Pokémon Officially Debuts Glorious Dragonite Redesign

Published Oct 6, 2026, 7:01 PM EDT

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. 

Dragonite is among the most unique Gen 1 Pokémon, and was the first official Dragon-type from the franchise's early days that would grow to be a fan-favorite typing with countless additions. Even within its own evolutionary line, Dragonite stands apart, transforming from the long, elegant-looking Dragonair into a bulky orange dragon with sometimes comically small wings in proportion to its body, not to mention that distinct friendly smile.

Despite (or possibly because of) that dramatic evolution, Dragonite quickly became one of the franchise's most recognizable Mon. Its ridiculous strength, rarity, and surprise appearances throughout the anime helped give it an almost Legendary reputation, while later generations managed to find new ways to keep the OG Dragon-type creature relevant.

Nearly 30 years after its debut, however, Dragonite is getting an unexpected update, and in a new collaboration, will effectively be redesigned to give its familiar appearance a completely different spin that longtime fans likely never saw coming.

In what may be the most random yet glorious Pokémon crossover yet, Dragonite is being transformed into the centerpiece of an entire hotel room design. Two new Dragonite-themed rooms are coming to the Grandia Housen hotel in Awara, located in Japan's Fukui Prefecture, with stays beginning on November 12, 2026.

The collaboration goes all out, and goes way beyond merely throwing a couple Dragonite plushies on the bed and calling it a day. Each suite combines Japanese and Western-style spaces, with sections measuring 12.5 and 10 tatami mats, respectively. Guests will have access to a bedroom containing two large beds, a traditional Japanese room, a living area, restroom, and bathroom equipped with both a shower and bathtub. Dragonite artwork and decorations will dominate the rooms, although the entire evolutionary line is getting some attention, with Dratini and Dragonair also incorporated into the designs.

There is actually a good reason Dragonite was chosen, beyond being a massively popular Gen 1 Mon. The Pokémon has served as Fukui's official "Support Pokémon" since October 2023 as part of The Pokémon Company's Pokémon Local Acts initiative. Fukui is particularly famous for dinosaur fossil discoveries and its dinosaur museum, while the region also contains numerous places associated with dragons, making the original Dragon-type a fitting mascot. The official Pokémon site even points out Dragonite's connection to the sea and its famously kindhearted nature.

The result is essentially a real-world, immersive Dragonite experience, taking the familiar orange dragon off the battlefield and turning it into the theme for an unusually elaborate and luxurious overnight stay. This isn't Pokémon's first venture into themed accommodations, of course, wiht previous collaborations seeing Pokémon rooms at locations including the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, Mimaru hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, and Hotel Nikko Bali Benoa Beach in Indonesia.

For Dragonite fans specifically, however, Grandia Housen's rooms offer something much more focused and special. The hotel already operates as an onsen resort with Japanese-style hospitality and hot-spring facilities, and is a full vacation destination that happens to have two rooms completely overtaken by Dragonite and its evolutionary family. If you're a huge Pokémon enthusiast looking to get up close and personal with Dragonite, you may want to consider a stay starting this November.