Oh come on, you know I was using the term loosely. :)stage7_4:
Dialga isn't a Time Lord, it can actively control the flow of time. Celebi is a Time Lord as it can only travel through time.
I guess in this case I'm talking more about the real life reasons behind Dialga's case of "show, don't tell" rather than plausible story implications. So a reverse of our usual topics on this thread.
And I really do think that the more legendaries added per generation the more it cheapens them (a trend I'm glad they relaxed on in gen6), so yeah Dialga probably didn't deserve any more spotlight than his trio but that still means he's valued more as part of a set than as an individual (the Ty Lee lament, brought to you by Avatar). And it's not like that's ever stopped them before! Looking at you, Entei and Suicune (while Raikou cries in the corner).
And going off our talk about how "powerful" legendaries are, here we have a clear cut case where statistically (and a bit framed in story) Dialga should trump Celebi but for some reason (or, because Dialga's time abilities are just so story-breaking compared to Celebi's more minor version) Celebi got more opportunities to be effective than the great time dragon. Too add in Celebi's forest and healing powers on top is what pushes me over the edge.
If it sounds like I'm hard on the green fairy, well, you got me. I've got a chip on my shoulder about it since the first legitimate North American release of it was the Pokebox bonus gift (at least that I can think of, were there any Celebi giveaways outside of Japan? Other than Pokebox?) So for years the thing taunted me. You can look, but you can't touch.