide it: 142 Speed, 120 Attack, 100 Special Attack, then 88 HP with 75 in both defenses. That Speed is the highest among Pokémon with a total of 600 points, and in practice it means moving first against almost anything that doesn't have priority. The mixed offensive spread allows both routes, although physical Attack is 20 points better.

Dragon Darts, which it learns upon evolving, consists of two hits with 50 power each, and in Double Battles each dart targets a different opponent. Clear Body prevents stat drops; Infiltrator, its other regular Ability, bypasses Light Screen, Reflect and Substitute, and is the one seen most often. Cursed Body, its Hidden Ability, can disable the move that was just used on it, something that depends on luck and can't be planned around.

It is competitive: Smogon treats it as OU, with Dragon Dance sets, which it learns at level 42, and mixed attacker sets that run Fire Blast for Steel walls. Phantom Force, at 48, and U-turn, at 36, cover what resists Dragon and provide a clean exit.

What holds it back are those 75 in Defense and Special Defense: any strong neutral hit takes it out. Ice, Fairy, Dark, Ghost and Dragon knock it down, and it can't learn Earthquake by any means, so Steel is a pain unless it spends a moveslot on Fire.

It belongs to the Amorphous and Dragon Egg Groups, with a 50% gender ratio, so there is no need to look for the female or rely on a Ditto to start breeding. What you do need is patience: 40 incubation cycles are around 10 455 steps, among the longest there are. Everything it learns comes through leveling up or TMs.

Its evolution has no trick or item involved. Dreepy evolves into Drakloak at level 50 and Drakloak into its final form at 60, without stones, friendship or a time requirement. With a Slow growth rate ahead, that means quite a few battles in between.

It has no assigned habitat. Its catch rate is 45, the figure for a Pokémon that puts up a fight: without weakening it first and without a status condition, an Ultra Ball will take several attempts. Defeating it yields 3 Speed EVs, in keeping with the one thing it does better than anyone else, and its base Friendship is 50, perfectly average.