Pokémon Go Mega Salamence counters, weaknesses and moveset explained
How to defeat the mega evolved Dragon-type Pokémon.
Mega Salamence is the mega evolved form of Salamence, the pseudo-Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go. Since it’s only pseudo, it’s never going to be as strong as the likes of Mega Rayquaza, but it is still easily a top-tier Mega Pokémon, so make sure you take this opportunity to get one if you haven't added it to your Pokédex!
Like all Mega Evolutions, Mega Salamence can’t be directly caught in Pokémon Go. Instead, you need to keep defeating it in Mega Raids until you’ve collected enough Mega Salamence Energy for its evolution. Thanks to the summer 2022 Mega Raid rebalance, this can now be done in one Mega Raid if you defeat it quickly enough!
Below you’ll find Mega Salamence’s counters and weaknesses to help you succeed in Pokémon Go - just remember you need to have an Salamence in your Pokémon storage to perform its Mega Evolution.
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Mega Salamence counters and weaknesses in Pokémon Go
The fastest way to collect Mega Salamence energy is to defeat one in a Mega Raid. Below you’ll find the counters and weaknesses for Mega Salamence to help you achieve this:
- Mega Salamence types - Dragon and Flying
- Mega Salamence is weak against - Fairy, Dragon, Ice (double weak) and Rock
- Mega Salamence is resistant to - Grass, Ground, Bug, Flighting, Fire and Water
- Mega Salamence Mega counters - Mega Glalie or Mega Abomasnow or with double Ice moves will make short work of a Flying/Dragon type. If you don't have those, your fall-backs are Mega Gardevoir or Mega Rayquaza.
- Mega Salamence non-Mega counters - Ice is the most important thing here, with Shadow Mamoswine being far and away your best option. Beyond that, prioritise Shadow Weavile, Galarian Darmanitan, Baxcalibur, Shadow Mewtwo (with Ice Beam) or regular Mamoswine. If you don't have these Pokémon, just pick your strongest Ice-type attackers!
- Number of players to beat Mega Salamence - Mega Salamence can be beaten by just two players if you have good enough counters, and soloed by a Level 50 player with maxed counters. Three players at Level 40 is totally reasonable, and five players at Level 30 should be fine, as long as you bring the right Pokémon to the battle!
- Tactics - Ice, Ice baby... (good luck getting that out of your head.) Mega Salamence is a powerful enemy, but is utterly destroyed by Ice-type attacks thanks to its double weakness to this typing. If you’re battling in a group, be aware that most players will be bringing Ice-type Pokémon, so running an Ice-type Mega in the lead will boost your friends’ Pokémon's abilities, helping you take down this boss quicker and earn more Mega Energy as a result.
Mega Salamence CP in Pokémon Go
Below you’ll find the CP levels for battling for Mega Salamence and, if defeated, catching an Salamence after the fight in Pokémon Go:
- Mega Salamence Raid CP - 50,285 CP
- CP range for catching Salamence - 2773 to 2875 CP
- Weather (Windy) when being caught - 3467 to 3594 CP
The Max Out Season is here. The new global event, Wild Area, is nearly here and In the Wild is our lead-up event, which includes the global release of Toxel. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.
Best Mega Salamence moveset in Pokémon Go
Mega Salamence can use a variety of Fast and Charged moves in Pokémon Go. The question is how you want to use it.
If you're looking at Dragons, Mega Salamence is the third-best option after Mega Rayquaza and Mega Garchomp. If you're looking at Flying-types, we're only second to Mega Rayquaza. Sharing the same dual typing as one of the best Pokémon in the game is a bit of a double-edged sword, as no matter how good Mega Salamence is, it will forever be in the sky noodle's shadow.
Since Mega Salamence lacks a Flying-type Fast Move, the best combination is Dragon Tail (Fast), Fly (Charged) and Draco Meteor (Charged). If you don't want to add a second move – and you probably shouldn't – simply pick the move you think you'll use most. If you want it to be a Flying-type attacker, pick Fly.
Here are the Fast and Charged moves Mega Salamence can use in Pokémon Go:
Fast Moves:
- Dragon Tail (Dragon)
- Fire Fang (Fire)
- Bite (Dark)
Charged Moves:
- Draco Meteor (Dragon)
- Hydro Pump (Water)
- Fire Blast (Fire)
- Fly (Fire)
Legacy Charged Moves:
- Outrage (Dragon)
Everything we know about Salamence
The Dragon Pokémon Salamence is a Dragon and Flying-type Pokémon from Gen 3, and is the evolved form of Bagon and Shelgon.
Not only is Salamence an incredibly strong Pokémon, but it is also a fan favourite, and one of the few Pokémon that got a Paradox version added in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
On top of that, this family has perhaps one of our favourite Pokédex entries, and the official entry for Mega Salamence hits you right in the feels. You can follow along (and feel sympathy for our Dragony friend) by reading their entries below:
- Bagon: 'Bagon jumps off cliffs every day, trying to grow stronger so that someday it will be able to fly.'
- Shelgon: 'This Pokémon has covered its body in a hard shell that has the same composition as bone. Shelgon stores energy for evolution.'
- Salamence: 'Salamence is an unusual Pokémon in that it was able to evolve a body with wings just by constantly wishing to be able to fly.'
- Mega Salamence: 'The stress of its two proud wings becoming misshapen and stuck together because of strong energy makes it go on a rampage.'
It almost makes you feel bad for Mega Evolving Salamence, but the power spike here is real and well worth it if you want one the strongest Pokémon in the game.
Good luck defeating Mega Salamence in Pokémon Go!