Hakuryuu - Dratini

Dratini

Dratini (Miniryu, ミニリュウ?, Miniryū), known as the Dragon Pokémon, is a serpent-like dragon Pokémon with a white circle shape on its forehead. Dratini inhabit lakes and rivers. They possess fins on the sides of their heads, which grow to be enormous as it evolves, as well as a large, round silver nose on their face. They are constantly growing, and can become quite long. As they grow, they shed their delicate deep blue skin. They have a massive amount of energy rapidly increasing inside of their bodies, hence, they have great strength which grows exponentially as they evolve. They live in colonies in the ocean in limited numbers and fetch a high price as Pokémon to be used for battling. They can only be obtained by the most determined and skilled trainers.

The episode in which Dratini first appeared The Legend of Dratini has never been seen on American television, due to use of guns and humor considered "politically incorrect" to American audiences (e.g. Jessie seducing a guard by dressing up as a schoolgirl). Because of the episode's ban, continuity errors were made apparent about the herd of Tauros Ash captured in the episode. Footage from the episode can be seen during the Pokérap when showing Pokémon featured in the episode.

IGN described Dratini as an “adorable baby water dragon”. Destructoid's Jim Sterling wrote that Dragonite's design was disappointing after Dratini and Dragonair's which he called "awesome". Author Ash Dekirk described Dratini as a "sleek sea serpent" and an example of a Pokémon that is based on dragons.