Dialga (Analysis)



Dialga

[Overview]

<p>Dialga's unique typing and well-distributed stats allows it to fit in a variety of teams. On the offensive side Dialga has a stunning base 120 Attack and base 150 Special Attack that's backed by the ever-dominant Dragon-type STAB. Dialga's amazing offensive stats allow it to puncture entire teams with its immensely powerful Draco Meteor and incredible movepool. Defensively, Dialga’s typing offers it a whopping total of nine resistances and an immunity, as well as neutrality to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks, something other Dragon-type Pokemon would kill for. The unfortunate weakness to Ground- and Fighting-attacks might be disappointing but Dialga is capable of surviving even a Terrakion's Close Combat easily. With its stellar base defenses combined with the aforementioned resistances, Dialga is a difficult Pokemon to take down unless you target its uncommon weaknesses. Dialga is also revered as an excellent utility Pokemon thanks to its equally vast support movepool. Even with the rise of the new legendary Dragon-types, Reshiram and Zekrom, Dialga's unpredictability lets it remain one of the most widely used Dragons.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive Dialga
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Roar / Dragon Tail / Thunder
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest / Quiet
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD

<p>Dialga is one of the very few Dragon-types who can go the supportive route. Stealth Rock requires no real explanation, though keep in mind that Dialga should lay down Stealth Rock as soon as possible to prevent Lugia or Ho-Oh from switching into Dialga freely. The next move is dependent on the type of team that Dialga is supporting. Draco Meteor can be used to dish out immediate damage and strip off more than half of Groudon's health. If one still favors PP and consistency, Dragon Pulse offers Dialga a decently powerful move without the need to switch out after one use. Bear in mind, Groudon is a common switch in to Dialga and Dragon Pulse just can't hit Groudon hard enough to prevent it from coming in. Draco Meteor has the added bonus of OHKOing Reshiram and Palkia without the need of Stealth Rock damage. Fire Blast is the preferred Fire-type move for the extra power and it has the added bonus of 2HKOing most Groudon and Ferrothorn in the rain. Flamethrower helps keep Forretress and other Steel-types, barring opposing Dialga and Heatran from setting up on Dialga but is generally an inferior move compared to Fire Blast. Roar can be used effectively with Dialga to rack up residual damage. If you want to able to phaze through Taunt instead of Substitute, Dragon Tail works fine as an alternative. Dialga also conveniently gets STAB from Dragon Tail. Since it forces a lot of switches, Dialga makes an excellent phazer. Thunder works best alongside Kyogre as its Drizzle ability remedies Thunder's poor accuracy. Dialga can also act as a check to Zekrom by resisting Lightning Strike and surviving 2 unboosted Outrages on average while Dialga's Draco Meteor will OHKO Zekrom.</p>

<p>The given EVs ensure that Palkia's Lustrous Orb-boosted Spacial Rend will not 2HKO Dialga. Conveniently, Dialga can also survive 2 full power non Specs Water Spouts from Kyogre. This allows Dialga to use Thunder Wave, then Stealth Rock, and then switch to the appropriate counter. When using Thunder, Dialga can beat most Kyogres one-on-one. The Special Attack EVs and Modest nature allows Dialga to OHKO Darkrai with Draco Meteor. Thunder also 2HKOes most Kyogre and some Ho-Oh.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>This set can also be used as a lead. Lum Berry can be used to prevent Dialga from being put to sleep by Darkrai leads, allowing Dialga to severely cripple them with Thunder Wave or OHKO them with Draco Meteor. Dialga is, however, unable to prevent Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A from setting up Stealth Rock and possibly a layer of Spikes. Due to the rarity of Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A this generation, Dialga will have a much easier time as a lead. Toxic can be used to cripple walls such as Lugia.</p>

<p>On a stall team, Dialga appreciates the residual damage from Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Forretress is the only Pokemon capable of laying down Toxic Spikes in the Uber metagame. This lessens the need for Toxic since the only Pokemon that Toxic Spikes will miss are Flying-types and Pokemon with Levitate and some of them can be removed by Dialga's powerful strikes. Forretress can also lay down Spikes, but relying on it to lay down all three layers of Spikes and two layers of Toxic Spikes puts Forretress under a lot of stress. As a lead, Deoxys-S can set up Spikes, since it can forgo Stealth Rock if Dialga opts to use it. Skarmory is an excellent Pokemon in this situation, since it completely walls Groudon barring the rare Overheat or Fire Punch, can set up Spikes, has access to a recovery move, and can use Whirlwind to force switches. With entry hazards taken into account, Dialga needs a teammate that can block Rapid Spin. Giratina-O or Ghost Arceus is the best Pokemon for the job. Giratina-O shares great typing synergy with Dialga by being immune to both Ground- and Fighting-type attacks while checking Groudon as well. Dialga also resists Giratina-O's weakness to Dark- and Ghost-type attacks.</p>

<p>Offensive teams will appreciate Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave or Toxic support. Rayquaza, for example, has an easier time crushing teams if most of the opponent's Pokemon are slower than it. With Toxic crippling defensive Pokemon, Arceus has an easier time sweeping the opponent. For example, if Lugia is poisoned, it can no longer wall Extremekiller Arceus. Offensive Groudon loves Support Dialga since many of its checks, such as Skarmory and Giratina, can be battered by Dialga. Swords Dance Groudon climbs in effectiveness with Thunder Wave support, while Rock Polish Groudon is solid with Toxic support.</p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Dialga
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Outrage / Brick Break
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Mild / Quiet
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe

<p>STAB Draco Meteor bolstered by 438 Special Attack is frightening for almost any opponent. Only Steel-type Pokemon, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Chansey, and Blissey can take Draco Meteor without the risk of being 2HKOed in the process, though some frailer Steel-types such as Lucario take major damage anyway (66.2% - 77.9% if Dialga is Mild). Brick Break, with the given Attack EVs, will 2HKO Blissey and most Chansey with Stealth Rock in play while Outrage is an excellent attack to use with or without Bulk Up. Without Bulk Up, Dialga can use Outrage with a Life Orb to 2HKO most Kyogre and both pink blobs. Bulk Up is a great lure move since it draws in Groudon, which is in turn shut down by STAB Draco Meteor. With Bulk Up, Dialga should be able to even surge through Wish Blissey. Fire Blast is the best attack for taking down the vast majority of Steel-types in the Uber metagame, but it comes with the downside of being weakened by rain. This can be resolved by partnering Dialga with Groudon or Tyranitar. The final slot should generally be Thunder due to its perfect accuracy in the rain; with its 30% chance of paralysis, most opponents will think twice before they switch in, since many Dialga checks or counters rely on their Speed. Thunder also smacks both Ho-Oh and Lugia. Bear in mind Thunder's accuracy is hampered in the sun and both can remove their weakness to it with Roost as long as they are faster. To deal with both Ho-Oh and Lugia, Dialga can be partnered with Kyogre who easily scares off both the GSC legends. </p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>To maximize Dialga's potential, there are many options in regards to natures and EVs. The suggested EV spread and nature allows Dialga's Draco Meteor to hit with maximum power and outspeed slow base 90s who don't invest in Speed. 252 Atk EVs grant Dialga the ability to 2HKO most Blissey and Chansey with Outrage or Brick Break. Life Orb-boosted Outrage also 2HKOes max HP / min Def Kyogre and Ho-Oh, which means Dialga can be effective at taking out Mono-Attacker Kyogre and surprise Ho-Oh. If you opt for Mild, you should use Expert Belt, since it provides enough power to obtain the same KOs as Life Orb while conserving Dialga's HP. Hasty, with 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe EVs, allows Dialga to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza and Adamant Lucario. Hasty with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe also works well here if you want to just max out Speed. Outspeeding Adamant Rayquaza means that Dialga's team is less susceptible to a Swords Dance Rayquaza sweep, though keep in mind that most Rayquaza sets use a Speed-boosting nature. With a Hasty nature, Dialga will need a Life Orb in order to stay competitive offensively. Because Dialga can survive Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake and even Life Orb Aura Sphere from Mewtwo, it can effectively utilize a spread of 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA with a Quiet nature in order to survive one of those assaults. Expert Belt is preferable for Quiet Dialga since the main goal is to ensure Dialga is as healthy as possible in case it needs to take these extreme hits. Life Orb can be used, however, since Dialga can even OHKO Support Groudon with Draco Meteor 100% of the time with a Quiet nature, which is slightly reduced to 87% with Hasty; though Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes assures the KO. Brick Break, with Stealth Rock in play, can also be used to easily 2HKO Heatran who otherwise can wall this set. A Quiet nature with minimum Speed IVs and maximum offenses on both sides, allows Dialga to function well in Trick Room teams.</p>

<p>Some options were left out of the set because they are generally inferior options, but are nevertheless effective choices if Dialga needs them. Dragon Tail can be used over Brick Break or Outrage to abuse entry hazards and play mind games with the opponent. Obviously when using Dragon Tail, Dialga should use Adamant Orb over Life Orb. Earth Power means Dialga will never fall to a Heatran switch-in. Stealth Rock is also an option since Dialga forces many switches and it prevents Ho-Oh from walling Dialga. Finally, Stone Edge or Power Gem can be used if Dialga's team has issues with Ho-Oh. While Draco Meteor and Outrage do sufficient damage by themselves, Draco Meteor has the nasty drawback of -2 SpA while Pressure takes away 2 PP in the process. Outrage is risky since Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire has a 50% chance of a burn behind it, and usually has boosted power thanks to most Ho-Oh being used in conjunction with sunlight. These moves can replace either Thunder or Fire Blast. For items, Leftovers and Adamant Orb are viable. Leftovers offers Dialga recovery and works well with the Quiet spread, while Adamant Orb helps bluff a choice item.</p>

<p>While Dialga hits extremely hard, it does require support from its teammates. As shown with just a few damage calculations, Dialga appreciates entry hazards to help it net its KOs. Leads such as Deoxys-S or Deoxys-A are great choices for teammates since they have a high chance of getting Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes up if they are not facing a Forretress lead. Forretress is also a great partner as it has the added benefit of removing entry hazards on your side of the field thanks to Rapid Spin and can set up Toxic Spikes to weaken Groudon and the pink blobs. Giratina-O can also be a staple provided that you're using entry hazards. It has the added benefit of being able to handle Groudon well thanks to its immunity to Earthquake and amazing overall defensive stats. Since Thunder is reliant on rain, Kyogre is an excellent partner, as not only does its ability boost Thunder's accuracy to 100%, but it also nullifies Heatran as a threat while making Reshiram and Ho-Oh less effective, thanks to Dialga resisting Brave Bird. Sadly, Groudon doesn't bring as many benefits to the table as Kyogre does, though Support Groudon is an excellent teammate as it can slow Dialga's counters down with Thunder Wave while being able to set up Stealth Rock. Groudon's sunlight allows Reshiram to OHKO Dialga however. Since Dialga is great at breaking through most defensive teams in general, offensive Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Garchomp appreciate having Dialga as their partner. Some Arceus variants can also wall Dialga. Defensive Normal Arceus takes a lot of damage from Draco Meteor but it can stall it out due to Recover while Dialga is killing itself through Life Orb Recoil. Brick Break and Outrage will fail to 2HKO defensive Arceus. Ho-Oh can nail most defensive Arceus while Tyranitar can be used with Dialga to take down most bulky Calm Mind Arceus.</p>

<p>Dialga's other issues involve its average Speed, which leaves it susceptible to being revenge killed by Pokemon such as Mewtwo and Darkrai. Scarf Garchomp is a great partner since it outspeeds Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Scarf Palkia. Another great Scarf user is Shaymin-S, which can target both Kyogre and Groudon with STAB Seed Flare while outspeeding Adamant Rock Polish Groudon. Scarf Tyranitar is rather slow; however, its natural bulk and SpD boost from the sandstorm allows it to be effective at revenge killing non-Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Swords Dance Lucario, Heatran, Reshiram and Ho-Oh. While Wobbuffet is slower than Choice Scarf users, it has the advantage of being able to cushion at least one hit from a Scarf Pokemon before biting the dust. Finally, Heatran does very well at stopping a Mixed Dialga sweep cold, so teammates are needed to handle this situation. Kyogre stops Heatran easily thanks to Drizzle and its incredible special stats. Rayquaza's Air Lock nullifies the sunlight's boost, and it can switch into Earth Power freely, though it has to be careful when facing Dragon Pulse variants. Reshiram can also blow past Heatran with Turbo Blaze Blue Fire while sporting a 4x resistance to Fire-type attacks and great Special Defense.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive Bulk Up
move 1: Rest
move 2: Sleep Talk
move 3: Bulk Up
move 4: Outrage / Dragon Claw
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>This set takes advantage of Dialga's numerous resistances, well-distributed defensive stats, access to a STAB attack that only has one resistance, and Bulk Up. Bulk Up boosts Dialga's Attack and Defense stats, which helps power up its attacks, as well as increase its chances of survival against physical attackers. For example, after a Bulk Up, Dialga can survive Choice Band Terrakion's Close Combat while Dialga can easily OHKO a -1 Def Terrakion with a +1 Outrage. When Dialga manages to set up Bulk Up, it can be almost impenetrable on the physical side. Once Dialga finds an ideal time to do so, simply Rest off the damage, all the while using Sleep Talk to keep Dialga threatening to the opponent. This set is excellent for absorbing Dark Void from Darkrai since Dialga isn't deterred by falling asleep. Outrage gives Dialga more power but locks Dialga in when it is used. However, when Sleep Talk selects Outrage, it will not trap Dialga. Dragon Claw can be used if you want reliability instead of more PP and power. Since Dialga will be boosting its Defense via Bulk Up, max Special Defense is necessary to help Dialga cushion most special attacks.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Dragon Tail can be used if you really want to phaze but it is generally an inferior option as it is quite weak. Since Dialga is slow, it can lose all its boosts to a faster phazer like Lugia without even touching the opponent and most Steel-types just laugh at it.</p>

<p>Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Lugia, Groudon, Heatran, Reshiram, Fighting Arceus, Ground Arceus, Terrakion, and Lucario to some extent will cause issues for this set. The best way to address these threats is to have offensively-oriented teammates for Dialga. While it has Earthquake to deal with Heatran, Giratina-O stops most Groudon sets cold thanks to STAB Draco Meteor, its immunity to Earthquake and great defenses. Mixed Rayquaza is also an excellent teammate, since it lures in and takes out many of Dialga's checks, and doesn’t require any setup time to do so. Rayquaza needs to be aware of its surroundings, however, since switching into any of Dialga's counters will leave your Rayquaza crippled or likely fainted. While Mixed Dialga could check many of its slower enemies with the help of some EVs in Speed or even a Hasty nature, this set has many problems with Pokemon that are faster than it. Some of the recommended Scarf Pokemon mentioned in the Mixed set (Shaymin-S and Garchomp for example) are great assets since Groudon likely outspeeds this Dialga.</p>

<p>Some of the problematic Pokemon that Dialga faces cannot be exactly "countered" per se, but they should definitely be brought to attention while you plan out Dialga's setup. Wobbuffet can cause some issues with this set in particular. It can easily Encore a move and not take damage if Dialga is asleep and locked into Sleep Talk. Due to the Encore nerf, Wobbuffet will be less troublesome as Dialga can just keep boosting with Bulk Up and eventually kill Wobbuffet. With Stealth Rock, Dialga would need three Bulk Ups to nearly KO Wobbuffet with Outrage (80.7% - 95.1%). With Dragon Claw, Dialga needs three Bulk Ups in order to 2HKO Wobbuffet. Since there is no real way of countering Wobbuffet, the best that can be said is "Watch out". Haban Berry Garchomp cannot always win against this set, but it can either severely damage Dialga or scare it off. Even after a Bulk Up, a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake from Garchomp will OHKO Dialga 87% of the time. Taunt is uncommon, but it is a relevant threat since it allows Pokemon such as Mewtwo to set up freely when Dialga is asleep. Finally, watch out for Trick; since many Pokemon in the Uber metagame are part Psychic-type, it is a common move to have on Choice sets. Skarmory and Lugia don't mind Outrage at all while setting up Spikes in Skarmory's case or a Reflect in Lugia's situation. Both can easily phaze Dialga out. Dialga can beat both of them if it is the last Pokemon however, since it can no longer be phazed out. Groudon can deal massive damage to Dialga with Earthquake while possessing very high Defense. Heatran resists Dialga's only attacking move and can Taunt or even 3HKO Dialga with Flamethrower. Lucario resists Dragon-type attacks, can set up a Swords Dance and OHKO even a +1 Dialga with Close Combat. Reshiram just blows Dialga apart with its insanely powerful Specs Blue Fire, Ferrothorn can Leech Seed Dialga and set up Spikes on it while resisting Dragon-type attacks as well. Terakion ignores Defense boosts with Sacred Sword and can 2HKO Dialga with it. Fighting Arceus and Ground Arceus can easily 2HKO Dialga with their powerful Judgements while Swords Dance versions can beat Dialga with boosted Brick Breaks and Earthquakes respectively.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Outrage
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid / Hasty
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

<p>Dialga's lackluster Speed can be fixed with a Choice Scarf at the cost of locking it onto one attack. Dialga reaches 459 Speed with a Choice Scarf, which is enough to outspeed Deoxys-A. Draco Meteor is the primary attack; with Stealth Rock in play Draco Meteor easily OHKOes Darkrai, Reshiram, Zekrom, Rayquaza, Dragon Arceus, and Garchomp, and has a 33% chance of OHKOing unboosted Mewtwo. Thunder is used to 2HKO Lugia and Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock, and for inflicting severe damage onto Kyogre. Fire Blast can be used to prevent Steel-types from switching in freely, but it relies more on the team having dual weather to support both it and Thunder. Aura Sphere can prevent a Lucario or Dialga sweep, while nailing Heatran and Tyranitar for super effective damage. For the fourth moveslot, Dragon Pulse gives Dialga a move that is consistent damage-wise. On the other hand, Outrage, with a Hasty nature, can be used to take down non physically bulky Calm Mind Kyogre; it may also get the 2HKO on Blissey with some prior damage. Dialga can also check Swords Dance Arceus thanks to its resistance to Extremespeed. Keep in mind that Draco Meteor cannot KO a healthy Arceus and if Arceus has Recover, Dialga loses.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>A Modest or Mild nature can be used if you want more power behind Dialga’s attacks. The advantage of outspeeding Adamant Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Deoxys-A, and Speed tying with other Scarf users with base 90 Speed may be lost with this change, since many of them opt to run a speed boosting nature. With Modest, Dialga OHKOes Mewtwo after Stealth Rock 87% of the time and deals more damage to Arceus. When using a Modest Nature a spread of 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe can be used for more power and some extra bulk. Shift the HP EVs to Atk if you are using Outrage and change the nature to Mild or Rash.</p>

<p>Scarf Dialga can only break walls with careful prediction, but above all else Dialga wants some weather to help it take advantage of Thunder and possibly Fire Blast. Offensive Kyogre and Groudon both appreciate faster Pokemon being picked off by Dialga. Scarf Dialga may be faster than most, but it does lose to other Scarf users such as Scarf Palkia, Scarf Garchomp, Scarf Terrakion, Scarf Darkrai, and Dragon Dance Rayquaza in Speed. Groudon can handle Scarf Garchomp, Scarf Terrakion and Dragon Dance Rayquaza most of the time, though be aware that continuously taking damage will eventually wear out Groudon due to its lack of recovery. Scarf Darkrai's only threatening attacks are Dark Void and Focus Blast, the latter having only 70% accuracy. Scizor can switch into Scarf Darkrai safely and OHKO it with U-turn. It can at least take out a weakened Darkrai with Bullet Punch if necessary (54.4% - 64.4%). Finally, be very cautious of Wobbuffet as it can revenge kill Dialga easily thanks to Dialga being locked into one move. Blissey and Chansey don't fear anything from this set. Outrages usually fails to 2HKO Blissey who can use Protect as well to gain some recovery. Lugia and Ho-Oh are both problematic to this Dialga unless the weather condition is favorable. Both can easily survive Thunder however, due to their massive HP and Special Defense stat. Ferrothorn can take any attack not named Fire Blast and set up Spikes or Leech Seed Dialga. Opposing defensive Dialga can be problematic to this set as well. Defensive Arceus can take any attack with its great defenses. Groudon can take any attack and OHKO Dialga with Earthquake. Kyogre can check defensive Arceus, Ho-Oh, Lugia and Groudon with its powerful Water-type strikes. Giratina-O can handle Groudon and use Choice users stuck on Fighting- or Ground-type moves as setup bait. Lugia also makes a good partner to Dialga as it resists Dialga's two weaknesses and checks Scarf Palkia, Garchomp, and Dragon Dance Rayquaza.</p>

[SET]
name: Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere / Earth Power
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe

<p>Boosted by Choice Specs, Dialga's attacks will deal insane damage to even those who resist it. Not only does Draco Meteor OHKO Groudon, barring those that heavily invest in Special Defense, but it has enough power to OHKO Lucario who resist the attack. Even max HP Metagross has an 87% chance of being 2HKOed by Draco Meteor. Thunder helps Dialga a lot since the paralysis caters to Dialga's low Speed. After Stealth Rock, Thunder also OHKOes max HP Kyogre and Ho-Oh. Fire Blast is used to prevent wasting Draco Meteor's PP on bulkier Steel-type Pokemon such as Steel Arceus, Ferrothorn and Jirachi, while decreasing the chances of Groudon safely switching into Dialga. Since Heatran can cause trouble with its resistance to Dialga's Dragon-type attacks, Aura Sphere can be used instead. Aura Sphere is also an option over Thunder since Draco Meteor hits hard enough to OHKO min HP Kyogre anyway. Earth Power can be used if you want to OHKO defensive Heatran. Aura Sphere is Dialga's best option to kill Bulk Up Dialga, defensive Arceus and at least threaten a weakened Blissey. Draco Meteor can OHKO most opposing Dialga as well.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The given EVs allow Dialga to outspeed slow base 90s such as Groudon. They also keep Dialga very bulky so it can keep threatening the opponent. If you want Dialga to be faster, you can use more Speed EVs to outspeed the vast majority of bulky 90 base Speed Pokemon, while tying with those that attempt to be agile. Timid is also a good nature since it allows Dialga to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza, while tying with max Speed Jolly Lucario. Dialga can use 192 Speed EVs with a Timid nature to outspeed said Adamant Rayquaza and place the rest of the EVs toward HP. Max Speed Timid is also acceptable to speed tie with Specs Reshiram and outspeed Naive Giratina-O. The loss in power can be significant when using Timid though. With Max HP, Dialga can survive a Terrakion's Close Combat.</p>

<p>Dialga's biggest issues with this set can all be resolved, but with varying degrees of difficulty. Blissey and Chansey become the biggest counter to this set, since Dialga lacks any way of KOing them reliably unless they are under a third of their health. Because Dialga is great for knocking down the physical walls of Ubers, it appreciates physical attackers as its teammates. Swords Dance Garchomp enjoys Groudon and Lugia being cleared out of the way, and doesn't falter to Thunder Wave from Blissey. Granted, Garchomp still has to fear Ice Beam, but Blissey usually opts to use Seismic Toss to better handle Dialga, Kyogre, and Palkia. Swords Dance Garchomp with a Haban Berry is sufficient for the job, though Choice Band climbs in effectiveness thanks to many of the Levitating Pokemon being shut down by Draco Meteor or Thunder. Once again, weather is fairly important for this set to work effectively. Much like the Choice Scarf set, beware of Wobbuffet; it poses less of a threat since it is 2HKOed by Dragon Pulse, but it still only takes 40% max from -2 SpA Draco Meteor which allows Wobbuffet to trap Dialga after a single Draco Meteor use. Lugia can stall out Dialga unless the weather in raining. Ho-Oh can do the same but will still take huge amounts of damage from Draco Meteor. Lugia is faster than Dialga and can abuse Roost to stall out Dialga. Choice Band Garchomp and Terrakion outrun and OHKO Dialga. Both of them cannot come in on Dragon moves though. Arceus Wall can come in on any move and stall out Dialga with Recover but Draco Meteor can nearly OHKO Arceus. Ground Arceus and Fighting Arceus are both the best variants to deal with Dialga. Kyogre can drown Terrakion and Ground Arceus while Ho-Oh can deal with Fighting Arceus. Ho-Oh resists Dialga's two weaknesses while Dialga in turn resists Ho-Oh's weaknesses to Rock, Electric and Water. Zekrom can easily scare off Blissey and Chansey while Dialga lures in and smashes Groudon with a powerful Draco Meteor or roasts Ferrothorn with Fire Blast. Zekrom handles Ho-Oh, and Lugia decently too. However, Zekrom shares a Ground weakness with Dialga. Skarmory can set up Spikes on Groudon, Lugia and Blissey or Chansey who might come in to wall Dialga. If Chansey and Blissey are weakened by Spikes, Dialga might be able to musle its way past the pink blobs.</p>

<p>All Dialga sets enjoy Stealth Rock support, since it turns certain 2HKOs into OHKOs, and wears down some of its checks, such as Lugia. Despite having an excellent typing, wonderful defenses, and an immunity to Toxic Spikes, Dialga unfortunately lacks a reliable way to restore its health beyond using Rest. Thus, Wish support can greatly extend its life span. The main Wish users are Blissey, Chansey, and Jirachi. Latias shares good typing synergy with Dialga but can only pass small wishes and without Soul Dew she isn't that useful in Ubers anymore. Dialga resists Latias's Ghost and Dark weaknesses while Latias provides a Ground immunity and Fighting resistance. Offensive Dialga also enjoy paralysis support (except for the Choice Scarf set, where it's redundant most of the time), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Chansey, Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias can also use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) to further support Dialga. Chansey and Blissey however, usually prefer to use Toxic. Groudon is another excellent user of Thunder Wave because not only can it scare off Steel-types, but it can also lure in and paralyze Lugia, meaning Lugia will have a harder time using Roost to stall offensive Dialga. Groudon can also act as a check to Ho-Oh if Groudon can outrun Ho-Oh. If Ferrothorn is problematic by soaking up Dialga's Dragon moves, Groudon can use Fire Punch to surprise the unfortunate shell.</p>

<p>Few Pokemon can have an easy switch-in on Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokemon that can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, high Speed, or very good defenses. Most of these problematic Pokemon cannot switch in safely on Dialga so, they need to go for the revenge kills. Groudon in particular can use a specially-defensive EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults, bar Choice Specs Draco Meteors, and use its STAB Earthquakes to take Dialga down. It may also be able to set up Rock Polish to threaten a sweep if it switches into the right attack (such as Thunder). Shaymin-S carrying a Choice Scarf can solve this problem, thanks to its immunity to Earthquake, and its ability to outspeed and OHKO Adamant Rock Polish Groudon with Seed Flare. Life Orb Lucario and Life Orb Garchomp can OHKO Dialga with Close Combat and Earthquake, respectively. Gengar can use Focus Blast to OHKO Lucario, and Hidden Power Ice to OHKO Garchomp. Although these Pokemon cannot always OHKO the bulkier Dialga variants, Gengar and Darkrai can threaten to do a huge amount of damage to Dialga with Focus Blast, while Mewtwo can use the more accurate Aura Sphere. Using your own Mewtwo can help since it can switch into Gengar's Focus Blast and threaten to OHKO it with Psycho Break. Choice Scarf Heracross can switch into both Darkrai's Focus Blast and Mewtwo's Aura Sphere, and threaten to OHKO them with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to strike back if Darkrai uses Dark Void. Choice Scarf Kyogre can easily OHKO Darkrai, Mewtwo and Gengar with Water Spout while scaring off Groudon at the same time. Scarf Terrakion can revenge kill Darkrai as well. Scarf Zekrom can revenge kill Mewtwo, Gengar, Lugia and Darkrai regardless of Calm Minds.</p>

<p>Dialga is an extremely sturdy Pokemon. Fighting- and Ground-type moves are moderately common in Ubers, so Pokemon that cover those two weaknesses complement Dialga very well defensively. Giratina-O and Gengar are fantastic examples of this, as they are immune to both of Dialga's weaknesses, while they will both attract Ghost- and Dark-type attacks that Dialga can easily switch into and wreck havoc. Giratina-O also has good defenses and can handle Groudon with ease. Lugia is a particularly good defensive partner, as it not only possesses gargantuan defenses and an immunity to Ground-type attacks, but also a 4x resistance to Fighting-type attacks. Additionally, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, Ho-Oh, and Shaymin-S complement Dialga well, thanks to their immunities to Ground-type moves and resistances to Fighting-type moves. Although Skarmory is only covering Dialga's Ground-type weakness, it has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokemon such as Groudon, Terrakion and Garchomp. Finally, the many Psychic-types of Ubers, such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo, are able to competently cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting-type attacks. Reshiram can blow past Heatran if Dialga is using Groudon as a partner. Groudon may not share good typing synergy with Dialga but Groudon can check Garchomp, opposing Groudon, Lucario, and Terrakion for Dialga. As a bonus, Groudon can set up Stealth Rock for Dialga if Dialga isn't using it. Ghost Arceus and Giratina can be used to resist Dialga's Fighting-type weakness. They both attract Ghost- or Dark-type moves which Dialga can switch into with impunity. Giratina also walls Groudon and Terrakion for Dialga. Psychic Arceus can be used as a partner if Dialga is having serious problems with Fighting Arceus or Mewtwo.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Dialga has a very wide movepool and some can work as potential support moves. Psych Up can be useful on Dialga, allowing it to copy the stat boosts that Calm Mind Kyogre or Arceus may have netted. Dialga is a great user of Trick Room in Ubers too, having brilliant all-around stats bar Speed. Trick Room is best used on the Mixed Set which is already mentioned. Flash Cannon is an auxiliary STAB attack, but Steel is a poor offensive type. Ice Beam with Choice Specs allows Dialga to OHKO Groudon without resorting to Draco Meteor or Overheat, but is otherwise generally a poor choice since Dialga already has powerful Dragon-type STAB. Iron Tail should never be used, because as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and its 75% accuracy leaves much to be desired. Iron Head can surprise Tyranitar and Calm Mind Rock Arceus but that's about it. A Choice Band set could work but it is outclassed by Zekrom who has STAB Electric-type attacks at its disposal to break through Lugia.</p>

<p>Magnet Rise can be a good option on some Dialga sets, as it can foil Dialga's arch enemy, Groudon. If you opt for Bulk Up with Magnet Rise, then use an EV spread of 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe. This allows Dialga to use Bulk Up as Groudon switches in, use Magnet Rise before most Groudon can move, and then either hit the next switch-in hard with Outrage or Earthquake, or use Bulk Up again. This is, however, not recommended as Groudon can just Dragon Tail Dialga out. Balloon can be used to keep Dialga safe from Ground-type moves before it is hit, and can be used on the Mixed Set. Dialga can also fly over Spikes with Balloon. The power boost from Life Orb or Expert Belt are usually better though since Dialga misses the power.</p>

<p>Roar of Time sounds and looks cool, but is in fact a terrible move to use, as is the rest of the Hyper Beam suite; Draco Meteor and even Dragon Pulse out-damages it over the course of two turns, and the unavoidable second turn recharge is a perfect opportunity for something threatening to set up. As for items, Choice Scarf can be used with physical moves if so desired, but Dialga's physical attacks are generally weak if unboosted. Using Roar of Time as a suicide move seems appetizing but is generally a gimmicky option.<p>

<p>A 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SpD EV spread can be used if you just want to maximize Dialga's ability to take special attacks. An alternative EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD can be used to take physical attacks better, but is generally a horrible option as Groudon does that much better. Dialga should not try to imitate Groudon but instead utilize its auspicious typing and special attacking prowess.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Dialga is extremely hard to counter due to its sheer power and versatility. How it can be countered depends on the weather conditions and the moveset it is using. In general, Ho-Oh and Heatran can counter Dialga while under sunny conditions. Lugia fears nothing from most sets bar Thunders in the rain. The biggest thing to note is that Thunder's accuracy is cut to 50% under the sun, which means there is only a 15% chance that Ho-Oh and Heatran will be hit by Thunder followed by paralysis. Meanwhile, Ho-Oh’s impressive Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to inflict a burn on Dialga, which hampers the Mixed sets using Outrage and hurts Dialga in general since it forces Dialga to swallow 12.5% of its health every turn. A burned Dialga can never get past the pink blobs unless Dialga is using the Defensive Bulk Up set. With Ho-Oh's access to recovery, Pressure, and a high Special Defense stat, Dialga is in trouble when it only has Stone Edge or the rare Power Gem to kill Ho-Oh. Heatran can shut down the Bulk Up set with a simple use of Taunt, while fearing only Earthquake or Aura Sphere at worst from Dialga. Earth Power from the Choice sets can surprise Heatran as well. Scarf Reshiram can OHKO most sets other than the Defensive Bulk Up set with Blue Fire. Reshiram cannot come in on Dragon-type moves though. When facing a Defensive Bulk Up set, Reshiram can just incinerate Dialga in a single hit with Specs Blue Fire. If rain is present, countering Dialga will be harder, as a 30% chance of paralysis from Thunder is nothing to scoff at. Scizor can fire off Superpower at Dialga for super effective damage. Superpower will not OHKO Dialga though and Fire Blast will still hurt Scizor in the rain. Metagross can step into the scene and launch an Earthquake at Dialga, or use Trick on sets such as Bulk Up or Support to cripple Dialga. It also does well at countering the Mixed sets, though beware of stepping into either Earth Power or Fire-type moves in the sun. Metagross is only 2x weak to Fire-type attacks so it can counter Dialga better than Scizor can. Bear in mind, both Metagross and Scizor are not counters to Bulk Up Dialga as it can Bulk Up twice before both the Steel-types can attack it. Ferrothorn has the Steel typing and good Special Defense to shield it from most attacks Dialga usually carries bar Fire-type moves. In rain, Ferrothorn can survive even Fire-type moves and annoy Dialga with Leech Seed or set up Spikes on it.</p>

<p>Groudon is a good counter since it threatens Dialga with STAB Earthquake, and has access to Roar or Dragon Tail to nullify the Bulk Up set. Offensive Groudon can has an easier time KOing Dialga as most Dialga are slower than it. Blissey and Chansey can usually take on all non-Bulk Up sets, though beware that the Mixed Set can carry Outrage to 2HKO both. Brick Break can 2HKO Blissey but Chansey can usually survive 2 hits thanks to Eviolite. Skarmory does well at countering the Bulk Up set which has no answer against Skarmory, except if Skarmory and Dialga are the last Pokemon standing. Skarmory can still Taunt Dialga but Skarmory will run out of Roost PP before Dialga finishes spamming boosted Outrages. Lugia is a great counter to Dialga regardless of the weather, as it can survive 2 Thunders. Specs Thunder can hurt Lugia however, due to the possible paralysis preventing Lugia from using Roost on Dialga. It can set up Reflect to severely weaken Dialga's physical moves, while Whirlwind deals with the Bulk Up set. Tyranitar, especially those that invest in Special Defense, can be a great Dialga check when it is at full health. Tyranitar can deal massive damage to Dialga with Earthquake or Superpower. Wobbuffet can be an annoying Pokemon for Dialga to deal with, since Dialga lacks Taunt and cannot OHKO Wobbuffet on the spot. It has to beware of the Mixed set and Specs Draco Meteor though. A Specs Draco Meteor will nearly kill Wobbuffet after a bit of prior damage. Ground Arceus can easily fell Dialga with Earthquake or Judgement while sporting magnificent defenses and Recover to shrug off most hits. Fighting Arceus can take any attack and 2HKO even the bulkiest Dialga with Judgement. Defensive Normal Arceus can also wall Dialga but fails to do much back to Dialga outside of Earthquake.</p>

<p>Since Dialga is one of the slowest Pokemon in Ubers, you can use faster Pokemon to revenge kill it. This strategy fails when Dialga carries a Choice Scarf, but is still the safest way of dealing with most Dialga sets. Life Orb Mewtwo's Aura Sphere can OHKO min HP / min SpD Dialga 43% of the time while Specs Aura Sphere will always OHKO. Deoxys-A has access to Superpower to obliterate Dialga on the spot, as it does around the same damage as Mewtwo's Choice Specs Aura Sphere. Garchomp has access to STAB Earthquake to smack Dialga hard. Terrakion can OHKO most offensive Dialga with Close Combat. If it is the support Dialga set, all of the afromentioned counters fail to OHKO while they will receive massive damage from Dialga's powerful strikes in the process. Darkrai can use Dark Void to nullify every set barring the Bulk Up set, while OHKOing Dialga with a Nasty Plot-boosted Focus Blast.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Dialga gained nothing in Dream World other than Telepathy which is useless in singles competitive play.</p>
 
One of the best Dialga movesets in my opinion:

Dilation (Dialga) @ Life Orb Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Aura Sphere
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Thunder


A pure special attacker which causes great devastation with its powerful and versatile array of moves.
 
name: Sleepy Shuffler
move 1: Draco Meteor / Stealth Rock
move 2: Rest
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Dragon Tail
item: Leftovers
nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

Title says it all. It could work and be of some use but then again, everything in Ubers hits hard and there's Darkrai and Shedinja to worry about. This set is also dependant on entry hazards. The EVs are for equal defences. Still worth a shot.
 
Chances are the pure Special attacking set is not much different than the Mixed Set other than adding Aura Sphere over Outrage or Brick Break. Also it's identical to the Specs set without Choice Specs. The set is just begging Blissey or Chansey to wall it to hell. 252 Speed EVs and Modest? What are you trying to do? Use Timid for Max speed or use HP EVs.

As for the Sleepy Shuffler, it doesn't deserve it's own set. Bulk Up Dialga utilizes Dialga's bulk and offensive power in one set. Next, you are outphazed by Groudon. Lugia, Arceus and pretty much any other phazer. Draco Meteor is surprisingly weak in the set you are using. Utilizing Stealth Rock in a Resttalk set, to be honest is a horrible option. If you want to phaze use Giratina or Lugia who have better defenses. Sure Dialga has arguably better typing but it isn't suitable for a Resttalk set. Sleep counters being removed as soon as one switches isn't fun either. Steel types such as Ferrothorn or Forretress just laugh at that Dialga set. The Support Dialga set on the other hand, can roast Steels while abusing phazing at the same time. Dialga gets recovery with Rest but Rest sucks on Dialga. It can already gain a lot of recovery from Leftovers since Dialga forces a lot of switches, or you can use Wish support from Blissey or Chansey. Losing Dialga's versatility and power by using Resttalk just isn't worth it. You will also be surprised when your Dialga set is actually 3HKOed by a lot of things which will be a disaster to a sleeping Dialga. Palkia's Spacial Rend, Reshiram's Specs Dragon Pulse can 2HKO, Rayquaza's Brick Break or Outrage + Draco Meteor 2HKOes you.

Note: Shedinja sucks in Ubers. Also, you mentioned the set works well with entry hazards, how is Shedinja problematic? Dialga can even outstall some Shedinja lol until buggy struggles.

EDIT : Ready for QC approval.
 

firecape

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I would suggest removing the slash on either Fire Blast or Flamethrower, and moving Toxic to additional comments. I know they are all good but there's a bit too many slashes in my opinion (the defensive set is the one im refering to).


1/2
 

shrang

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I would consider slashing Dragon Tail over Dragon Claw on the Bulk Up set. Dragon Claw is just. so. weak. If you don't care about power, you might as well use Dragon Tail to be an annoying bum and phaze out opponents while making them eat entry hazards. You mention that Lugia will phaze you out since it's faster, but Lugia isn't the only phazer in Ubers, and most other phazers are outsped and Dragon Tailed out anyway, especially something like Skarmory. If you get up layers of entry hazards (SR + like 2 layers of Spikes or something), Dragon Tail Dialga really gets on your nerves because 1) it doesn't die and 2) you can't phaze it out either (unless you're running Lugia). Just mention that you can use something like Wobb+Scizor combo to Pursuit the hell out of Lugia, then you're home free!!
 
Actually Lugia doesn't die to Wobbuffet + Scizor. Lugia can just spam Reflect and survive the Pursuit while the Encore nerf allows Lugia to not mind Encore too much.

Dialga is pretty slow, Arceus phazes it first and it has to speed tie with Groudon, Giratina, Giratina-O, opposing Dialga and some Roar Kyogres. Losing all the boosts to something like Roar Arceus isn't fun either. Roar Arceus is pretty common considering Steelceus commonly uses it. +1 Dragon Tail doesn't even OHKO Garchomp lol. Bulk Up Dialga should beat Garchomp at +1 but Dragon Tail can't. Even after several boosts, Dragon Tail does laughable damage to things like Arceus.
 

Jibaku

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2/2

Man firecape sucks.

Put Fire Blast back onto the main set; it allows Dialga to 2HKO Groudon without resorting to DM, as well as 2HKOing Ferrothorn in Rain. Take off Thunder Wave (if anyone is going to use TWave they'd use it on the last slot. Stealth Rock is pretty
much a staple).

Also Test Dragon Tail over the physical attacks on the mixed set.
 
Fixed everything but firecape doesn't suck actually.

Dragon Tail slows down Dialga's attacking pressure it puts on the opponent. While it sometimes work with Spikes support, I found it to be too unreliable. Giratina-O blocks Rapid Spin too which allows it to just Dragon Tail Rapid Spinners out without fear of losing all the Spikes. Most of the time, Dialga didn't even have the time to use Dragon Tail. I already mentioned Dragon Tail in AC.
 
Dust is gathering on this metal dragon.

Deletions
Additions / Corrections
Comments

[Overview]

<p>Dialga’s unique typing and well-distributed stats allows it to fit in a variety of teams. On the offensive side, Dialga has a stunning base 120 Attack and base 150 Special Attack that's backed by the ever-dominant Dragon-type STAB. Dialga's amazing offensive stats allow it to puncture entire teams with it's immensely powerful Draco Meteor and incredible movepool. Defensively, Dialga’s typing offers it a whopping total of nine resistances and an immunity, as well as neutrality to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks, something other Dragon-type Pokemon would kill for. The unfortunate weakness to Ground- and Fighting- attacks might be disappointing, but Dialga is capable of surviving even a Terakion's Close Combat easily. With its stellar base defenses combined with the aforementioned resistances, Dialga is a difficult Pokemon to take down unless you target its uncommon weaknesses. Dialga is also revered as an excellent utility Pokemon thanks to its equally-vast (remove hyphen) support movepool. Even with the rise of the new legendary Dragon-types, Reshiram and Zekrom, Dialga still remains as one of the most widely used Dragon thanks to Dialga's unpredictability.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive Dialga
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Roar / Dragon Tail / Thunder
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest / Quiet
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD

<p>Dialga is one of the very few Dragon-types who can go on the supportive route. Stealth Rock requires no real explanation, though keep in mind that Dialga should lay down Stealth Rock as soon as possible to prevent Lugia or Ho-Oh from switching into Dialga freely. The next move is dependent on the type of team that Dialga is supporting. Draco Meteor can be used to dish out immediate damage and stripping off more than half of Groudon's health. If one still favors PP and consistency, Dragon Pulse offers Dialga a decently powerful move without the need to switch out after one use. Bare in mind, Groudon is a common switch in to Dialga and Dragon Pulse just can't hit Groudon hard enough to prevent it from coming in. Draco Meteor has the added bonus of OHKOing Reshiram and Palkia without the need of Stealth Rock damage. Fire Blast is the preferred Fire-type move for the extra power, and it has the added bonus of 2HKOing most Groudon and OHKOing some Nattorei Ferrothorn in the rain. Flamethrower helps keep Forretress and other Steel-types, barring opposing Dialga and Heatran, from setting up on Dialga, but is generally an inferior move compared to Fire Blast. Roar can be used effectively with Dialga to rack up residual damage. If you want to able to phaze through Taunt instead of Substitute, Dragon Tail works fine as an alternative. Dialga also conveniently gets STAB from Dragon Tail. Since Dialga it forces a lot of switches, Dialga makes an excellent phazer. Thunder works best alongside Kyogre as its Drizzle ability remedies Thunder’s poor accuracy. Dialga can also act as a check to Zekrom by resisting Lightning Strike and surviving 2 unboosted Outrages on average, while Dialga's Draco Meteor will OHKO Zekrom.</p>

<p>The given EVs ensure that Palkia's Lustrous Orb-boosted Spacial Rend will not 2HKO Dialga. Conveniently, Dialga can also survive 2 full power non-Specs Water Spouts from Kyogre. This allows Dialga to use Thunder Wave, then Stealth Rock, and then switch to the appropriate counter. When using Thunder, Dialga can beat most Kyogres one-on-one. The Special Attack EVs and Modest nature allows Dialga to OHKO Darkrai with Draco Meteor. Thunder also 2HKOes most Kyogre and some Ho-Oh.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>This set can also be used as a lead. Lum Berry can be used to prevent Dialga from being put to sleep by Darkrai leads, allowing Dialga to severely cripple them with Thunder Wave or OHKO them with Draco Meteor. Dialga is, however, unable to prevent Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A from setting up Stealth Rock and possibly a layer of Spikes. Due to the rarity of Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A this generation, Dialga will have a much easier time leading the team as a lead. Toxic can be used to cripple walls such as Lugia.</p>

<p>Dialga, on a stall team, On a stall team, Dialga appreciates the residual damage from Spikes and or Toxic Spikes. Forretress is the only Pokemon capable of laying down Toxic Spikes in the Uber metagame. This lessens the need for Toxic, since the only Pokemon that Toxic Spikes will miss are Levitating and Flying-types and Pokemon with Levitate Pokemon, and some of them can be removed by Dialga’s powerful strikes. Forretress can also lay down Spikes, but relying on it to lay down all three layers of Spikes and two layers of Toxic Spikes puts Forretress under a lot of stress. As a lead, Deoxys-S can set up Spikes, since it can forgo Stealth Rock if Dialga opts to use it. Skarmory is an excellent Pokemon in this situation, since it completely walls Groudon barring the rare Overheat or Fire Punch, can set up Spikes, has access to a recovery move, and can use Whirlwind to force switches. With entry hazards taken into account, Dialga needs a teammate that can block Rapid Spin. Giratina-O or Ghost Arceus is the best Pokemon for the job. Giratina-O shares great typing synergy with Dialga by being immune to both Ground- and Fighting-type attacks while checking Groudon as well. Dialga also resists Giratina-O's weakness to Dark- and Ghost-type attacks.</p>

<p>Offensive teams will appreciate Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave or Toxic support. Rayquaza, for example, has an easier time crushing teams if most of the opponent’s Pokemon is slower than it. With Toxic crippling defensive Pokemon, Arceus has an easier time sweeping the opponent. For example, if Lugia is poisoned, it can no longer wall Extremekiller Arceus. Offensive Groudon loves Support Dialga, since many of its checks such as Skarmory and Giratina can be battered by Dialga. Swords Dance Groudon climbs in effectiveness with Thunder Wave support, while Rock Polish Groudon is solid with Toxic support.</p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Dialga
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Outrage / Brick Break
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up / Trick Room
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Mild / Quiet
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe

<p>STAB Draco Meteor bolstered by 438 Special Attack is frightening for any almost any opponent. Only Steel-type Pokemon, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Chansey and Blissey can take Draco Meteor without the risk of being 2HKOed in the process, though some frailer Steel-types such as Lucario take major damage anyway (66.2% - 77.9% if Dialga is Mild). Brick Break, with the given Attack EVs, will 2HKO Blissey and most Chansey with Stealth Rock in play, while Outrage is an excellent attack to use with or without Bulk Up. Without Bulk Up, Dialga can use Outrage with a Life Orb to 2HKO most Kyogre and both pink blobs. Bulk Up is a great lure move since it draws in Groudon, which is in turn shut down by STAB Draco Meteor. With Bulk Up, Dialga should be able to even surge through Wish Blissey. Fire Blast is the best attack for taking down the vast majority of Steel-types in the Uber metagame, but it comes with the downside of being weakened by rain. This can be resolved by partnering Dialga with Groudon or Tyranitar. The final slot should generally be Thunder due to its perfect accuracy in the rain; with its 30% chance of paralysis, most opponents will think twice before they switch in, since many Dialga checks or counters rely on their Speed. Thunder also smacks Ho-Oh and Lugia. Bare in mind Thunder's accuracy is hampered in the sun and both can remove their weakness with Roost as long as they are faster. To deal with both Ho-Oh and Lugia, Dialga can be partnered with Kyogre who easily scares off both the GSC legends. Trick Room can be used alongside a Quiet nature if you want to use Dialga in a Trick Room team. Dialga's massive power and bulk allows it to set up and abuse Trick Room on its own.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>To maximize Dialga’s potential, there are many options in regards to natures and EVs. The suggested EV spread and nature allows Dialga’s Draco Meteor to hit with maximum power and outspeed slow base 90s who don't invest in Speed. 252 Atk EVs grant Dialga the ability to 2HKO most Blissey and Chansey with Outrage or Brick Break. Life Orb-boosted Outrage also 2HKOes max HP / min Def Kyogre and Ho-Oh, which means Dialga can be effective at taking out Mono-Attacker Kyogre and surprise Ho-Oh. If you opt for Mild, you should use Expert Belt, since it provides enough power to obtain the same KOs as Life Orb while conserving Dialga’s HP. Hasty, with 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe EVs, allows Dialga to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza and Adamant Lucario. Hasty with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe also works well here if you want to just max out Speed. Outspeeding Adamant Rayquaza means that Dialga’s team is less susceptible to a Swords Dance Rayquaza sweep, though keep in mind that most Rayquaza sets use a positive Speed-boosting nature. With a Hasty nature, Dialga will need a Life Orb in order to stay competitive offensively. Because Dialga can survive Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake and even Life Orb Aura Sphere from Mewtwo, Dialga it can effectively utilize a spread of 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA with a Quiet nature in order to survive one of those assaults. Expert Belt is preferable for Quiet Dialga since the main goal is to make sure ensure that Dialga is as healthy as possible in case it needs to take these extreme hits. Life Orb can be used, however, since Dialga can even OHKO Support Groudon with Draco Meteor 100% of the time with a Quiet nature, which is slightly reduced to 87% with Hasty; Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes assures the KO. Brick Break, with Stealth Rock in play, can also be used to easily 2HKO Heatran who otherwise can wall this set. A Quiet nature with minimum Speed IVs and maximum offenses on both sides, allows Dialga to function well in Trick Room teams.</p>

<p>Some options were left out of the set because they are generally inferior options, but are nevertheless effective choices if Dialga needs them. Dragon Tail can be used over Brick Break or Outrage to abuse entry hazards and play mind games with the opponent. Obviously when using Dragon Tail, Dialga should use Adamant Orb over Life Orb. Earth Power means Dialga will never fall to a Heatran switch-in. Stealth Rock is also an option since Dialga forces many switches and it prevents Ho-Oh from walling Dialga. Finally, Stone Edge or Power Gem can be used if Dialga’s team has issues with Ho-Oh. While Draco Meteor and Outrage do sufficient damage by themselves, Draco Meteor has the nasty drawback of -2 SpA while Pressure takes away 2 PP in the process. Outrage is risky since Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire has a 50% chance of a burn behind it, and usually has boosted power thanks to most Ho-Oh being used in conjunction with sunlight. These moves can replace either Thunder or Fire Blast. For items, Leftovers and Adamant Orb are viable. Leftovers offer Dialga recovery and works well with the Quiet spread, while Adamant Orb helps bluff a choice item.</p>

<p>While Dialga hits extremely hard, it does require support from its teammates. As shown with just a few damage calculations, Dialga appreciates entry hazards to help it net its KOs. Leads such as Deoxys-S or Deoxys-A are great choices for teammates, since they have a high chance of getting Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes up if they are not facing a Forretress lead. Forretress is also a great partner, as it has the added benefit of removing entry hazards on your side of the field thanks to Rapid Spin, and can set up Toxic Spikes to weaken Groudon and the pink blobs. Giratina-O can also be a staple provided that you’re using entry hazards. It has the added benefit of being able to handle Groudon well thanks to its Earthquake immunity to Earthquake and amazing overall defensive stats. Since Thunder is reliant on rain, Kyogre is an excellent partner, as not only does its ability boost Thunder’s accuracy to 100%, but it also nullifies Heatran as a threat while making Reshiram and Ho-Oh less effective, thanks to Dialga resisting Brave Bird. Sadly, Groudon doesn’t bring as many benefits to the table as Kyogre does, though Support Groudon is an excellent teammate as it can slow Dialga’s counters down with Thunder Wave while being able to set up Stealth Rock. Groudon's sunlight allows Reshiram to OHKO Dialga, however. Since Dialga is great at breaking through most defensive teams in general, offensive Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Garchomp appreciate having Dialga as their partner. Some Arceus variants can also wall Dialga. Defensive Normal Arceus wall takes a lot of damage from Draco Meteor, but it can stall it out due to Recover while Dialga is killing itself through Life Orb Recoil. Brick Break and Outrage will fail to 2HKO defensive Arceus. Ho-Oh can nail most defensive Arceus, while Tyranitar can be used with Dialga to take down most bulky Calm Mind Arceus.</p>

<p>Dialga’s other issues involve its average Speed, which leaves it susceptible to being revenge killed by Pokemon such as Mewtwo and Darkrai. Scarf Garchomp is a great partner since it outspeeds Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Scarf Palkia. Another great Scarf user is Shaymin-S, which can target both Kyogre and Groudon with STAB Seed Flare while outspeeding Adamant Rock Polish Groudon. Scarf Tyranitar is rather slow; however, its natural bulk and SpD boost from the sandstorm allows it to be effective at revenge killing non-Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Swords Dance Lucario, Heatran, Reshiram and Ho-Oh. While Wobbuffet is slower than Choice Scarf users, it has the advantage of being able to cushion at least one hit from a Scarf Pokemon before biting the dust. Finally, Heatran does very well at stopping a Mixed Dialga sweep cold, so teammates are needed to handle this situation. Kyogre stops Heatran easily thanks to Drizzle and its incredible Special stats. Rayquaza’s Air Lock nullifies the sunlight’s boost, and it can switch into Earth Power freely, though it has to be careful when facing Dragon Pulse variants. Reshiram can also blow past Heatran with Turbo Blaze Blue Fire while sporting a 4x resistance to Fire-type attacks and great Special Defense.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive Bulk Up
move 1: Rest
move 2: Sleep Talk
move 3: Bulk Up
move 4: Outrage / Dragon Claw
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>This set takes advantage of Dialga’s numerous resistances, well-distributed defensive stats, access to a STAB attack that only has one resistance, and Bulk Up. Bulk Up boosts Dialga’s Attack and Defense stats, which helps power up its attacks, as well as increase its chances of survival against physical attacking Pokemon attackers. For example, after a Bulk Up, Dialga can survive Choice Band Terrakion's Close Combat, while Dialga can easily OHKO a -1 Def Terrakion with a +1 Outrage. When Dialga manages to set up Bulk Up, it can be almost impenetrable on the physical side. Once Dialga finds an ideal time to do so, simply Rest off the damage, all the while using Sleep Talk to keep Dialga threatening to the opponent. This set is excellent for absorbing Dark Void from Darkrai, since Dialga isn’t deterred by falling asleep. Outrage gives Dialga more power but locks Dialga in when it is used. Dragon Claw can be used if you want reliability instead of more PP and power. However, when Sleep Talk selects Outrage, it will not trap Dialga. Since Dialga will be boosting its Defense via Bulk Up, max Special Defense is necessary to help Dialga cushion most special attacks.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Dragon Tail can be used if you really want to phaze, but it is generally an inferior option as it is quite weak. Since Dialga is slow, it can lose all its boosts to a faster phazer like Lugia without even touching the opponent, and most Steel types just laugh at it.</p>

<p>Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Lugia, Groudon, Heatran, Reshiram, Fighting Arceus, Ground Arceus, Terrakion, and Lucario to some extent will cause issues for this set. The best way to address these threats is to have offensively-oriented teammates for Dialga. While it will has Earthquake to deal with Heatran, Giratina-O stops most Groudon sets cold thanks to STAB Draco Meteor, and its immunity to Earthquake, and great defenses. Mixed Rayquaza is also an excellent teammate, since it lures in and takes out many of Dialga’s checks, and doesn’t require any setup time to do so. Rayquaza needs to be aware of its surroundings, however, since switching into any of Dialga's counters will leave your Rayquaza crippled or likely fainted cripple Dialga or KO it. While Mixed Dialga could check many of its slower enemies with the help of some Speed EV investment investing some EVs in Speed or even a Hasty nature, this set has many problems with Pokemon that are faster than it. Some of the recommended Scarf Pokemon users mentioned in the Mixed set (Shaymin-S and Garchomp for example) are great assets, since Groudon likely outspeeds this Dialga.</p>

<p>Some of the problematic Pokemon that Dialga faces cannot be exactly "countered" per se, but they should definitely be brought to attention while you plan out Dialga's setup. Wobbuffet can cause some issues with this set in particular. It can easily Encore a move and not take damage if Dialga is asleep and locked into Sleep Talk. Due to the Encore nerf, Wobbuffet will be less troublesome, as Dialga can just keep boosting with Bulk Up, and eventually killing KO Wobbuffet. Assuming With Stealth Rock, Dialga would need three Bulk Ups to nearly KO Wobbuffet with Outrage (80.7% - 95.1%). With Dragon Claw, Dialga needs three Bulk Ups in order to 2HKO Wobbuffet. Since there is no real way of countering Wobbuffet, the best that can be said is “Watch out”. Haban Berry Garchomp cannot always win against this set, but it can either severely damage Dialga or scare it off. Even after a Bulk Up, a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake from Garchomp will OHKO Dialga 87% of the time. Taunt is uncommon, but it is a relevant threat since it allows Pokemon such as Mewtwo to set up freely when Dialga is asleep. Finally, watch out for Trick; since many Pokemon in the Uber metagame are part Psychic-type, it is a common move to have on Choice sets. Skarmory and Lugia don't mind Outrage at all while setting up Spikes in Skarmory's case or a Reflect in Lugia's situation. Both can easily phaze Dialga out. Dialga can beat both of them if it is the last pokemon however, since it can no longer be phazed out. Groudon can deal massive damage to Dialga with Earthquake while possessing very high physical Defense. Heatran resists Dialga's only attacking move, and can Taunt or even 3HKO Dialga with Flamethrower. Lucario resists Dragon-type attacks, and can set up a Swords Dance, and OHKO even a +1 Dialga with Close Combat. Reshiram just blows Dialga apart with its insanely powerful Specs Blue Fire,. Ferrothorn can Leech Seed Dialga and set up Spikes on it while resisting Dragon-type attacks as well. Terakion ignores Defense boosts with Sacred Sword and can 2HKO Dialga with it. Fighting Arceus and Ground Arceus can easily 2HKO Dialga with their powerful Judgements, while Swords Dance versions can beat Dialga with boosted Brick Breaks and Earthquakes respectively.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Outrage
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid / Hasty
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

<p>Dialga’s lackluster Speed can be fixed with the item a Choice Scarf at the cost of locking Dialga it onto one attack. Dialga reaches 459 Speed with a Choice Scarf, which is enough to outspeed Deoxys-A. Draco Meteor is the primary attack; with Stealth Rock in play, Draco Meteor easily OHKOes Darkrai, Reshiram, Zekrom, Rayquaza, Dragon Arceus, and Garchomp, and has a 33% chance of OHKOing unboosted Mewtwo. Thunder is used to 2HKO Lugia and Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock, and for inflicting severe damage onto Kyogre. Fire Blast can be used to prevent Steel-types from switching in freely, but it relies more on the team having dual weather to support both it and Thunder. Aura Sphere can prevent a Lucario or Dialga sweep, while nailing Heatran and Tyranitar for super effective damage. For the fourth moveslot, Dragon Pulse gives Dialga a move that is consistent damage-wise. On the other hand, Outrage, with a Hasty nature, can be used to take down non physically bulky Calm Mind Kyogre; it may also get the 2HKO on Blissey with some prior damage. Dialga can also check Swords Dance Arceus thanks to its resistance to Extremespeed. Keep in mind that Draco Meteor cannot KO a healthy Arceus, and if Arceus has Recover, Dialga loses.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>A Modest or Mild nature can be used if you want more power behind Dialga’s attacks. The advantage of outspeeding Adamant Dragon Dance Rayquaza, and Deoxys-A, and Speed tying with other base 90 Scarfers Scarf users with base 90 Speed may be lost with this change, since many of them opt to run a Speed-boosting nature. With Modest, Dialga OHKOes Mewtwo after Stealth Rock 87% of the time, and deals more damage to Arceus. When using a Modest Nature, a spread of 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe can be used for more power and some extra bulk. Shift the HP EVs to Atk if you are using Outrage and change the nature to Mild or Rash.</p>

<p>Scarf Dialga can only break walls with careful prediction, but above all else, Dialga wants some weather to help it take advantage of Thunder and possibly Fire Blast. Offensive Kyogre and Groudon both appreciate faster Pokemon being picked off by Dialga. Scarf Dialga may be faster than most, but it does lose to other Scarf users such as Scarf Palkia, Scarf Garchomp, Scarf Terrakion, Scarf Darkrai, and Dragon Dance Rayquaza in Speed. Groudon can handle Scarf Garchomp, Scarf Terrakion and Dragon Dance Rayquaza most of the time, though beware that continuously taking damage will eventually wear out Groudon due to its lack of recovery. Scarf Darkrai’s only threatening attacks are Dark Void and Focus Blast, the latter having only 70% accuracy. Scizor can switch into Scarf Darkrai safely, and OHKO it with U-turn. It can at least take out a weakened Darkrai with Bullet Punch if necessary (54.4% - 64.4%). Finally, be very cautious of Wobbuffet, as it can revenge kill Dialga easily thanks to the Choice lock Dialga being locked into one move. Blissey and Chansey doesn't fear anything from this set. Outrages usually fails to 2HKO Blissey, who can use Protect as well to gain some recovery. Lugia and Ho-Oh are both problematic to this Dialga unless the weather condition is favorable. Both can easily survive Thunder however, due to their massive HP and Special Defense score. Ferrothorn can stomach any attack not named Fire Blast, and set up Spikes or Leech Seed Dialga. Opposing defensive Dialga can be problematic to this set as well. Defensive Arceus can take any attack with its great defenses. Groudon can take any attack, and OHKO Dialga with Earthquake. Kyogre can check Arceus wall Defensive Arceus, Ho-Oh, Lugia and Groudon with its powerful Water-type strikes. Giratina-O can handle Groudon, and use choiced pokemon Choice users stuck on Fighting- or Ground-type moves are as setup time bait. Lugia also makes a good partner to Dialga, by resisting as it resists Dialga's two weaknesses, and checks Scarf Palkia, Garchomp, and Dragon Dance Rayquaza.</p>

[SET]
name: Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere / Earth Power
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe

<p>Boosted by Choice Specs,Dialga's attacks boosted by Choice Specs will deal insane damage to even those who resist it. Not only does Draco Meteor OHKO Groudon, barring those that heavily invest in Special Defense, but it has enough power to OHKO Lucario who resist the attack. Even max HP Metagross has an 87% chance of being 2HKOed by Draco Meteor. Thunder helps Dialga a lot since the paralysis caters to Dialga’s low Speed. After Stealth Rock, Thunder also OHKOes max HP Kyogre and Ho-Oh. Fire Blast is used to prevent wasting Draco Meteor's PP on bulkier Steel-type Pokemon such as Steel Arceus, Ferrothorn and Jirachi, while decreasing the chances of Groudon safely switching into Dialga. Since Heatran can cause trouble with its resistance to Dialga’s Dragon-type attacks, Aura Sphere can be used instead. Aura Sphere is also an option over Thunder, since Draco Meteor hits hard enough to OHKO min HP Kyogre anyway. Earth Power can be used if you want to OHKO defensive Heatran. Aura Sphere is Dialga's best option to kill Bulk Up Dialga, Arceus Wall defensive Arceus and at least threaten a weaken Blissey. Draco Meteor can OHKO most opposing Dialga as well.</p>

<p>The given EVs allow Dialga to outspeed slow base 90s such as Groudon. They also keep Dialga very bulky give Dialga a lot of bulk too, so that it can keep threatening the opponent. If you want Dialga to be faster, you can use more Speed EVs to outspeed the vast majority of bulky 90 base Speed Pokemon with 90 base Speed, while tying with those that attempt to be agile. Timid is also a good nature, since it allows Dialga to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza, while tying with max Speed Jolly Lucario. Dialga can use 192 Speed EVs with a Timid nature to outspeed said Adamant Rayquaza and place the rest of the EVs toward in HP. Max Speed Timid is also acceptable to Speed tie with Specs Reshiram and outspeed Naive Giratina-O. The loss in power can be significant when using Timid though. With max HP, Dialga can survive a Terrakion's Close Combat.</p>

<p>Dialga’s biggest issues with this set can all be in fact resolved, but with varying degrees of difficulty. Blissey and Chansey become the biggest counter to this set, since Dialga lacks any way of KOing them reliably unless they are under a third of their health. Because Dialga is great for knocking down the physical walls of Ubers, it appreciates physical attackers as its teammates. Swords Dance Garchomp enjoys Groudon and Lugia being cleared out of the way, and doesn’t falter to Thunder Wave from Blissey. Granted, Garchomp still has to fear Ice Beam, but Blissey usually opts to use Seismic Toss to better handle Dialga, Kyogre, and Palkia. Swords Dance Garchomp with a Haban Berry is sufficient for the job, though Choice Band climbs in effectiveness thanks to many of the Levitating Pokemon most Flying-types and Levitate users being shut down by Draco Meteor or Thunder. Once again, weather is fairly important for this set to work effectively. Much like the Choice Scarf set, beware of Wobbuffet; it poses less of a threat since it is 2HKOed by Dragon Pulse, but it still only takes 40% max from -2 SpA Draco Meteor which allows Wobbuffet to trap Dialga after a single Draco Meteor use Draco Meteor is used once. Lugia can stall out Dialga unless the weather in raining it is raining. Ho-Oh can do the same, but they will still take huge amounts of damage from Draco Meteor. Lugia is faster than Dialga and can abuse Roost to stall it out Dialga. Choice Band Garchomp and Terrakion outrun and OHKO Dialga. Both of them cannot come in on Dragon-type moves though. Arceus Wall Defensive Arceus can come in on any move, and stall out Dialga with Recover, but Draco Meteor can nearly OHKO Arceus. Ground Arceus and Fighting Arceus are both the best variants to deal with Dialga. Kyogre can drown Terrakion and Ground Arceus, while Ho-Oh can deal with Fighting Arceus. Ho-Oh resists Dialga's two weaknesses, while Dialga in turn resists Ho-Oh's weakness to Rock-, Electric-, and Water-type attacks. Zekrom can easily scare off Blissey and Chansey, while Dialga lures in and smashes Groudon with a powerful Draco Meteor, or roasts Nattorei Ferrothorn with Fire Blast. Zekrom handles Ho-Oh and Lugia decently too. However, Zekrom shares a Ground-type weakness with Dialga. Skarmory can set up Spikes on Groudon, Lugia, and Blissey or Chansey who might come in to wall Dialga. If Chansey and Blissey are weakened by Spikes, Dialga might be able to musle its way past the pink blobs.</p>

<p>All Dialga sets enjoy Stealth Rock support, since it turns certain 2HKOs into OHKOs, as explained in several of the sets, and wears down some of its checks such as Lugia. Despite having an excellent typing, wonderful defenses, and an immunity to Toxic Spikes, Dialga unfortunately lacks a reliable way to restore its health beyond using Rest. Thus, Wish support can greatly extend its life span. The main Wish users are Blissey, Chansey, and Jirachi. Latias shares good type synergy with Dialga, but can only pass small Wishes, and without Soul Dew, she isn't that useful in Ubers anymore. Dialga resists Latias's Ghost- and Dark-type weaknesses, while Latias provides a Ground-type immunity and Fighting-type resistance. Offensive Dialga also enjoys paralysis support (except for the Choice Scarf set, where it's redundant most of the time), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Chansey, Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias can also use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) to further support Dialga. Chansey and Blissey, however, usually prefers to use Toxic. Groudon is another excellent user of Thunder Wave, because since not only can it scare off Steel-types, but it can also lure in and paralyze Lugia, meaning Lugia will have a harder time using Roost to stall offensive Dialga. Groudon can also act as a check to Ho-Oh if Groudon can outrun Ho-Oh. If Ferrothorn is problematic by soaking up Dialga's Dragon-type moves, Groudon can use Fire Punch to surprise the unfortunate shell.</p>

<p>Few Pokemon can have an easy switch-in on easily switch into Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokemon that can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, high Speed, or very good defenses. Most of these problematic Pokemon cannot switch into safely on Dialga safely, so, they need to go for therevenge kills revenge killing it. Groudon in particular can use a specially-defensive (remove hyphen) EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults, bar Choice Specs Draco Meteors, and use its STAB Earthquakes to take Dialga down. It may also be able to set up Rock Polish to threaten a sweep if it switches into the right attack (such as Thunder). Shaymin-S carrying a Choice Scarf can solve this problem, thanks to its immunity to Earthquake, and its ability to outspeed and OHKO Adamant Rock Polish Groudon with Seed Flare. Life Orb Lucario and Life Orb Garchomp can OHKO Dialga with Close Combat and Earthquake, respectively. Gengar can use Focus Blast to OHKO Lucario, and Hidden Power Ice to OHKO Garchomp. Although these Pokemon cannot always OHKO the bulkier Dialga variants, Gengar and Darkrai can threaten to do a huge amount of damage to Dialga with Focus Blast, while Mewtwo can use the more accurate Aura Sphere. Using your own Mewtwo can help, since it can switch into Gengar's Focus Blast and threaten to OHKO it with Psycho Break. Choice Scarf Heracross can switch into both Darkrai's Focus Blast and Mewtwo's Aura Sphere, and threaten to OHKO them with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to strike back if Darkrai uses Dark Void. Choice Scarf Kyogre can easily OHKO Darkrai, Mewtwo, and Gengar with Water Spout while scaring off Groudon at the same time. Scarf Terrakion can revenge kill Darkrai as well. Scarf Zekrom can revenge kill Mewtwo, Gengar, Lugia and Darkrai regardless of Calm Minds.</p>

<p>Dialga is an extremely sturdy Pokemon. Fighting- and Ground-type moves are moderately common in Ubers, thus so Pokemon that cover those two weaknesses complement Dialga very well defensively. Giratina-O and Gengar are fantastic examples of this, as they are immune to both of Dialga's weaknesses, while they will both attract Ghost- and Dark-type attacks that Dialga can easily switch into and wreck havoc. Giratina-O also has good defenses and can handle Groudon with ease. Lugia is a particularly good defensive partner, as it not only possesses gargantuan defenses and an immunity to Ground-type attacks, but also a 4x resistance to Fighting-type attacks. Additionally, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, Ho-Oh and Shaymin-S complement Dialga well, thanks to their immunities to Ground-type moves and resistances to Fighting moves. Although Skarmory is only covering Dialga's Ground-type weakness, it has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokemon such as Groudon, Terrakion, and Garchomp. Finally, the many Psychic-types of Ubers, such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo, are able to competently cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting-type attacks. Reshiram can blow past Heatran if Dialga is using Groudon as a partner. Groudon may not share good type synergy with Dialga, but Groudon can check Garchomp, opposing Groudon, Lucario, and Terrakion for Dialga. As a bonus, Groudon can set up Stealth Rock for Dialga if Dialga isn't using it. Ghost Arceus and Giratina can be used to resist Dialga's Fighting-type weakness. They both attract Ghost- or and Dark-type moves which Dialga can switch into with impunity. Giratina also walls Groudon and Terrakion for Dialga. Psychic Arceus can be used as a partner if Dialga is having serious problems with Fighting Arceus or Mewtwo.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Dialga has a very wide movepool and some can work as potential support moves. Psych Up can be useful on Dialga, allowing it to copy the stat boosts that Calm Mind Kyogre or Arceus may have netted. Dialga is a great user of Trick Room in Ubers too, having brilliant all-around stats bar Speed. Trick Room is best used on the Mixed Set which is already mentioned. Flash Cannon is an auxiliary STAB attack, but Steel is a poor offensive type. Ice Beam with Choice Specs allows Dialga to OHKO Groudon without resorting to Draco Meteor or Overheat, but is otherwise generally a poor choice since Dialga already has powerful Dragon-type STAB. Iron Tail should never be used, because as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and its 75% accuracy leaves much to be desired. Iron Head can surprise Tyranitar and Calm Mind Rock Arceus, but that's about it. A Choice Band set could work, but it is outclassed by Zekrom who has STAB Electric-type attacks at its disposal to break through Lugia.</p>

<p>Magnet Rise can be a good option on some Dialga sets, as it can foil Dialga's arch enemy, Groudon. If you opt for Bulk Up with Magnet Rise, then use the an EV spread of 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe. This allows Dialga to use Bulk Up as Groudon switches in, use Magnet Rise before most Groudon can move, and then either hit the next switch-in hard with Outrage or Earthquake, or use Bulk Up again. This is, however, not recommended as Groudon can just Dragon Tail Dialga out. Balloon can be used to keep Dialga safe from Ground-type moves before it is hit, and can be used on the Mixed Set. Dialga can also fly over Spikes with Balloon and can be used on the Mixed Set. The power boost from Life Orb or Expert Belt are usually better, though, since Dialga misses the power.</p>

<p>Roar of Time sounds and looks cool, but is in fact a terrible move to use, as is the rest of the Hyper Beam suite; Draco Meteor and even Dragon Pulse out-damages it over the course of two turns, and the unavoidable second turn recharge is a perfect opportunity for something threatening to set up. As for items, Choice Scarf can be used with physical moves if so desired, but Dialga's physical attacks are generally weak if unboosted. Using Roar of Time as a suicide move seems appetizing, but is generally a gimmicky option.<p>

<p>A 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SpD EV spread can be used if you just want to maximize Dialga's ability to take special attacks. An alternative spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD can also be used to take physical attacks better, but it is generally a horrible option as Groudon does that much better. Dialga should not try to imitate Groudon but instead utilize its auspicious typing and special attacking prowess.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Dialga is extremely hard to counter due to its sheer power and versatility. How it can be countered depends on the weather conditions and the moveset it is using. In general, Ho-Oh and Heatran can counter Dialga while under sunny conditions. Lugia fears nothing from most sets bar Thunders in the rain. The biggest thing to note is that Thunder’s accuracy is cut to 50% under the sun, which means there is only a 15% chance that Ho-Oh and Heatran will be hit by Thunder followed by paralysis. Meanwhile, Ho-Oh’s impressive Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to inflict a burn on Dialga, which hampers the Mixed sets using Outrage and hurts Dialga in general, since it forces Dialga to swallow 12.5% of its health every turn. A burned Dialga can never get past the pink blobs unless Dialga is using the Defensive Bulk Up set. With Ho-Oh’s access to recovery, Pressure, and a high Special Defense stat, Dialga is in trouble when it only has Stone Edge or the rare Power Gem to kill Ho-Oh. Heatran can shut down the Bulk Up set with a simple use of Taunt, while fearing only Earthquake or Aura Sphere at worst from Dialga. Earth Power from the Choiced sets can surprise Heatran as well. Scarf Reshiram can OHKO most sets other than the Defensive Bulk Up set with Blue Fire. Reshiram cannot come in on Dragon-type moves though. When facing a Defensive Bulk Up set, Reshiram can just incinerate Dialga in a single hit with Specs Blue Fire. If rain is present, countering Dialga will be harder, as a 30% chance of paralysis from Thunder is nothing to scoff at. Scizor can fire off Superpower at Dialga for super effective damage. Superpower will not OHKO Dialga though, and Fire Blast will still hurt Scizor in the rain. Metagross can step into the scene and launch an Earthquake at Dialga, or use Trick on sets such as Bulk Up or Support to cripple Dialga. It also does well at countering the Mixed sets, though beware of stepping into either Earth Power or Fire-type moves in the sun. Metagross is only 2x weak to Fire-type attacks, so it can counter Dialga better than Scizor can. Bear in mind, both Metagross and Scizor are not counters to Bulk Up Dialga, as it can Bulk Up twice before both the Steel-types can attack Dialga it. Nattorei Ferrothorn has the Steel typing and good Special Defense to shield it from most attacks Dialga usually carries bar Fire-type moves. In rain, Nattorei Ferrothorn can survive even Fire-type moves and annoy Dialga with Leech Seed or set up Spikes on it.</p>

<p>Groudon is a good counter since it threatens Dialga with STAB Earthquake, and has access to Roar or Dragon Tail to nullify the Bulk Up set. Offensive Groudon can has an easier time KOing Dialga as most Dialga are slower than Offensive Groudon it. Blissey and Chansey can usually take on all non-Bulk Up sets, though beware that the Mixed Set can carry Outrage to 2HKO both. Brick Break can 2HKO Blissey, but Chansey can usually survive 2 hits thanks to the Evolution Stone Eviolite. Skarmory does well at countering the Bulk Up set which has no answer against Skarmory, except if Skarmory and Dialga are the last Pokemon standing. Skarmory can still Taunt Dialga, but Skarmory will run out of Roost PP before Dialga finishes spamming boosted Outrages. Lugia is a great counter to Dialga regardless of the weather, as it can survive 2 Thunders. Specs Thunder can hurt Lugia however, due to the possible paralysis chance preventing Lugia from Roosting using Roost on Dialga. It can set up Reflect to severely weaken Dialga's physical moves, while Whirlwind deals with the Bulk Up set. Tyranitar, especially those that invest in Special Defense, can be a great Dialga check when Tyranitar it is at full health. Tyranitar can deal massive damage to Dialga with Earthquake or Superpower. Wobbuffet can be an annoying Pokemon for Dialga to deal with, since Dialga lacks Taunt and cannot OHKO Wobbuffet on the spot. It has to beware of the Mixed set and Specs Draco Meteor, though. A Specs Draco Meteor will nearly kill Wobbuffet after a bit of prior damage. Ground Arceus can easily fell Dialga with Earthquake or Judgement while sporting magnificient defenses and Recover to shrug off most hits. Fighting Arceus can take any attack and 2HKOes even the bulkiest Dialga with Judgement. Defensive Normal Arceus can also wall Dialga, but fails to do much back to Dialga outside of Earthquake.</p>

<p>Since Dialga is one of the slowest Pokemon in Ubers, you can use faster Pokemon to revenge kill it. This strategy fails when Dialga carries a Choice Scarf, but it is still the safest way of dealing with most Dialga sets. Life Orb Mewtwo's Aura Sphere can OHKO min HP / min SpD Dialga 43% of the time, while Specs Aura Sphere will always OHKO. Deoxys-A has access to Superpower to obliterate Dialga on the spot, as it does around the same damage as Mewtwo's Choice Specs Aura Sphere. Garchomp has access to STAB Earthquake to smack Dialga hard. Terrakion can OHKO most offensive Dialga with Close Combat. If it is the support Dialga set, all of the afromentioned counters fail to OHKO while they will receive massive damage from Dialga's powerful strikes in the process. Darkrai can use Dark Void to nullify every set barring the Bulk Up set, while OHKOing Dialga with a Nasty Plot-boosted Focus Blast.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Dialga gained nothing in Dream World other than Telepathy which is useless in singles competitive play.</p>




GP 1 / 2
 
On the defensive bulk up put dragon tail as an option. I've tried it and it really works it makes BU dialga basicly uncounterable unless Skarmory is the last pokemon standing because he still fails to KO
 

hamiltonion

Nostalgic
is a Contributor to Smogonis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
On the defensive bulk up put dragon tail as an option. I've tried it and it really works it makes BU dialga basicly uncounterable unless Skarmory is the last pokemon standing because he still fails to KO
How ??
D Tail is horribly weak and even at +1 stuff it does pitiful damage. It does 34.5% - 41.3% to Mixed Giratina-O( who is weak to Dragon and never invests in Defense. Needless to say what it does to bulkier stuff. Most will just phaze you away or will destroy you with powerful Special Attacks while you cant to anything even a +1. You will be forced to switched or forced out so its really a waste.
 
On the defensive bulk up put dragon tail as an option. I've tried it and it really works it makes BU dialga basicly uncounterable unless Skarmory is the last pokemon standing because he still fails to KO
NO. I already mentioned Dragon Tail in AC, that's where it should stay. I discussed with Fireburn earlier before I decide on this. We agreed Dragon Tail is an inferior option.

+6 Dragon Tail from Dialga does 46.2% - 54.3% to 416 HP /374 DEF Lugia. That's insanely weak and this is without Reflect. Groudon takes similar damage and don't even expect to KO Groudon. If any faster phazer comes in, Lugia and Arceus being the main ones, Dialga is screwed. Even if you boost to +6, all it takes is a simple Roar or Whirlwind and you lose everything. Your are in a Speed creep contest with opposing Dialga and Groudon. If you underspeed them, Bulk Up Dialga can kiss it's own ass and die.

+6 Dragon Tail does 33.8% - 39.8% to Ubers Careful Skarmory. You are not killing that bird anytime soon, while it gets free Spikes on you. Roost has 16 PP, while Dragon Tail has the same so you lose.

Now, if you are using Outrage, you deal twice the damage Dragon Tail does, hits 2-3 times in a row so you are winning most PP wars.

Here's a log where I completely owned someone using Bulk Up Dragon Tail Dialga.


Tier: BW Uber
Variation: +9, -22
Rule: Rated
Rule: Sleep Clause
Rule: Species Clause
Rule: Wifi Battle

Lord of Stall sent out Darkrai!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Tentacruel!

Start of turn 1
Bilik Muslihat called Tentacruel back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Giratina!

Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Darkrai used Dark Void!
Giratina fell asleep!

Giratina has bad dreams!
Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 2
Bilik Muslihat called Giratina back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Blissey!

The foe's Darkrai used Dark Void!
Sleep Clause prevented the sleep inducing effect of the move from working.

Start of turn 3
The foe's Darkrai used Nasty Plot!
The foe's Darkrai's Sp. Att. sharply rose!

Blissey used Toxic!
The foe's Darkrai was poisoned!

The foe's Darkrai is hurt by poison!

Start of turn 4
The foe's Darkrai used Nasty Plot!
The foe's Darkrai's Sp. Att. sharply rose!

Blissey used Wish!

The foe's Darkrai is hurt by poison!

Start of turn 5
The foe's Darkrai used Nasty Plot!
The foe's Darkrai's Sp. Att. sharply rose!

Blissey used Fire Blast!
The foe's Darkrai lost 29% of its health!

Blissey's wish came true!
The foe's Darkrai is hurt by poison!

Start of turn 6
Blissey used Protect!
Blissey protected itself!

The foe's Darkrai used Focus Blast!
Blissey protected itself!

The foe's Darkrai is hurt by poison!

Start of turn 7
Bilik Muslihat called Blissey back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Giratina!

Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Darkrai used Focus Blast!
The attack of the foe's Darkrai missed!

The foe's Darkrai is hurt by poison!
The foe's Darkrai fainted!
Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Lord of Stall sent out Mewtwo!

The foe's Mewtwo is exerting its Pressure!

Start of turn 8
The foe's Mewtwo used Calm Mind!
The foe's Mewtwo's Sp. Att. rose!
The foe's Mewtwo's Sp. Def. rose!

Giratina is fast asleep!
Giratina used Sleep Talk!
Giratina used Dragon Tail!
The foe's Mewtwo lost 20% of its health!
The foe's The Gr8 Wall was dragged out!

Start of turn 9
Bilik Muslihat called Giratina back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Groudon!

Groudon's Drought intensified the sun's rays!
The foe's The Gr8 Wall used Leech Seed!
Groudon was seeded!

The sunlight is strong!
Groudon's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 10
Groudon used Stealth Rock!
Pointed stones float in the air around Lord of Stall's team!

The foe's The Gr8 Wall used Power Whip!
It's super effective!
Groudon lost 152 HP! (37% of its health)

The sunlight is strong!
Groudon restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Groudon's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 11
Groudon used Fire Punch!
It's super effective!
The foe's The Gr8 Wall lost 99% of its health!
The foe's The Gr8 Wall's Iron Barbs hurts Groudon

The foe's The Gr8 Wall used Power Whip!
It's super effective!
Groudon lost 127 HP! (31% of its health)
Groudon fainted!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's The Gr8 Wall restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

Start of turn 12
Lord of Stall called The Gr8 Wall back!
Lord of Stall sent out Mewtwo!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Mewtwo!

The foe's Mewtwo is exerting its Pressure!
Ferrothorn used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of Lord of Stall's team!

The sunlight is strong!

Start of turn 13
Bilik Muslihat called Ferrothorn back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Giratina!

Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Mewtwo used Calm Mind!
The foe's Mewtwo's Sp. Att. rose!
The foe's Mewtwo's Sp. Def. rose!

The sunlight is strong!

Start of turn 14
The foe's Mewtwo used Calm Mind!
The foe's Mewtwo's Sp. Att. rose!
The foe's Mewtwo's Sp. Def. rose!

Giratina is fast asleep!
Giratina used Sleep Talk!
Giratina used Dragon Tail!
The foe's Mewtwo lost 20% of its health!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's PokeGod!
The foe's PokeGod is hurt by spikes!
The foe's PokeGod was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
Lord of Stall: u r so lucky
Bilik Muslihat: lol
Lord of Stall: its 25 % to get that move

Start of turn 15
The foe's PokeGod used Swords Dance!
The foe's PokeGod's Attack sharply rose!

Giratina is fast asleep!
Giratina used Sleep Talk!
Giratina used Rest!
But it failed!

The sunlight is strong!

Start of turn 16
Bilik Muslihat called Giratina back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's PokeGod used Dragon Claw!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 58 HP! (16% of its health)
Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts the foe's PokeGod

The sunlight is strong!
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 17
The foe's PokeGod used Earthquake!
A critical hit!
Ferrothorn lost 271 HP! (76% of its health)

Ferrothorn used Leech Seed!
The foe's PokeGod was seeded!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's PokeGod's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 18
Ferrothorn used Protect!
Ferrothorn protected itself!

The foe's PokeGod used Earthquake!
Ferrothorn protected itself!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's PokeGod's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 19
Bilik Muslihat called Ferrothorn back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's PokeGod used Earthquake!
It had no effect!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's PokeGod's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 20
Bilik Muslihat called Lugia back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's PokeGod used ExtremeSpeed!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 107 HP! (30% of its health)
Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts the foe's PokeGod

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's PokeGod's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 21
Ferrothorn used Protect!
Ferrothorn protected itself!

The foe's PokeGod used ExtremeSpeed!
Ferrothorn protected itself!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's PokeGod's health is sapped by leech seed.
The foe's PokeGod fainted!
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Lord of Stall sent out Mewtwo!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Mewtwo!
The foe's Mewtwo is hurt by spikes!

The foe's Mewtwo is exerting its Pressure!

Start of turn 22
The foe's Mewtwo used Calm Mind!
The foe's Mewtwo's Sp. Att. rose!
The foe's Mewtwo's Sp. Def. rose!

Ferrothorn used Power Whip!
The foe's Mewtwo lost 21% of its health!
The foe's Mewtwo fainted!

The sunlight is strong!
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Lord of Stall sent out Thor! (Zekrom)
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Thor!
The foe's Thor is hurt by spikes!

The foe's Thor has Teravolt!

Start of turn 23
The foe's Thor used Bolt Strike!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 76 HP! (21% of its health)
Ferrothorn is paralyzed! It may be unable to move!

Ferrothorn used Leech Seed!
The foe's Thor was seeded!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Thor's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 24
Lord of Stall called Thor back!
Lord of Stall sent out The Gr8 Wall! (Ferrothorn)
Pointed stones dug into the foe's The Gr8 Wall!
The foe's The Gr8 Wall is hurt by spikes!
The foe's The Gr8 Wall fainted!

Ferrothorn used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of Lord of Stall's team!

The sunlight is strong!
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Lord of Stall sent out Thor! (Zekrom)
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Thor!
The foe's Thor is hurt by spikes!

The foe's Thor has Teravolt!

Start of turn 25
The foe's Thor used Outrage!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 72 HP! (20% of its health)

Ferrothorn used Leech Seed!
The foe's Thor was seeded!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Thor's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 26
Ferrothorn used Protect!
Ferrothorn protected itself!

The foe's Thor used Outrage!
Ferrothorn protected itself!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Thor's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 27
The foe's Thor used Outrage!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 76 HP! (21% of its health)

Ferrothorn used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of Lord of Stall's team!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Thor's health is sapped by leech seed.
The foe's Thor fainted!
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Lord of Stall sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!

The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!

Start of turn 28
The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!
The foe's Dialga's Attack rose!
The foe's Dialga's Defense rose!

Ferrothorn is paralyzed! It can't move!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 29
The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!
The foe's Dialga's Attack rose!
The foe's Dialga's Defense rose!

Ferrothorn used Leech Seed!
The foe's Dialga was seeded!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 30
Bilik Muslihat called Ferrothorn back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Tentacruel!

The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!
The foe's Dialga's Attack rose!
The foe's Dialga's Defense rose!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 31
Tentacruel used Knock Off!
It's not very effective...
The foe's Dialga lost 0% of its health!
Tentacruel knocked off the foe's Dialga's Leftovers!

The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
Tentacruel lost 286 HP! (78% of its health)
Giratina was dragged out!
Giratina is exerting its Pressure!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 32
Bilik Muslihat called Giratina back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!
The foe's Dialga's Attack rose!
The foe's Dialga's Defense rose!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 33
Bilik Muslihat called Ferrothorn back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
The foe's Dialga went to sleep and became healthy!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 34
Lugia used Reflect!
Reflect raised Bilik Muslihat's team defense!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!
The foe's Dialga's Attack rose!
The foe's Dialga's Defense rose!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 35
Bilik Muslihat called Lugia back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Tentacruel!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
But it failed!

The sunlight is strong!
Tentacruel restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 36
Bilik Muslihat called Tentacruel back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's Dialga woke up!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 42 HP! (11% of its health)
Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts the foe's Dialga
Blissey was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 37
Blissey used Fire Blast!
The attack of Blissey missed!

The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
Blissey lost 301 HP! (46% of its health)
Tentacruel was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
Tentacruel restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 38
Bilik Muslihat called Tentacruel back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
The foe's Dialga went to sleep and became healthy!

Bilik Muslihat's reflect wore off!
The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 39
Lugia used Reflect!
Reflect raised Bilik Muslihat's team defense!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
But it failed!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 40
Bilik Muslihat called Lugia back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 45 HP! (12% of its health)
Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts the foe's Dialga
Blissey was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.
Blissey restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 41
The foe's Dialga woke up!
The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!
The foe's Dialga's Attack rose!
The foe's Dialga's Defense rose!

Blissey used Fire Blast!
The foe's Dialga lost 22% of its health!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.
Blissey restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 42
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
The foe's Dialga went to sleep and became healthy!

Blissey used Wish!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.
Blissey restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 43
Bilik Muslihat called Blissey back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
But it failed!

Bilik Muslihat's reflect wore off!
Blissey's wish came true!
The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 44
The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 104 HP! (29% of its health)
Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts the foe's Dialga
Giratina was dragged out!
Giratina is exerting its Pressure!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 45
Bilik Muslihat called Giratina back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's Dialga woke up!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
But it failed!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 46
Bilik Muslihat called Ferrothorn back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
The foe's Dialga went to sleep and became healthy!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 47
Lugia used Reflect!
Reflect raised Bilik Muslihat's team defense!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
But it failed!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 48
Bilik Muslihat called Lugia back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 49
Ferrothorn used Spikes!
But it failed!

The foe's Dialga woke up!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 47 HP! (13% of its health)
Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts the foe's Dialga
Lugia was dragged out!
Lugia is exerting its Pressure!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 50
Lugia used Whirlwind!
But it failed!

The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
Lugia lost 99 HP! (23% of its health)
Blissey was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 51
Bilik Muslihat called Blissey back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
The foe's Dialga went to sleep and became healthy!

Bilik Muslihat's reflect wore off!
The sunlight is strong!
Lugia restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 52
Lugia used Reflect!
Reflect raised Bilik Muslihat's team defense!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
But it failed!

The sunlight is strong!
Lugia restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 53
Bilik Muslihat called Lugia back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 54
Ferrothorn is paralyzed! It can't move!

The foe's Dialga woke up!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 49 HP! (13% of its health)
Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts the foe's Dialga
Giratina was dragged out!
Giratina is exerting its Pressure!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 55
Giratina is fast asleep!
Giratina used Sleep Talk!
Giratina used Will-O-Wisp!
The attack of Giratina missed!

The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
The attack of the foe's Dialga missed!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 56
Bilik Muslihat called Giratina back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
The foe's Dialga went to sleep and became healthy!

Bilik Muslihat's reflect wore off!
The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 57
Lugia used Reflect!
Reflect raised Bilik Muslihat's team defense!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
Lugia lost 97 HP! (23% of its health)
Ferrothorn was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 58
Bilik Muslihat called Ferrothorn back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Rest!
But it failed!

The sunlight is strong!
Lugia restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 59
Lugia used Whirlwind!
But it failed!

The foe's Dialga woke up!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
Lugia lost 103 HP! (24% of its health)
Blissey was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 60
Bilik Muslihat called Blissey back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
Lugia lost 112 HP! (26% of its health)
Ferrothorn was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 61
Ferrothorn used Power Whip!
The attack of Ferrothorn missed!

The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
It's not very effective...
Ferrothorn lost 51 HP! (14% of its health)
Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts the foe's Dialga
Lugia was dragged out!
Lugia is exerting its Pressure!

Bilik Muslihat's reflect wore off!
The sunlight is strong!
Lugia restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 62
Lugia used Reflect!
Reflect raised Bilik Muslihat's team defense!

The foe's Dialga used Rest!
The foe's Dialga went to sleep and became healthy!

The sunlight is strong!
Lugia restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 63
Lugia used Roost!
Lugia landed on the ground!
Lugia regained health!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.

Start of turn 64
Bilik Muslihat called Lugia back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Ferrothorn!

The foe's Dialga is fast asleep!
The foe's Dialga used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Dialga used Bulk Up!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.
Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 65
Bilik Muslihat called Ferrothorn back!
Bilik Muslihat sent out Lugia!

Lugia is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Dialga woke up!
The foe's Dialga used Dragon Tail!
Lugia lost 111 HP! (26% of its health)
Ferrothorn was dragged out!

The sunlight is strong!
The foe's Dialga's health is sapped by leech seed.


The opponent left in the end because he has 0% chance of beating that stall team.

Bulk Up Dialga is made to beat stall when it's the last Pokemon not getting outstalled and walled to death.
 
I've been using a bulk up set using substitute instead of rest talk. It frees up a slot so you can run dragon claw + brick break or something, so you can beat nattorei :)
 
Fixed Calm Pokemaster's changes.

Substitute makes it more vulnerable to Skarmory and Lugia though. Although setting up on Ferrothorn is always awesome. I will think about it.
 
Long analysis! :o Probably why there's not much in term of GP checks. I'm not a member of the GP team, but here's an unofficial check.

Deletions
Additions/Corrections
(Comments)

Half of the time you use curly apostrophes instead of straight apostrophes, which is a no-no, so I've fully highlighted words that need that change so that they're easier to see. You also consistently spell Terrakion wrong (needs a second r) and seem to have missed when Calm Pokemaster pointed it out, probably because it's really hard to see a single letter insertion, so I've also fully highlighted corrections of that nature.

[Overview]

<p>Dialga's unique typing and well-distributed stats allows it to fit in a variety of teams. On the offensive side Dialga has a stunning base 120 Attack and base 150 Special Attack that's backed by the ever-dominant Dragon-type STAB. Dialga's amazing offensive stats allow it to puncture entire teams with it's its immensely powerful Draco Meteor and incredible movepool. Defensively, Dialga's typing offers it a whopping total of nine resistances and an immunity, as well as neutrality to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks, something other Dragon-type Pokemon would kill for. The unfortunate weakness to Ground- and Fighting-attacks might be disappointing but Dialga is capable of surviving even a Terrakion's Close Combat easily. With its stellar base defenses combined with the aforementioned resistances, Dialga is a difficult Pokemon to take down unless you target its uncommon weaknesses. Dialga is also revered as an excellent utility Pokemon thanks to its equally vast (missing space) support movepool. Even with the rise of the new legendary Dragon-types, Reshiram and Zekrom, Dialga still remains as one of the most widely used Dragon thanks to Dialga's unpredictability. Dialga's unpredictability lets it remain one of the most widely used Dragons.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive Dialga
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 4: Roar / Dragon Tail / Thunder
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest / Quiet
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SpA / 200 SpD

<p>Dialga is one of the very few Dragon-types who can go on the supportive route. Stealth Rock requires no real explanation, though keep in mind that Dialga should lay down Stealth Rock as soon as possible to prevent Lugia or Ho-Oh from switching into Dialga freely. The next move is dependent on the type of team that Dialga is supporting. Draco Meteor can be used to dish out immediate damage and strip off more than half of Groudon's health. If one still favors PP and consistency, Dragon Pulse offers Dialga a decently powerful move without the need to switch out after one use. Bare Bear in mind, Groudon is a common switch in to Dialga and Dragon Pulse just can't hit Groudon hard enough to prevent it from coming in. Draco Meteor has the added bonus of OHKOing Reshiram and Palkia without the need of Stealth Rock damage. Fire Blast is the preferred Fire-type move for the extra power and it has the added bonus of 2HKOing most Groudon and Ferrothorn in the rain. Flamethrower helps keep Forretress and other Steel-types, barring opposing Dialga and Heatran from setting up on Dialga but is generally an inferior move compared to Fire Blast. Roar can be used effectively with Dialga to rack up residual damage. If you want to able to phaze through Taunt instead of Substitute, Dragon Tail works fine as an alternative. Dialga also conveniently gets STAB from Dragon Tail. Since it forces a lot of switches, Dialga makes an excellent phazer. Thunder works best alongside Kyogre as its Drizzle ability remedies Thunder's poor accuracy. Dialga can also act as a check to Zekrom by resisting Lightning Strike and surviving 2 unboosted Outrages on average while Dialga's Draco Meteor will OHKO Zekrom.</p>

<p>The given EVs ensure that Palkia's Lustrous Orb-boosted Spacial Rend will not 2HKO Dialga. Conveniently, Dialga can also survive 2 full power non-Choice Specs boosted Water Spouts from Kyogre. This allows Dialga to use Thunder Wave, then Stealth Rock, and then switch to the appropriate counter. When using Thunder, Dialga can beat most Kyogres (no s for plural Pokemon) one-on-one. The Special Attack EVs and Modest nature allows Dialga to OHKO Darkrai with Draco Meteor. Thunder also 2HKOes most Kyogre and some Ho-Oh.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>This set can also be used as a lead. Lum Berry can be used to prevent Dialga from being put to sleep by Darkrai leads, allowing Dialga to severely cripple them with Thunder Wave or OHKO them with Draco Meteor. Dialga is, however, unable to prevent Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A from setting up Stealth Rock and possibly a layer of Spikes. Due to the rarity of Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A this generation, Dialga will have a much easier time as a lead. Toxic can be used to cripple walls such as Lugia.</p>

<p>On a stall team, Dialga appreciates the residual damage from Spikes and/or (gotta have that slash) Toxic Spikes. Forretress is the only Pokemon capable of laying down Toxic Spikes in the Uber metagame. This lessens the need for Toxic since the only Pokemon that Toxic Spikes will miss are Flying-types and Pokemon with Levitate, (remove space) and some of them can be removed by Dialga's powerful strikes. Forretress can also lay down Spikes, but relying on it to lay down all three layers of Spikes and two layers of Toxic Spikes puts Forretress under a lot of stress. As a lead, Deoxys-S can set up Spikes, since it can forgo Stealth Rock if Dialga opts to use it. Skarmory is an excellent Pokemon in this situation, since it completely walls Groudon barring the rare Overheat or Fire Punch, can set up Spikes, has access to a recovery move, and can use Whirlwind to force switches. With entry hazards taken into account, Dialga needs a teammate that can block Rapid Spin. Giratina-O or Ghost Arceus is the best Pokemon for the job. Giratina-O shares great typing synergy with Dialga by being immune to both Ground- and Fighting-type attacks while checking Groudon as well. Dialga also resists Giratina-O's weakness to Dark- and Ghost-type attacks.</p>

<p>Offensive teams will appreciate Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave or Toxic support. Rayquaza, for example, has an easier time crushing teams if most of the opponent's Pokemon is are slower than it. With Toxic crippling defensive Pokemon, Arceus has an easier time sweeping the opponent. For example, if Lugia is poisoned, it can no longer wall Extremekiller Arceus. Offensive Groudon loves Support Dialga since many of its checks, (comma) such as Skarmory and Giratina, (comma) can be battered by Dialga. Swords Dance Groudon climbs in effectiveness with Thunder Wave support, while Rock Polish Groudon is solid with Toxic support.</p>

[SET]
name: Mixed Dialga
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Outrage / Brick Break
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up / Trick Room
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Mild / Quiet
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpA / 4 Spe

<p>STAB Draco Meteor bolstered by 438 Special Attack is frightening for almost any opponent. Only Steel-type Pokemon, Ho-Oh, Lugia, Chansey, (comma) and Blissey can take Draco Meteor without the risk of being 2HKOed in the process, though some frailer Steel-types such as Lucario take major damage anyway (66.2% - 77.9% if Dialga is Mild). Brick Break, with the given Attack EVs, will 2HKO Blissey and most Chansey with Stealth Rock in play while Outrage is an excellent attack to use with or without Bulk Up. Without Bulk Up, Dialga can use Outrage with a Life Orb to 2HKO most Kyogre and both pink blobs. Bulk Up is a great lure move since it draws in Groudon, which is in turn shut down by STAB Draco Meteor. With Bulk Up, Dialga should be able to even surge through Wish Blissey. Fire Blast is the best attack for taking down the vast majority of Steel-types in the Uber metagame, but it comes with the downside of being weakened by rain. This can be resolved by partnering Dialga with Groudon or Tyranitar. The final slot should generally be Thunder due to its perfect accuracy in the rain; with its 30% chance of paralysis, most opponents will think twice before they switch in, since many Dialga checks or counters rely on their Speed. Thunder also smacks Ho-Oh and Lugia. Bare Bear in mind Thunder's accuracy is hampered in the sun and both Ho-Oh and Lugia can remove their weakness to it with Roost as long as they are faster. To deal with both Ho-Oh and Lugia, Dialga can be partnered with Kyogre, (comma) who easily scares off both the GSC legends. Trick Room can be used alongside a Quiet nature if you want to use Dialga in on a Trick Room team. Dialga's massive power and bulk allows it to set up and abuse Trick Room on its own.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>To maximize Dialga's potential, there are many options in regards to natures and EVs. The suggested EV spread and nature allows Dialga's Draco Meteor to hit with maximum power and outspeed slow base 90s who don't invest in Speed. 252 Atk Attack EVs grant Dialga the ability to 2HKO most Blissey and Chansey with Outrage or Brick Break. Life Orb-boosted Outrage also 2HKOes max HP / min Def Kyogre and Ho-Oh, which means Dialga can be effective at taking out Mono-Attacker Kyogre and surprise Ho-Oh. If you opt for Mild, you should use Expert Belt, since it provides enough power to obtain the same KOs as Life Orb while conserving Dialga's HP. Hasty, with 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe EVs, allows Dialga to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza and Adamant Lucario. Hasty with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe also works well here if you want to just max out Speed. Outspeeding Adamant Rayquaza means that Dialga's team is less susceptible to a Swords Dance Rayquaza sweep, though keep in mind that most Rayquaza sets use a Speed-boosting nature. With a Hasty nature, Dialga will need a Life Orb in order to stay competitive offensively. Because Dialga can survive Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake and even Life Orb Aura Sphere from Mewtwo, it can effectively utilize a spread of 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA with a Quiet nature in order to survive one of those assaults. Expert Belt is preferable for Quiet Dialga since the main goal is to ensure Dialga is as healthy as possible in case it needs to take these extreme hits. Life Orb can be used, however, since Dialga can even OHKO Support Groudon with Draco Meteor 100% of the time with a Quiet nature, which is slightly reduced to 87% with Hasty; though Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes assures the KO. Brick Break, with Stealth Rock in play, can also be used to easily 2HKO Heatran who otherwise can wall this set. A Quiet nature with minimum Speed IVs and maximum offenses on both sides, (no comma) allows Dialga to function well in Trick Room teams.</p>

<p>Some options were left out of the set because they are generally inferior options, but are nevertheless effective choices if Dialga needs them. Dragon Tail can be used over Brick Break or Outrage to abuse entry hazards and play mind games with the opponent. Obviously when using Dragon Tail, Dialga should use Adamant Orb over Life Orb. Earth Power means Dialga will never fall to a Heatran switch-in. Stealth Rock is also an option since Dialga forces many switches and it prevents Ho-Oh from walling Dialga. Finally, Stone Edge or Power Gem can be used if Dialga's team has issues with Ho-Oh. While Draco Meteor and Outrage do sufficient damage by themselves, Draco Meteor has the nasty drawback of -2 SpA while Pressure takes away 2 PP in the process. Outrage is risky since Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire has a 50% chance of a burn behind it, and usually has boosted power thanks to most Ho-Oh being used in conjunction with sunlight. These moves can replace either Thunder or Fire Blast. For items, Leftovers and Adamant Orb are viable. Leftovers offers Dialga recovery and works well with the Quiet spread, while Adamant Orb helps bluff a choice item.</p>

<p>While Dialga hits extremely hard, it does require support from its teammates. As shown with just a few damage calculations, Dialga appreciates entry hazards to help it net its KOs. Leads such as Deoxys-S or Deoxys-A are great choices for teammates since they have a high chance of getting Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes up if they are not facing a Forretress lead. Forretress is also a great partner as it has the added benefit of removing entry hazards on your side of the field thanks to Rapid Spin and can set up Toxic Spikes to weaken Groudon and the pink blobs. Giratina-O can also be a staple provided that you're using entry hazards. It has the added benefit of being able to handle Groudon well thanks to its immunity to Earthquake and amazing overall defensive stats. Since Thunder is reliant on rain, Kyogre is an excellent partner, as not only does its ability boost Thunder's accuracy to 100%, but it also nullifies Heatran as a threat while making Reshiram and Ho-Oh less effective, thanks to Dialga resisting Brave Bird. Sadly, Groudon doesn't bring as many benefits to the table as Kyogre does, though Support Groudon is an excellent teammate as it can slow Dialga's counters down with Thunder Wave while being able to set up Stealth Rock. Groudon's sunlight allows Reshiram to OHKO Dialga however. Since Dialga is great at breaking through most defensive teams in general, offensive Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Garchomp appreciate having Dialga as their partner. Some Arceus variants can also wall Dialga. Defensive Normal Arceus takes a lot of damage from Draco Meteor but it can stall it out due to Recover while Dialga is killing itself through Life Orb Recoil. Brick Break and Outrage will fail to 2HKO defensive Arceus. Ho-Oh can nail most defensive Arceus while Tyranitar can be used with Dialga to take down most bulky Calm Mind Arceus.</p>

<p>Dialga's other issues involve its average Speed, which leaves it susceptible to being revenge killed by Pokemon such as Mewtwo and Darkrai. Scarf Garchomp is a great partner since it outspeeds Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Scarf Palkia. Another great Scarf user is Shaymin-S, which can target both Kyogre and Groudon with STAB Seed Flare while outspeeding Adamant Rock Polish Groudon. Scarf Tyranitar is rather slow; however, its natural bulk and SpD boost from the sandstorm allows it to be effective at revenge killing non-Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Swords Dance Lucario, Heatran, Reshiram, (comma) and Ho-Oh. While Wobbuffet is slower than Choice Scarf users, it has the advantage of being able to cushion at least one hit from a Scarf Pokemon before biting the dust. Finally, Heatran does very well at stopping a Mixed Dialga sweep cold, so teammates are needed to handle this situation. Kyogre stops Heatran easily thanks to Drizzle and its incredible special stats. Rayquaza's Air Lock nullifies the sunlight's boost, and it can switch into Earth Power freely, though it has to be careful when facing Dragon Pulse variants. Reshiram can also blow past Heatran with Turbo Blaze Blue Fire while sporting a 4x resistance to Fire-type attacks and great Special Defense.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive Bulk Up
move 1: Rest
move 2: Sleep Talk
move 3: Bulk Up
move 4: Outrage / Dragon Claw
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>This set takes advantage of Dialga's numerous resistances, well-distributed defensive stats, access to a STAB attack that only has one resistance, and Bulk Up. Bulk Up boosts Dialga's Attack and Defense stats, which helps power up its attacks, as well as increase its chances of survival against physical attackers. For example, after a Bulk Up, Dialga can survive Choice Band Terrakion's Close Combat while Dialga can easily OHKO a -1 Def Terrakion with a +1 Outrage. When Dialga manages to set up Bulk Up, it can be almost impenetrable on the physical side. Once Dialga finds an ideal time to do so, simply Rest off the damage, all the while using Sleep Talk to keep Dialga threatening to the opponent. This set is excellent for absorbing Dark Void from Darkrai since Dialga isn't deterred by falling asleep. Outrage gives Dialga more power but locks Dialga in when it is used. However, when Sleep Talk selects Outrage, it will not trap Dialga. (just switching the order of the next two sentences) Dragon Claw can be used if you want reliability instead of more PP and power. However, when Sleep Talk selects Outrage, it will not trap Dialga. Since Dialga will be boosting its Defense via Bulk Up, max Special Defense is necessary to help Dialga cushion most special attacks.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Dragon Tail can be used if you really want to phaze but it is generally an inferior option as it is quite weak. Since Dialga is slow, it can lose all its boosts to a faster phazer like Lugia without even touching the opponent and most Steel-types (hyphen) just laugh at it.</p>

<p>Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Lugia, Groudon, Heatran, Reshiram, Fighting Arceus, Ground Arceus, Terrakion, (spelling+add comma) and Lucario to some extent will cause issues for this set. The best way to address these threats is to have offensively-oriented teammates for Dialga. While it has Earthquake to deal with Heatran, Giratina-O stops most Groudon sets cold thanks to STAB Draco Meteor, its immunity to Earthquake and great defenses. Mixed Rayquaza is also an excellent teammate, since it lures in and takes out many of Dialga's checks, and doesn't require any setup time to do so. Rayquaza needs to be aware of its surroundings, however, since switching into any of Dialga's counters will leave your Rayquaza crippled or likely fainted. While Mixed Dialga could check many of its slower enemies with the help of investing some EVs in Speed, or (remove extra space) even a Hasty nature, this set has many problems with Pokemon that are faster than it. Some of the recommended Scarf Pokemon mentioned in the Mixed set (Shaymin-S and Garchomp for example) are great assets since Groudon likely outspeeds this Dialga.</p>

<p>Some of the problematic Pokemon that Dialga faces cannot be exactly "countered" per se, but they should definitely be brought to attention while you plan out Dialga's setup. Wobbuffet can cause some issues with this set in particular. It can easily Encore a move and not take damage if Dialga is asleep and locked into Sleep Talk. Due to the Encore nerf, Wobbuffet will be less troublesome as Dialga can just keep boosting with Bulk Up and eventually killing Wobbuffet. With Stealth Rock, Dialga would need three Bulk Ups to nearly KO Wobbuffet with Outrage (80.7% - 95.1%). With Dragon Claw, Dialga needs three Bulk Ups in order to 2HKO Wobbuffet. Since there is no real way of countering Wobbuffet, the best that can be said is "Watch out". Haban Berry Garchomp cannot always win against this set, but it can either severely damage Dialga or scare it off. Even after a Bulk Up, a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake from Garchomp will OHKO Dialga 87% of the time. Taunt is uncommon, but it is a relevant threat since it allows Pokemon such as Mewtwo to set up freely when Dialga is asleep. Finally, watch out for Trick; since many Pokemon in the Uber metagame are part Psychic-type, it is a common move to have on Choice sets. Skarmory and Lugia don't mind Outrage at all while setting up Spikes in Skarmory's case or a Reflect in Lugia's situation. Both can easily phaze Dialga out. Dialga can beat both of them if it is the last Pokemon however, since it can no longer be phazed out. Groudon can deal massive damage to Dialga with Earthquake while possessing very high Defense. Heatran resists Dialga's only attacking move and can Taunt or even 3HKO Dialga with Flamethrower. Lucario resists Dragon-type attacks, can set up a Swords Dance and OHKO even a +1 Dialga with Close Combat. Reshiram just blows Dialga apart with its insanely powerful Specs Blue Fire, Ferrothorn can Leech Seed Dialga and set up Spikes on it while resisting Dragon-type attacks as well. Terakion ignores Defense boosts with Sacred Sword and can 2HKO Dialga with it. Fighting Arceus and Ground Arceus can easily 2HKO Dialga with their powerful Judgements while Swords Dance versions can beat Dialga with boosted Brick Breaks and Earthquakes respectively.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Outrage
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid / Hasty
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

<p>Dialga's lackluster Speed can be fixed with a Choice Scarf at the cost of locking it onto one attack. Dialga reaches 459 Speed with a Choice Scarf, which is enough to outspeed Deoxys-A. Draco Meteor is the primary attack; with Stealth Rock in play Draco Meteor easily OHKOes Darkrai, Reshiram, Zekrom, Rayquaza, Dragon Arceus, and Garchomp, and has a 33% chance of OHKOing unboosted Mewtwo. Thunder is used to 2HKO Lugia and Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock, and for inflicting severe damage onto Kyogre. Fire Blast can be used to prevent Steel-types from switching in freely, but it relies more on the team having dual weather to support both it and Thunder. Aura Sphere can prevent a Lucario or Dialga sweep, while nailing Heatran and Tyranitar for super effective damage. For the fourth moveslot, Dragon Pulse gives Dialga a move that is consistent damage-wise. On the other hand, Outrage, with a Hasty nature, can be used to take down non physically bulky Calm Mind Kyogre; it may also get the 2HKO on Blissey with some prior damage. Dialga can also check Swords Dance Arceus thanks to its resistance to Extremespeed. Keep in mind that Draco Meteor cannot KO a healthy Arceus and if Arceus has Recover, Dialga loses.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>A Modest or Mild nature can be used if you want more power behind Dialga’s attacks. The advantage of outspeeding Adamant Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Deoxys-A, and Speed tying with other Scarf users with base 90 Speed may be lost with this change, since many of them opt to run a speed boosting nature. With Modest, Dialga OHKOes Mewtwo after Stealth Rock 87% of the time and deals more damage to Arceus. When using a Modest Nature a spread of 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe can be used for more power and some extra bulk. Shift the HP EVs to Atk if you are using Outrage and change the nature to Mild or Rash.</p>

<p>Scarf Dialga can only break walls with careful prediction, but above all else Dialga wants some weather to help it take advantage of Thunder and possibly Fire Blast. Offensive Kyogre and Groudon both appreciate faster Pokemon being picked off by Dialga. Scarf Dialga may be faster than most, but it does lose to other Scarf users such as Scarf Palkia, Scarf Garchomp, Scarf Terrakion, Scarf Darkrai, (comma) and Dragon Dance Rayquaza in Speed. Groudon can handle Scarf Garchomp, Scarf Terrakion, (spelling+comma) and Dragon Dance Rayquaza most of the time, though beware be aware that continuously taking damage will eventually wear out Groudon due to its lack of recovery. Scarf Darkrai's only threatening attacks are Dark Void and Focus Blast, the latter having only 70% accuracy. Scizor can switch into Scarf Darkrai safely and OHKO it with U-turn. It can at least take out a weakened Darkrai with Bullet Punch if necessary (54.4% - 64.4%). Finally, be very cautious of Wobbuffet as it can revenge kill Dialga easily thanks to Dialga being locked into one move. Blissey and Chansey doesn't don't fear anything from this set. Outrages usually fails to 2HKO Blissey who can use Protect as well to gain some recovery. Lugia and Ho-Oh are both problematic to this Dialga unless the weather condition is favorable. Both can easily survive Thunder however, due to their massive HP and Special Defense score stats. Ferrothorn can stomach take any attack not named Fire Blast and set up Spikes or Leech Seed Dialga. Opposing defensive Dialga can be problematic to this set as well. Defensive Arceus can take any attack with its great defenses. Groudon can take any attack and OHKO Dialga with Earthquake. Kyogre can check defensive Arceus, Ho-Oh, Lugia, comma and Groudon with its powerful Water-type strikes. Giratina-O can handle Groudon and use Choice users stuck on Fighting- or Ground-type moves as setup bait. Lugia also makes a good partner to Dialga as it resists Dialga's two weaknesses and checks Scarf Palkia, Garchomp, (comma) and Dragon Dance Rayquaza.</p>

[SET]
name: Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere / Earth Power
move 4: Dragon Pulse
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe

<p>Boosted by Choice Specs, Dialga's attacks will deal insane damage to even those who resist it. Not only does Draco Meteor OHKO Groudon, barring those that heavily invest in Special Defense, but it has enough power to OHKO Lucario who resist the attack. Even max HP Metagross has an 87% chance of being 2HKOed by Draco Meteor. Thunder helps Dialga a lot since the paralysis caters to Dialga's low Speed. After Stealth Rock, Thunder also OHKOes max HP Kyogre and Ho-Oh. Fire Blast is used to prevent wasting Draco Meteor's PP on bulkier Steel-type Pokemon such as Steel Arceus, Ferrothorn and Jirachi, while decreasing the chances of Groudon safely switching into Dialga. Since Heatran can cause trouble with its resistance to Dialga's Dragon-type attacks, Aura Sphere can be used instead. Aura Sphere is also an option over Thunder since Draco Meteor hits hard enough to OHKO min HP Kyogre anyway. Earth Power can be used if you want to OHKO defensive Heatran. Aura Sphere is Dialga's best option to kill Bulk Up Dialga, defensive Arceus, and at least threaten a weakened Blissey. Draco Meteor can OHKO most opposing Dialga as well.</p>

<p>The given EVs allow Dialga to outspeed slow base 90s such as Groudon. They also keep Dialga very bulky so it can keep threatening the opponent. If you want Dialga to be faster, you can use more Speed EVs to outspeed the vast majority of bulky 90 base Speed Pokemon, while tying with those that attempt to be agile. Timid is also a good nature since it allows Dialga to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza, while tying with max Speed Jolly Lucario. Dialga can use 192 Speed EVs with a Timid nature to outspeed said Adamant Rayquaza and place the rest of the EVs toward HP. Max Speed Timid is also acceptable to speed tie with Specs Reshiram and outspeed Naive Giratina-O. The lost loss in power can be significant when using Timid, (comma) though. With Max HP, Dialga can survive a Terrakion's Close Combat.</p>

<p>Dialga's biggest issues with this set can all be in fact resolved, but with varying degrees of difficulty. Blissey and Chansey become the biggest counter to this set, since Dialga lacks any way of KOing them reliably unless they are under a third of their health. Because Dialga is great for knocking down the physical walls of Ubers, it appreciates physical attackers as its teammates. Swords Dance Garchomp enjoys Groudon and Lugia being cleared out of the way, and doesn't falter to Thunder Wave from Blissey. Granted, Garchomp still has to fear Ice Beam, but Blissey usually opts to use Seismic Toss to better handle Dialga, Kyogre, and Palkia. Swords Dance Garchomp with a Haban Berry is sufficient for the job, though Choice Band climbs in effectiveness thanks to many of the Levitating Pokemon being shut down by Draco Meteor or Thunder. Once again, weather is fairly important for this set to work effectively. Much like the Choice Scarf set, beware of Wobbuffet; it poses less of a threat since it is 2HKOed by Dragon Pulse, but it still only takes 40% max from -2 SpA Draco Meteor which allows Wobbuffet to trap Dialga after a single Draco Meteor use. Lugia can stall out Dialga unless the weather in raining. Ho-Oh can do the same but they will still take huge amounts of damage from Draco Meteor. Lugia is faster than Dialga and can abuse Roost to stall out Dialga. Choice Band Garchomp and Terrakion outrun and OHKO Dialga. Both of them cannot come in on Dragon moves though. Arceus Wall can come in on any move and stall out Dialga with Recover but Draco Meteor can nearly OHKO Arceus. Ground Arceus and Fighting Arceus are both the best variants to deal with Dialga. Kyogre can drown Terrakion and Ground Arceus while Ho-Oh can deal with Fighting Arceus. Ho-Oh resists Dialga's two weaknesses while Dialga in turn resists Ho-Oh's weaknesses to Rock, Electric and Water. Zekrom can easily scare off Blissey and Chansey while Dialga lures in and smashes Groudon with a powerful Draco Meteor or roasts Nattorei Ferrothorn with Fire Blast. Zekrom handles Ho-Oh and Lugia decently too. However, Zekrom shares a Ground weakness with Dialga. Skarmory can set up Spikes on Groudon, Lugia, (comma) and Blissey or Chansey who might come in to wall Dialga. If Chansey and Blissey are weakened by Spikes, Dialga might be able to musle it's muscle its way past the pink blobs.</p>

<p>All Dialga sets enjoy Stealth Rock support, since it turns certain 2HKOs into OHKOs, as explained in several of the sets and wears down some of its checks, (comma) such as Lugia. Despite having an excellent typing, wonderful defenses, and an immunity to Toxic Spikes, Dialga unfortunately lacks a reliable way to restore its health beyond using Rest. Thus, Wish support can greatly extend its life span. The main Wish users are Blissey, Chansey, (comma) and Jirachi. Latias shares good typing synergy with Dialga but can only pass small wishes and without Soul Dew she isn't that useful in Ubers anymore. Dialga resists Latias's Ghost and Dark weaknesses while Latias provides a Ground immunity and Fighting resistance. Offensive Dialga also enjoy paralysis support (except for the Choice Scarf set, where it's redundant most of the time), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Chansey, Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias can also use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) to further support Dialga. Chansey and Blissey however, usually prefers (no comma) to use Toxic. Groudon is another excellent user of Thunder Wave because not only can it scare off Steel-types, but it can also lure in and paralyze Lugia, meaning Lugia will have a harder time using Roost to stall offensive Dialga. Groudon can also act as a check to Ho-Oh if Groudon can outrun Ho-Oh. If Ferrothorn is problematic by soaking up Dialga's Dragon moves, Groudon can use Fire Punch to surprise the unfortunate shell.</p>

<p>Few Pokemon can have an easy switch-in on Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokemon that can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, high Speed, or very good defenses. Most of these problematic Pokemon cannot switch in safely on Dialga so, they need to go for the revenge kills. Groudon in particular can use a specially-defensive EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults, bar Choice Specs Draco Meteors, and use its STAB Earthquakes to take Dialga down. It may also be able to set up Rock Polish to threaten a sweep if it switches into the right attack (such as Thunder). Shaymin-S carrying a Choice Scarf can solve this problem, thanks to its immunity to Earthquake, and its ability to outspeed and OHKO Adamant Rock Polish Groudon with Seed Flare. Life Orb Lucario and Life Orb Garchomp can OHKO Dialga with Close Combat and Earthquake, respectively. Gengar can use Focus Blast to OHKO Lucario, and Hidden Power Ice to OHKO Garchomp. Although these Pokemon cannot always OHKO the bulkier Dialga variants, Gengar and Darkrai can threaten to do a huge amount of damage to Dialga with Focus Blast, while Mewtwo can use the more accurate Aura Sphere. Using your own Mewtwo can help since it can switch into Gengar's Focus Blast and threaten to OHKO it with Psycho Break. Choice Scarf Heracross can switch into both Darkrai's Focus Blast and Mewtwo's Aura Sphere, and threaten to OHKO them with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to strike back if Darkrai uses Dark Void. Choice Scarf Kyogre can easily OHKO Darkrai, Mewtwo and Gengar with Water Spout while scaring off Groudon at the same time. Scarf Terrakion can revenge kill Darkrai as well. Scarf Zekrom can revenge kill Mewtwo, Gengar, Lugia and Darkrai regardless of Calm Minds.</p>

<p>Dialga is an extremely sturdy Pokemon. Fighting- and Ground-type moves are moderately common in Ubers, so Pokemon that cover those two weaknesses complement Dialga very well defensively. Giratina-O and Gengar are fantastic examples of this, as they are immune to both of Dialga's weaknesses, while they will both attract Ghost- and Dark-type attacks that Dialga can easily switch into and wreck havoc. Giratina-O also has good defenses and can handle Groudon with ease. Lugia is a particularly good defensive partner, as it not only possesses gargantuan defenses and an immunity to Ground-type attacks, but also a 4x resistance to Fighting-type attacks. Additionally, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, Ho-Oh, (comma) and Shaymin-S complement Dialga well, thanks to their immunities to Ground-type moves and resistances to Fighting-type moves. Although Skarmory is only covering Dialga's Ground-type weakness, it has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokemon such as Groudon, Terrakion and Garchomp. Finally, the many Psychic-types of Ubers, such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo, are able to competently cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting-type attacks. Reshiram can blow past Heatran if Dialga is using Groudon as a partner. Groudon may not share good typing synergy with Dialga but Groudon can check Garchomp, opposing Groudon, Lucario, (comma) and Terrakion for Dialga. As a bonus, Groudon can set up Stealth Rock for Dialga if Dialga isn't using it. Ghost Arceus and Giratina can be used to resist Dialga's Fighting-type weakness. They both attract Ghost- or Dark-type moves which Dialga can switch into with impunity. Giratina also walls Groudon and Terrakion for Dialga. Psychic Arceus can be used as a partner if Dialga is having serious problems with Fighting Arceus or Mewtwo.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Dialga has a very wide movepool and some can work as potential support moves. Psych Up can be useful on Dialga, allowing it to copy the stat boosts that Calm Mind Kyogre or Arceus may have netted. Dialga is a great user of Trick Room in Ubers too, having brilliant all-around stats bar Speed. Trick Room is best used on the Mixed Set which is already mentioned. Flash Cannon is an auxiliary STAB attack, but Steel is a poor offensive type. Ice Beam with Choice Specs allows Dialga to OHKO Groudon without resorting to Draco Meteor or Overheat, but is otherwise generally a poor choice since Dialga already has powerful Dragon-type STAB. Iron Tail should never be used, because as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and its 75% accuracy leaves much to be desired. Iron Head can surprise Tyranitar and Calm Mind Rock Arceus but that's about it. A Choice Band set could work but it is outclassed by Zekrom who has STAB Electric-type attacks at its disposal to break through Lugia.</p>

<p>Magnet Rise can be a good option on some Dialga sets, as it can foil Dialga's arch enemy, Groudon. If you opt for Bulk Up with Magnet Rise, then use an EV spread of 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe. This allows Dialga to use Bulk Up as Groudon switches in, use Magnet Rise before most Groudon can move, and then either hit the next switch-in hard with Outrage or Earthquake, or use Bulk Up again. This is, however, not recommended as Groudon can just Dragon Tail Dialga out. Balloon can be used to keep Dialga safe from Ground-type moves before it is hit, and can be used on the Mixed Set. Dialga can also fly over Spikes with Balloon. The power boost from Life Orb or Expert Belt are usually better though since Dialga misses the power.</p>

<p>Roar of Time sounds and looks cool, but is in fact a terrible move to use, as is the rest of the Hyper Beam suite; Draco Meteor and even Dragon Pulse out-damages it over the course of two turns, and the unavoidable second turn recharge is a perfect opportunity for something threatening to set up. As for items, Choice Scarf can be used with physical moves if so desired, but Dialga's physical attacks are generally weak if unboosted. Using Roar of Time as a suicide move seems appetizing but is generally a gimmicky option.<p>

<p>A 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SpD EV spread can be used if you just want to maximize Dialga's ability to take special attacks. An alternative EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD can be used to take physical attacks better, but is generally a horrible option as Groudon does that much better. Dialga should not try to imitate Groudon but instead utilize its auspicious typing and special attacking prowess.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Dialga is extremely hard to counter due to its sheer power and versatility. How it can be countered depends on the weather conditions and the moveset it is using. In general, Ho-Oh and Heatran can counter Dialga while under sunny conditions. Lugia fears nothing from most sets bar Thunders in the rain. The biggest thing to note is that Thunder's accuracy is cut to 50% under the sun, which means there is only a 15% chance that Ho-Oh and Heatran will be hit by Thunder followed by paralysis. Meanwhile, Ho-Oh’s impressive Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to inflict a burn on Dialga, which hampers the Mixed sets using Outrage and hurts Dialga in general since it forces Dialga to swallow 12.5% of its health every turn. A burned Dialga can never get past the pink blobs unless Dialga is using the Defensive Bulk Up set. With Ho-Oh's access to recovery, Pressure, and a high Special Defense stat, Dialga is in trouble when it only has Stone Edge or the rare Power Gem to kill Ho-Oh. Heatran can shut down the Bulk Up set with a simple use of Taunt, while fearing only Earthquake or Aura Sphere at worst from Dialga. Earth Power from the Choice sets can surprise Heatran as well. Scarf Reshiram can OHKO most sets other than the Defensive Bulk Up set with Blue Fire. Reshiram cannot come in on Dragon-type moves though. When facing a Defensive Bulk Up set, Reshiram can just incinerate Dialga in a single hit with Specs Blue Fire. If rain is present, countering Dialga will be harder, as a 30% chance of paralysis from Thunder is nothing to scoff at. Scizor can fire off Superpower at Dialga for super effective damage. Superpower will not OHKO Dialga though and Fire Blast will still hurt Scizor in the rain. Metagross can step into the scene and launch an Earthquake at Dialga, or use Trick on sets such as Bulk Up or Support to cripple Dialga. It also does well at countering the Mixed sets, though beware of stepping into either Earth Power or Fire-type moves in the sun. Metagross is only 2x weak to Fire-type attacks so it can counter Dialga better than Scizor can. Bear in mind, both Metagross and Scizor are not counters to Bulk Up Dialga as it can Bulk Up twice before both the Steel-types can attack it. Ferrothorn has the Steel typing and good Special Defense to shield it from most attacks Dialga usually carries bar Fire-type moves. In rain, Ferrothorn can survive even Fire-type moves and annoy Dialga with Leech Seed or set up Spikes on it.</p>

<p>Groudon is a good counter since it threatens Dialga with STAB Earthquake, and has access to Roar or Dragon Tail to nullify the Bulk Up set. Offensive Groudon can has an easier time KOing Dialga as most Dialga are slower than it. Blissey and Chansey can usually take on all non-Bulk Up sets, though beware that the Mixed Set can carry Outrage to 2HKO both. Brick Break can 2HKO Blissey but Chansey can usually survive 2 hits thanks to Eviolite. Skarmory does well at countering the Bulk Up set which has no answer against Skarmory, except if Skarmory and Dialga are the last Pokemon standing. Skarmory can still Taunt Dialga but Skarmory will run out of Roost PP before Dialga finishes spamming boosted Outrages. Lugia is a great counter to Dialga regardless of the weather, as it can survive 2 Thunders. Specs Thunder can hurt Lugia however, due to the possible paralysis preventing Lugia from using Roost on Dialga. It can set up Reflect to severely weaken Dialga's physical moves, while Whirlwind deals with the Bulk Up set. Tyranitar, especially those that invest in Special Defense, can be a great Dialga check when it is at full health. Tyranitar can deal massive damage to Dialga with Earthquake or Superpower. Wobbuffet can be an annoying Pokemon for Dialga to deal with, since Dialga lacks Taunt and cannot OHKO Wobbuffet on the spot. It has to beware of the Mixed set and Specs Draco Meteor though. A Specs Draco Meteor will nearly kill Wobbuffet after a bit of prior damage. Ground Arceus can easily fell Dialga with Earthquake or Judgement while sporting magnificient magnificent defenses and Recover to shrug off most hits. Fighting Arceus can take any attack and 2HKO even the bulkiest Dialga with Judgement. Defensive Normal Arceus can also wall Dialga but fails to do much back to Dialga outside of Earthquake.</p>

<p>Since Dialga is one of the slowest Pokemon in Ubers, you can use faster Pokemon to revenge kill it. This strategy fails when Dialga carries a Choice Scarf, but is still the safest way of dealing with most Dialga sets. Life Orb Mewtwo's Aura Sphere can OHKO min HP / min SpD Dialga 43% of the time while Specs Aura Sphere will always OHKO. Deoxys-A has access to Superpower to obliterate Dialga on the spot, as it does around the same damage as Mewtwo's Choice Specs Aura Sphere. Garchomp has access to STAB Earthquake to smack Dialga hard. Terrakion can OHKO most offensive Dialga with Close Combat. If it is the support Dialga set, all of the afromentioned counters fail to OHKO while they will receive massive damage from Dialga's powerful strikes in the process. Darkrai can use Dark Void to nullify every set barring the Bulk Up set, while OHKOing Dialga with a Nasty Plot-boosted Focus Blast.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Dialga gained nothing in Dream World other than Telepathy which is useless in singles competitive play.</p>


Ok, gotta go
 
This allows Dialga to use Thunder Wave, then Stealth Rock, and then switch to the appropriate counter
Thunder wave isn't a listed option on the support set

EDIT:

Also, you might want to mention (AC, probably) running a few speed evs on the bulk up set just out outrun minimum base 90s. Even though it is a defensively oriented set, being able to rest or attack first can be pretty huge, especially since Groudon, your most common counter, rarely runs any speed. I am sure every BU dialga user has won and lost many a game over that exact scenario.
 
Thunder Wave was in earlier but Jibaku said move it to AC. There are too many slashes on the Dialga set, so Thunder Wave will have to be deslashed. Dragon STAB and a fire move are too useful for Dialga while Stealth Rock is a must for defensive Dialga.

As for the Bulk Up set, I didn't put any Speed EVs because all Speed creeps must be removed for the analyses. It's kinda like, run more Speed if you like but it isn't mandatory.

I do agree that Bulk Up Dialga can beat Groudon if no critical hit lands ,assuming Groudon switches in and is slower.
 

Snorlaxe

2 kawaii 4 u
is a Top Contributor Alumnus
i'm stamping wekhter's check, so it counts as an official GP proofread. your analysis is now done!

 
Fixed those changes. This is now done.

User Theorymon wants the Trick Room Mixed Dialga separated from the standard Mixed Dialga. He will be working on it sometime later.
 
Located in the Bulk Up [SET COMMENTS]:
Dragon Claw can be used if you want reliability instead of more PP and power.
I found this sentence a little strange, as both Dragon Claw and Outrage have the same amount of PP, according to Bulbapedia.
 

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