Daily Red Salamence set and strategy
Salamence is B-tier on our Daily Red tier list (#19 of 30) — a solid, situational answer to Red. On paper it wins 3 of 6 one-on-one matchups against Red (Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard). Play Daily Red ↗
The Salamence set in Daily Red
Salamence
- Dragon Dragon Claw Special · 80
- Fire Flamethrower Special · 95
- Ground Earthquake Physical · 100
- Rock Rock Slide Physical · 75
Every player gets this exact set when Salamence is in the daily six: level 100, Serious nature, perfect IVs, holding Leftovers with Intimidate. The set never changes from day to day.
Salamence vs each of Red's Pokémon
Estimated damage at level 100 with these exact stats (Gen 3 formula, no crits, no boosts). “Wins” means it should take the one-on-one trade, counting who moves first.
| Red's Pokémon | Salamence's best hit | Red's best hit back | Moves first | 1v1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pikachu |
Earthquake 259–306% (super effective) | Thunderbolt 63–74% | Salamence | ✅ wins |
 Espeon |
Earthquake 63–74% | Psychic 54–63% | Espeon | ❌ loses |
 Snorlax |
Earthquake 30–36% | Rock Slide 53–63% (super effective) | Salamence | ❌ loses |
 Venusaur |
Flamethrower 41–48% (super effective) | Sludge Bomb 30–36% | Salamence | ✅ wins |
 Charizard |
Rock Slide 140–165% (4× super effective) | Dragon Claw 56–66% (super effective) | Charizard | ✅ wins |
 Blastoise |
Earthquake 31–37% | Ice Beam 114–134% (4× super effective) | Salamence | ❌ loses |
How to use Salamence against Red
- Save Salamence for Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard — those are the one-on-one trades it wins on paper.
- Avoid leaving it in against Espeon, Snorlax, Blastoise; switch to a teammate that covers them (see below).
- Snorlax's Rock Slide is super effective on Salamence (53–63%), so don't switch it in on that attack.
- Charizard's Dragon Claw is super effective on Salamence (56–66%), so don't switch it in on that attack.
- Blastoise's Ice Beam is 4× super effective on Salamence (114–134%), so don't switch it in on that attack.
- It beats Red's Pikachu lead: Earthquake does 259–306% and it moves first.
- Leftovers heals 1/16 of max HP each turn, so it gets a bit more value the longer it stays in.
Best partners for Salamence
If these show up on the same day, they cover the matchups Salamence loses:
How often Salamence shows up
Each day's six are drawn from a fixed pool of 30 sets, so any one set appears on about 1 in 5 days. Over the first 365 days, Salamence is in the team on 79 days (22%), and it is our suggested lead on 19 of those (24%). Its most common job in our counter plans is handling Pikachu.
It hasn't been in a daily team yet. Check today's Daily Red team.
Other Daily Red Pokémon
Gyarados · Jolteon · Flygon · Breloom · Slowbro · Houndoom · Arcanine · Alakazam · Machamp · Gengar · Rhydon · Starmie · Scizor · Heracross · Kingdra · Donphan · Tyranitar · Sceptile · Blaziken · Swampert · Ludicolo · Shiftry · Gardevoir · Aggron · Medicham · Manectric · Camerupt · Milotic · Metagross