Status: Needs Proofreading
[SET]
Name: Mixed Attacker
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Fire Blast / Earth Power
Move 3: Brick Break / Outrage
Move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up / Stealth Rock
Item: Expert Belt / Life Orb / Adamant Orb
Nature: Quiet / Mild / Hasty
EVs: 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set utilizes Dialga's ability to be a potent offensive threat. Mixed Dialga is known for its ability as a very competent stall breaker with its diverse moveset and immunity to Toxic. Draco Meteor is a general STAB move, which inflicts a significant amount of damage to most opponents, while OHKOing the standard Giratina.</p>
<p>With Stealth Rock support, Dialga has a 74% chance to OHKO an offensive Kyogre with Thunder. Thunder also hits Lugia for super effective damage, although it can use Roost to remove the weakness. The 30% paralysis chance all but ensures that Lugia will eventually be forced to move second, though, so it will eventually lose. Fire Blast roasts Scizor, Forretress, and Metagross, who is 2HKOed even in the rain, thanks to Expert Belt. However, Earth Power is convenient for opposing Dialga.</p>
<p>Brick Break 2HKOes most Ubers variants of Blissey. Dialga's Steel typing also makes it immune to Blissey's Toxic, allowing it to switch in with near impunity. You may, however, prefer to use Outrage instead of Brick Break, notably because it OHKOes Latias, which Draco Meteor fails to do if Dialga has already used it once. Outrage has the same power against Blissey as a super effective Brick Break with Expert Belt factored in, and more power when Dialga is using Life Orb. However, the turns where Dialga is locked into Outrage may prove costly, as it leaves Dialga much more vulnerable to attack. On top of this, Brick Break is also useful for breaking Reflect and Light Screen.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If your team does not need Thunder, Dialga has two other significant options to use over it. Bulk Up can be a good choice on the faster mixed Dialga for several reasons. Bulk Up is a good option to lure Groudon, who will be pounded by a Draco Meteor, while also powering up Outrage. When using Bulk Up on mixed Dialga, Adamant Orb is the best option, because it takes advantage of mixed Bulk Up Dialga's heavy use of Dragon-type attacks without the recoil of Life Orb. Mixed Dialga is also fully capable of setting up Stealth Rock due to its ability to force many Pokémon to switch out.</p>
<p>Mixed Dialga has several EV spreads and natures to consider, each serving a different purpose. Quiet with the EV spread listed above allows Dialga to be a powerful mixed attacker without lowering its fantastic defenses. For example, this spread will take 89% maximum from an unboosted Garchomp's Earthquake. The lack of Speed can be a problem though, as Giratina can Will-O-Wisp Dialga before being OHKOed by Draco Meteor, ruining Dialga's ability to break through Blissey. Most importantly, Quiet Dialga will not be able to outspeed Groudon, while offensive Groudon will OHKO with Earthquake. To solve this issue, one could use a Mild nature with 116 Atk / 252 SpA / 140 Spe and a Life Orb. The Speed EVs allow Dialga to outspeed most Rock Polish Groudon before the boost, allowing Dialga to destroy them with Draco Meteor.</p>
<p>The last option is to use a Hasty nature with 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe. While Dialga loses power on both the physical side and the special side, the Speed more than makes up for it. With maximum Speed, not only does Dialga at least tie with other base 90 Pokémon, but it will also outrun Adamant Rayquaza and Adamant Lucario, both of which are unable to 2HKO Dialga with a +2 ExtremeSpeed. When using a Hasty mixed Dialga, the item held should almost always be Life Orb, to ensure the 2HKO on Blissey with Outrage. Even with the power drop, a Hasty Dialga carrying a Life Orb is still able to 2HKO even specially defensive Groudon with Draco Meteor followed by Outrage, while 4 HP / 0 SpD Kyogre has a 66% chance of being OHKOed by Thunder after Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>Rayquaza is an excellent teammate to Dialga, because they make an excellent offensive pair to break through eachother's threats. Dialga will often lure in Groudon, expecting the Bulk Up set, the Choice Scarf set, or the support set. Groudon will take a serious amount of damage from Draco Meteor. With Groudon out of the way, Dragon Dance Rayquaza will often have an easier time sweeping. Although Lugia can stall Dialga with Roost, it will lose if Thunder paralyzes it. In order to maximize Dialga's chances of beating Lugia, it is advisable to use Kyogre, who's Rain will make Thunder never miss. With Lugia out of the way, Swords Dance Rayquaza will have an easier time sweeping. Latias will often switch into Dialga after it uses Draco Meteor, thinking it may be Choiced. Outrage can surprise Latias and easily OHKO it. With Latias out of the way, Choice Specs Kyogre will be much harder to stop. A Giratina-O with Substitute and Calm Mind will also greatly benefit from the removal of Latias, as this is often the only Pokémon that stall teams even have a chance of beating Giratina-O with. Wobbuffet will often switch into Dialga, but thanks to Life Orb, Dialga will be able to 2HKO most Wobbuffet with Draco Meteor after Stealth Rock. With Wobbuffet out of the way, Lugia will have a much easier time checking Rayquaza, Groudon, and Lucario, in addition to having a much easier time setting up Calm Minds. Choice Scarfed revenge killers, such as Palkia, will also appreciate Wobbuffet being out of their way.</p>
<p>Something to note is that after a kill, Choice Specs Kyogre can switch into Dialga, and do a severe amount of damage with Water Spout. Palkia and Latias can solve this problem, as they can both switch into Kyogre's Water Spout. Groudon can also switch into Quiet Dialga's attacks, and OHKO with Earthquake before Dialga lands a finishing blow. Choice Scarf Shaymin-S is a good answer to Groudon, because not only is Shaymin-S immune to Earthquake, but Choice Scarf Shaymin-S will even be able to outspeed and use Seed Flare to OHKO Groudon after it uses Rock Polish. Life Orb Darkrai and Choice Specs Mewtwo will have a 74% chance of OHKOing 120 HP Dialga with Focus Blast or Aura Sphere after Stealth Rock, respectively, while Life Orb Lucario easily OHKOs with Close Combat. Finally, if your Dialga is lacking Earth Power or Thunder, Heatran will wall Dialga's entire moveset. Gengar can make a good teammate for Dialga because of these threats, as it is able to switch into both Garchomp's Earthquake and Lucario's Close Combat, and OHKO them with Hidden Power Ice and Focus Blast respectively. Choice Scarf Heracross can be used to switch into both Darkrai's and Mewtwo's Fighting attacks, and threaten to OHKO them with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to combat Dark Void. As long as Kyogre manages to avoid Explosion and Toxic, it will easily force Heatran out with the prospect of rain boosted STAB Surfs.</p>
[SET]
Name: Bulk Up
Move 1: Bulk Up
Move 2: Rest
Move 3: Sleep Talk
Move 4: Outrage
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set captializes on Dialga's weaker, though more than repsectable base 120 Attack stat. The basis for this set is Bulk Up, which raises Dialga's Attack and Defense, and leads to an incredibly powerful Outrage. Rest and Sleep Talk keep Dialga healthy, and allow it to continue setting up or attacking in its sleep.</p>
<p>With Special Defense investment and plethora of resistances, Dialga serves as an excellent counter to Pokémon like Kyogre; its resistances to Electric and Water lets it squander Water Spout and Thunder's PP, and lets it perpetually cycle between Rest and Sleep Talk, possibly damaging Kyogre's health with Outrage in the process. Dialga is bulky enough to take Draco Meteors from the likes of Palkia, although that is inadvisable.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> A Hasty mixed Rayquaza makes an excellent teammate to Bulk Up Dialga because of its ability to take on the three biggest threats to it: Lugia, Groudon, and Skarmory, who can take Dialga's attacks and pHaze or attack it. Rayquaza lures in these threats and does severe amounts of damage to them; Groudon and Lugia are 2HKOed by a Life Orb Draco Meteor, while Skarmory will be OHKOed by Fire Blast. A Skarmory of your own can work wonderfully with Bulk Up Dialga. Skarmory can switch into Groudon that lack Fire moves, and set up Spikes. If Groudon attempts to set up, Skarmory can use Whirlwind to phaze it away. Lugia works in a similar manner, except it is unable to set up Spikes. However, it can dent Groudon with Ice Beam. A Groudon of your own can lure out Lugia, and cripple it with Toxic, meaning that Lugia will no longer be able to check Dialga. If your team is vulnerable to Rock Polish Groudon, Choice Scarf Shaymin-S will make a good teammate, as it is able to outspeed and OHKO a Groudon with Seed Flare, even after Rock Polish. Tickle Wobbuffet with a Pursuit Pokémon (mainly Scizor and Tyranitar) can spell doom for Lugia.</p>
[SET]
name: Supporter
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 3: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
item: Leftovers / Lum Berry
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 140 SpA / 116 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set's purpose is to take advantage of Dialga's auspicious defensive typing and useful support moves. Since Groudon and Garchomp are the only common Ground-types in the Uber environment, Thunder Wave will often shut down the opponent's speedy sweepers. Toxic can be used over Thunder Wave to help Dialga cripple the aforementioned Groudon or Lugia, both common switches into Leftovers Dialga.</p>
<p>Draco Meteor over Dragon Pulse depends simply on whether Dialga is needed to continually hit the opponent, or if dealing massive damage is preferred. The last slot depends on your coverage preferences. Flamethrower allows Dialga to hit Metagross and Forretress. Thunder hits all the Steels for hard damage anyway (besides Dialga), but also hits Lugia, Manaphy, and Kyogre for super effective damage. Finally, Roar is an option simply to rack up Stealth Rock damage and scout the enemy team.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>When using Dialga as a lead, the preferred held item is Lum Berry so it can take a Dark Void from Darkrai, and OHKO it with Draco Meteor. Dialga will fare well against most Kyogre leads as well, because Thunder will 2HKO them, while Kyogre will be unable to 2HKO Dialga even with (non Choice Specs) Water Spout.</p>
<p>The given EVs ensure that an unboosted Timid Kyogre's Water Spout will not 2HKO Dialga. Thus, Dialga can Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock and switch to the appropriate counter. The Special Attack EVs and Modest nature allow Dialga to always OHKO Darkrai with Draco Meteor, and to always OHKO Palkia with Dragon Pulse after it switches into Stealth Rock once.</p>
<p>Great teammates for support Dialga are sweepers that benefit from crippled Groudon and Lugia. An excellent example of this is Rayquaza. Both Swords Dance Rayquaza and Dragon Dance Rayquaza are often stopped by certain Groudon and Lugia sets. When they are crippled by Toxic, they will not be living for long, opening up the road for a sweep. Groudon is also able to take advantage of Lugia’s poisoning, and Dialga will often scare off Groudon’s other enemy, Giratina.</p>
<p>Support Dialga's main issues are simply with powerful attackers that are faster than it and hit it with super effective attacks. Groudon - a common lead - can survive Draco Meteor and do a severe amount of damage with Earthquake. Although they are unable to switch in safely, both Choice Band Garchomp and Life Orb Lucario will be able to OHKO Dialga with their powerful, STAB super effective attacks. Finally, Darkrai can use Dark Void to put Dialga to sleep, and threaten to set up a sweep with Nasty Plot. Skarmory is an excellent teammate to use for dealing with Groudon and Garchomp, as it can easily switch into Garchomp and Groudon that lack Fire moves, set up Spikes on them, and phaze set-up attempts. Life Orb Gengar can be used to deal with both Garchomp and Lucario, as Gengar can OHKO both with Hidden Power Ice and Focus Blast respectively. Finally, when dealing with Darkrai, it is often best to let Dialga absorb the sleep, and to switch in Choice Scarf user such as Palkia while Darkrai sets up. When using Dialga as a lead, Deoxys-S will almost always be able to set up Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes. Because of this, it is best to pair leading Dialga with Rapid Spin Forretress.</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 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although Dialga is often seen as a slow, sturdy tank, Choice Scarf can make it an excellent revenge killer in the Uber metagame. Thanks to Dialga's Steel-typing and good defenses, it can easily switch into Darkrai as it uses Dark Pulse, and OHKO with Draco Meteor. Choice Scarf Dialga is also one of the few reliable revenge killers for both Swords Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Lucario, thanks to its resistance to ExtremeSpeed. Even with a Hasty nature, Dialga is not 2HKOed by either Rayquaza's or Lucario's ExtremeSpeed after a Swords Dance (even if they are carrying Life Orb). Dialga easily OHKOes Rayquaza with its STAB Dragon attacks, while Lucario is OHKOed by either Fire Blast or Aura Sphere. Thunder will 2HKO Kyogre, and can 2HKO Lugia after it switches into Stealth Rock. Fire Blast is often the best option to use, as it is able to OHKO Forretress and Scizor, and do a severe amount of damage to Metagross and Jirachi. Aura Sphere can be used to 2HKO specially defensive Choice Band Tyranitar, who will give this set problems otherwise. Unfortunately, using Aura Sphere will make Dialga even more vulnerable to Wobbuffet than usual. In the last slot, Dragon Pulse can be used to have a reliable STAB attack that has perfect accuracy and no negative side effects. Unfortunately, Latias has a chance of surviving even Draco Meteor, and can set up on it with Calm Mind and Recover. Using Outrage with a Hasty nature solves this problem, as it allows Dialga to revenge kill Latias, in addition to having a chance of 2HKOing Blissey.</p>
[Additonal Comments]
<p>Choice Scarf Dialga, while being fast, is still outsped by other Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp and Darkrai. Although neither can OHKO Dialga, they will do a severe amount of damage with their super effective moves. To deal with this, Giratina-O can be an excellent teammate. Giratina-O is immune to Dialga's two weaknesses, Fighting and Ground. Giratina-O can then switch into Choiced Ground and Fighting moves aimed at Dialga, and use the time to either set up a Substitute or a Calm Mind. Gengar can also come in on these moves, and threaten to do a severe amount of damage with either Hidden Power Ice (for Garchomp), Shadow Ball (for Mewtwo), or Focus Blast (for Darkrai).</p>
<p>A specially defensive Groudon can also switch in on Dialga, and threaten to do a huge amount of damage with its STAB super effective Earthquakes. A specially defensive Choice Band Tyranitar can also take any of Dialga's attacks bar Aura Sphere with ease, and threaten to 2HKO back with Earthquake. Blissey will easily wall all of Choice Scarf Dialga's attacks bar Outrage, and can use Thunder Wave to cripple Dialga. Many Steel-types such as Metagross and Scizor can switch into Dialga's Dragon attacks, and threaten to do a large amount of damage with Earthquake and Superpower respectively. Finally, Wobbuffet can use its combination of Shadow Tag and either Counter or Mirror Coat to trap and KO Dialga. To deal with Groudon, Skarmory can be used to wall all of its attacks except for the rare Fire Punch, and set up Spikes or Whirlwind it away. A Groudon of your own can be a very helpful teammate as well. Groudon can switch into both Tyranitar's attacks and Blissey's Thunder Waves, and massively dent either of them with Earthquake. Groudon can also keep the multiple Steel-types that switch into Dialga away with the threat of a STAB Earthquake. Garchomp works in a similar manner, and it can also abuse Tyranitar’s Sand Stream. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done to stop Wobbuffet from destroying Dialga beyond predicting its switch in, and switching in Darkrai or Mewtwo at the same time. Because of this, it is often best to only use Choice Scarf Dialga when needed, so Wobbuffet cannot KO it early on in the match.</p>
[SET]
Name: Choice Specs
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Thunder
Move 3: Dragon Pulse
Move 4: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
Item: Choice Specs
Nature: Modest / Timid
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Specs Dialga is one of the most powerful Pokemon in the game. Almost all Pokémon will have great difficulty switching into Specs Dialga, in fear of Draco Meteor. Even Steel-types must make a heavy investment in Special Defense EVs to ensure survival of two Draco Meteors. Dragon Pulse provides a more reliable STAB attackto hurt weakened opponents. Thunder takes advantage of the ever common rain and will OHKO Lugia and Kyogre after Stealth Rock. Fire Blast may be used in conjunction with Groudon, gaining a handy boost from the sun, and will OHKO every Steel-type barring Heatran or Dialga, as opposed to a 2HKO from Thunder. Though generally an inferior option, Aura Sphere can be used over Fire Blast, as it always OHKOs Dialga that don't invest defenses and will 2HKO defensive Dialga and specially defensive Tyranitar.</p>
<p>The EV spread allows Dialga to outspeed Adamant Tyranitar while having a good amount of HP to take powerful hits. For example, Garchomp's unboosted Earthquake fails to KO Dialga, while Dialga can retaliate for an OHKO. If more Speed is desirable, a Timid nature with the EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe can be used. This spread misses out on some KOs but outruns positive base 90's and neutral base 95's.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The only Pokémon that can switch into Dialga's powerful Draco Meteors without being crippled for the rest of the match are a very specially defensive Scizor, Jirachi, Lugia, and Blissey. Scizor and Jirachi can use Roost and Wish, respectively, to stall out Draco Meteor's low PP and capitalize on Special Attack drops. Both must be wary of Fire Blast, though Jirachi can survive it in the Rain. Lugia can live through Draco Meteor as well, and stall it with Roost. Lugia is OHKOed by Thunder after switching into Stealth Rock, however. Thus, the only safe switch-in to Choice Specs Dialga is Blissey, who will wall it thanks to her massive HP and Special Defense stats. Groudon and Garchomp are excellent teammates because of these switch-ins. They can switch in on, and do a massive amount of damage to, Blissey and Scizor, and will easily OHKO Jirachi with Earthquake. Mewtwo can be sent into Lugia and set up on it with Taunt and Calm Mind. If one wants Blissey to be eliminated, using Tickle Wobbuffet with a Pursuit user can spell certain doom for Blissey, allowing Choice Specs Dialga to tear massive holes in the opponents team.</p>
<p>While there are not many safe switch-ins to Choice Specs Dialga, Dialga is very vulnerable to getting revenge killed or set up on due to its low Speed and Draco Meteor Special Attack drops. After a kill with Draco Meteor or Thunder, Groudon can come in and set up a Rock Polish and threaten to sweep. To stop this, Choice Scarf Shaymin-S can be used to outspeed and OHKO Groudon with Seed Flare. Life Orb Garchomp and Life Orb Lucario can also OHKO Dialga with their powerful STAB super effective moves. Lucario can use Swords Dance on the weakened Draco Meteor and then begin to sweep. Gengar can switch into both of them, and OHKO Garchomp with Hidden Power Ice while OHKOing Lucario with Focus Blast. Lugia can stop all three of them if it is carrying Reflect. If locked into Fire Blast, Choice Specs Kyogre can come in and 2HKO Dialga with Water Spout or set up Calm Mind. Latias is generally the best response to this, as she can handle Kyogre's Water Spout, and set up Calm Minds of her own. Dialga can easily be revenge killed by Wobbuffet. This is unfortunately impossible to avoid, so it is best to try to weaken Wobbuffet until it is unable to take Dialga's attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Overheat / Dragon Claw
move 4: Stone Edge / Dragon Claw
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Dialga can cause huge amounts of damage in the Uber metagame, which is generally specially defensive. Outrage is a powerful STAB attack that has the ability to 2HKO 252 HP / 0 Def Groudon and always OHKO a 4 HP / 0 Def Kyogre with Stealth Rock in play. Earthquake complements Outrage well, notably OHKOing Heatran as well as seriously denting opposing Dialga.</p>
<p>Overheat will help against floating Steel-types wanting to stop the combination of Outrage and Earthquake, as well as making it much easier to power through Forretress. Even with a negative Special Attack nature and no EVs, Dialga still has a fairly impressive 302 Special Attack stat. It is best to use Overheat in moderation though, as many Pokémon such as Kyogre and Latias can set up on it, while Wobbuffet can revenge kill Dialga. If Overheat is not a desirable move, you may opt for Dragon Claw instead.</p>
<p>The last slot is a choice between Dragon Claw and Stone Edge. Dragon Claw is a reliable Dragon attack that will OHKO most Latias and Latios, and will generally do quite a bit of damage on Pokémon that do not resist it. However, Stone Edge has a few extra advantages. It guarantees a 2HKO against the standard Lugia, although Lugia being faster and having Roost and Pressure can thwart it. Ho-Oh is promptly OHKOed, whereas Ho-Oh's most powerful Earthquake fails to OHKO back.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If one wants to take advantage of Choice Band Dialga's ability to 2HKO non-defensive Groudon, an alternate EV spread of 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe with an Adamant nature can be used. With this spread, Dialga can outspeed most Adamant Rock Polish Groudon before they boost their Speed, and 2HKO Groudon with Outrage if it dares to switch in. While Jolly with max Speed can be acceptable for outspeeding and killing Adamant Rayquaza and Adamant Lucario, it is not recommended because not only does this make Dialga less bulky, it becomes weaker than Jolly Choice Band Garchomp; both of these are major advantages Dialga has over Choice Band Garchomp that are not worth losing in most cases.</p>
<p>Choice Band Dialga is walled by Skarmory and Lugia, and it can be revenge killed by Life Orb Garchomp, Life Orb Lucario, and offensive Groudon (all of which sport a resistance to Stone Edge as well). Support Groudon complements Choice Band Dialga very well, not only because of its ability to set up the crucial Stealth Rock, but also because Groudon can lure Lugia in, only for it to be crippled by Toxic. Groudon can also lure in Skarmory and put a huge dent in it with Fire Punch as well as putting the Steel-types that attempt to absorb Dialga's Outrage (such as Metagross) at bay with its STAB Earthquakes. The Tickle Wobbuffet plus Pursuit user strategy can also be used to eliminate Lugia from the battle field. To deal with Groudon, Choice Scarf Shaymin-S can outspeed and OHKO Rock Polish variants, while Skarmory can wall Garchomp and Groudon that lack fire moves. Much like the other Dialga sets, Gengar can beat Lucario and Garchomp as well.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Like most Pokémon, offensive Dialga enjoys the support of Stealth Rock, as it allows Dialga to turn certain 2HKOs into OHKOs as explained in several of the sets. 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 on the battlefield. The main Wish users of Ubers are Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias. Latias is a particularly good user of Wish for Dialga, because Latias resists Fighting and is immune to Ground moves, while Dialga resists Latias's Ghost and Dark weaknesses. Offensive Dialga also enjoy paralysis support (except for the Choice Scarf set), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Blissey, Jirachi and Latias can use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) in addition to Wish to further support Dialga. Groudon is another excellent user of Thunder Wave, because not only can it strike fear into Steel-types that attempt to switch into Dialga, but it can also lure in and paralyze Lugia, meaning that it will have a harder time using Roost to stall offensive Dialga.</p>
<p>There are no Pokémon that are guaranteed an easy switch-in on Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokémon that can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, Speed, or good defenses. Even then, most of these problem Pokémon can not switch in safely; most of them must wait until Dialga takes down a Pokémon to retaliate. Groudon in particular can use a specially defensive EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults bar Choice Banded Outrages and Choice Specs Draco Meteors, and use its STAB Earthquakes to take Dialga down. Groudon may also be able to set up Rock Polish to threaten a sweep if it switches into the right attack (such as Stone Edge or Thunder). A Shaymin-S carrying a Choice Scarf can solve this problem, thanks to its immunity to Earthquake, and its ability to outspeed and OHKO a 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 Pokémon can not 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. A Mewtwo of your own can switch into Gengar's Focus Blast and threaten to OHKO it with Shadow Ball. A Choice Scarf Heracross can switch into both Darkrai's Focus Blast and Mewtwo's Aura Sphere, and threaten to OHKO then with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to strike Darkrai back if Darkrai uses Dark Void.</p>
<p>Dialga is an extremely sturdy Pokémon that is only hindered by its weaknesses to Fighting and Ground attacks, thus Pokémon 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 attacks that Dialga can easily switch into. Lugia is a particularly good defensive partner, as it not only sports an immunity to Ground attacks, but a 4x resistance to Fighting attacks. Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, and Shaymin-S also complement Dialga well, thanks to their immunities to Ground moves and resistances to Fighting moves. Although Skarmory is only covering Dialga's Ground weakness, Skarmory has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokémon that attempt to slam Dialga with Ground moves, and is able to wall Groudon and Garchomp that lack Fire moves. Finally, the many Psychic types of Ubers such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo are able to cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting attacks, as can Giratina.</p>
<p>When using Dialga, a great way to confuse the opponent is to use its versatility to your advantage, and pose as different sets. For example, Mixed Dialga can use an Expert Belt, a Hasty nature, and maximum Speed to pose as a Choice Scarf Dialga. You can then use it to revenge kill Adamant Lucario and Adamant Rayquaza. The opponent may suspect that your Dialga has a Choice Scarf, and switch to Latias to either absorb the Fire attack aimed at Lucario, or a Scizor to absorb a Dragon attack aimed at Rayquaza. You can then use Outrage to OHKO Latias, possibly opening a team up to a Choice Specs Kyogre sweep, while eliminating Scizor can leave some teams extremely vulnerable to sweeps from Nasty Plot Darkrai or Calm Mind Mewtwo. Another great example of deception is to switch a support Dialga into a Blissey's Seismic Toss. The opponent, seeing the Leftovers recovery, may suspect a Bulk Up Dialga. As the opponent switches to their Bulk Up Dialga check (oftentimes Groudon or Lugia), you can use Toxic to cripple them. With either Lugia or Groudon eventually succumbing to Toxic, physical attackers such as Rayquaza will usually have a much easier time sweeping. Thus, bluffing with Dialga, while risky, can have a huge payoff thanks to Dialga's incredible unpredictability.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Dialga has a load of other options that can work as potential support moves. Roar can work alongside Dialga's excellent sturdiness. Psych Up can be useful on Dialga, allowing it to copy the stat boosts that Calm Mind Kyogre may have netted. Dialga is a great user of Trick Room in Ubers too, having brilliant all-around stats bar Speed. 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 needing to resort to Draco Meteor or Overheat, but is generally a poor choice. Iron Tail is poor, because, as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and Iron Tail's 75% accuracy leaves much to be desired.</p>
<p>Magnet Rise can be a good option on some Dialga sets, as it can foil Dialga's arch enemy, Groudon. If using Bulk Up with Magnet Rise, use the EV spread of 116 HP/ 252 Atk / 140 Spe. This allows Dialga to Bulk up as Groudon switches in, use Magnet Rise before most move, and then either hit the next switch in hard with Outrage or Earthquake, or use Bulk Up again.</p>
<p>Roar of Time sounds and looks cool, but it is in fact a terrible move to use, as is the rest of the Hyper Beam suite; Draco Meteor or even Dragon Pulse outdamages it over the course of two turns, and the passive second turn is a perfect opportunity for something threatening to set up. As for items, Choice Scarf can be used with physical moves if wanted, but without the extra power of Choice Band, the attacks will be too weak to be useful.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Dialga should use the spreads provided in the mixed attacker section if it is given that set; an explanation is provided in the mixed attacker's description. The bulkier sets should focus on HP and Special Defense, with some points dropped into Defense if necessary. 32 Speed EVs are advised for the Choice sets (except for Choice Scarf) to outrun Pokémon that tend to hang around the 222 Speed range. The remainder should be used to maximize the appropriate offensive stat and then dumped into HP. The minimum Speed EVs required to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza is 192 EVs and a +Speed nature.</p>
<p>252 HP / 116 SpD with a neutral nature allows Dialga to never be 2HKOed by Kyogre's Choice Scarf Water Spout, provided Dialga holds Leftovers. 252 HP / 44 Def, again with a neutral nature, will allow Dialga to never be 2HKOed by Mewtwo's Life Orb Brick Break, or OHKOed by the same Focus Punch.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Dialga's excellent typing, a conglomeration of two of the best defensive types in the game, gives it many resistances to many types that its fellow Ubers are weak to, including Dark, Ghost, Bug, Electric, Water, and Grass. Dialga also has Normal- and Flying-type resistances, and a Toxic immunity which comes in handy when dealing with Blissey. Dialga also only takes neutral damage from any opposing Dragon- or Ice-type attacks; although it having a weakness to Fighting and Ground somewhat lowers its defensive capabilities, it’s still more then impressive on the defensive side. Thankfully, there are also plenty of Pokémon in Ubers that can cover those two weaknesses as well.</p>
<p>Dialga not only has excellent defenses, but it also possesses a huge amount of power, with its massive 150 base Special Attack and its respectable 120 base Attack. To make it even more deadly, Dialga is incredibly versatile, being able to support, stat up, absorb sleep, use all three Choice items, and run mixed sets. Most deadly of all is Dialga's ability to use all of its sets to great success, meaning that one wrong switch-in can lead to a team's demise.</p>
<p>Dialga's excellent ability to take hits, powerful offenses, and amazing versatility make it a wonderful asset to almost any Uber team, whether they are in need of support, reliable defenses, or a deadly attacker.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Because of Dialga's versatility, Dialga is impossible to counter without knowing its moveset. Checking Dialga becomes much easier when its set is revealed. Deoxys-D can easily counter the mixed attacker thanks to its massive defenses, as long as Dialga is Quiet. A Mild Dialga with Life Orb, however, can use Draco Meteor followed by Outrage to destroy Deoxys-D after it switches into Stealth Rock, as Deoxys-D cannot outspeed neutral and speed-boosting Dialga.</p>
<p>Heatran too does not fear Dialga, provided it doesn't engage with Dialga's Earth Power, Earthquake, or Aura Sphere. Heatran can also OHKO even the most specially defensive Dialga with a Choice Specs Overheat, assuming no rain. Dialga also runs the risk of giving Heatran a Flash Fire boost, something that could well cause its own demise.</p>
<p>Blissey counters the Choice Specs set reliably, unless it suffers from a critical hit or switches into Aura Sphere while having less than 70% health. Skarmory and Forretress can switch into the physical sets well, on the condition that they avoid Overheat. Skarmory sets up Spikes against the Choice Band and Bulk Up sets and Whirlwinds them out after it's done. Forretress can't do anything to Dialga in terms of appreciable damage, but sets up Toxic Spikes and then switches to a more suitable counter.</p>
<p>Latias at full health can attempt to take on the mixed attacker. It cannot switch in directly on Draco Meteor, but mixed Dialga tends to use that rather sparingly, and Latias must avoid Outrage, if Dialga is even carrying it. If Latias can manage to come in on any other attack, and avoids status, it can then Calm Mind to survive the impeding Draco Meteor, and then Recover, while Dialga fails to KO due to the Special Attack drop. Latias and Latios can also counter the Toxic staller if they have Refresh or Safeguard, or even Substitute if Dialga is using Earth Power. This then allows them to start Calm Minding.</p>
<p>Metagross with Earthquake can come in on specific attacks of Dialga's, notably Choice Band Outrages. However, Metagross will hate many of Dialga's attacks, being hard pressed against things like Overheat, or even Choice Specs Draco Meteors. Assuming that it remains at reasonable health, Metagross can hurt Dialga badly with a Choice Banded Earthquake. However, Metagross is not at all a good counter to Bulk Up Dialga, even if said Dialga doesn't have Earthquake. The reasoning is that Dialga should be able to gain one Bulk Up on the switch, and another one just before Metagross attacks, because it is normally faster. That automatically reduces the damage of a Choice Banded Metagross's Earthquake to the 45% range, which easily allows Dialga one or two more Bulk Ups before being forced to Rest. By that time, Metagross would be unable to keep up with the Resting cycle unless it scores a critical hit, which is unlikely to happen (approximately a 40% chance), as Dialga's Pressure slices Earthquake's PP to effectively 8.</p>
<p>Lugia is capable of taking on most attacks, only really fearing powerful Choice Specs attacks, Thunder, and Toxic. Choice Banded Outrage assaults can cause problems for Lugia, but it should be able to come in, set up Reflect, and further stall with Roost or Recover, damaging Dialga along the way with Ice Beam. Lugia can also Whirlwind the Bulk Up set, and Pressure can help against Draco Meteor, effectively reducing its PP from 8 to 4.</p>
<p>Ground-types can be used to directly damage Dialga. Groudon handles most physical versions well and OHKOes Dialga easily with a Choice Banded Earthquake. It should be noted that Choice Band Outrages can still cause problems for Groudon, but Groudon can switch in, take the hit, and outrun the Dialga listed. Dugtrio is incapable of switching directly into any of Dialga's offensive moves except a weak Earth Power, but is an excellent choice to revenge-kill a slightly damaged Dialga.</p>
[SET]
Name: Mixed Attacker
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Fire Blast / Earth Power
Move 3: Brick Break / Outrage
Move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up / Stealth Rock
Item: Expert Belt / Life Orb / Adamant Orb
Nature: Quiet / Mild / Hasty
EVs: 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set utilizes Dialga's ability to be a potent offensive threat. Mixed Dialga is known for its ability as a very competent stall breaker with its diverse moveset and immunity to Toxic. Draco Meteor is a general STAB move, which inflicts a significant amount of damage to most opponents, while OHKOing the standard Giratina.</p>
<p>With Stealth Rock support, Dialga has a 74% chance to OHKO an offensive Kyogre with Thunder. Thunder also hits Lugia for super effective damage, although it can use Roost to remove the weakness. The 30% paralysis chance all but ensures that Lugia will eventually be forced to move second, though, so it will eventually lose. Fire Blast roasts Scizor, Forretress, and Metagross, who is 2HKOed even in the rain, thanks to Expert Belt. However, Earth Power is convenient for opposing Dialga.</p>
<p>Brick Break 2HKOes most Ubers variants of Blissey. Dialga's Steel typing also makes it immune to Blissey's Toxic, allowing it to switch in with near impunity. You may, however, prefer to use Outrage instead of Brick Break, notably because it OHKOes Latias, which Draco Meteor fails to do if Dialga has already used it once. Outrage has the same power against Blissey as a super effective Brick Break with Expert Belt factored in, and more power when Dialga is using Life Orb. However, the turns where Dialga is locked into Outrage may prove costly, as it leaves Dialga much more vulnerable to attack. On top of this, Brick Break is also useful for breaking Reflect and Light Screen.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If your team does not need Thunder, Dialga has two other significant options to use over it. Bulk Up can be a good choice on the faster mixed Dialga for several reasons. Bulk Up is a good option to lure Groudon, who will be pounded by a Draco Meteor, while also powering up Outrage. When using Bulk Up on mixed Dialga, Adamant Orb is the best option, because it takes advantage of mixed Bulk Up Dialga's heavy use of Dragon-type attacks without the recoil of Life Orb. Mixed Dialga is also fully capable of setting up Stealth Rock due to its ability to force many Pokémon to switch out.</p>
<p>Mixed Dialga has several EV spreads and natures to consider, each serving a different purpose. Quiet with the EV spread listed above allows Dialga to be a powerful mixed attacker without lowering its fantastic defenses. For example, this spread will take 89% maximum from an unboosted Garchomp's Earthquake. The lack of Speed can be a problem though, as Giratina can Will-O-Wisp Dialga before being OHKOed by Draco Meteor, ruining Dialga's ability to break through Blissey. Most importantly, Quiet Dialga will not be able to outspeed Groudon, while offensive Groudon will OHKO with Earthquake. To solve this issue, one could use a Mild nature with 116 Atk / 252 SpA / 140 Spe and a Life Orb. The Speed EVs allow Dialga to outspeed most Rock Polish Groudon before the boost, allowing Dialga to destroy them with Draco Meteor.</p>
<p>The last option is to use a Hasty nature with 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe. While Dialga loses power on both the physical side and the special side, the Speed more than makes up for it. With maximum Speed, not only does Dialga at least tie with other base 90 Pokémon, but it will also outrun Adamant Rayquaza and Adamant Lucario, both of which are unable to 2HKO Dialga with a +2 ExtremeSpeed. When using a Hasty mixed Dialga, the item held should almost always be Life Orb, to ensure the 2HKO on Blissey with Outrage. Even with the power drop, a Hasty Dialga carrying a Life Orb is still able to 2HKO even specially defensive Groudon with Draco Meteor followed by Outrage, while 4 HP / 0 SpD Kyogre has a 66% chance of being OHKOed by Thunder after Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>Rayquaza is an excellent teammate to Dialga, because they make an excellent offensive pair to break through eachother's threats. Dialga will often lure in Groudon, expecting the Bulk Up set, the Choice Scarf set, or the support set. Groudon will take a serious amount of damage from Draco Meteor. With Groudon out of the way, Dragon Dance Rayquaza will often have an easier time sweeping. Although Lugia can stall Dialga with Roost, it will lose if Thunder paralyzes it. In order to maximize Dialga's chances of beating Lugia, it is advisable to use Kyogre, who's Rain will make Thunder never miss. With Lugia out of the way, Swords Dance Rayquaza will have an easier time sweeping. Latias will often switch into Dialga after it uses Draco Meteor, thinking it may be Choiced. Outrage can surprise Latias and easily OHKO it. With Latias out of the way, Choice Specs Kyogre will be much harder to stop. A Giratina-O with Substitute and Calm Mind will also greatly benefit from the removal of Latias, as this is often the only Pokémon that stall teams even have a chance of beating Giratina-O with. Wobbuffet will often switch into Dialga, but thanks to Life Orb, Dialga will be able to 2HKO most Wobbuffet with Draco Meteor after Stealth Rock. With Wobbuffet out of the way, Lugia will have a much easier time checking Rayquaza, Groudon, and Lucario, in addition to having a much easier time setting up Calm Minds. Choice Scarfed revenge killers, such as Palkia, will also appreciate Wobbuffet being out of their way.</p>
<p>Something to note is that after a kill, Choice Specs Kyogre can switch into Dialga, and do a severe amount of damage with Water Spout. Palkia and Latias can solve this problem, as they can both switch into Kyogre's Water Spout. Groudon can also switch into Quiet Dialga's attacks, and OHKO with Earthquake before Dialga lands a finishing blow. Choice Scarf Shaymin-S is a good answer to Groudon, because not only is Shaymin-S immune to Earthquake, but Choice Scarf Shaymin-S will even be able to outspeed and use Seed Flare to OHKO Groudon after it uses Rock Polish. Life Orb Darkrai and Choice Specs Mewtwo will have a 74% chance of OHKOing 120 HP Dialga with Focus Blast or Aura Sphere after Stealth Rock, respectively, while Life Orb Lucario easily OHKOs with Close Combat. Finally, if your Dialga is lacking Earth Power or Thunder, Heatran will wall Dialga's entire moveset. Gengar can make a good teammate for Dialga because of these threats, as it is able to switch into both Garchomp's Earthquake and Lucario's Close Combat, and OHKO them with Hidden Power Ice and Focus Blast respectively. Choice Scarf Heracross can be used to switch into both Darkrai's and Mewtwo's Fighting attacks, and threaten to OHKO them with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to combat Dark Void. As long as Kyogre manages to avoid Explosion and Toxic, it will easily force Heatran out with the prospect of rain boosted STAB Surfs.</p>
[SET]
Name: Bulk Up
Move 1: Bulk Up
Move 2: Rest
Move 3: Sleep Talk
Move 4: Outrage
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set captializes on Dialga's weaker, though more than repsectable base 120 Attack stat. The basis for this set is Bulk Up, which raises Dialga's Attack and Defense, and leads to an incredibly powerful Outrage. Rest and Sleep Talk keep Dialga healthy, and allow it to continue setting up or attacking in its sleep.</p>
<p>With Special Defense investment and plethora of resistances, Dialga serves as an excellent counter to Pokémon like Kyogre; its resistances to Electric and Water lets it squander Water Spout and Thunder's PP, and lets it perpetually cycle between Rest and Sleep Talk, possibly damaging Kyogre's health with Outrage in the process. Dialga is bulky enough to take Draco Meteors from the likes of Palkia, although that is inadvisable.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> A Hasty mixed Rayquaza makes an excellent teammate to Bulk Up Dialga because of its ability to take on the three biggest threats to it: Lugia, Groudon, and Skarmory, who can take Dialga's attacks and pHaze or attack it. Rayquaza lures in these threats and does severe amounts of damage to them; Groudon and Lugia are 2HKOed by a Life Orb Draco Meteor, while Skarmory will be OHKOed by Fire Blast. A Skarmory of your own can work wonderfully with Bulk Up Dialga. Skarmory can switch into Groudon that lack Fire moves, and set up Spikes. If Groudon attempts to set up, Skarmory can use Whirlwind to phaze it away. Lugia works in a similar manner, except it is unable to set up Spikes. However, it can dent Groudon with Ice Beam. A Groudon of your own can lure out Lugia, and cripple it with Toxic, meaning that Lugia will no longer be able to check Dialga. If your team is vulnerable to Rock Polish Groudon, Choice Scarf Shaymin-S will make a good teammate, as it is able to outspeed and OHKO a Groudon with Seed Flare, even after Rock Polish. Tickle Wobbuffet with a Pursuit Pokémon (mainly Scizor and Tyranitar) can spell doom for Lugia.</p>
[SET]
name: Supporter
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 3: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
item: Leftovers / Lum Berry
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 140 SpA / 116 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set's purpose is to take advantage of Dialga's auspicious defensive typing and useful support moves. Since Groudon and Garchomp are the only common Ground-types in the Uber environment, Thunder Wave will often shut down the opponent's speedy sweepers. Toxic can be used over Thunder Wave to help Dialga cripple the aforementioned Groudon or Lugia, both common switches into Leftovers Dialga.</p>
<p>Draco Meteor over Dragon Pulse depends simply on whether Dialga is needed to continually hit the opponent, or if dealing massive damage is preferred. The last slot depends on your coverage preferences. Flamethrower allows Dialga to hit Metagross and Forretress. Thunder hits all the Steels for hard damage anyway (besides Dialga), but also hits Lugia, Manaphy, and Kyogre for super effective damage. Finally, Roar is an option simply to rack up Stealth Rock damage and scout the enemy team.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>When using Dialga as a lead, the preferred held item is Lum Berry so it can take a Dark Void from Darkrai, and OHKO it with Draco Meteor. Dialga will fare well against most Kyogre leads as well, because Thunder will 2HKO them, while Kyogre will be unable to 2HKO Dialga even with (non Choice Specs) Water Spout.</p>
<p>The given EVs ensure that an unboosted Timid Kyogre's Water Spout will not 2HKO Dialga. Thus, Dialga can Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock and switch to the appropriate counter. The Special Attack EVs and Modest nature allow Dialga to always OHKO Darkrai with Draco Meteor, and to always OHKO Palkia with Dragon Pulse after it switches into Stealth Rock once.</p>
<p>Great teammates for support Dialga are sweepers that benefit from crippled Groudon and Lugia. An excellent example of this is Rayquaza. Both Swords Dance Rayquaza and Dragon Dance Rayquaza are often stopped by certain Groudon and Lugia sets. When they are crippled by Toxic, they will not be living for long, opening up the road for a sweep. Groudon is also able to take advantage of Lugia’s poisoning, and Dialga will often scare off Groudon’s other enemy, Giratina.</p>
<p>Support Dialga's main issues are simply with powerful attackers that are faster than it and hit it with super effective attacks. Groudon - a common lead - can survive Draco Meteor and do a severe amount of damage with Earthquake. Although they are unable to switch in safely, both Choice Band Garchomp and Life Orb Lucario will be able to OHKO Dialga with their powerful, STAB super effective attacks. Finally, Darkrai can use Dark Void to put Dialga to sleep, and threaten to set up a sweep with Nasty Plot. Skarmory is an excellent teammate to use for dealing with Groudon and Garchomp, as it can easily switch into Garchomp and Groudon that lack Fire moves, set up Spikes on them, and phaze set-up attempts. Life Orb Gengar can be used to deal with both Garchomp and Lucario, as Gengar can OHKO both with Hidden Power Ice and Focus Blast respectively. Finally, when dealing with Darkrai, it is often best to let Dialga absorb the sleep, and to switch in Choice Scarf user such as Palkia while Darkrai sets up. When using Dialga as a lead, Deoxys-S will almost always be able to set up Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes. Because of this, it is best to pair leading Dialga with Rapid Spin Forretress.</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 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although Dialga is often seen as a slow, sturdy tank, Choice Scarf can make it an excellent revenge killer in the Uber metagame. Thanks to Dialga's Steel-typing and good defenses, it can easily switch into Darkrai as it uses Dark Pulse, and OHKO with Draco Meteor. Choice Scarf Dialga is also one of the few reliable revenge killers for both Swords Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Lucario, thanks to its resistance to ExtremeSpeed. Even with a Hasty nature, Dialga is not 2HKOed by either Rayquaza's or Lucario's ExtremeSpeed after a Swords Dance (even if they are carrying Life Orb). Dialga easily OHKOes Rayquaza with its STAB Dragon attacks, while Lucario is OHKOed by either Fire Blast or Aura Sphere. Thunder will 2HKO Kyogre, and can 2HKO Lugia after it switches into Stealth Rock. Fire Blast is often the best option to use, as it is able to OHKO Forretress and Scizor, and do a severe amount of damage to Metagross and Jirachi. Aura Sphere can be used to 2HKO specially defensive Choice Band Tyranitar, who will give this set problems otherwise. Unfortunately, using Aura Sphere will make Dialga even more vulnerable to Wobbuffet than usual. In the last slot, Dragon Pulse can be used to have a reliable STAB attack that has perfect accuracy and no negative side effects. Unfortunately, Latias has a chance of surviving even Draco Meteor, and can set up on it with Calm Mind and Recover. Using Outrage with a Hasty nature solves this problem, as it allows Dialga to revenge kill Latias, in addition to having a chance of 2HKOing Blissey.</p>
[Additonal Comments]
<p>Choice Scarf Dialga, while being fast, is still outsped by other Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp and Darkrai. Although neither can OHKO Dialga, they will do a severe amount of damage with their super effective moves. To deal with this, Giratina-O can be an excellent teammate. Giratina-O is immune to Dialga's two weaknesses, Fighting and Ground. Giratina-O can then switch into Choiced Ground and Fighting moves aimed at Dialga, and use the time to either set up a Substitute or a Calm Mind. Gengar can also come in on these moves, and threaten to do a severe amount of damage with either Hidden Power Ice (for Garchomp), Shadow Ball (for Mewtwo), or Focus Blast (for Darkrai).</p>
<p>A specially defensive Groudon can also switch in on Dialga, and threaten to do a huge amount of damage with its STAB super effective Earthquakes. A specially defensive Choice Band Tyranitar can also take any of Dialga's attacks bar Aura Sphere with ease, and threaten to 2HKO back with Earthquake. Blissey will easily wall all of Choice Scarf Dialga's attacks bar Outrage, and can use Thunder Wave to cripple Dialga. Many Steel-types such as Metagross and Scizor can switch into Dialga's Dragon attacks, and threaten to do a large amount of damage with Earthquake and Superpower respectively. Finally, Wobbuffet can use its combination of Shadow Tag and either Counter or Mirror Coat to trap and KO Dialga. To deal with Groudon, Skarmory can be used to wall all of its attacks except for the rare Fire Punch, and set up Spikes or Whirlwind it away. A Groudon of your own can be a very helpful teammate as well. Groudon can switch into both Tyranitar's attacks and Blissey's Thunder Waves, and massively dent either of them with Earthquake. Groudon can also keep the multiple Steel-types that switch into Dialga away with the threat of a STAB Earthquake. Garchomp works in a similar manner, and it can also abuse Tyranitar’s Sand Stream. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done to stop Wobbuffet from destroying Dialga beyond predicting its switch in, and switching in Darkrai or Mewtwo at the same time. Because of this, it is often best to only use Choice Scarf Dialga when needed, so Wobbuffet cannot KO it early on in the match.</p>
[SET]
Name: Choice Specs
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Thunder
Move 3: Dragon Pulse
Move 4: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
Item: Choice Specs
Nature: Modest / Timid
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Specs Dialga is one of the most powerful Pokemon in the game. Almost all Pokémon will have great difficulty switching into Specs Dialga, in fear of Draco Meteor. Even Steel-types must make a heavy investment in Special Defense EVs to ensure survival of two Draco Meteors. Dragon Pulse provides a more reliable STAB attackto hurt weakened opponents. Thunder takes advantage of the ever common rain and will OHKO Lugia and Kyogre after Stealth Rock. Fire Blast may be used in conjunction with Groudon, gaining a handy boost from the sun, and will OHKO every Steel-type barring Heatran or Dialga, as opposed to a 2HKO from Thunder. Though generally an inferior option, Aura Sphere can be used over Fire Blast, as it always OHKOs Dialga that don't invest defenses and will 2HKO defensive Dialga and specially defensive Tyranitar.</p>
<p>The EV spread allows Dialga to outspeed Adamant Tyranitar while having a good amount of HP to take powerful hits. For example, Garchomp's unboosted Earthquake fails to KO Dialga, while Dialga can retaliate for an OHKO. If more Speed is desirable, a Timid nature with the EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe can be used. This spread misses out on some KOs but outruns positive base 90's and neutral base 95's.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The only Pokémon that can switch into Dialga's powerful Draco Meteors without being crippled for the rest of the match are a very specially defensive Scizor, Jirachi, Lugia, and Blissey. Scizor and Jirachi can use Roost and Wish, respectively, to stall out Draco Meteor's low PP and capitalize on Special Attack drops. Both must be wary of Fire Blast, though Jirachi can survive it in the Rain. Lugia can live through Draco Meteor as well, and stall it with Roost. Lugia is OHKOed by Thunder after switching into Stealth Rock, however. Thus, the only safe switch-in to Choice Specs Dialga is Blissey, who will wall it thanks to her massive HP and Special Defense stats. Groudon and Garchomp are excellent teammates because of these switch-ins. They can switch in on, and do a massive amount of damage to, Blissey and Scizor, and will easily OHKO Jirachi with Earthquake. Mewtwo can be sent into Lugia and set up on it with Taunt and Calm Mind. If one wants Blissey to be eliminated, using Tickle Wobbuffet with a Pursuit user can spell certain doom for Blissey, allowing Choice Specs Dialga to tear massive holes in the opponents team.</p>
<p>While there are not many safe switch-ins to Choice Specs Dialga, Dialga is very vulnerable to getting revenge killed or set up on due to its low Speed and Draco Meteor Special Attack drops. After a kill with Draco Meteor or Thunder, Groudon can come in and set up a Rock Polish and threaten to sweep. To stop this, Choice Scarf Shaymin-S can be used to outspeed and OHKO Groudon with Seed Flare. Life Orb Garchomp and Life Orb Lucario can also OHKO Dialga with their powerful STAB super effective moves. Lucario can use Swords Dance on the weakened Draco Meteor and then begin to sweep. Gengar can switch into both of them, and OHKO Garchomp with Hidden Power Ice while OHKOing Lucario with Focus Blast. Lugia can stop all three of them if it is carrying Reflect. If locked into Fire Blast, Choice Specs Kyogre can come in and 2HKO Dialga with Water Spout or set up Calm Mind. Latias is generally the best response to this, as she can handle Kyogre's Water Spout, and set up Calm Minds of her own. Dialga can easily be revenge killed by Wobbuffet. This is unfortunately impossible to avoid, so it is best to try to weaken Wobbuffet until it is unable to take Dialga's attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Overheat / Dragon Claw
move 4: Stone Edge / Dragon Claw
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Dialga can cause huge amounts of damage in the Uber metagame, which is generally specially defensive. Outrage is a powerful STAB attack that has the ability to 2HKO 252 HP / 0 Def Groudon and always OHKO a 4 HP / 0 Def Kyogre with Stealth Rock in play. Earthquake complements Outrage well, notably OHKOing Heatran as well as seriously denting opposing Dialga.</p>
<p>Overheat will help against floating Steel-types wanting to stop the combination of Outrage and Earthquake, as well as making it much easier to power through Forretress. Even with a negative Special Attack nature and no EVs, Dialga still has a fairly impressive 302 Special Attack stat. It is best to use Overheat in moderation though, as many Pokémon such as Kyogre and Latias can set up on it, while Wobbuffet can revenge kill Dialga. If Overheat is not a desirable move, you may opt for Dragon Claw instead.</p>
<p>The last slot is a choice between Dragon Claw and Stone Edge. Dragon Claw is a reliable Dragon attack that will OHKO most Latias and Latios, and will generally do quite a bit of damage on Pokémon that do not resist it. However, Stone Edge has a few extra advantages. It guarantees a 2HKO against the standard Lugia, although Lugia being faster and having Roost and Pressure can thwart it. Ho-Oh is promptly OHKOed, whereas Ho-Oh's most powerful Earthquake fails to OHKO back.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If one wants to take advantage of Choice Band Dialga's ability to 2HKO non-defensive Groudon, an alternate EV spread of 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spe with an Adamant nature can be used. With this spread, Dialga can outspeed most Adamant Rock Polish Groudon before they boost their Speed, and 2HKO Groudon with Outrage if it dares to switch in. While Jolly with max Speed can be acceptable for outspeeding and killing Adamant Rayquaza and Adamant Lucario, it is not recommended because not only does this make Dialga less bulky, it becomes weaker than Jolly Choice Band Garchomp; both of these are major advantages Dialga has over Choice Band Garchomp that are not worth losing in most cases.</p>
<p>Choice Band Dialga is walled by Skarmory and Lugia, and it can be revenge killed by Life Orb Garchomp, Life Orb Lucario, and offensive Groudon (all of which sport a resistance to Stone Edge as well). Support Groudon complements Choice Band Dialga very well, not only because of its ability to set up the crucial Stealth Rock, but also because Groudon can lure Lugia in, only for it to be crippled by Toxic. Groudon can also lure in Skarmory and put a huge dent in it with Fire Punch as well as putting the Steel-types that attempt to absorb Dialga's Outrage (such as Metagross) at bay with its STAB Earthquakes. The Tickle Wobbuffet plus Pursuit user strategy can also be used to eliminate Lugia from the battle field. To deal with Groudon, Choice Scarf Shaymin-S can outspeed and OHKO Rock Polish variants, while Skarmory can wall Garchomp and Groudon that lack fire moves. Much like the other Dialga sets, Gengar can beat Lucario and Garchomp as well.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Like most Pokémon, offensive Dialga enjoys the support of Stealth Rock, as it allows Dialga to turn certain 2HKOs into OHKOs as explained in several of the sets. 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 on the battlefield. The main Wish users of Ubers are Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias. Latias is a particularly good user of Wish for Dialga, because Latias resists Fighting and is immune to Ground moves, while Dialga resists Latias's Ghost and Dark weaknesses. Offensive Dialga also enjoy paralysis support (except for the Choice Scarf set), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Blissey, Jirachi and Latias can use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) in addition to Wish to further support Dialga. Groudon is another excellent user of Thunder Wave, because not only can it strike fear into Steel-types that attempt to switch into Dialga, but it can also lure in and paralyze Lugia, meaning that it will have a harder time using Roost to stall offensive Dialga.</p>
<p>There are no Pokémon that are guaranteed an easy switch-in on Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokémon that can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, Speed, or good defenses. Even then, most of these problem Pokémon can not switch in safely; most of them must wait until Dialga takes down a Pokémon to retaliate. Groudon in particular can use a specially defensive EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults bar Choice Banded Outrages and Choice Specs Draco Meteors, and use its STAB Earthquakes to take Dialga down. Groudon may also be able to set up Rock Polish to threaten a sweep if it switches into the right attack (such as Stone Edge or Thunder). A Shaymin-S carrying a Choice Scarf can solve this problem, thanks to its immunity to Earthquake, and its ability to outspeed and OHKO a 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 Pokémon can not 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. A Mewtwo of your own can switch into Gengar's Focus Blast and threaten to OHKO it with Shadow Ball. A Choice Scarf Heracross can switch into both Darkrai's Focus Blast and Mewtwo's Aura Sphere, and threaten to OHKO then with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to strike Darkrai back if Darkrai uses Dark Void.</p>
<p>Dialga is an extremely sturdy Pokémon that is only hindered by its weaknesses to Fighting and Ground attacks, thus Pokémon 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 attacks that Dialga can easily switch into. Lugia is a particularly good defensive partner, as it not only sports an immunity to Ground attacks, but a 4x resistance to Fighting attacks. Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, and Shaymin-S also complement Dialga well, thanks to their immunities to Ground moves and resistances to Fighting moves. Although Skarmory is only covering Dialga's Ground weakness, Skarmory has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokémon that attempt to slam Dialga with Ground moves, and is able to wall Groudon and Garchomp that lack Fire moves. Finally, the many Psychic types of Ubers such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo are able to cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting attacks, as can Giratina.</p>
<p>When using Dialga, a great way to confuse the opponent is to use its versatility to your advantage, and pose as different sets. For example, Mixed Dialga can use an Expert Belt, a Hasty nature, and maximum Speed to pose as a Choice Scarf Dialga. You can then use it to revenge kill Adamant Lucario and Adamant Rayquaza. The opponent may suspect that your Dialga has a Choice Scarf, and switch to Latias to either absorb the Fire attack aimed at Lucario, or a Scizor to absorb a Dragon attack aimed at Rayquaza. You can then use Outrage to OHKO Latias, possibly opening a team up to a Choice Specs Kyogre sweep, while eliminating Scizor can leave some teams extremely vulnerable to sweeps from Nasty Plot Darkrai or Calm Mind Mewtwo. Another great example of deception is to switch a support Dialga into a Blissey's Seismic Toss. The opponent, seeing the Leftovers recovery, may suspect a Bulk Up Dialga. As the opponent switches to their Bulk Up Dialga check (oftentimes Groudon or Lugia), you can use Toxic to cripple them. With either Lugia or Groudon eventually succumbing to Toxic, physical attackers such as Rayquaza will usually have a much easier time sweeping. Thus, bluffing with Dialga, while risky, can have a huge payoff thanks to Dialga's incredible unpredictability.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Dialga has a load of other options that can work as potential support moves. Roar can work alongside Dialga's excellent sturdiness. Psych Up can be useful on Dialga, allowing it to copy the stat boosts that Calm Mind Kyogre may have netted. Dialga is a great user of Trick Room in Ubers too, having brilliant all-around stats bar Speed. 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 needing to resort to Draco Meteor or Overheat, but is generally a poor choice. Iron Tail is poor, because, as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and Iron Tail's 75% accuracy leaves much to be desired.</p>
<p>Magnet Rise can be a good option on some Dialga sets, as it can foil Dialga's arch enemy, Groudon. If using Bulk Up with Magnet Rise, use the EV spread of 116 HP/ 252 Atk / 140 Spe. This allows Dialga to Bulk up as Groudon switches in, use Magnet Rise before most move, and then either hit the next switch in hard with Outrage or Earthquake, or use Bulk Up again.</p>
<p>Roar of Time sounds and looks cool, but it is in fact a terrible move to use, as is the rest of the Hyper Beam suite; Draco Meteor or even Dragon Pulse outdamages it over the course of two turns, and the passive second turn is a perfect opportunity for something threatening to set up. As for items, Choice Scarf can be used with physical moves if wanted, but without the extra power of Choice Band, the attacks will be too weak to be useful.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Dialga should use the spreads provided in the mixed attacker section if it is given that set; an explanation is provided in the mixed attacker's description. The bulkier sets should focus on HP and Special Defense, with some points dropped into Defense if necessary. 32 Speed EVs are advised for the Choice sets (except for Choice Scarf) to outrun Pokémon that tend to hang around the 222 Speed range. The remainder should be used to maximize the appropriate offensive stat and then dumped into HP. The minimum Speed EVs required to outspeed Adamant Rayquaza is 192 EVs and a +Speed nature.</p>
<p>252 HP / 116 SpD with a neutral nature allows Dialga to never be 2HKOed by Kyogre's Choice Scarf Water Spout, provided Dialga holds Leftovers. 252 HP / 44 Def, again with a neutral nature, will allow Dialga to never be 2HKOed by Mewtwo's Life Orb Brick Break, or OHKOed by the same Focus Punch.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Dialga's excellent typing, a conglomeration of two of the best defensive types in the game, gives it many resistances to many types that its fellow Ubers are weak to, including Dark, Ghost, Bug, Electric, Water, and Grass. Dialga also has Normal- and Flying-type resistances, and a Toxic immunity which comes in handy when dealing with Blissey. Dialga also only takes neutral damage from any opposing Dragon- or Ice-type attacks; although it having a weakness to Fighting and Ground somewhat lowers its defensive capabilities, it’s still more then impressive on the defensive side. Thankfully, there are also plenty of Pokémon in Ubers that can cover those two weaknesses as well.</p>
<p>Dialga not only has excellent defenses, but it also possesses a huge amount of power, with its massive 150 base Special Attack and its respectable 120 base Attack. To make it even more deadly, Dialga is incredibly versatile, being able to support, stat up, absorb sleep, use all three Choice items, and run mixed sets. Most deadly of all is Dialga's ability to use all of its sets to great success, meaning that one wrong switch-in can lead to a team's demise.</p>
<p>Dialga's excellent ability to take hits, powerful offenses, and amazing versatility make it a wonderful asset to almost any Uber team, whether they are in need of support, reliable defenses, or a deadly attacker.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Because of Dialga's versatility, Dialga is impossible to counter without knowing its moveset. Checking Dialga becomes much easier when its set is revealed. Deoxys-D can easily counter the mixed attacker thanks to its massive defenses, as long as Dialga is Quiet. A Mild Dialga with Life Orb, however, can use Draco Meteor followed by Outrage to destroy Deoxys-D after it switches into Stealth Rock, as Deoxys-D cannot outspeed neutral and speed-boosting Dialga.</p>
<p>Heatran too does not fear Dialga, provided it doesn't engage with Dialga's Earth Power, Earthquake, or Aura Sphere. Heatran can also OHKO even the most specially defensive Dialga with a Choice Specs Overheat, assuming no rain. Dialga also runs the risk of giving Heatran a Flash Fire boost, something that could well cause its own demise.</p>
<p>Blissey counters the Choice Specs set reliably, unless it suffers from a critical hit or switches into Aura Sphere while having less than 70% health. Skarmory and Forretress can switch into the physical sets well, on the condition that they avoid Overheat. Skarmory sets up Spikes against the Choice Band and Bulk Up sets and Whirlwinds them out after it's done. Forretress can't do anything to Dialga in terms of appreciable damage, but sets up Toxic Spikes and then switches to a more suitable counter.</p>
<p>Latias at full health can attempt to take on the mixed attacker. It cannot switch in directly on Draco Meteor, but mixed Dialga tends to use that rather sparingly, and Latias must avoid Outrage, if Dialga is even carrying it. If Latias can manage to come in on any other attack, and avoids status, it can then Calm Mind to survive the impeding Draco Meteor, and then Recover, while Dialga fails to KO due to the Special Attack drop. Latias and Latios can also counter the Toxic staller if they have Refresh or Safeguard, or even Substitute if Dialga is using Earth Power. This then allows them to start Calm Minding.</p>
<p>Metagross with Earthquake can come in on specific attacks of Dialga's, notably Choice Band Outrages. However, Metagross will hate many of Dialga's attacks, being hard pressed against things like Overheat, or even Choice Specs Draco Meteors. Assuming that it remains at reasonable health, Metagross can hurt Dialga badly with a Choice Banded Earthquake. However, Metagross is not at all a good counter to Bulk Up Dialga, even if said Dialga doesn't have Earthquake. The reasoning is that Dialga should be able to gain one Bulk Up on the switch, and another one just before Metagross attacks, because it is normally faster. That automatically reduces the damage of a Choice Banded Metagross's Earthquake to the 45% range, which easily allows Dialga one or two more Bulk Ups before being forced to Rest. By that time, Metagross would be unable to keep up with the Resting cycle unless it scores a critical hit, which is unlikely to happen (approximately a 40% chance), as Dialga's Pressure slices Earthquake's PP to effectively 8.</p>
<p>Lugia is capable of taking on most attacks, only really fearing powerful Choice Specs attacks, Thunder, and Toxic. Choice Banded Outrage assaults can cause problems for Lugia, but it should be able to come in, set up Reflect, and further stall with Roost or Recover, damaging Dialga along the way with Ice Beam. Lugia can also Whirlwind the Bulk Up set, and Pressure can help against Draco Meteor, effectively reducing its PP from 8 to 4.</p>
<p>Ground-types can be used to directly damage Dialga. Groudon handles most physical versions well and OHKOes Dialga easily with a Choice Banded Earthquake. It should be noted that Choice Band Outrages can still cause problems for Groudon, but Groudon can switch in, take the hit, and outrun the Dialga listed. Dugtrio is incapable of switching directly into any of Dialga's offensive moves except a weak Earth Power, but is an excellent choice to revenge-kill a slightly damaged Dialga.</p>
