Dragonite

Dragonite
National Pokédex Dragonair - Dragonite (#149) - Mewtwo
Series	Pokémon series
First game	Pokémon Red and Blue
Designed by	Ken Sugimori
Voiced by	Katsuyuki Konishi

Dragonite, known as Kairyu (カイリュー, Kairyū^?) in Japan, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Dragonite first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels. They have later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. Dragonite is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi in Japanese and English.

Design and characteristics

Dragonite was one of 151 different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue.^[1][2] Pokémon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga author Toshihiro Ono stating that of all the characters in the original series, Dragonite was one of the most difficult to draw, noting it was difficult to make its cute face look powerful.^[3]

Dragonite, known as the Dragon Pokémon, is the final form of the Dratini evolutionary line. Dragonite's appearance is notably different from that of its previous forms: as Dragonite, it is now a golden bipedal dragon with a beige underbelly that extends from the top of its neck to the tip of its tail. Along with already being a Dragon-type, it has now gained the secondary Flying-type, growing wings. Dragonite are extremely fast, able to circle around the globe in sixteen hours.^[4] It has a small horn on the top of its head, along with slightly "S" shaped antennae. Much like its previous forms, Dragonite still has a gentle and somewhat innocent appearance and a kindhearted disposition. They have been said to save people from drowning and lead ships that have been trapped in storms to safety.^[5][6] People have claimed that there is an island somewhere that only Dragonite inhabit.^[7] Its diet consists mainly of berries, soft plants, and fruit, while it will occasionally eat crustaceans. Dragonite are said to have an intelligence matching humans.^[8]

Appearances

In the video games

The first video game appearance of Dragonite was in Pokémon Red and Blue versions, where it would evolve from Dragonair, the evolution of Dratini. It later appeared in several sequels, including Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the Red and Blue remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, and Pokémon Black and White. Outside of the main series, Dragonite has appeared in Pokémon Pinball, Pokémon Snap, and the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. In Pokémon Ranger, after the sixth mission, it is possible to use the Dragonite Bus which will fly the player to any of the Ranger bases. It also appears as a Pokemon in Lance's party, the champion of the HeartGold/SoulSilver game.

In other media

Dragonite's first appearance was in "Mystery at the Lighthouse", as the mystery pokemon, although it is never named. However, it's main anime appearance was at the end of the Orange Island League season in "Enter The Dragonite". It was spotted twice in the previous episode "Hello Pummelo" as Ash, Tracy and Misty saw it flying over the sea around Pummelo Island and they learned that it was owned by the Orange Crew leader, Drake. In Ash's six-on-six battle with Drake, it defeated Ash's Charizard, Squirtle, and Tauros before Ash's Pikachu finally took it out. Drake keeps Dragonite's Poké Ball on a necklace. Professor Oak also owns a Dragonite which was used prior to the episode "The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon". Dragonite also appeared in Pokémon: The First Movie, when it was sent by Mewtwo to give Ash and his friends an invitation. A larger than normal Dragonite also appeared in the beginning of Ash's journey when he encountered Bill; in this episode, Dragonite was described as an unknown legendary Pokémon by the Pokédex.

In Pokémon Adventures, a wild Dragonite first appears in Volume 2, where Red searches for the move Surf. After a tough fight during which it showed great resilience taking Pika's electric attacks to no effect, and withstanding a Double-Edge from Lax, it was eventually beaten when Misty arrived with her Gyarados, Gyara. Two years later, Lance, leader of the Elite Four, is shown to have an even stronger Dragonite, one whose hide is so thick that it was able to stay in a vat of molten lava for an extended period of time, and none of Yellow's weak attacks had any effect. It was very devoted to Lance's cause of exterminating the human race in order to provide good habitats for Pokémon.

A promotional Dragonite TCG card was handed out at theatrical showings of Pokémon: The First Movie.

Reception

Since first appearing in Pokémon Red and Blue, Dragonite has received mostly positive reception. It has been featured in multiple forms of merchandise, including figurines, plushes, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

In the book Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry, author Ash Dekirk describes Dratini and Dragonair as "sleek sea serpents", but when evolved into Dragonite, they become "peaceful, sleepy-looking classic dragons".^[9] Similarly, Loredana Lipperini, author of the book Generazione Pókemon: i bambini e l'invasione planetaria dei nuovi, commented that Dragonite resembled "dragons of legend."^[10] St. Louis Today editor Margaret Gillerman described Dragonite as a "smiling yellow dinosaurlike creature with angel wings."^[11] Official Nintendo Magazine named Dragonite one of the ten best Pokémon in the game as of 2010, calling it "one of the strongest non-legendary Pokémon".^[12] IGN listed Dragonite as the best Dragon type, discussing how both it and its preceding form, Dragonair, had their own advantages. However, they picked Dragonite due to its superior statistics. They also noted that Dragonair would have been a more fitting name, because Dragonite can fly.^[13] IGN editor "Pokémon of the Day Chick" commented that while Dragonite "may pack a mighty punch," his "cheapness and overratedness" makes her not as enthused about it. She adds, however, that there "must be a reason this thing is so popular," commenting that players can include Dragonite in their team without worrying.^[14] IGN's Jack DeVries called it "very cute", comparing it to Puff the Magic Dragon.^[15] GamesRadar described it as a "cuter take on Charizard."^[16]

References

1. ^ Staff. "2. 一新されたポケモンの世界" (in Japanese). Nintendo.com. Nintendo. p. 2. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/interview/irbj/vol1/index2.html. Retrieved 2010-09-10. 
2. ^ Stuart Bishop (2003-05-30). "Game Freak on Pokémon!". CVG. Archived from the original on 2008-02-08. http://www.webcitation.org/5VSJaR6xT. Retrieved 2008-02-07. 
3. ^ "Animerica Interview Toshihiro Ono". VIZ Media. Archived from the original on 2000-05-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20000510020712/http://www.vizkids.com/pokemon/news_interview.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-05. 
4. ^ Pokédex: It can fly in spite of its big and bulky physique. It circles the globe in just 16 hours. Game Freak. Pokémon FireRed. (Nintendo). Game Boy Advance. (2004-09-09)
5. ^ Pokédex: It is said that this Pokémon constantly flies over the immense seas and rescues drowning people. Game Freak. Pokémon Gold. (Nintendo). Game Boy. (2000-10-15)
6. ^ Pokédex: It is said to make its home somewhere in the sea. It guides crews of shipwrecks to shore. Game Freak. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. (Nintendo). Nintendo DS. (2007-04-22)
7. ^ Pokédex:It is said that somewhere in the ocean lies an island where these gather. Only they live there. Game Freak. 'Pokémon Crystal'. (Nintendo). Game Boy Color. (2001-07-29)
8. ^ Pokédex: An extremely rarely seen marine Pokémon. Its intelligence is said to match that of humans. Game Freak. Pokémon Red. (Nintendo). Game Boy. (1998-09-30)
9. ^ Dekirk, Ash (2006). Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry. p. 126. ISBN 1564148688. 
10. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=MOQc163-XCcC
11. ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB0522D3A6A38B6&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
12. ^ Chris Scullion (24-Apr-2010). "Nintendo Feature: 10 Best Pokémon - Official Nintendo Magazine". Official Nintendo Magazine. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=16559. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 
13. ^ http://guides.ign.com/guides/15787/basics.html
14. ^ http://faqs.ign.com/articles/386/386403p1.html
15. ^ http://www.ign.com/videos/2010/03/18/day-1-kristine-doesnt-know-her-elements
16. ^ http://www.gamesradar.com/ds/f/the-complete-pokemon-rby-pokedex-part-14/a-20070822135930737066/g-2006100415372930075/p-7

External links

• Official Pokémon website
• Dragonite on Bulbapedia