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Dialga (Update)
- Thread starter Colonel M
- Start date
i will probably regret this...
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hooray!
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some overly verbose and confusing parts, but overall an excellent write-up
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[Overview]
<p>Dialga’s unique typing and well-distributed stats make it both an excellent offensive and defensive Pokemon. Offensively, Dialga has a stunning base 120 Attack and base 150 Special Attack that's backed by the ever-dominant Dragon-type STAB. Its vast offensive movepool allows Dialga to pick off those that either resist its Dragon-type STAB, or are capable of cushioning the damage, with relative ease. Defensively, Dialga’s typing allows offers it a whopping total of 9 resistances and an immunity, while still being neutral to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks; something other Dragon-type Pokemon would kill for. With its stellar base defenses combined with the aforementioned resistances, Dialga is a difficult Pokemon to take down unless you target its weaknesses. Dialga is also simply revered as an excellent utility Pokemon thanks to its equally vast support movepool. With its plethora of options, Dialga is, in a word, unpredictable.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Dialga
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Outrage / Brick Break
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up
item: Expert Belt / Life Orb
nature: Mild / Hasty
EVs: 144 Atk / 252 SpA / 112 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>STAB Draco Meteor bolstered by coming off of 438 Special Attack, or 399 if Dialga opts to use a Hasty nature, is frightening for any opponent. Only Steel-type Pokemon and Blissey can take Draco Meteor without risk of being 2HKOed in the process, though some frailer Steel-types such as Lucario take major damage anyhow (66.2% - 77.9% if Dialga is Mild). Brick Break, with the given Attack EVs, will 2HKO most Uber Blissey with Stealth Rock in play. Fire Blast is the best attack for taking down to take down the vast majority of the Steel-types in the Uber metagame, but it comes with the downside of being weakened by the near-omnipresent rain. This can be resolved by using partnering Dialga with Groudon or Tyranitar. The final slot should generally be Thunder due to its having perfect accuracy in the rain; with its 30% chance of paralysis behind it, most opponents will think twice with their switch-in before they switch in, since many Dialga checks or counters rely on their Speed. 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 without losing to Blissey as well. Bulk Up is a great lure move since it draws in Groudon, only to be which is in turn shut down by STAB Draco Meteor. With Bulk Up, Dialga should be able to even surge purge through Wish Blissey; it can deter Mixed Dialga’s sweep if Dialga uses a Life Orb. (This seems to contradict the previous statement about Life Orb Outrage not losing to Blissey, I don't quite understand what it's trying to say but surely it can be better worded in some way)</p>
<p>To maximize Dialga’s potential use with the player, there are many options with in regards to natures and EVs. The suggested EV spread and nature allows Dialga’s Draco Meteor to hit with maximum at max power and outspeed Adamant Scizor. The Atk EVs allow Dialga to 2HKO most Blissey, barring max HP / max Def Blissey variants. If you opt for Mild, you should use Expert Belt, since it provides enough power to obtain the majority of KOs 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. Outspeeding Adamant Rayquaza means that Dialga’s team is less susceptible to a Swords Dance Rayquaza sweep, though keep in mind that most Dragon Dance and Mixed Rayquaza sets use a positive Speed nature. With a Hasty nature, Dialga will need Life Orb in order to stay competitive offensively. Finally, Dialga can survive Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake or even a Life Orb Aura Sphere from Mewtwo; because of this, Dialga can use effectively utilize a spread of 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA with a Quiet nature. Expert Belt is preferable for Quiet Dialga since as the main goal is to make sure 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 Supporting Groudon with Draco Meteor 100% of the time with a Quiet nature, which is slightly reduced to 87% with Mild; with Quiet, if Mild 87% of the time. Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes assures the KO. Life Orb Outrage also 2HKOes max HP / min Def Kyogre, which means Dialga can be effective to at taking out Mono Attacking Kyogre. Brick Break, with Stealth Rock in play, can also be used to easily 2HKO Heatran easier, since max HP / min Def Heatran variants takes 43-50.8%.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A couple of move options were left out of the set because they only offer niches niche results, but are nevertheless effective choices if Dialga needs them to fulfill said niches. Earth Power means Dialga will never fall to a Heatran switch-in, while being able to damage other Dialga regardless of the weather. Stealth Rock is also an option since Dialga forces many switches switch-ins. Finally, Stone Edge 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 Sacred Fire has a 50% chance of a burn behind it, and it usually has boosted power thanks to most Ho-Oh being effective in the used in conjunction with sunlight. (The comment about Sacred Fire sort of came out of nowhere, can you link it to a previous statement or elaborate somehow?) These moves can replace either one of 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 Choice Specs.</p>
<p>While Dialga is an intimidating Pokemon, 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 Mixed Dialga since they have a high chance of getting Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes up. 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. Giratina-O can also be becomes a staple provided that you’re using entry hazards, though it has the added benefit of handling being able to handle Groudon well thanks to its the Earthquake immunity and its moderate base defensive stats. Since Thunder is reliant on rain, Kyogre is an excellent partner, as not only does it its ability boost Thunder’s accuracy to 100%, it also nullifies Heatran as being a threat while making 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 slows Dialga’s counters down with thanks to Thunder Wave while being able to set up Stealth Rock. Since Dialga is great at breaking through defensive teams in general, offensive Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Garchomp appreciate having Dialga as their teammate partner.</p>
<p>Dialga’s other issues involve its lack of Speed, which leaves it susceptible to being revenge killed by Pokemon such as Mewtwo or Latios. Scarf Garchomp is a great partner since it outspeeds Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Scarf Palkia. Scarf Shaymin-S can target targets both Kyogre and Groudon with STAB Seed Flare while outspeeding 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, Latias, Latios, Swords Dance Lucario, Heatran, and Ho-Oh. While Wobbuffet is slower than Pokemon that wield Choice Scarfers Scarf, it has the advantage of being able to cushion at least one hit from a Scarf Pokemon before biting hitting the dust. This is especially effective on against Mewtwo, since its last resort is basically suiciding itself onto against Wobbuffet via Selfdestruct. (The Wobbuffet section seems odd, I don't see a connection between Wobbuffet cushioning a hit and Mewtwo using Selfdestruct) Finally, Heatran does very well at stopping a Mixed Dialga sweep cold, so teammates are needed to handle for this situation. While Kyogre was has already been mentioned as a good Heatran check, Calm Mind Latias does very well at switching with being able to switch into Heatran’s attacks. It only fears Taunt and Explosion, the latter being rare on bulkier Heatran to begin with. Rayquaza’s Air Lock nullifies the sunlight’s boost, and it can switch into Earth Power freely, though it has to be careful with Dragon Pulse variants.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Dialga’s numerous resistances, well-distributed defensive stats, and access to a STAB attack that only has one resistance going against it. Bulk Up boosts Dialga’s Attack and Defense stats to help power up improve its Dragon-type attack of choice, as well as its chances of survival against physical attacking Pokemon. For example, after a Bulk Up, Dialga can survive a Choice Band Garchomp Earthquake. 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 versus Dragon Claw is a matter of preference between power and reliability, respectively. Since Dialga will be boosting its Defense via Bulk Up, max Special Defense is necessary to help Dialga cushion special attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Skarmory, Lugia, Groudon, and Lucario to some extent will cause issues for this set. The best way to address this is to have Pokemon that are offensively-oriented as teammates for Dialga. While Giratina-O it will need Aura Sphere to deal with Heatran, Giratina-O stops most Groudon sets cold thanks to STAB Draco Meteor and its immunity to Earthquake. 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 more aware of its surroundings, sadly, since switching into any of the Dialga Dialga's counters will leave your Rayquaza crippled or likely fainted. While Mixed Attacking Dialga could check many of its slower enemies with the help of some Speed EV investment EVs or even a Hasty nature, this set has many problems with Pokemon faster than it. Some of the recommended Scarf Pokemon mentioned in the Mixed Attacker set (Shaymin-S and Garchomp for example) are great assets since Groudon likely outspeeds Dialga with the given EVs.</p>
<p>Sadly, there aren’t many ways to exactly “counter" some of the Pokemon that are listed some of the problem Pokemon that Dialga faces cannot be exactly "countered" per se, but they should definitely be brought to attention while setting up Dialga you plan out Dialga's setup. Wobbuffet can cause some issues with this set in particular. Wobbuffet can easily Encore a move an attack and not take damage three-fourths of the time, or two-thirds of the time while Dialga is asleep and locked onto Sleep Talk. Assuming Stealth Rock, Dialga would need 3 Bulk Ups in order to come close to KO range (80.7% - 95.1%). With Dragon Claw, Dialga needs 3 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 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 Mewtwo to set up Calm Minds 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 behind Choice sets.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 3: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
items: Leftovers
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 140 SpA / 116 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga is unique to many of amongst its Dragon-type cousins; Dialga it can play a supportive role effectively. Stealth Rock requires no real explanation, though keep in mind that Dialga should lay down Stealth Rock as soon as possible to prevent Ho-Oh switching into Dialga freely. The next move of choice is preference to dependent on the type of team Dialga is supporting. An offensive team appreciates Thunder Wave more than Toxic since the capability of crippling paralysis of threats such as Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Choice Scarf Pokemon is a significant advantage. On the other hand, defensive teams acquire require Toxic to make sure that the opponent’s team won’t out-stall Dialga’s team, since Toxic Spikes misses targeting Lugia, Giratina-O, Latias, and the rare Cresselia are all unaffected by Toxic Spikes thanks to their Levitate ability. Draco Meteor can be used to limit the number of times Groudon can switch freely into this set, while Dragon Pulse offers consistency to keep that keeps Dialga on the field without being a detriment offensively. Flamethrower works best to keep Forretress and other Steel-types, barring Dialga and Heatran, from switching into Toxic freely and hitting them for super effective damage. Thunder works best alongside Kyogre and as its Drizzle ability to help remedies Thunder’s poor accuracy. Thanks to the 30% chance of paralysis, Dialga can operate as run a pseudo-double status passer spreader, since it Dialga is free to use Toxic instead of Thunder Wave. While Though not mentioned on the set, Roar can be used over the fourth or second second or fourth moveslot. The reason that Roar can replace the status move is that, assuming Dialga is on a stall team, Toxic Spikes will be already taken care of by one of Dialga's teammates common within Dialga's team. Since Lugia and Cresselia are the only general threats against Dialga and are immune from Toxic Spikes, Roar can be used to prevent these Pokemon from taking advantage of against Dialga to set up. Furthermore, there are likely better teammates that can handle Lugia and Cresselia.</p>
<p>The given EVs ensure that an unboosted Timid Kyogre's Water Spout will not 2HKO Dialga. This then allows Dialga to Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, and then 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>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>To set the record, This set can also be used as a lead. The only change needed is Lum Berry being used as the item slot as the item and heavy preference of Thunder Wave as the status move over Toxic. Lum Berry is used to prevent Dialga from being put to sleep by Darkrai leads, while allowing Dialga to severely cripple crippling them with Thunder Wave. Dialga does suffer from being is however unable to prevent Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A from laying setting up Stealth Rock and possibly a layer of Spikes.</p>
<p>Dialga behind on a stall team would appreciate the residual damage from Spikes and / or Toxic Spikes. Forretress is the best Pokemon to lay for 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-type Pokemon, and some of them can be disposed of by with Dialga’s Draco Meteor or Dragon Pulse. 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 work with laying Spikes, since it can forgo forego 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, 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 is the best Pokemon for the job.</p>
<p>Offensive teams appreciate Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave or Toxic support. Rayquaza, for example, has an easier time crushing teams with if most of the opponent’s Pokemon being is slower than it. With Toxic crippling defensive Pokemon, Swords Dance Lucario has an easier time sweeping the opponent. Offensive Groudon loves Support Dialga since Groudon has many of its checks 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: 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
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga’s iffy stat, Speed, lackluster Speed can be fixed with the item Choice Scarf at the cost of locking Dialga onto one attack. Dialga reaches 459 Speed with Choice Scarf, which is enough to outspeed Deoxys-A. Draco Meteor is the primary attack; with Stealth Rock in play Draco Meteor easily OHKOs OHKOes Darkrai, and has a 33% chance of OHKOing Mewtwo. Thunder is used to 2HKO Lugia 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 support behind it. Aura Sphere can be used to reduce the chances of a Lucario and Dialga sweep, while nailing Heatran and Tyranitar for super effective damage. Dragon Pulse is in the fourth moveslot the fourth move of choice to give Dialga a move to use that is consistent damage-wise. Outrage, with a Hasty nature, can be used to help Dialga versus take down Calm Mind Kyogre; and 2HKOing Blissey sometimes it may also get the 2HKO on Blissey.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga can use a Modest or Mild nature if you want more power behind Dialga’s attacks. Since many Dragon Dance Rayquaza opt to use a Jolly nature, The advantage of outspeeding Dragon Dance Rayquaza is may be lost with this set, since many of them opt to run a Jolly nature. With Modest, Dialga OHKOs OHKOes Mewtwo with after Stealth Rock 87% of the time.</p>
<p>Scarf Dialga can handle handles some 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 quick, but it does lose to Scarf Palkia, Scarf Garchomp and Scarf Darkrai in Speed. Groudon can handle Scarf Garchomp and Scarf Palkia 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 either Dark Void or Focus Blast, the latter having only 70% accuracy. Scizor can switch into Scarf Darkrai safely and OHKO while OHKOing it with U-turn. Scizor can at least hit a low health take out a weakened Darkrai with Bullet Punch if necessary (54.4% - 64.4%). Be very cautious of Wobbuffet as it can revenge kill Dialga easily thanks to the Choice lock.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>If you thought the Dialga's meteor showers that came from Dialga were already painful enough, wait until you see what happens when you apply they are boosted by Choice Specs behind it! Not only does Draco Meteor OHKO Groudon, barring those that heavily invest in Special Defense, it has enough power to OHKO Lucario. 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 With Stealth Rock, Thunder also OHKOs OHKOes max HP Kyogre. Fire Blast is used to prevent wasting Draco Meteor's PP on Steel-type Pokemon, while decreasing the chances of Groudon safely switching into Dialga. Since Heatran can cause trouble with it resisting its resistance to Dialga’s Dragon-type attacks and sunlight pierces Thunder’s accuracy, 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.</p>
<p>The given EVs allow Dialga to outspeed max Speed Adamant Tyranitar. This also keeps Dialga very bulky, maximizing it as a making it a very potent threat to the opponent. If you want Dialga to be faster, you can use 112 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Scizor, or max Speed to outspeed the vast majority of the 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 with max Speed EVs. Dialga can use 192 Speed EVs with a Timid nature to outspeed said Adamant Rayquaza and place the rest of the EVs toward HP.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga’s biggest issues with the set can all be in fact resolved, but with varying degrees of difficulty either be resolved easily or are more difficult to resolve in general. Blissey becomes the biggest counter to this set, since Dialga lacks any way of KOing Blissey reliably unless Blissey is under a third of its health. Since Because Dialga is great for knocking down clearing the physical walls of Ubers, Dialga it appreciates physical attackers as for its teammates. Swords Dance Garchomp appreciates 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 oftentimes uses opts to use Seismic Toss to better handle in favor of handling Dialga, Kyogre, and Palkia easier. Swords Dance Garchomp with a Haban Berry is sufficient enough 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; This Pokemon 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. (Are you impressed with Draco Meteor's damage output against Wobbuffet or underwhelmed? This should be clearer in the writing.)</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Overheat / Stone Edge
items: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Finally, a set other than Bulk Up that doesn’t call for the have part of the strategy spamming of Draco Meteor! With this set, Dialga foregoes using Special Attacks forgos special attacks in order to catch many of its switch-ins its]switch-ins off-guard. Don’t assume that think Groudon has the upper hand on against this set; unless Groudon invests heavily in its Defense stat, it is 2HKOed by Outrage. Earthquake compliments complements Outrage to give a wide amount of coverage against the Uber metagame; it prevents most Steel-types, especially Heatran, from being able to switch switching in safely. Dragon Claw should be your third move as Outrage lock puts Dialga in grave danger if you’re not aware of the rest of the opponent's Pokemon. The fourth move is a preference between depends on whether you prefer shutting down all the majority of the Steel-types, namely notably Skarmory, versus or annihilating Ho-Oh and keeping Lugia away from Dialga.</p>
<p>The EV structure is very similar to the Choice Specs set, with the only difference being not recommending a positive Speed nature. Outspeeding Adamant Tyranitar is the minimum amount of Speed Dialga should use. You can opt to use 116 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Scizor, or max Speed to tie with Adamant Lucario or Modest Kyogre at worst. Jolly nature with max Speed and max Attack allows Dialga to get the upper hand on Adamant Rayquaza at the a cost of sheer attacking power.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Dialga has the exact opposite reverse problems that Choice Specs has. Outrage is a powerful attack, but it has the nasty drawback in that it prevents Dialga from switching out from a troublesome position. It Dialga trades being able to handle Heatran and Ho-Oh (unless it has Stone Edge) for having issues with Lugia, Impish Groudon, and Skarmory (unless it has Overheat). While Lucario can’t take much of a beating, it can switch into Stone Edge and freely set up Swords Dance followed by a quick KO with Close Combat. Powerful special attackers and / or mixed attackers are recommended for this reason. Mixed Rayquaza has the benefit of annihilating can annihilate most of these Pokemon when they switch in, while outspeeding most of them the Pokemon, barring Lugia. Mewtwo is pretty effective here since Taunt completely shuts down Lugia and Skarmory, while being able allowing Mewtwo to set up Calm Mind freely. Mewtwo’s only fear is Blissey that carry Seismic Toss, which Dialga can at least handle to an extent. As a partner, Wobbuffet can set up Encore + Tickle, then follow up with a Pokemon that knows Pursuit to kill off the opposing physical wall. Beware that Impish Groudon sometimes carry Toxic, which will harm the effectiveness of Wobbuffet.</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. The main Wish users are Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias. Latias is a particularly good user of Wish for Dialga because it 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, where it's redundant), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias can also use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) to further support Dialga. 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 that it Lugia will have a harder time using Roost to stall offensive Dialga.</p>
<p>There are no Pokémon who are guaranteed an easy switch-in on Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokémon who can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, Speed, or good defenses. Even then, most of these problem Pokémon cannot switch in safely; they need to go for the revenge kill it. Groudon in particular can use a specially defensive EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults, bar Choice Band 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 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. 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 them 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 who is only hindered by its weaknesses to Fighting and Ground attacks, thus Pokémon who 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 also 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 it has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokémon such as Groudon on and Garchomp. Finally, the many Psychic-types of Ubers, such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo, are able to competently cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting attacks.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Dialga has a load loads 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 otherwise generally a poor choice. Iron Tail is poor, because as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and Iron Tail's its 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 U]p 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.</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 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 wanted, but without the extra power of Choice Band, the attacks will be too weak to be useful.</p>
<p>252 HP / 116 SpD with a neutral nature allow 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 its the same Focus Punch.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Dialga is hard to counter. A lot of its dependence on being countered involves How it can be countered depends a lot on the weather conditions and the moveset it is using. In general, Ho-Oh and Heatran can counter Dialga while under sunny conditions. The biggest thing to note is that Thunder’s accuracy is cut to 50% under the sun, which means leaves a 15% chance that Ho-Oh and Heatran will be hit by Thunder followed by paralysis. Meanwhile, Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to inflict a burn on Dialga, which hampers the Mixed and Choice Band sets. With Ho-Oh’s access to recovery, Pressure, and a high Special Defense stat, Dialga is in has trouble when it only has Stone Edge to kill Ho-Oh. Heatran can shut down the Bulk Up set with a simple use of Taunt, while fearing Earthquake or Aura Sphere at worst from Dialga. The rain necessitates presents a more cautious approach to countering Dialga, as a 30% chance of paralysis from Thunder is nothing to scoff at. Scizor comes relatively close as a counter since Fire Blast takes a hit in its Base Power in the rain, while Scizor can fire off Superpower at Dialga for super effective damage. Metagross can step into the scene and fire off Earthquake at Dialga, or use Trick on sets such as Bulk Up or Support to cripple Dialga. Metagross does well at countering the Choice Band set, though beware of stepping into either Earthquake or Overheat in the sun.</p>
<p>Groudon is a good counter since it threatens Dialga with STAB Earthquake, and it has access to Roar to nullify the Bulk Up set. Offensive Groudon has an easier time KOing Dialga since many opt to use a -Def nature on its Dialga's Mixed sets. Blissey can take on both the Specs set and the Scarf set, though beware that the Scarf set can carry Outrage to try to 2HKO Blissey. Skarmory does well with at countering the physical Dialga sets; especially the Bulk Up set which has no answer against Skarmory, except if Skarmory and Dialga are the last Pokemon standing. Lugia has to avoid switching into Stone Edge and Thunder at all costs, but it is a great counter to Dialga while the sun is out. Lugia can set up Reflect to deter the Choice Band set, while Whirlwind deals with the Bulk Up set. Tyranitar, especially those that invest in Special Defense, can be a great Dialga check when Tyranitar is at full health. Wobbuffet can be an annoying Pokemon for Dialga to deal with, since Dialga lacks Taunt or a powerful enough move to OHKO Wobbuffet on the spot. Wobbuffet has to beware of the Mixed set when Draco Meteor is at full power though.</p>
<p>Since Dialga it is a slow Pokemon, you can use faster Pokemon to revenge kill Dialga. This strategy fails when Dialga carries a Choice Scarf, but it is the safest way of dealing with most Dialga sets. Latios using Dragon Pulse does 48.5% - 57.4% on Support Dialga, which means Latios 2HKOes non-Bulk Up Dialga without relying on Draco Meteor 93% of the time. Latias can switch in safely after Dialga has expired expended a Draco Meteor use and start setting up Calm Minds. 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, which as it does around the same damage as Mewtwo's Choice Specs Aura Sphere. Garchomp has access to STAB Earthquake to make sure Dialga doesn't stay in comfortably. 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>
<p>Dialga’s unique typing and well-distributed stats make it both an excellent offensive and defensive Pokemon. Offensively, Dialga has a stunning base 120 Attack and base 150 Special Attack that's backed by the ever-dominant Dragon-type STAB. Its vast offensive movepool allows Dialga to pick off those that either resist its Dragon-type STAB, or are capable of cushioning the damage, with relative ease. Defensively, Dialga’s typing allows offers it a whopping total of 9 resistances and an immunity, while still being neutral to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks; something other Dragon-type Pokemon would kill for. With its stellar base defenses combined with the aforementioned resistances, Dialga is a difficult Pokemon to take down unless you target its weaknesses. Dialga is also simply revered as an excellent utility Pokemon thanks to its equally vast support movepool. With its plethora of options, Dialga is, in a word, unpredictable.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Dialga
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Outrage / Brick Break
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up
item: Expert Belt / Life Orb
nature: Mild / Hasty
EVs: 144 Atk / 252 SpA / 112 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>STAB Draco Meteor bolstered by coming off of 438 Special Attack, or 399 if Dialga opts to use a Hasty nature, is frightening for any opponent. Only Steel-type Pokemon and Blissey can take Draco Meteor without risk of being 2HKOed in the process, though some frailer Steel-types such as Lucario take major damage anyhow (66.2% - 77.9% if Dialga is Mild). Brick Break, with the given Attack EVs, will 2HKO most Uber Blissey with Stealth Rock in play. Fire Blast is the best attack for taking down to take down the vast majority of the Steel-types in the Uber metagame, but it comes with the downside of being weakened by the near-omnipresent rain. This can be resolved by using partnering Dialga with Groudon or Tyranitar. The final slot should generally be Thunder due to its having perfect accuracy in the rain; with its 30% chance of paralysis behind it, most opponents will think twice with their switch-in before they switch in, since many Dialga checks or counters rely on their Speed. 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 without losing to Blissey as well. Bulk Up is a great lure move since it draws in Groudon, only to be which is in turn shut down by STAB Draco Meteor. With Bulk Up, Dialga should be able to even surge purge through Wish Blissey; it can deter Mixed Dialga’s sweep if Dialga uses a Life Orb. (This seems to contradict the previous statement about Life Orb Outrage not losing to Blissey, I don't quite understand what it's trying to say but surely it can be better worded in some way)</p>
<p>To maximize Dialga’s potential use with the player, there are many options with in regards to natures and EVs. The suggested EV spread and nature allows Dialga’s Draco Meteor to hit with maximum at max power and outspeed Adamant Scizor. The Atk EVs allow Dialga to 2HKO most Blissey, barring max HP / max Def Blissey variants. If you opt for Mild, you should use Expert Belt, since it provides enough power to obtain the majority of KOs 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. Outspeeding Adamant Rayquaza means that Dialga’s team is less susceptible to a Swords Dance Rayquaza sweep, though keep in mind that most Dragon Dance and Mixed Rayquaza sets use a positive Speed nature. With a Hasty nature, Dialga will need Life Orb in order to stay competitive offensively. Finally, Dialga can survive Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake or even a Life Orb Aura Sphere from Mewtwo; because of this, Dialga can use effectively utilize a spread of 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA with a Quiet nature. Expert Belt is preferable for Quiet Dialga since as the main goal is to make sure 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 Supporting Groudon with Draco Meteor 100% of the time with a Quiet nature, which is slightly reduced to 87% with Mild; with Quiet, if Mild 87% of the time. Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes assures the KO. Life Orb Outrage also 2HKOes max HP / min Def Kyogre, which means Dialga can be effective to at taking out Mono Attacking Kyogre. Brick Break, with Stealth Rock in play, can also be used to easily 2HKO Heatran easier, since max HP / min Def Heatran variants takes 43-50.8%.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A couple of move options were left out of the set because they only offer niches niche results, but are nevertheless effective choices if Dialga needs them to fulfill said niches. Earth Power means Dialga will never fall to a Heatran switch-in, while being able to damage other Dialga regardless of the weather. Stealth Rock is also an option since Dialga forces many switches switch-ins. Finally, Stone Edge 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 Sacred Fire has a 50% chance of a burn behind it, and it usually has boosted power thanks to most Ho-Oh being effective in the used in conjunction with sunlight. (The comment about Sacred Fire sort of came out of nowhere, can you link it to a previous statement or elaborate somehow?) These moves can replace either one of 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 Choice Specs.</p>
<p>While Dialga is an intimidating Pokemon, 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 Mixed Dialga since they have a high chance of getting Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes up. 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. Giratina-O can also be becomes a staple provided that you’re using entry hazards, though it has the added benefit of handling being able to handle Groudon well thanks to its the Earthquake immunity and its moderate base defensive stats. Since Thunder is reliant on rain, Kyogre is an excellent partner, as not only does it its ability boost Thunder’s accuracy to 100%, it also nullifies Heatran as being a threat while making 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 slows Dialga’s counters down with thanks to Thunder Wave while being able to set up Stealth Rock. Since Dialga is great at breaking through defensive teams in general, offensive Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Garchomp appreciate having Dialga as their teammate partner.</p>
<p>Dialga’s other issues involve its lack of Speed, which leaves it susceptible to being revenge killed by Pokemon such as Mewtwo or Latios. Scarf Garchomp is a great partner since it outspeeds Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Scarf Palkia. Scarf Shaymin-S can target targets both Kyogre and Groudon with STAB Seed Flare while outspeeding 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, Latias, Latios, Swords Dance Lucario, Heatran, and Ho-Oh. While Wobbuffet is slower than Pokemon that wield Choice Scarfers Scarf, it has the advantage of being able to cushion at least one hit from a Scarf Pokemon before biting hitting the dust. This is especially effective on against Mewtwo, since its last resort is basically suiciding itself onto against Wobbuffet via Selfdestruct. (The Wobbuffet section seems odd, I don't see a connection between Wobbuffet cushioning a hit and Mewtwo using Selfdestruct) Finally, Heatran does very well at stopping a Mixed Dialga sweep cold, so teammates are needed to handle for this situation. While Kyogre was has already been mentioned as a good Heatran check, Calm Mind Latias does very well at switching with being able to switch into Heatran’s attacks. It only fears Taunt and Explosion, the latter being rare on bulkier Heatran to begin with. Rayquaza’s Air Lock nullifies the sunlight’s boost, and it can switch into Earth Power freely, though it has to be careful with Dragon Pulse variants.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Dialga’s numerous resistances, well-distributed defensive stats, and access to a STAB attack that only has one resistance going against it. Bulk Up boosts Dialga’s Attack and Defense stats to help power up improve its Dragon-type attack of choice, as well as its chances of survival against physical attacking Pokemon. For example, after a Bulk Up, Dialga can survive a Choice Band Garchomp Earthquake. 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 versus Dragon Claw is a matter of preference between power and reliability, respectively. Since Dialga will be boosting its Defense via Bulk Up, max Special Defense is necessary to help Dialga cushion special attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Skarmory, Lugia, Groudon, and Lucario to some extent will cause issues for this set. The best way to address this is to have Pokemon that are offensively-oriented as teammates for Dialga. While Giratina-O it will need Aura Sphere to deal with Heatran, Giratina-O stops most Groudon sets cold thanks to STAB Draco Meteor and its immunity to Earthquake. 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 more aware of its surroundings, sadly, since switching into any of the Dialga Dialga's counters will leave your Rayquaza crippled or likely fainted. While Mixed Attacking Dialga could check many of its slower enemies with the help of some Speed EV investment EVs or even a Hasty nature, this set has many problems with Pokemon faster than it. Some of the recommended Scarf Pokemon mentioned in the Mixed Attacker set (Shaymin-S and Garchomp for example) are great assets since Groudon likely outspeeds Dialga with the given EVs.</p>
<p>Sadly, there aren’t many ways to exactly “counter" some of the Pokemon that are listed some of the problem Pokemon that Dialga faces cannot be exactly "countered" per se, but they should definitely be brought to attention while setting up Dialga you plan out Dialga's setup. Wobbuffet can cause some issues with this set in particular. Wobbuffet can easily Encore a move an attack and not take damage three-fourths of the time, or two-thirds of the time while Dialga is asleep and locked onto Sleep Talk. Assuming Stealth Rock, Dialga would need 3 Bulk Ups in order to come close to KO range (80.7% - 95.1%). With Dragon Claw, Dialga needs 3 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 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 Mewtwo to set up Calm Minds 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 behind Choice sets.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 3: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
items: Leftovers
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 140 SpA / 116 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga is unique to many of amongst its Dragon-type cousins; Dialga it can play a supportive role effectively. Stealth Rock requires no real explanation, though keep in mind that Dialga should lay down Stealth Rock as soon as possible to prevent Ho-Oh switching into Dialga freely. The next move of choice is preference to dependent on the type of team Dialga is supporting. An offensive team appreciates Thunder Wave more than Toxic since the capability of crippling paralysis of threats such as Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Choice Scarf Pokemon is a significant advantage. On the other hand, defensive teams acquire require Toxic to make sure that the opponent’s team won’t out-stall Dialga’s team, since Toxic Spikes misses targeting Lugia, Giratina-O, Latias, and the rare Cresselia are all unaffected by Toxic Spikes thanks to their Levitate ability. Draco Meteor can be used to limit the number of times Groudon can switch freely into this set, while Dragon Pulse offers consistency to keep that keeps Dialga on the field without being a detriment offensively. Flamethrower works best to keep Forretress and other Steel-types, barring Dialga and Heatran, from switching into Toxic freely and hitting them for super effective damage. Thunder works best alongside Kyogre and as its Drizzle ability to help remedies Thunder’s poor accuracy. Thanks to the 30% chance of paralysis, Dialga can operate as run a pseudo-double status passer spreader, since it Dialga is free to use Toxic instead of Thunder Wave. While Though not mentioned on the set, Roar can be used over the fourth or second second or fourth moveslot. The reason that Roar can replace the status move is that, assuming Dialga is on a stall team, Toxic Spikes will be already taken care of by one of Dialga's teammates common within Dialga's team. Since Lugia and Cresselia are the only general threats against Dialga and are immune from Toxic Spikes, Roar can be used to prevent these Pokemon from taking advantage of against Dialga to set up. Furthermore, there are likely better teammates that can handle Lugia and Cresselia.</p>
<p>The given EVs ensure that an unboosted Timid Kyogre's Water Spout will not 2HKO Dialga. This then allows Dialga to Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, and then 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>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>To set the record, This set can also be used as a lead. The only change needed is Lum Berry being used as the item slot as the item and heavy preference of Thunder Wave as the status move over Toxic. Lum Berry is used to prevent Dialga from being put to sleep by Darkrai leads, while allowing Dialga to severely cripple crippling them with Thunder Wave. Dialga does suffer from being is however unable to prevent Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A from laying setting up Stealth Rock and possibly a layer of Spikes.</p>
<p>Dialga behind on a stall team would appreciate the residual damage from Spikes and / or Toxic Spikes. Forretress is the best Pokemon to lay for 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-type Pokemon, and some of them can be disposed of by with Dialga’s Draco Meteor or Dragon Pulse. 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 work with laying Spikes, since it can forgo forego 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, 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 is the best Pokemon for the job.</p>
<p>Offensive teams appreciate Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave or Toxic support. Rayquaza, for example, has an easier time crushing teams with if most of the opponent’s Pokemon being is slower than it. With Toxic crippling defensive Pokemon, Swords Dance Lucario has an easier time sweeping the opponent. Offensive Groudon loves Support Dialga since Groudon has many of its checks 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: 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
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga’s iffy stat, Speed, lackluster Speed can be fixed with the item Choice Scarf at the cost of locking Dialga onto one attack. Dialga reaches 459 Speed with Choice Scarf, which is enough to outspeed Deoxys-A. Draco Meteor is the primary attack; with Stealth Rock in play Draco Meteor easily OHKOs OHKOes Darkrai, and has a 33% chance of OHKOing Mewtwo. Thunder is used to 2HKO Lugia 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 support behind it. Aura Sphere can be used to reduce the chances of a Lucario and Dialga sweep, while nailing Heatran and Tyranitar for super effective damage. Dragon Pulse is in the fourth moveslot the fourth move of choice to give Dialga a move to use that is consistent damage-wise. Outrage, with a Hasty nature, can be used to help Dialga versus take down Calm Mind Kyogre; and 2HKOing Blissey sometimes it may also get the 2HKO on Blissey.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga can use a Modest or Mild nature if you want more power behind Dialga’s attacks. Since many Dragon Dance Rayquaza opt to use a Jolly nature, The advantage of outspeeding Dragon Dance Rayquaza is may be lost with this set, since many of them opt to run a Jolly nature. With Modest, Dialga OHKOs OHKOes Mewtwo with after Stealth Rock 87% of the time.</p>
<p>Scarf Dialga can handle handles some 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 quick, but it does lose to Scarf Palkia, Scarf Garchomp and Scarf Darkrai in Speed. Groudon can handle Scarf Garchomp and Scarf Palkia 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 either Dark Void or Focus Blast, the latter having only 70% accuracy. Scizor can switch into Scarf Darkrai safely and OHKO while OHKOing it with U-turn. Scizor can at least hit a low health take out a weakened Darkrai with Bullet Punch if necessary (54.4% - 64.4%). Be very cautious of Wobbuffet as it can revenge kill Dialga easily thanks to the Choice lock.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>If you thought the Dialga's meteor showers that came from Dialga were already painful enough, wait until you see what happens when you apply they are boosted by Choice Specs behind it! Not only does Draco Meteor OHKO Groudon, barring those that heavily invest in Special Defense, it has enough power to OHKO Lucario. 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 With Stealth Rock, Thunder also OHKOs OHKOes max HP Kyogre. Fire Blast is used to prevent wasting Draco Meteor's PP on Steel-type Pokemon, while decreasing the chances of Groudon safely switching into Dialga. Since Heatran can cause trouble with it resisting its resistance to Dialga’s Dragon-type attacks and sunlight pierces Thunder’s accuracy, 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.</p>
<p>The given EVs allow Dialga to outspeed max Speed Adamant Tyranitar. This also keeps Dialga very bulky, maximizing it as a making it a very potent threat to the opponent. If you want Dialga to be faster, you can use 112 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Scizor, or max Speed to outspeed the vast majority of the 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 with max Speed EVs. Dialga can use 192 Speed EVs with a Timid nature to outspeed said Adamant Rayquaza and place the rest of the EVs toward HP.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga’s biggest issues with the set can all be in fact resolved, but with varying degrees of difficulty either be resolved easily or are more difficult to resolve in general. Blissey becomes the biggest counter to this set, since Dialga lacks any way of KOing Blissey reliably unless Blissey is under a third of its health. Since Because Dialga is great for knocking down clearing the physical walls of Ubers, Dialga it appreciates physical attackers as for its teammates. Swords Dance Garchomp appreciates 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 oftentimes uses opts to use Seismic Toss to better handle in favor of handling Dialga, Kyogre, and Palkia easier. Swords Dance Garchomp with a Haban Berry is sufficient enough 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; This Pokemon 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. (Are you impressed with Draco Meteor's damage output against Wobbuffet or underwhelmed? This should be clearer in the writing.)</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Overheat / Stone Edge
items: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Finally, a set other than Bulk Up that doesn’t call for the have part of the strategy spamming of Draco Meteor! With this set, Dialga foregoes using Special Attacks forgos special attacks in order to catch many of its switch-ins its]switch-ins off-guard. Don’t assume that think Groudon has the upper hand on against this set; unless Groudon invests heavily in its Defense stat, it is 2HKOed by Outrage. Earthquake compliments complements Outrage to give a wide amount of coverage against the Uber metagame; it prevents most Steel-types, especially Heatran, from being able to switch switching in safely. Dragon Claw should be your third move as Outrage lock puts Dialga in grave danger if you’re not aware of the rest of the opponent's Pokemon. The fourth move is a preference between depends on whether you prefer shutting down all the majority of the Steel-types, namely notably Skarmory, versus or annihilating Ho-Oh and keeping Lugia away from Dialga.</p>
<p>The EV structure is very similar to the Choice Specs set, with the only difference being not recommending a positive Speed nature. Outspeeding Adamant Tyranitar is the minimum amount of Speed Dialga should use. You can opt to use 116 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Scizor, or max Speed to tie with Adamant Lucario or Modest Kyogre at worst. Jolly nature with max Speed and max Attack allows Dialga to get the upper hand on Adamant Rayquaza at the a cost of sheer attacking power.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Dialga has the exact opposite reverse problems that Choice Specs has. Outrage is a powerful attack, but it has the nasty drawback in that it prevents Dialga from switching out from a troublesome position. It Dialga trades being able to handle Heatran and Ho-Oh (unless it has Stone Edge) for having issues with Lugia, Impish Groudon, and Skarmory (unless it has Overheat). While Lucario can’t take much of a beating, it can switch into Stone Edge and freely set up Swords Dance followed by a quick KO with Close Combat. Powerful special attackers and / or mixed attackers are recommended for this reason. Mixed Rayquaza has the benefit of annihilating can annihilate most of these Pokemon when they switch in, while outspeeding most of them the Pokemon, barring Lugia. Mewtwo is pretty effective here since Taunt completely shuts down Lugia and Skarmory, while being able allowing Mewtwo to set up Calm Mind freely. Mewtwo’s only fear is Blissey that carry Seismic Toss, which Dialga can at least handle to an extent. As a partner, Wobbuffet can set up Encore + Tickle, then follow up with a Pokemon that knows Pursuit to kill off the opposing physical wall. Beware that Impish Groudon sometimes carry Toxic, which will harm the effectiveness of Wobbuffet.</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. The main Wish users are Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias. Latias is a particularly good user of Wish for Dialga because it 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, where it's redundant), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias can also use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) to further support Dialga. 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 that it Lugia will have a harder time using Roost to stall offensive Dialga.</p>
<p>There are no Pokémon who are guaranteed an easy switch-in on Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokémon who can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, Speed, or good defenses. Even then, most of these problem Pokémon cannot switch in safely; they need to go for the revenge kill it. Groudon in particular can use a specially defensive EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults, bar Choice Band 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 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. 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 them 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 who is only hindered by its weaknesses to Fighting and Ground attacks, thus Pokémon who 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 also 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 it has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokémon such as Groudon on and Garchomp. Finally, the many Psychic-types of Ubers, such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo, are able to competently cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting attacks.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Dialga has a load loads 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 otherwise generally a poor choice. Iron Tail is poor, because as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and Iron Tail's its 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 U]p 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.</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 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 wanted, but without the extra power of Choice Band, the attacks will be too weak to be useful.</p>
<p>252 HP / 116 SpD with a neutral nature allow 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 its the same Focus Punch.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Dialga is hard to counter. A lot of its dependence on being countered involves How it can be countered depends a lot on the weather conditions and the moveset it is using. In general, Ho-Oh and Heatran can counter Dialga while under sunny conditions. The biggest thing to note is that Thunder’s accuracy is cut to 50% under the sun, which means leaves a 15% chance that Ho-Oh and Heatran will be hit by Thunder followed by paralysis. Meanwhile, Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to inflict a burn on Dialga, which hampers the Mixed and Choice Band sets. With Ho-Oh’s access to recovery, Pressure, and a high Special Defense stat, Dialga is in has trouble when it only has Stone Edge to kill Ho-Oh. Heatran can shut down the Bulk Up set with a simple use of Taunt, while fearing Earthquake or Aura Sphere at worst from Dialga. The rain necessitates presents a more cautious approach to countering Dialga, as a 30% chance of paralysis from Thunder is nothing to scoff at. Scizor comes relatively close as a counter since Fire Blast takes a hit in its Base Power in the rain, while Scizor can fire off Superpower at Dialga for super effective damage. Metagross can step into the scene and fire off Earthquake at Dialga, or use Trick on sets such as Bulk Up or Support to cripple Dialga. Metagross does well at countering the Choice Band set, though beware of stepping into either Earthquake or Overheat in the sun.</p>
<p>Groudon is a good counter since it threatens Dialga with STAB Earthquake, and it has access to Roar to nullify the Bulk Up set. Offensive Groudon has an easier time KOing Dialga since many opt to use a -Def nature on its Dialga's Mixed sets. Blissey can take on both the Specs set and the Scarf set, though beware that the Scarf set can carry Outrage to try to 2HKO Blissey. Skarmory does well with at countering the physical Dialga sets; especially the Bulk Up set which has no answer against Skarmory, except if Skarmory and Dialga are the last Pokemon standing. Lugia has to avoid switching into Stone Edge and Thunder at all costs, but it is a great counter to Dialga while the sun is out. Lugia can set up Reflect to deter the Choice Band set, while Whirlwind deals with the Bulk Up set. Tyranitar, especially those that invest in Special Defense, can be a great Dialga check when Tyranitar is at full health. Wobbuffet can be an annoying Pokemon for Dialga to deal with, since Dialga lacks Taunt or a powerful enough move to OHKO Wobbuffet on the spot. Wobbuffet has to beware of the Mixed set when Draco Meteor is at full power though.</p>
<p>Since Dialga it is a slow Pokemon, you can use faster Pokemon to revenge kill Dialga. This strategy fails when Dialga carries a Choice Scarf, but it is the safest way of dealing with most Dialga sets. Latios using Dragon Pulse does 48.5% - 57.4% on Support Dialga, which means Latios 2HKOes non-Bulk Up Dialga without relying on Draco Meteor 93% of the time. Latias can switch in safely after Dialga has expired expended a Draco Meteor use and start setting up Calm Minds. 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, which as it does around the same damage as Mewtwo's Choice Specs Aura Sphere. Garchomp has access to STAB Earthquake to make sure Dialga doesn't stay in comfortably. 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>
some overly verbose and confusing parts, but overall an excellent write-up
GP Check 2/2:
additions/changes in blue
removals in red
comments in purple
Can you delete the extra [/hide] at the end of the OP? It won't show up in my proofread.
Anyways, you used both accented e Pokemon and plain Pokemon in the analysis, but I've changed all of them to Pokemon. It was odd that you started using "who" in Team Option's third paragraph when everything else was "that" (not a big problem).
yay Dialga.
edit: was just trying something by deleting the post above and posting again but I guess it didn't really do anything.
additions/changes in blue
removals in red
comments in purple
[Overview]
<p>Dialga’s unique typing and well-distributed stats make it both an excellent offensive and defensive Pokemon. Offensively, Dialga has a stunning base 120 Attack and base 150 Special Attack that's backed by the ever-dominant Dragon-type STAB. Its Dialga's vast offensive movepool allows Dialga it to pick off those that either resist its Dragon-type STAB, or are capable of cushioning the damage, with relative ease a variety of Pokemon. Defensively, Dialga’s typing offers it a whopping total of 9 nine resistances and an immunity, while still being neutral as well as neutrality to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks, (comma) something other Dragon-type Pokemon would kill for. With its stellar base defenses combined with the aforementioned resistances, Dialga is a difficult Pokemon to take down unless you target its weaknesses. Dialga is also revered as an excellent utility Pokemon thanks to its equally-vast support movepool. With its plethora of options, Dialga is, in a word, unpredictable.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Dialga (redundant; we'd be saying Support Dialga, etc.)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Outrage / Brick Break
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up
item: Expert Belt / Life Orb
nature: Mild / Hasty
EVs: 144 Atk / 252 SpA / 112 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>STAB Draco Meteor bolstered by 438 Special Attack, or 399 if Dialga opts to use a Hasty nature, is frightening for any opponent. Only Steel-type Pokemon 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 anyhow anyway (66.2% - 77.9% if Dialga is Mild). Brick Break, with the given Attack EVs, will 2HKO most Uber Blissey with Stealth Rock in play. 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 the near-omnipresent 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. 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 without losing to and Blissey. 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.</p>
<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 Adamant Scizor. The 144 Atk EVs allow grant Dialga the ability to 2HKO most Blissey, barring max HP / max Def variants. If you opt for Mild, you should use Expert Belt, since it provides enough power to obtain the majority of 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. Outspeeding Adamant Rayquaza means that Dialga’s team is less susceptible to a Swords Dance Rayquaza sweep, though keep in mind that most Dragon Dance and Mixed Rayquaza sets use a positive Speed nature. With a Hasty nature, Dialga will need a Life Orb in order to stay competitive offensively. Finally, Because Dialga can survive Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake or and even a Life Orb Aura Sphere from Mewtwo; because of this, Dialga can effectively utilize a spread of 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA with a Quiet nature (is the surviving part with the ev spread? might want rewording if so). Expert Belt is preferable for Quiet Dialga since the main goal is to make sure 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 Mild (both increase SpA; did you mean Hasty?); Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes assures the KO. Life Orb Outrage also 2HKOes max HP / min Def Kyogre, which means Dialga can be effective at taking out Mono-Attacker Kyogre. Brick Break, with Stealth Rock in play, can also be used to easily 2HKO Heatran, since max HP / min Def variants takes 43-50.8%.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A couple of move options were left out of the set because they only offer niche results, but are nevertheless effective choices if Dialga needs them. Earth Power means Dialga will never fall to a Heatran switch-in, while still being able to damage other Dialga regardless of the weather (wouldn't you Draco Meteor other Dialga instead of Fire Blast?). Stealth Rock is also an option since Dialga forces many switches. Finally, Stone Edge 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 Choice Specs.</p>
<p>While Dialga is an intimidating Pokemon, 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. 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. Giratina-O can also be a staple provided that you’re using entry hazards. (period) though It has the added benefit of being able to handle Groudon well thanks to its Earthquake immunity and moderate base 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 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. Since Dialga is great at breaking through defensive teams in general, offensive Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Garchomp appreciate having Dialga as their partner.</p>
<p>Dialga’s other issues involve its lack of Speed, which leaves it susceptible to being revenge killed by Pokemon such as Mewtwo or and Latios. Scarf Garchomp is a great partner since it outspeeds Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Scarf Palkia. Another great Scarf user is Shaymin-S, (comma) which can target both Kyogre and Groudon with STAB Seed Flare while outspeeding 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, Latias, Latios, Swords Dance Lucario, Heatran, and Ho-Oh. While Wobbuffet is slower than Choice Scarfers, 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. While Kyogre has already been mentioned as a good Heatran check, Calm Mind Latias does very well is great at switching into Heatran’s attacks due to its great special bulk and resistance to Fire. It only fears Taunt and Explosion, the latter being rare on bulkier Heatran to begin with. Rayquaza’s Air Lock nullifies the sunlight’s boost, and it can switch into Earth Power freely, though it has to be careful with Dragon Pulse variants.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Dialga’s numerous resistances, well-distributed defensive stats, and access to a STAB attack that only has one resistance going against it, (comma) and Bulk Up. Bulk Up boosts Dialga’s Attack and Defense stats, (comma) to help which helps power up its Dragon-type attack of choice, as well as increase its chances of survival against physical attacking Pokemon. For example, after a Bulk Up, Dialga can survive a Choice Band Garchomp's Earthquake. 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 versus Dragon Claw is a matter of preference between power and reliability, respectively. Since Dialga will be boosting its Defense via Bulk Up, max Special Defense is necessary to help Dialga cushion special attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Skarmory, Lugia, Groudon, Heatran, and Lucario to some extent will cause issues for this set. The best way to address this these threats is to have Pokemon that are offensively-oriented as offensively-oriented teammates for Dialga. While it will need Aura Sphere to deal with Heatran, Giratina-O stops most Groudon sets cold thanks to STAB Draco Meteor and its immunity to Earthquake. 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 more aware of its surroundings, sadly however, since switching into any of Dialga's counters will leave your Rayquaza crippled or likely fainted. While Mixed Attacking Dialga could check many of its slower enemies with the help of some Speed EV investment 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 Attacker set (Shaymin-S and Garchomp for example) are great assets since Groudon likely outspeeds Dialga with the given EVs.</p>
<p>Sadly, 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. Wobbuffet It can easily Encore a move and not take damage three-fourths of the time, or two-thirds of the time while if Dialga is asleep and locked onto Sleep Talk. Assuming Stealth Rock, Dialga would need 3 three Bulk Ups in order to come close to nearly KO Wobbuffet range (80.7% - 95.1%) with Outrage (80.7% - 95.1%). With Dragon Claw, Dialga needs 3 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 Calm Minds 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.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 3: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
items: Leftovers
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 140 SpA / 116 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga is unique amongst its Dragon-type cousins (removed semi-colon) because it can play a supporting role effectively. Stealth Rock requires no real explanation, though keep in mind that Dialga should lay down Stealth Rock as soon as possible to prevent Ho-Oh from switching into Dialga freely. The next move of choice is dependent on the type of team that Dialga is supporting. An offensive team appreciates Thunder Wave more than Toxic since the paralysis of threats such as Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Choice Scarf Pokemon is a significant advantage. On the other hand, defensive teams require Toxic to make sure that the opponent’s team won’t out-stall Dialga’s team, since Lugia, Giratina-O, Latias, and the rare Cresselia are all unaffected by Toxic Spikes. Draco Meteor can be used to limit the number of times Groudon can switch freely into this set, while Dragon Pulse offers consistency that keeps Dialga on the field without being a detriment offensively. Flamethrower works best to helps (Thunder did this) keep Forretress and other Steel-types, barring Dialga and Heatran, from switching into Toxic freely. Thunder works best alongside Kyogre as its Drizzle ability remedies Thunder’s poor accuracy. Thanks to the 30% chance of paralysis, Dialga can operate as a pseudo-double status spreader, since it(space)is free to use Toxic instead of Thunder Wave. Though not mentioned on the set, Roar can be used over the second or fourth moveslot. The reason that Roar can replace the a status move is that, assuming Dialga is on a stall team, Toxic Spikes will be already taken care of by one of Dialga's teammates (backspace this). Since Lugia and Cresselia are the only general threats against Dialga and that are immune from Toxic Spikes, Roar can be used to prevent these Pokemon from taking advantage of Dialga to set up. Furthermore, there are likely better teammates that can handle Lugia and Cresselia (such as?).</p>
<p>The given EVs ensure that an unboosted Timid Kyogre's Water Spout will not 2HKO Dialga. This allows Dialga to Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, and then 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>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set can also be used as a lead. The only change needed is Lum Berry as the item and Thunder Wave as the status move. Lum Berry is used to prevent Dialga from being put to sleep by Darkrai leads, allowing Dialga to severely cripple them with Thunder Wave. Dialga is, (comma) however, (comma) unable to prevent Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A from setting up Stealth Rock and possibly a layer of Spikes.</p>
<p>Dialga, (comma) on a stall team, (comma) would appreciates the residual damage from Spikes and/or Toxic Spikes. Forretress is the best Pokemon for 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-type Pokemon, and some of them can be disposed of removed by Dialga’s Draco Meteor or Dragon Pulse. 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, 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 is the best Pokemon for the job.</p>
<p>Offensive teams 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, Swords Dance Lucario has an easier time sweeping the opponent. Offensive Groudon loves Support Dialga since many of its checks 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: 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
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga’s lackluster Speed can be fixed with the item Choice Scarf at the cost of locking Dialga onto one attack. Dialga reaches 459 Speed with 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, and has a 33% chance of OHKOing Mewtwo. Thunder is used to 2HKO Lugia 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 be used to help reduce the chances of a Lucario and Dialga sweep, while nailing Heatran and Tyranitar for super effective damage. For the fourth moveslot, Dragon Pulse is in the fourth moveslot to gives Dialga a move that is consistent damage-wise. On the other hand, Outrage, with a Hasty nature, can be used to help Dialga take down Calm Mind Kyogre; it may also get the 2HKO on Blissey.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga can use a Modest or Mild nature if you want more power behind Dialga’s attacks. The advantage of outspeeding Dragon Dance Rayquaza may be lost with this set change, since many of them opt to run a Jolly nature. With Modest, Dialga OHKOes Mewtwo after Stealth Rock 87% of the time.</p>
<p>Scarf Dialga can handle some 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 quick, but it does lose to Scarf Palkia, Scarf Garchomp, (comma) and Scarf Darkrai in Speed. Groudon can handle Scarf Garchomp and Scarf Palkia 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 either Dark Void or and Focus Blast, the latter having only 70% accuracy. Scizor can switch into Scarf Darkrai safely and OHKO it with U-turn. Scizor It can at least take out a weakened Darkrai with Bullet Punch if necessary (54.4% - 64.4%). Finally, (comma) be very cautious of Wobbuffet as it can revenge kill Dialga easily thanks to the Choice lock.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>If you thought Dialga's meteor showers were already painful enough, then just wait until you see what happens when they are boosted by Choice Specs! Not only does Draco Meteor OHKO Groudon, barring those that heavily invest in Special Defense, but it has enough power to OHKO Lucario. 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 (backspace this). After Stealth Rock, Thunder also OHKOes max HP Kyogre. Fire Blast is used to prevent wasting Draco Meteor's PP on Steel-type Pokemon, 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.</p>
<p>The given EVs allow Dialga to outspeed max Speed Adamant Tyranitar. This They also keep Dialga very bulky so it can keep threatening the opponent, making it a very potent threat to the opponent. If you want Dialga to be faster, you can use 112 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Scizor, or max Speed 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.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga’s biggest issues with the this set can all be in fact resolved, but with varying degrees of difficulty. Blissey becomes the biggest counter to this set, since Dialga lacks any way of KOing Blissey reliably unless Blissey is under a third of its health. Because Dialga is great for knocking down the physical walls of Ubers, it appreciates physical attackers as its teammates. Swords Dance Garchomp appreciates enjoys (appreciates is used already) 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 oftentimes 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. (Are you impressed with Draco Meteor's damage output against Wobbuffet or underwhelmed? This should be clearer in the writing.) (silly CM)</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Overheat / Stone Edge
items: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Finally, a set other than Bulk Up that doesn’t call for the spamming of Draco Meteor! With this set, Dialga forgoes special attacks in order to catch many of its switch-ins off-guard. Don’t assume that Groudon has the upper hand against this set; unless Groudon invests heavily in its Defense stat, it is 2HKOed by Outrage. Earthquake complements Outrage to give a by giving Dialga a wide amount of coverage against the Uber metagame; it prevents most Steel-types, especially Heatran, from switching in safely. Dragon Claw should be your third move as Outrage lock puts Dialga in grave danger if you’re not aware of the rest of the opponent's Pokemon. The fourth move depends on whether you prefer shutting down the majority of Steel-types, notably Skarmory, or annihilating Ho-Oh and keeping Lugia away from Dialga.</p>
<p>The EV structure is very similar to the Choice Specs set, with the only difference being not recommending a positive Speed nature. Outspeeding Adamant Tyranitar is the minimum amount of Speed Dialga should use. You can opt to use 116 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Scizor, or max Speed to tie with Adamant Lucario or Modest Kyogre at worst. Jolly nature with max Speed and max Attack allows Dialga to get the upper hand on Adamant Rayquaza at the cost of sheer attacking power.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Dialga has the exact opposite problems that Choice Specs has. Outrage is a powerful attack, but it has the nasty drawback in that it prevents Dialga from switching out from a troublesome position. Dialga trades being able to handle Heatran and Ho-Oh (unless it has Stone Edge) for having issues with Lugia, Impish Groudon, and Skarmory (unless it has Overheat). While Lucario can’t take much of a beating, it can switch into Stone Edge and freely set up Swords Dance followed by a quickly KOing Dialga with Close Combat. Powerful special attackers and / or mixed attackers are recommended for this reason. Mixed Rayquaza can outspeed and annihilate most of these Pokemon when they switch in, outspeeding most of them, barring Lugia (Lugia takes around 50% from Draco Meteor so it's still good to go). Mewtwo is pretty effective here since Taunt completely shuts down Lugia and Skarmory, allowing Mewtwo to set up Calm Mind freely. Mewtwo’s Its only fear is Blissey that carry Seismic Toss, which Dialga can at least handle to an extent. As a partner, Wobbuffet can set up Encore + Tickle, then follow up with a Pokemon that knows Pursuit to kill off the opposing physical wall. Beware that Impish Groudon sometimes carry Toxic, which will harm the Wobbuffet's effectiveness of Wobbuffet.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Like most Pokemon, offensive Dialga enjoys the support of Stealth Rock support, since it allows Dialga to turns certain 2HKOs into OHKOs, as explained in several of the sets. Despite having an excellent typing, wonderful defenses, (comma) 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, Jirachi, and Latias. Latias is a particularly good user of Wish for Dialga because it 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, where it's redundant), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias can also use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) to further support Dialga. 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.</p>
<p>There are no Pokemon who that are guaranteed an easy switch-in on Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokemon who that can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, high Speed, or good defenses. Even then, most of these problematic Pokemon cannot switch in safely; they need to go for the revenge kill. Groudon in particular can use a specially-defensive EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults, bar Choice Band Outrages and Choice Specs Draco Meteors, and use its STAB Earthquakes to take Dialga down. Groudon It 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, (comma) 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. A Mewtwo of your own Using your own Mewtwo can help since it (trying to avoid "a" pokemon) 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 them with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to strike back if Darkrai uses Dark Void.</p>
<p>Dialga is an extremely sturdy Pokemon who that is only hindered by its weaknesses to Fighting and Ground attacks, thus Pokemon who 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 also a 4x resistance to Fighting attacks. Additionally, 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, it has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokemon such as Groudon and Garchomp. Finally, the many Psychic-types of Ubers, such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo, are able to competently cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting attacks.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Dialga has loads of other options that can work as potential support moves. Roar can work alongside Dialga's excellent sturdiness. (already in AC) 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 resorting to Draco Meteor or Overheat, but is otherwise generally a poor choice. Iron Tail is poor should be avoided, because as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and its 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 you opt for Bulk Up with Magnet Rise, then 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 Groudon can 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 is in fact a terrible move to use, as is the rest of the Hyper Beam suite; Draco Meteor or 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 without the extra power of Choice Band, the attacks will be too weak to be useful.</p>
<p>252 HP / 116 SpD with a neutral nature allow 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 its Focus Punch.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Simply put, Dialga is hard to counter. How it can be countered depends a lot on the weather conditions and the moveset it is using. In general, Ho-Oh and Heatran can counter Dialga while under sunny conditions. The biggest thing to note is that Thunder’s accuracy is cut to 50% under the sun, which means a 15% chance that Ho-Oh and Heatran will be hit by Thunder followed by paralysis. Meanwhile, Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to inflict a burn on Dialga, which hampers the Mixed and Choice Band sets. With Ho-Oh’s access to recovery, Pressure, and a high Special Defense stat, Dialga is in trouble when it only has Stone Edge 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. The If rain is present, necessitates then a more cautious approach to countering Dialga is necessary, as a 30% chance of paralysis from Thunder is nothing to scoff at. Scizor comes relatively close as a counter since Fire Blast takes a hit in its Base Power is weakened in the rain, while Scizor can fire off Superpower at Dialga for super effective damage. Metagross can step into the scene and fire off Earthquake at Dialga, or use Trick on sets such as Bulk Up or Support to cripple Dialga. Metagross It also does well at countering the Choice Band set, though beware of stepping into either Earthquake or Overheat in the sun.</p>
<p>Groudon is a good counter since it threatens Dialga with STAB Earthquake, and has access to Roar to nullify the Bulk Up set. Offensive Groudon has an easier time KOing Dialga since many opponents opt to use a -Def nature on Dialga's mixed sets (sets is implying multiple so not a specific set). Blissey can take on both the Specs set and the Scarf set, though beware that the Scarf set can carry Outrage to try to 2HKO Blissey. Skarmory does well at countering the physical Dialga sets, (comma) especially the Bulk Up set which has no answer against Skarmory, except if Skarmory and Dialga are the last Pokemon standing. Lugia has to avoid switching into Stone Edge and Thunder at all costs, but it is otherwise a great counter to Dialga while the sun is out. Lugia It can set up Reflect to deter the Choice Band set, while Whirlwind deals with the Bulk Up set. Tyranitar, especially those that invest in Special Defense, can be a great Dialga check when Tyranitar is at full health. Wobbuffet can be an annoying Pokemon for Dialga to deal with, since Dialga lacks Taunt or a powerful enough move to OHKO Wobbuffet on the spot. Wobbuffet It has to beware of the Mixed set when Draco Meteor is at full power though.</p>
<p>Since it Dialga is a slow Pokemon, you can use faster Pokemon to revenge kill Dialga it. This strategy fails when Dialga carries a Choice Scarf, but it is still the safest way of dealing with most Dialga sets. Latios using Dragon Pulse does 48.5% - 57.4% on Support Dialga, which means Latios 2HKOes non-Bulk Up Dialga without relying on Draco Meteor 93% of the time. Latias can switch in safely after Dialga has expended a Draco Meteor and start setting up Calm Minds. 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 make sure Dialga doesn't stay in comfortably. 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>
(most of the "it" changes throughout the analysis is because you did "Pokemon this. Pokemon that." repetition.)
<p>Dialga’s unique typing and well-distributed stats make it both an excellent offensive and defensive Pokemon. Offensively, Dialga has a stunning base 120 Attack and base 150 Special Attack that's backed by the ever-dominant Dragon-type STAB. Its Dialga's vast offensive movepool allows Dialga it to pick off those that either resist its Dragon-type STAB, or are capable of cushioning the damage, with relative ease a variety of Pokemon. Defensively, Dialga’s typing offers it a whopping total of 9 nine resistances and an immunity, while still being neutral as well as neutrality to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks, (comma) something other Dragon-type Pokemon would kill for. With its stellar base defenses combined with the aforementioned resistances, Dialga is a difficult Pokemon to take down unless you target its weaknesses. Dialga is also revered as an excellent utility Pokemon thanks to its equally-vast support movepool. With its plethora of options, Dialga is, in a word, unpredictable.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Dialga (redundant; we'd be saying Support Dialga, etc.)
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Outrage / Brick Break
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Thunder / Bulk Up
item: Expert Belt / Life Orb
nature: Mild / Hasty
EVs: 144 Atk / 252 SpA / 112 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>STAB Draco Meteor bolstered by 438 Special Attack, or 399 if Dialga opts to use a Hasty nature, is frightening for any opponent. Only Steel-type Pokemon 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 anyhow anyway (66.2% - 77.9% if Dialga is Mild). Brick Break, with the given Attack EVs, will 2HKO most Uber Blissey with Stealth Rock in play. 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 the near-omnipresent 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. 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 without losing to and Blissey. 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.</p>
<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 Adamant Scizor. The 144 Atk EVs allow grant Dialga the ability to 2HKO most Blissey, barring max HP / max Def variants. If you opt for Mild, you should use Expert Belt, since it provides enough power to obtain the majority of 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. Outspeeding Adamant Rayquaza means that Dialga’s team is less susceptible to a Swords Dance Rayquaza sweep, though keep in mind that most Dragon Dance and Mixed Rayquaza sets use a positive Speed nature. With a Hasty nature, Dialga will need a Life Orb in order to stay competitive offensively. Finally, Because Dialga can survive Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake or and even a Life Orb Aura Sphere from Mewtwo; because of this, Dialga can effectively utilize a spread of 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 SpA with a Quiet nature (is the surviving part with the ev spread? might want rewording if so). Expert Belt is preferable for Quiet Dialga since the main goal is to make sure 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 Mild (both increase SpA; did you mean Hasty?); Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes assures the KO. Life Orb Outrage also 2HKOes max HP / min Def Kyogre, which means Dialga can be effective at taking out Mono-Attacker Kyogre. Brick Break, with Stealth Rock in play, can also be used to easily 2HKO Heatran, since max HP / min Def variants takes 43-50.8%.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A couple of move options were left out of the set because they only offer niche results, but are nevertheless effective choices if Dialga needs them. Earth Power means Dialga will never fall to a Heatran switch-in, while still being able to damage other Dialga regardless of the weather (wouldn't you Draco Meteor other Dialga instead of Fire Blast?). Stealth Rock is also an option since Dialga forces many switches. Finally, Stone Edge 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 Choice Specs.</p>
<p>While Dialga is an intimidating Pokemon, 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. 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. Giratina-O can also be a staple provided that you’re using entry hazards. (period) though It has the added benefit of being able to handle Groudon well thanks to its Earthquake immunity and moderate base 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 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. Since Dialga is great at breaking through defensive teams in general, offensive Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Garchomp appreciate having Dialga as their partner.</p>
<p>Dialga’s other issues involve its lack of Speed, which leaves it susceptible to being revenge killed by Pokemon such as Mewtwo or and Latios. Scarf Garchomp is a great partner since it outspeeds Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Scarf Palkia. Another great Scarf user is Shaymin-S, (comma) which can target both Kyogre and Groudon with STAB Seed Flare while outspeeding 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, Latias, Latios, Swords Dance Lucario, Heatran, and Ho-Oh. While Wobbuffet is slower than Choice Scarfers, 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. While Kyogre has already been mentioned as a good Heatran check, Calm Mind Latias does very well is great at switching into Heatran’s attacks due to its great special bulk and resistance to Fire. It only fears Taunt and Explosion, the latter being rare on bulkier Heatran to begin with. Rayquaza’s Air Lock nullifies the sunlight’s boost, and it can switch into Earth Power freely, though it has to be careful with Dragon Pulse variants.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive Bulk Up
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Outrage / Dragon Claw
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Dialga’s numerous resistances, well-distributed defensive stats, and access to a STAB attack that only has one resistance going against it, (comma) and Bulk Up. Bulk Up boosts Dialga’s Attack and Defense stats, (comma) to help which helps power up its Dragon-type attack of choice, as well as increase its chances of survival against physical attacking Pokemon. For example, after a Bulk Up, Dialga can survive a Choice Band Garchomp's Earthquake. 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 versus Dragon Claw is a matter of preference between power and reliability, respectively. Since Dialga will be boosting its Defense via Bulk Up, max Special Defense is necessary to help Dialga cushion special attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Skarmory, Lugia, Groudon, Heatran, and Lucario to some extent will cause issues for this set. The best way to address this these threats is to have Pokemon that are offensively-oriented as offensively-oriented teammates for Dialga. While it will need Aura Sphere to deal with Heatran, Giratina-O stops most Groudon sets cold thanks to STAB Draco Meteor and its immunity to Earthquake. 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 more aware of its surroundings, sadly however, since switching into any of Dialga's counters will leave your Rayquaza crippled or likely fainted. While Mixed Attacking Dialga could check many of its slower enemies with the help of some Speed EV investment 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 Attacker set (Shaymin-S and Garchomp for example) are great assets since Groudon likely outspeeds Dialga with the given EVs.</p>
<p>Sadly, 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. Wobbuffet It can easily Encore a move and not take damage three-fourths of the time, or two-thirds of the time while if Dialga is asleep and locked onto Sleep Talk. Assuming Stealth Rock, Dialga would need 3 three Bulk Ups in order to come close to nearly KO Wobbuffet range (80.7% - 95.1%) with Outrage (80.7% - 95.1%). With Dragon Claw, Dialga needs 3 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 Calm Minds 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.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Toxic / Thunder Wave
move 3: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
items: Leftovers
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 140 SpA / 116 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga is unique amongst its Dragon-type cousins (removed semi-colon) because it can play a supporting role effectively. Stealth Rock requires no real explanation, though keep in mind that Dialga should lay down Stealth Rock as soon as possible to prevent Ho-Oh from switching into Dialga freely. The next move of choice is dependent on the type of team that Dialga is supporting. An offensive team appreciates Thunder Wave more than Toxic since the paralysis of threats such as Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Choice Scarf Pokemon is a significant advantage. On the other hand, defensive teams require Toxic to make sure that the opponent’s team won’t out-stall Dialga’s team, since Lugia, Giratina-O, Latias, and the rare Cresselia are all unaffected by Toxic Spikes. Draco Meteor can be used to limit the number of times Groudon can switch freely into this set, while Dragon Pulse offers consistency that keeps Dialga on the field without being a detriment offensively. Flamethrower works best to helps (Thunder did this) keep Forretress and other Steel-types, barring Dialga and Heatran, from switching into Toxic freely. Thunder works best alongside Kyogre as its Drizzle ability remedies Thunder’s poor accuracy. Thanks to the 30% chance of paralysis, Dialga can operate as a pseudo-double status spreader, since it(space)is free to use Toxic instead of Thunder Wave. Though not mentioned on the set, Roar can be used over the second or fourth moveslot. The reason that Roar can replace the a status move is that, assuming Dialga is on a stall team, Toxic Spikes will be already taken care of by one of Dialga's teammates (backspace this). Since Lugia and Cresselia are the only general threats against Dialga and that are immune from Toxic Spikes, Roar can be used to prevent these Pokemon from taking advantage of Dialga to set up. Furthermore, there are likely better teammates that can handle Lugia and Cresselia (such as?).</p>
<p>The given EVs ensure that an unboosted Timid Kyogre's Water Spout will not 2HKO Dialga. This allows Dialga to Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, and then 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>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set can also be used as a lead. The only change needed is Lum Berry as the item and Thunder Wave as the status move. Lum Berry is used to prevent Dialga from being put to sleep by Darkrai leads, allowing Dialga to severely cripple them with Thunder Wave. Dialga is, (comma) however, (comma) unable to prevent Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A from setting up Stealth Rock and possibly a layer of Spikes.</p>
<p>Dialga, (comma) on a stall team, (comma) would appreciates the residual damage from Spikes and/or Toxic Spikes. Forretress is the best Pokemon for 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-type Pokemon, and some of them can be disposed of removed by Dialga’s Draco Meteor or Dragon Pulse. 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, 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 is the best Pokemon for the job.</p>
<p>Offensive teams 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, Swords Dance Lucario has an easier time sweeping the opponent. Offensive Groudon loves Support Dialga since many of its checks 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: 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
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga’s lackluster Speed can be fixed with the item Choice Scarf at the cost of locking Dialga onto one attack. Dialga reaches 459 Speed with 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, and has a 33% chance of OHKOing Mewtwo. Thunder is used to 2HKO Lugia 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 be used to help reduce the chances of a Lucario and Dialga sweep, while nailing Heatran and Tyranitar for super effective damage. For the fourth moveslot, Dragon Pulse is in the fourth moveslot to gives Dialga a move that is consistent damage-wise. On the other hand, Outrage, with a Hasty nature, can be used to help Dialga take down Calm Mind Kyogre; it may also get the 2HKO on Blissey.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga can use a Modest or Mild nature if you want more power behind Dialga’s attacks. The advantage of outspeeding Dragon Dance Rayquaza may be lost with this set change, since many of them opt to run a Jolly nature. With Modest, Dialga OHKOes Mewtwo after Stealth Rock 87% of the time.</p>
<p>Scarf Dialga can handle some 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 quick, but it does lose to Scarf Palkia, Scarf Garchomp, (comma) and Scarf Darkrai in Speed. Groudon can handle Scarf Garchomp and Scarf Palkia 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 either Dark Void or and Focus Blast, the latter having only 70% accuracy. Scizor can switch into Scarf Darkrai safely and OHKO it with U-turn. Scizor It can at least take out a weakened Darkrai with Bullet Punch if necessary (54.4% - 64.4%). Finally, (comma) be very cautious of Wobbuffet as it can revenge kill Dialga easily thanks to the Choice lock.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>If you thought Dialga's meteor showers were already painful enough, then just wait until you see what happens when they are boosted by Choice Specs! Not only does Draco Meteor OHKO Groudon, barring those that heavily invest in Special Defense, but it has enough power to OHKO Lucario. 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 (backspace this). After Stealth Rock, Thunder also OHKOes max HP Kyogre. Fire Blast is used to prevent wasting Draco Meteor's PP on Steel-type Pokemon, 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.</p>
<p>The given EVs allow Dialga to outspeed max Speed Adamant Tyranitar. This They also keep Dialga very bulky so it can keep threatening the opponent, making it a very potent threat to the opponent. If you want Dialga to be faster, you can use 112 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Scizor, or max Speed 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.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Dialga’s biggest issues with the this set can all be in fact resolved, but with varying degrees of difficulty. Blissey becomes the biggest counter to this set, since Dialga lacks any way of KOing Blissey reliably unless Blissey is under a third of its health. Because Dialga is great for knocking down the physical walls of Ubers, it appreciates physical attackers as its teammates. Swords Dance Garchomp appreciates enjoys (appreciates is used already) 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 oftentimes 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. (Are you impressed with Draco Meteor's damage output against Wobbuffet or underwhelmed? This should be clearer in the writing.) (silly CM)</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Outrage
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Dragon Claw
move 4: Overheat / Stone Edge
items: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Finally, a set other than Bulk Up that doesn’t call for the spamming of Draco Meteor! With this set, Dialga forgoes special attacks in order to catch many of its switch-ins off-guard. Don’t assume that Groudon has the upper hand against this set; unless Groudon invests heavily in its Defense stat, it is 2HKOed by Outrage. Earthquake complements Outrage to give a by giving Dialga a wide amount of coverage against the Uber metagame; it prevents most Steel-types, especially Heatran, from switching in safely. Dragon Claw should be your third move as Outrage lock puts Dialga in grave danger if you’re not aware of the rest of the opponent's Pokemon. The fourth move depends on whether you prefer shutting down the majority of Steel-types, notably Skarmory, or annihilating Ho-Oh and keeping Lugia away from Dialga.</p>
<p>The EV structure is very similar to the Choice Specs set, with the only difference being not recommending a positive Speed nature. Outspeeding Adamant Tyranitar is the minimum amount of Speed Dialga should use. You can opt to use 116 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Scizor, or max Speed to tie with Adamant Lucario or Modest Kyogre at worst. Jolly nature with max Speed and max Attack allows Dialga to get the upper hand on Adamant Rayquaza at the cost of sheer attacking power.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Dialga has the exact opposite problems that Choice Specs has. Outrage is a powerful attack, but it has the nasty drawback in that it prevents Dialga from switching out from a troublesome position. Dialga trades being able to handle Heatran and Ho-Oh (unless it has Stone Edge) for having issues with Lugia, Impish Groudon, and Skarmory (unless it has Overheat). While Lucario can’t take much of a beating, it can switch into Stone Edge and freely set up Swords Dance followed by a quickly KOing Dialga with Close Combat. Powerful special attackers and / or mixed attackers are recommended for this reason. Mixed Rayquaza can outspeed and annihilate most of these Pokemon when they switch in, outspeeding most of them, barring Lugia (Lugia takes around 50% from Draco Meteor so it's still good to go). Mewtwo is pretty effective here since Taunt completely shuts down Lugia and Skarmory, allowing Mewtwo to set up Calm Mind freely. Mewtwo’s Its only fear is Blissey that carry Seismic Toss, which Dialga can at least handle to an extent. As a partner, Wobbuffet can set up Encore + Tickle, then follow up with a Pokemon that knows Pursuit to kill off the opposing physical wall. Beware that Impish Groudon sometimes carry Toxic, which will harm the Wobbuffet's effectiveness of Wobbuffet.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Like most Pokemon, offensive Dialga enjoys the support of Stealth Rock support, since it allows Dialga to turns certain 2HKOs into OHKOs, as explained in several of the sets. Despite having an excellent typing, wonderful defenses, (comma) 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, Jirachi, and Latias. Latias is a particularly good user of Wish for Dialga because it 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, where it's redundant), because Dialga is slow by Uber standards. Blissey, Jirachi, and Latias can also use Thunder Wave (or in Jirachi's case, Body Slam with Serene Grace) to further support Dialga. 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.</p>
<p>There are no Pokemon who that are guaranteed an easy switch-in on Dialga, due to both its high offensive stats and versatility. Most Pokemon who that can stop Dialga require powerful super effective attacks, high Speed, or good defenses. Even then, most of these problematic Pokemon cannot switch in safely; they need to go for the revenge kill. Groudon in particular can use a specially-defensive EV spread to survive most of Dialga's assaults, bar Choice Band Outrages and Choice Specs Draco Meteors, and use its STAB Earthquakes to take Dialga down. Groudon It 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, (comma) 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. A Mewtwo of your own Using your own Mewtwo can help since it (trying to avoid "a" pokemon) 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 them with Megahorn. Heracross can also use Sleep Talk to strike back if Darkrai uses Dark Void.</p>
<p>Dialga is an extremely sturdy Pokemon who that is only hindered by its weaknesses to Fighting and Ground attacks, thus Pokemon who 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 also a 4x resistance to Fighting attacks. Additionally, 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, it has the bonus of being able to set up Spikes on Pokemon such as Groudon and Garchomp. Finally, the many Psychic-types of Ubers, such as Wobbuffet and Mewtwo, are able to competently cover Dialga's weakness to Fighting attacks.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Dialga has loads of other options that can work as potential support moves. Roar can work alongside Dialga's excellent sturdiness. (already in AC) 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 resorting to Draco Meteor or Overheat, but is otherwise generally a poor choice. Iron Tail is poor should be avoided, because as already noted, Steel is a poor offensive type, and its 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 you opt for Bulk Up with Magnet Rise, then 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 Groudon can 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 is in fact a terrible move to use, as is the rest of the Hyper Beam suite; Draco Meteor or 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 without the extra power of Choice Band, the attacks will be too weak to be useful.</p>
<p>252 HP / 116 SpD with a neutral nature allow 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 its Focus Punch.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Simply put, Dialga is hard to counter. How it can be countered depends a lot on the weather conditions and the moveset it is using. In general, Ho-Oh and Heatran can counter Dialga while under sunny conditions. The biggest thing to note is that Thunder’s accuracy is cut to 50% under the sun, which means a 15% chance that Ho-Oh and Heatran will be hit by Thunder followed by paralysis. Meanwhile, Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to inflict a burn on Dialga, which hampers the Mixed and Choice Band sets. With Ho-Oh’s access to recovery, Pressure, and a high Special Defense stat, Dialga is in trouble when it only has Stone Edge 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. The If rain is present, necessitates then a more cautious approach to countering Dialga is necessary, as a 30% chance of paralysis from Thunder is nothing to scoff at. Scizor comes relatively close as a counter since Fire Blast takes a hit in its Base Power is weakened in the rain, while Scizor can fire off Superpower at Dialga for super effective damage. Metagross can step into the scene and fire off Earthquake at Dialga, or use Trick on sets such as Bulk Up or Support to cripple Dialga. Metagross It also does well at countering the Choice Band set, though beware of stepping into either Earthquake or Overheat in the sun.</p>
<p>Groudon is a good counter since it threatens Dialga with STAB Earthquake, and has access to Roar to nullify the Bulk Up set. Offensive Groudon has an easier time KOing Dialga since many opponents opt to use a -Def nature on Dialga's mixed sets (sets is implying multiple so not a specific set). Blissey can take on both the Specs set and the Scarf set, though beware that the Scarf set can carry Outrage to try to 2HKO Blissey. Skarmory does well at countering the physical Dialga sets, (comma) especially the Bulk Up set which has no answer against Skarmory, except if Skarmory and Dialga are the last Pokemon standing. Lugia has to avoid switching into Stone Edge and Thunder at all costs, but it is otherwise a great counter to Dialga while the sun is out. Lugia It can set up Reflect to deter the Choice Band set, while Whirlwind deals with the Bulk Up set. Tyranitar, especially those that invest in Special Defense, can be a great Dialga check when Tyranitar is at full health. Wobbuffet can be an annoying Pokemon for Dialga to deal with, since Dialga lacks Taunt or a powerful enough move to OHKO Wobbuffet on the spot. Wobbuffet It has to beware of the Mixed set when Draco Meteor is at full power though.</p>
<p>Since it Dialga is a slow Pokemon, you can use faster Pokemon to revenge kill Dialga it. This strategy fails when Dialga carries a Choice Scarf, but it is still the safest way of dealing with most Dialga sets. Latios using Dragon Pulse does 48.5% - 57.4% on Support Dialga, which means Latios 2HKOes non-Bulk Up Dialga without relying on Draco Meteor 93% of the time. Latias can switch in safely after Dialga has expended a Draco Meteor and start setting up Calm Minds. 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 make sure Dialga doesn't stay in comfortably. 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>
(most of the "it" changes throughout the analysis is because you did "Pokemon this. Pokemon that." repetition.)
Can you delete the extra [/hide] at the end of the OP? It won't show up in my proofread.
Anyways, you used both accented e Pokemon and plain Pokemon in the analysis, but I've changed all of them to Pokemon. It was odd that you started using "who" in Team Option's third paragraph when everything else was "that" (not a big problem).
yay Dialga.
edit: was just trying something by deleting the post above and posting again but I guess it didn't really do anything.
