Dragon-type Pokémon have been around nearly as long as Pokémon itself, having been introduced in Red and Blue in 1996. Dragon-types are a unique Pokémon type, mainly because they have the highest (on average) HP and base stats of all types, and dragon-types can only do super effective damage against their own type. Don't confuse this with the idea that dragons aren't strong–they are, but they're strongest (and weakest) against their own. Regardless of what's changed over the years, Dragon-types are still as desirable now as they were in the first generation games.
In Pokémon Sword & Shield, dragon-types are to be found all over Galar, though there seem to be more dragon options for players who own Sword than Shield. It's important to note that dragon-types are not a very common type to find in the wild, especially since many dragons are "pseudo-legendary" (having 3 stages to its evolution) or Legendary. Owing to this uncommonness, when dragon-types are discoverable, typically only one or two types will available in those areas (there is an exception that will be discussed).
No matter the trainer, everyone should catch a few dragon-types to see what they're made of. Galar has plenty of areas to explore and discover various Pokemon in, but these are some of the best places to go searching for them.
Updated April 14th, 2021 by Tanner Kinney: When looking to round out a team composition in both casual and competitive play, selecting a Dragon-type is rarely a bad choice. Dragon-type Pokemon have access to a wide variety of moves, and having few weaknesses is certainly a boon. At the same time, Dragon-types on their own lack the sort of offensive coverage of other Pokemon. The best usage for a Dragon-type include the ones that can muscle other Pokemon down with raw stats, as their base stat totals are quite high. The base game of Sword and Shield provided a decent set of Dragon-type options, but the DLC campaigns provide new areas to seek out both the unusual and the incredibly popular dragon-types.
10 Honeycalm Sea
Trainers gain access to The Isle of Armor relatively early into their Pokemon journey. This brand new Wild Area offers its own short campaign that runs parallel to the main story. Alternatively, it can be completed after clearing the main campaign. Either way, the Isle opens up a variety of new Pokemon to choose from. Unfortunately for dragon-type enthusiasts, there aren't too many spots for Dragon-type Pokemon. Druddigon makes its appearance in the Brawlers Cave and Courageous Cavern, appearing in the overworld as a common special encounter.
However, there is one spot where trainers can find a couple of different dragon-types, particularly for players of Pokemon Shield version. This spot is the Honeycalm Sea. To access this location, players will need access to the upgraded Rotom Bike obtained after beating the Circhester gym. From the flight point at the Tower of Waters, head directly north towards the oddly-shaped Honeycalm Island. Surrounding this island is the appropriately named Honeycalm Sea.
In this location, both versions can find Seadra wandering in the overworld. This applies to most weather types, so it's rather easy to find. Seadra can, of course, be evolved into the Dragon-type Kingdra by trading with a Dragon Scale equipped. If that's too much effort, Kingdra can also be found wandering around during Thunderstorm weather conditions. Pokemon Shield players can surf around and find Skrelp, the Poison-type seahorse Pokemon. It's rather rare, but not impossible to obtain. Even more rare is its evolution, Dragalge, which sheds its water-type roots to become a powerful Dragon-type Pokemon.
9 Ballimere Lake
The second DLC campaign, The Crown Tundra, adds a larger amount of fan-favorite Dragon-type Pokemon back into the Pokedex. While this area is only accessible after clearing the main story, these powerful Pokemon can still be used in post-game content and in competitive play. The southern end of the map is home to a more green landscape than the frozen wastes to the north, and has an interesting mix of Pokemon available.
On this Southern end of the map lies Ballimere Lake. Players can reach this location by crossing the long, horizontal lake to the south of Giant's Bed. Alternatively, taking the flight point to Dyna Tree Hill puts the player in a spot surrounded entirely by Ballimere Lake. There are a number of spots for both water and land encounters.
The first Pokemon, Tyrunt, is hard to miss. It can be found in any weather, and appears exclusively as an overworld encounter. Tyrantrum will also appear as a special overworld encounter in every weather condition. Swablu and Altaria can be found on the overworld as well, but only during Overcast weather conditions. The rarest to find, despite being available in every weather condition, is the original pseudo-legendary Dratini. Much like its other appearances, Dratini is found through a low chance while fishing in the lake itself or while surfing. Players can find it as an overworld encounter during Fog, Rain, and Thunderstorm weather as well.
8 Tunnel to the Top
On the other end of the map is the other prime location for rare Dragon-type Pokemon. By entering the cave at the north-end of Snowslide Slope, which is also a flight point, players can enter the Tunnel to the Top. This appropriately named tunnel leads to the Crown Shrine, which rests at the peak of the Crown Tundra. This perilous location has a lot of hidden items, twists and turns, and a plethora of overworld encounters. After collecting the only other pair of Heavy-Duty Boots in the game, keep an eye out for these dragon-type Pokemon.
The first Pokemon to acknowledge is Druddigon, who makes a reappearance in the cave as a special encounter. It's rather easy to find, and if the player missed finding one in The Isle of Armor, this is another good place to look. Unfortunately, the other two dragon-types are split between the versions of the game. Pokemon Sword players can encounter the Gen 3 pseudo-legendary Bagon. This Pokemon appears at a high enough level that evolving it requires only two rare candies or a few EXP Candies obtained through Dynamax raids. Pokemon Shield players, on the other hand, gain access to Gen 4's Gible, the Dragon/Ground Pokemon notorious for fast speeds and powerful attacking moves.
Additionally, Salamance and Garchomp make appearances in their respective games. However, they are much rarer to find and harder to capture. Bring along a collection of Quick Balls or Dusk Balls to make capture quick and easy.
7 Dynamax Adventures
As a quick note to wrap up DLC areas, it should be obvious that Dynamax Adventures are home to a collection of Dragon-type Pokemon. This roguelike-inspired game mode pits a group of players against powerful raid battles in succession, leading to a battle with a colossal legendary Pokemon at the end. After defeating said legendary, players can then capture them in a guaranteed manner. However, players also have the option of taking a Pokemon that was obtained on the path.
It would be quite a list to document every single possible Dragon-type that can be obtained. One notewothy Pokemon players can obtain is a Gigantamax Duraludon, which may be harder to find during the main campaign. Of the legendaries, nearly all of them can be encountered as a final boss. Once the player sees them once, they will be able to select that specific Pokemon as their target. The true final boss of these adventures is Zygarde, who appears in a challenging two-phase battle. It likely will require a mix of coordination and luck to take it down, but getting a perfect Zygarde is worth the trouble.
6 Bridge Field
Not far outside the industrial city of Motostoke to the northeast, the area Bridge Field lies in the middle of the Wild Area, connecting the Stony Wilderness north of it down to the Motostoke Riverbank south of it. There is a flight point that leads directly to this location. Within the borders of the area are two important points of interest: one of the Pokémon Nurseries and the Watt Trader. In addition to a line-up of trainers to battle, Bridge Field is the first of the best locations to find dragon-types.
The two dragon Pokémon types to be caught are Noibat and Noivern, who belong to the same evolutionary cycle, respectively. Perhaps the most "basic" of dragon-types available in Galar, both are available in many different areas. Yet, while Noibat may be on the "common" side as far as dragon-types go, Noibat and its evolution Noivern are not Pokémon to push to the side and ignore like they're Zigzagoons.
Bridge Field is a good location to go searching for them for two reasons. First, there's a 60% chance trainers will encounter a wild Noibat in the sky during normal weather in this area, but they can also be found in Overworld encounters (non-hidden wild Pokémon) in nearly all kinds of weather; Noiverns can only be found in Special Overworld encounters, but it can happen in all weather. Secondly, a Pokémon Nursery is right there so that trainers can capture a Noibat or Noivern and drop them off to get trained hassle-free.
5 Watchtower Ruins
Further into the Wild Area that stretches south of Motostoke, there comes the area known as the "Watchtower Ruins," located adjacent to East Lake Axewell and above the Dappled Grove, and it offers the same thin (but existent) options for dragon-types. Noibat is available here, and in all weather when players take to the skies to have more encounters. Noibat itself offers the benefit of a two-type Pokémon, both dragon and flying. The closest flight point is at East Lake Axewell, turning right from the gates out of Motostoke.
To some Pokémon veterans, two types can spell danger or weakness, depending on the Pokémon; however, when it comes to dragon-types, it can be more easily seen as a benefit, due to the fact that they alone have no super effectiveness against another type. By having a second, though providing another weakness, it allows for more versatility and flexibility in the use of a dragon Pokémon in different situations. For some trainers, being only a dragon-type may not be enough to warrant a spot in the party; but with a second type, their case for a spot on the team may improve drastically.
4 Dusty Bowl
Traveling back north through the Wild Area and past the Stony Wilderness, in the very middle of the wild is an area called the "Dusty Bowl." The closest flight point is at Hammerlocke Hills, and heading south from that spot leads to Dusty Bowl. Regardless of the fact that this area is close to Bridge Field and the Watchtower Ruins, this area offers as many dragons as the two former areas combined. The first offered here is Applin, a small apple-inspired Pokémon that was peculiarly given the Dragon type (the peculiarity lessens when one sees the Flapple evolution). Applin can be found in the grass during normal weather. Don't let Applin's looks deceive–an apple a day could keep Leon at bay.
The second dragon-type to be available is Flygon, a familiar dragon Pokémon that was introduced in Gen III and first found in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. Flygon can be found only in Special Overworld encounters, but these can happen during both normal weather and a sandstorm, so watch that weather report.
The last dragon Pokémon to be offered is an exclusive to Pokémon Sword owners and can be found in Special Overworld encounters in all weather, and this is the dragon-type Kommo-o. The chances of encountering this one are not high; in fact, they're quite low, but that's understandable when one considers that Kommo-o is the third evolution for the Pokémon Jangmo-o and third evolutions are rarely found in the wild.
3 Stony Wilderness
Still inside the sprawling Wild Area, there comes an area just north of Bridge Field called the "Stony Wilderness." Much like the Watchtower Ruins (and nearly every other place to find dragon-types), the Stony Wilderness only offers one kind of dragon Pokémon: the rotund Applin. Where players may be thinking there's no need for a second or a third Applin, there are two counterpoints. The first is simply that one can never have too many of any Pokémon, except Magikarp.
The second is that Applin has two possible evolutions. Applin's variety isn't as numerous as Eevee's, but the two evolutionary options, Flapple and Appletun, are quite different. All three are also double-types, boasting both the dragon-type and the grass-type. (Interesting side note: both Flapple's and Appletun's Gigantamax forms are exactly the same.)
2 Axew's Eye
Deeper into the southern half of the Wild Area, below Motostoke and to the south where there are a few large lakes. As there aren't too many great flight points in the southern part of the Wild Area, just take the one to East Lake Axewell. Adrift in the middle of Lake Axewell, is an island known as "Axew's Eye," with a Berry Tree to the north, a Pokémon Den to the south, and the TM Air Slash to the west. On the small island, trainers will find it to be a more fruitful search for dragons than other areas, for Axew's Eye has two types to catch: Axew and Haxorus.
Axew, for whom the island is named, can be found in an Overworld encounter in normal weather, overcast, rain, or fog, and is another example of a "Pseudo-legendary" Pokémon, as Axew has 3 total stages in its evolution. The second available dragon-type Haxorus is the 3rd evolution for Axew, and as a result is much more difficult to encounter in the wild. Still, Haxorus can be found by Special Overworld encounter in nearly all weather.
1 Lake of Outrage
Located at the easternmost edge of the Wild Area, above Motostoke, lies the exception to the "rule" regarding the sparseness of dragon-types in any area: The Lake of Outrage. To add to the Outrage, many of the dragon-types available in this area are exclusive to either Sword or Shield versions of the game. Beginning with the Pokémon available in both versions of the game, they are: Drakloak (in Overworld encounter in overcast, raining, or fog); Dreepy (in the grass in overcast and fog); Duraludon (in the grass in snowstorms); and Flygon (in Overworld encounter in intense sun). All four are strong dragons, boasting more power than the preliminary dragon-types. Should players want more, however, there are still plenty of options.
In Sword, at the Lake of Outrage, the dragon-types that are available are: Jangmo-0 (in grass in overcast); Deino (found in the grass during the rain); Hakamo-o (in the grass during thunderstorms); Zweilous (in the grass during thunderstorms, and in Overworld encounter in sandstorms); and Turtonator (in the grass in intense sun).
In Shield, the Lake offers: Goomy (in the grass during the rain); Drampa (in the grass during thunderstorms); and Sliggoo (in the grass during thunderstorms). While not as many options for Shield owners, perhaps some players will delight in the fact that they receive one of the most dragon-looking of all the dragon-types: Drampa.
Regardless, for players who own Shield, Sword's dragons can be acquired in a trade, easier now than it ever was with the GB Advanced link cable. For those looking to trade for those version exclusives, perhaps try hunting down all the dragon-types exclusive to their version, then trainers with the other exclusives may be willing to quickly work out a deal. Players can also try their luck with the Global Trade System locked behind Pokemon HOME, or simply gamble on Surprise Trades.