Decided to do a partial revamp of Dialga since it really needs it. I’m debating sticking the Smashpass recipient somewhere, but IMO it needs too much support to be a stand-alone set. Sorry if the formatting is a little off, I wrote this when I didn’t have internet access…
Original Analysis: http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/dialga
Overview:
Possessing high base defenses and the same base Special Attack as Palkia, an excellent defensive typing that gives it 11 resistances and 1 immunity, and a movepool some dragons only wish they had, Dialga is easily one of the most dominant Ubers in Black and White 2. This dominance comes partially from its versatility—Dialga can viably set Stealth Rock, wallbreak and wall targets, revenge kill, and maybe even sweep through teams when given the chance. However, its versatility also proves to be its downfall: Dialga can suffer from serious four-moveslot-syndrome, and teams can only run one variant of it, so sometimes it can be difficult to choose the optimal version of the Steel Dragon. Still, Dialga is definitely not a threat to be taken lightly, and every team must be prepared for it and its respective variants to even have a hope of success in this Metagame.
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Set #1:
Name: Defensive Stealth Rock
Item: Leftovers / Lum Berry
Nature: Modest / Calm
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Spd / 56 Satk
Move 1: Stealth Rock
Move 2: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
Move 3: Fire Blast / Thunder
Move 4: Roar / Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock is necessary for every team, and Dialga finds plenty of opportunities to set it due to a winner defensive typing and BST.
- Draco Meteor for moar power, Dragon Pulse for consistency even though it is far weaker.
- Fire Blast hits targets such as Ferrothorn and Genesect, but Thunder is an option on rain as it hits most steels and nails opposing Kyogre and Ho-oh.
- Roar is for phazing out threats such as Calm Mind Arceus and Substitute Ho-oh, but Thunder Wave is fantastic at crippling targets and spreading paralysis—Dialga can usually Paralyze a threat or two, set Stealth Rock, and fire off an attack if given enough free turns.
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Set Details:
- Leftovers is usually better for longevity, but Lum Berry is fantastic at trolling Darkrai, Smeargle, and Pokémon that rely on burning or paralyzing Dialga to deal with it.
- Modest for additional damage output, but Calm helps sponge special attacks such as Kyogre’s Water Spout, eliminates any chance that Lustrous Palkia has to 2HKO Dialga, and gives 252 Satk Arceus-Ghost only a miniscule 4.69% chance to 2HKO a healthy Dialga with Focus Blast.
- Don’t run Thunder and Thunder Wave on the same set, they overlap like hell.
- On the topic of Thunder Wave, Roar vs Thunder Wave typically comes down to how well the team handles certain threats; if Ho-oh is manageable but Kyogre can be more tricky to deal with, Thunder Wave is best. Still, Roar deals with threats with Substitute and is more reliable versus Calm Mind Arceus, especially if the Arceus runs Refresh.
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Additional Comments:
- Dragon Tail can be used as a damaging alternative to Roar, but it doesn’t phaze through Substitute, is fairly weak, and has lower accuracy.
- Stone Edge can be used to troll Ho-oh but has zero use outside of this.
- Aura Sphere has multiple targets but is better left to Offensive SR Dialga, which gets notable 2HKOs with it.
- Air Balloon can be used on this set to mess with Groudon but is fairly useless outside of that (and if Dialga wants to mess with Groudon, it is better off running its Offensive SR set).
- Don’t run Physical Defense investment on this set, it has almost no practical use and Dialga wants as much special bulk as possible.
- Flamethrower is an option over Fire Blast, but it’s really weak in Rain, where Dialga is used the most. Also, this is sad— 56+ SpA Dialga Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn in rain: 148-176 (42.04 - 50%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
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Team Options:
- Forms a cool core alongside Kyogre and Ferrothorn, with Dialga to provide Stealth Rock and weaken key threats, Ferrothorn to provide Paralysis and Spikes, and Kyogre to clean up after them. Note that building around this core tends to lead to incredibly generic yet effective rain teams.
- Also forms a “Creation Trio” core with Palkia and Giratina-Origin that handles a large portion of the Metagame.
- Generally is not recommended for Sun as it is Ho-oh and Arceus-Fighting bait, and Groudon already provides Stealth Rock for such teams.
- Mixed Rayquaza and Genesect are good teammates, as they form a core that resists every type in the game when used alongside Dialga, as well as supporting it immensely (Rayquaza lures out and OHKOs Groudon, Genesect checks things such as Mewtwo while giving Rayquaza and Dialga free turns, and Dialga serves as a good general sponge for attacks).
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Set #2:
Name: Uber Choice Scarf
Item: Choice Scarf
Nature: Modest
EVs: 52 HP / 252 Satk / 204 Spd
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Aura Sphere / Fire Blast
Move 3: Thunder / Dragon Pulse
Move 4: Sleep Talk / Fire Blast
- Even without Life Orb, Draco Meteor hits hard due to STAB and 150 Satk. However, Dialga is often forced out after using it.
- Aura Sphere has more overall coverage than Fire Blast, and can be used to hit things such as Extremekiller Arceus, Darkrai and opposing Dialga without the Special Attack drop of Draco Meteor. Fire Blast is still fine for 2HKOing a Groudon switchin without a Special Attack drop, and also hits Ferrothorn and Forretress the hardest.
- Thunder provides additional coverage on steel types and damages Kyogre and Ho-oh, but if these are not an issue then Dragon Pulse can be run to have a more reliable means of damaging dragons.
- Sleep Talk makes you one of the best answers to Darkrai in the game so long as you avoid switching into a Focus Blast or Thunder Wave, but Fire Blast is again an option for Dialga if you already have sleep fodder. However, it’s important to note that one of Dialga’s main niches over Genesect as a scarfer is the ability to absorb sleep, so you may want to run Genesect if this is the case.
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Set Details:
- Max Speed / Max Satk Modest is a viable spread to speed tie with Modest Scarf Kyogre, as the 52 HP investment isn’t preventing any notable KOs or 2HKOs.
- Is often seen as an inferior Genesect when in fact the two perform different roles. Dialga easily fits Sleep Talk, has higher bulk, lacks a glaring 4x Fire Weakness and boasts a better defensive typing, has surprise factor, hits harder than Genesect (assuming Genesect gets an unfavorable boost from Download), is generally better versus Hyper Offense, and has a Stealth Rock resistance on top of all this. However, Dialga does not check Calm Mind setup sweepers as well, cannot run a Physical spread, cannot use Explosion to eliminate “counters”, does not have access to U-turn, does not have access to Download to raise an attacking stat to astronomical levels, and does not have as good of a speed tier as Genesect. Typically, choosing between them comes down to which one supports a team more based on the listed advantages that both possess, and the different attackers they both check.
- Has a fairly awkward case of 4MSS, but its viable moves change depending on the sort of team it is run on. On Rain, Thunder and Aura Sphere are usually best as coverage, but Dragon Pulse can be run in place of either move if the team already possesses an answer to Ferrothorn such as Rayquaza. On sun, Fire Blast and Aura Sphere are good, but Dragon Pulse can again be run if Ferrothorn is not an issue. On sand, Aura Sphere and Thunder would again be best as coverage to hit miscellaneous threats such as Omastar and Extremekiller Arceus.
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Additional Comments:
- Outrage can run to troll Latios, Latias, and Blissey, but is a pretty terrible option outside of this.
- Stone Edge for Ho-oh if real.
- Dragon Pulse can potentially be run in place of Draco Meteor as the first move, but then Dialga will need Aura Sphere, as otherwise it will not check Extremekiller Arceus.
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Team Options:
- Debating sticking the whole Genesect vs Dialga argument in this section but then Set Details will be rather bare.
- Fits best on Hyper Offense due to its ability to check Genesect and just generally mess with Pokémon commonly seen on that archetype.
- Ho-oh is a great partner to form a core that hits hard and resists or is immune to every type in the game barring Dragon.
- Frail Pokémon and Pokémon that rely on setup to do damage tend to benefit from Dialga’s support as it can check things that might harm them, while also benefitting from Dialga’s ability to clean up after said Pokémon or punch holes in teams for them. This includes Calm Mind + Draco Meteor Latios, Swords Dance/Calm Mind Arceus-Ghost, Nasty Plot Darkrai, Extremekiller Arceus, Life Orb Deoxys-Attack, Psycho Killer Mewtwo, and Swords Dance Rayquaza.
- Forms a fun core alongside Rayquaza and something to deal with support Arceus, such as Wobbuffet or Kyogre.
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Set #3:
Name: Offensive Stealth Rock
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Satk / 4 Def
Move 1: Stealth Rock
Move 2: Draco Meteor
Move 3: Thunder
Move 4: Aura Sphere
- Stealth Rock is obligatory on all teams and awesome.
- Draco Meteor is seriously powerful with Base 150 Satk and Life Orb—even a resist such as Genesect ends up taking upwards of 80% damage from it.
- Thunder 2HKOs even the most specially bulky of Kyogre, with a guaranteed chance of OHKOing 4 HP / 0 Sdef Kyogre after Stealth Rock. Additionally, it hits Ho-oh and steels such as Forretress, Skarmory, and Jirachi harder than Aura Sphere.
- Aura Sphere provides coverage on targets such as Heatran, opposing Dialga, Extremekiller Arceus (this variant of Dialga does not check this, it simply hits it hard then switches out), Arceus-Rock/Steel, and Tyranitar.
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Set Details:
- Much more straightforward than Defensive Stealth Rock, the aim of this is to lure out would-be checks to a suspected Defensive Dialga, and pummel them with high-power STAB and coverage. It has the same coverage and potentially even more luring capability than Mixed Zekrom.
- As such, this is fantastic at bluffing, and can be played either conservatively or aggressively depending on the user’s preference—it can be switched out of threats such as Ho-oh and Groudon, only to KO or severely dent them as they inevitably switch in, or it can just fire off coverage on them immediately, hitting like a truck.
- This is probably Dialga’s best shot at being anti-sun, due to its ability to dismantle Groudon/Ho-oh/Forretress cores on its own and confound even Espeon and Xatu when it outspeeds and OHKOs (or just sets Stealth Rock on) the Offensive Groudon they are typically paired with.
- Timid is an option over Modest to outspeed or at worst speed tie with Earth Plate Groudon and fast Specs Kyogre, but this greatly diminishes Dialga’s chance of netting a guaranteed OHKO on bulky Groudon or even OHKOing no HP Kyogre.
- Don’t run anything other than Life Orb, otherwise you will miss out on too many KOs.
- Is more frail than Bulky Stealth Rock Dialga, so attacks such as Genesect’s +1 sunny Flamethrower will have a high chance of 2HKOing it with Stealth Rock up.
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Additional Comments:
- Very, very few other options. Fire Blast can be used over Aura Sphere, but it overlaps with Thunder and leaves you walled by Heatran.
- Roar can also be used over Aura Sphere if you are fine with being walled by Ferrothorn and are paranoid about setup sweepers.
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Team Options:
- Due to its ability to lure and OHKO or just otherwise force out several bulky Pokémon, sweepers (particularly physical ones), benefit greatly from support from this set—Extremekiller Arceus, Calm Mind Arceus-Ghost, Mewtwo, Darkrai, Ho-oh, Kabutops, Rayquaza, and even Blaziken appreciate Dialga’s ability to either check or lure out their counters and dispose of them.
- Is more suited to Hyper Offensive teams, but it also niches itself on Balance and maybe even Quickstall as it can open up holes in teams or clean up with coverage after the opponent has been ravaged by hazards and weakened by teammates.
- Still synergizes fairly well with rain-based Pokémon such as Tentacruel, Omastar and Ferrothorn, which are otherwise deadweight in Sunlight.
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Set #4:
Name: Trick Room
Item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
Nature: Quiet
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Satk / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Spd
Move 1: Trick Room
Move 2: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
Move 3: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
Move 4: Outrage / Thunder
- Trick Room is a fantastic move that instantly allows Dialga to “outspeed” many would-be checks and counters and wreak havoc from there. Dialga very easily avoids being Revenge Killed should it set the move up, due to high defensive stats, 150 Satk backed by Life Orb, and resistance to common priority such as Extremespeed and Shadow Sneak.
- Draco Meteor hits like a tank, but Dragon Pulse is more reliable.
- Fire Blast vs Aura Sphere typically comes down to what the team wants to hurt more—Fire Blast hits steel types in general harder, but Aura Sphere has miscellaneous targets such as Terrakion, opposing Dialga, Darkrai, and Extremekiller Arceus.
- Thunder mainly hits Kyogre, but Outrage hits targets such as Chansey, Blissey, and defensive Latias, while still doing respectable damage to Kyogre and Ho-oh, 2HKOing both.
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Set Details:
- Possibly the biggest dick to Hyper Offense ever created.
- An alternate spread of 108 HP / 148 Atk / 252 Satk can be run, which ensures a 2HKO on Chansey with Outrage.
- Life Orb is generally the better item, if you are making a full-on Trick Room team you should probably have other sleep fodder besides Dialga.
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Additional Comments:
- Mental Herb is an option to set up in the face of Taunt users. The power loss is noticeable, though.
- Similarly, Shucca Berry or Air Balloon can be used to set up on Ground types.
- No idea what else this thing can run really, but I know that Polop really wanted it to have an analysis. Would appreciate some advice here lol, I have never even used TRalga seriously.
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Team Options:
- You don’t necessarily need to run a full-on Trick Room team to use TRalga, but team support is greatly appreciated. Trick Room Palkia and Bronzong make excellent partners to set up Trick Room for Dialga.
- Darkrai, especially Taunt variants, can give Dialga a free turn to set up, which can be helpful.
- Giratina-Origin, especially if it has Substitute, helps with a lot of things that could pose a problem for Dialga, such as Groudon and stallier teams.
- Extremekiller Arceus has nice offensive synergy with Dialga, primarily due to the fact that Dialga tends to force out bulkier Pokémon to stall out its Trick Room and severely dents them in the process— this gives Extremekiller Arceus an easier time to sweep afterwards.
- Spikes and Stealth Rock, from something such as Ferrothorn or Custap Forretress can help push things into the KO range of Dialga’s moves.
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Set #5:
Name: Uber Choice Specs
Item: Choice Specs
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Satk / 4 Spd
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Thunder / Fire Blast
Move 3: Aura Sphere / Dragon Pulse
Move 4: Sleep Talk / Dragon Pulse
- Draco Meteor hits like a truck, etc etc you know how it works already
- Thunder is coverage on steels but also hits Kyogre and Ho-oh, Fire Blast hits Groudon hard without an Satk drop and also hits Ferrothorn.
- Aura Sphere for opposing Dialga and Darkrai, but Dragon Pulse is a more consistent alternative versus Support Arceus and dragons.
- Sleep Talk is to beat Smashpass and Darkrai, though Dragon Pulse is a solid alternative if you don’t already have it.
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Set Details:
- A solid defensive backbone is borderline mandatory since this does not check nearly as much as Dialga’s other, more useful variants.
- Basically a bad Specs Palkia, the only niche Dialga really has over it is the ability to take sleep and a neutrality to dragon type moves.
- An alternative spread of 252 Satk / 252 Spd with a Modest or Timid nature can be used, which at least lets you outspeed and OHKO Groudon.
- Is more suited to bulkier teams due to how easily it kills momentum.
- Yeah honestly I’m not even sure if this deserves its own set. Specs Dialga is probably the worst bulky attacker in the game, and is really just fantastic on paper but disappointing in practice.
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Additional Comments:
- Ancientpower hits Ho-oh I guess.
- Hidden Power Ghost and Flash Cannon are really niche options for hitting Arceus-Ghost and Arceus-Rock respectively. Just stick to the coverage in the main set if you want to use this thing.
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Team Options:
- Spikes and Stealth Rock support are again pretty helpful, and plenty of things, such as Ferrothorn and Hippowdon, can set these moves for Dialga.
- Calm Mind Latias is a great partner for this set, as Dialga beats Genesect for it and Latias beats Arceus-Fighting/Ground for Dialga as well as checking Kyogre.
- Calm Mind Arceus forms, particularly if they have Substitute, tend to go along well with Specs Dialga as they have an easier time cleaning after it has broken through teams and SubCM Arceus can serve as an additional stallbreaker.
- Anything with access to Volt Switch or U-turn, such as Forretress, Zekrom, or Genesect, tends to partner well with Specs Dialga as it really likes having free turns so it can at least try to do something to the opposition.
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Set # 6:
Name: Bulk Up + ResTalk
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Sdef / 4 Def
Move 1: Rest
Move 2: Sleep Talk
Move 3: Bulk Up
Move 4: Outrage / Dragon Claw
- Rest is important to keep Dialga at optimal HP and heal it of status.
- Sleep Talk complements Rest well, enabling Dialga to continue boosting or attacking in its sleep.
- Bulk Up is a fantastic move that increases both Dialga’s Attack and Defense to frightening levels after a few boosts.
- Outrage is powerful STAB that Dialga doesn’t get locked into while it’s asleep, but Dragon Claw provides a weaker alternative that is more reliable when Dialga is awake.
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Set Details:
- Underwhelming at first, but it easily finds the opportunity to boost thanks to great 100/120/100 Defenses and is terribly strong once it gets the ball rolling.
- Maximum special defense investment pairs well with Bulk Up—Choice Specs Palkia has less than a 50% chance to 2HKO Dialga with Spacial Rend.
- Total deadweight versus Sun and Hippowdon Sand if their weathersetters are still alive, though Dialga is bulky enough to set up in a last-Pokémon scenario versus Hippowdon or Support Groudon, assuming it already has a boost up for the latter.
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Additional Comments:
- Absolutely nothing. Like with Specs Dialga, it’s best to stick with the coverage in the main set.
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Team Options:
- One of the best answers to Support Arceus in the game, so things that would otherwise have trouble with Supportceus such as Rock Polish Groudon, Double-Dancing Landorus Therian, and Extremekiller Arceus can all make good teammates. It has the added benefit of scaring out Palkia for Groudon and Landorus-Therian.
- Terrorized by opposing Groudon and Hippowdon so Latios, Latias, and Arceus-Grass, especially their Grass Knot variants, make fantastic teammates as they immensely threaten these Pokémon.
- Choice Band Ho-oh is great alongside Bulk Up Dialga to threaten Ferrothorn, one of its biggest checks, and lure out and severely weaken Groudon and Hippowdon. Choice Band Kabutops is in a similar boat, especially considering how it can lure out and severely dent the aforementioned plant durian with Low Kick.
- Fits well on basically any team that has space for it—this is a pretty intimidating sweeper, and requires minimal support to break through teams.
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Checks and Counters:
Dialga is one of the more difficult Pokémon to outright check or counter due to the many viable variants it has—checks to Defensive Dialga will often find themselves losing to the more offensive variants, and Offensive Dialga tends to have an entirely different set of checks. Arceus-Ground and Arceus-Fighting are probably the best counters to it that exist, but Arceus-Fighting needs significant Special Attack investment to OHKO bulkier Dialga, which means that it may risk Paralysis from Thunder Wave. Ho-oh can set up a Substitute on Dialga or just hit it with coverage if Dialga predicts wrong and tries to Roar it. Groudon and Landorus-Therian, particularly their respective offensive variants, handle most Dialgas extremely well, though they need to watch out for Offensive Stealth Rock or Choice Scarf variants. Choice Scarf Terrakion can’t safely switch into Dialga, but it forces out all of its relevant variants. Lures like Taunt Darkrai, Calm Mind+Draco Meteor Latios, and Choice Specs Palkia are generally effective at beating Dialga but cannot handle all of its variants. Hippowdon and Gliscor can take on Defensive and Bulk Up sets but are subject to losing to Offensive Dialga, and Hippowdon in particular does not enjoy taking a Draco Meteor. Heatran shuts down Dialga lacking Aura Sphere due to a resistance to Dragon coverage and immunity to Fire moves. Opposing Dialga, especially if it has Aura Sphere, serves as a good check. Finally, Tyranitar can come out on top versus any variant of Dialga lacking Aura Sphere due to nice special bulk that is further augmented by sand, and either set Stealth Rock or Low Kick it for a 2HKO.
Original Analysis: http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/dialga
Overview:
Possessing high base defenses and the same base Special Attack as Palkia, an excellent defensive typing that gives it 11 resistances and 1 immunity, and a movepool some dragons only wish they had, Dialga is easily one of the most dominant Ubers in Black and White 2. This dominance comes partially from its versatility—Dialga can viably set Stealth Rock, wallbreak and wall targets, revenge kill, and maybe even sweep through teams when given the chance. However, its versatility also proves to be its downfall: Dialga can suffer from serious four-moveslot-syndrome, and teams can only run one variant of it, so sometimes it can be difficult to choose the optimal version of the Steel Dragon. Still, Dialga is definitely not a threat to be taken lightly, and every team must be prepared for it and its respective variants to even have a hope of success in this Metagame.
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Set #1:
Name: Defensive Stealth Rock
Item: Leftovers / Lum Berry
Nature: Modest / Calm
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Spd / 56 Satk
Move 1: Stealth Rock
Move 2: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
Move 3: Fire Blast / Thunder
Move 4: Roar / Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock is necessary for every team, and Dialga finds plenty of opportunities to set it due to a winner defensive typing and BST.
- Draco Meteor for moar power, Dragon Pulse for consistency even though it is far weaker.
- Fire Blast hits targets such as Ferrothorn and Genesect, but Thunder is an option on rain as it hits most steels and nails opposing Kyogre and Ho-oh.
- Roar is for phazing out threats such as Calm Mind Arceus and Substitute Ho-oh, but Thunder Wave is fantastic at crippling targets and spreading paralysis—Dialga can usually Paralyze a threat or two, set Stealth Rock, and fire off an attack if given enough free turns.
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Set Details:
- Leftovers is usually better for longevity, but Lum Berry is fantastic at trolling Darkrai, Smeargle, and Pokémon that rely on burning or paralyzing Dialga to deal with it.
- Modest for additional damage output, but Calm helps sponge special attacks such as Kyogre’s Water Spout, eliminates any chance that Lustrous Palkia has to 2HKO Dialga, and gives 252 Satk Arceus-Ghost only a miniscule 4.69% chance to 2HKO a healthy Dialga with Focus Blast.
- Don’t run Thunder and Thunder Wave on the same set, they overlap like hell.
- On the topic of Thunder Wave, Roar vs Thunder Wave typically comes down to how well the team handles certain threats; if Ho-oh is manageable but Kyogre can be more tricky to deal with, Thunder Wave is best. Still, Roar deals with threats with Substitute and is more reliable versus Calm Mind Arceus, especially if the Arceus runs Refresh.
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Additional Comments:
- Dragon Tail can be used as a damaging alternative to Roar, but it doesn’t phaze through Substitute, is fairly weak, and has lower accuracy.
- Stone Edge can be used to troll Ho-oh but has zero use outside of this.
- Aura Sphere has multiple targets but is better left to Offensive SR Dialga, which gets notable 2HKOs with it.
- Air Balloon can be used on this set to mess with Groudon but is fairly useless outside of that (and if Dialga wants to mess with Groudon, it is better off running its Offensive SR set).
- Don’t run Physical Defense investment on this set, it has almost no practical use and Dialga wants as much special bulk as possible.
- Flamethrower is an option over Fire Blast, but it’s really weak in Rain, where Dialga is used the most. Also, this is sad— 56+ SpA Dialga Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn in rain: 148-176 (42.04 - 50%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
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Team Options:
- Forms a cool core alongside Kyogre and Ferrothorn, with Dialga to provide Stealth Rock and weaken key threats, Ferrothorn to provide Paralysis and Spikes, and Kyogre to clean up after them. Note that building around this core tends to lead to incredibly generic yet effective rain teams.
- Also forms a “Creation Trio” core with Palkia and Giratina-Origin that handles a large portion of the Metagame.
- Generally is not recommended for Sun as it is Ho-oh and Arceus-Fighting bait, and Groudon already provides Stealth Rock for such teams.
- Mixed Rayquaza and Genesect are good teammates, as they form a core that resists every type in the game when used alongside Dialga, as well as supporting it immensely (Rayquaza lures out and OHKOs Groudon, Genesect checks things such as Mewtwo while giving Rayquaza and Dialga free turns, and Dialga serves as a good general sponge for attacks).
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Set #2:
Name: Uber Choice Scarf
Item: Choice Scarf
Nature: Modest
EVs: 52 HP / 252 Satk / 204 Spd
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Aura Sphere / Fire Blast
Move 3: Thunder / Dragon Pulse
Move 4: Sleep Talk / Fire Blast
- Even without Life Orb, Draco Meteor hits hard due to STAB and 150 Satk. However, Dialga is often forced out after using it.
- Aura Sphere has more overall coverage than Fire Blast, and can be used to hit things such as Extremekiller Arceus, Darkrai and opposing Dialga without the Special Attack drop of Draco Meteor. Fire Blast is still fine for 2HKOing a Groudon switchin without a Special Attack drop, and also hits Ferrothorn and Forretress the hardest.
- Thunder provides additional coverage on steel types and damages Kyogre and Ho-oh, but if these are not an issue then Dragon Pulse can be run to have a more reliable means of damaging dragons.
- Sleep Talk makes you one of the best answers to Darkrai in the game so long as you avoid switching into a Focus Blast or Thunder Wave, but Fire Blast is again an option for Dialga if you already have sleep fodder. However, it’s important to note that one of Dialga’s main niches over Genesect as a scarfer is the ability to absorb sleep, so you may want to run Genesect if this is the case.
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Set Details:
- Max Speed / Max Satk Modest is a viable spread to speed tie with Modest Scarf Kyogre, as the 52 HP investment isn’t preventing any notable KOs or 2HKOs.
- Is often seen as an inferior Genesect when in fact the two perform different roles. Dialga easily fits Sleep Talk, has higher bulk, lacks a glaring 4x Fire Weakness and boasts a better defensive typing, has surprise factor, hits harder than Genesect (assuming Genesect gets an unfavorable boost from Download), is generally better versus Hyper Offense, and has a Stealth Rock resistance on top of all this. However, Dialga does not check Calm Mind setup sweepers as well, cannot run a Physical spread, cannot use Explosion to eliminate “counters”, does not have access to U-turn, does not have access to Download to raise an attacking stat to astronomical levels, and does not have as good of a speed tier as Genesect. Typically, choosing between them comes down to which one supports a team more based on the listed advantages that both possess, and the different attackers they both check.
- Has a fairly awkward case of 4MSS, but its viable moves change depending on the sort of team it is run on. On Rain, Thunder and Aura Sphere are usually best as coverage, but Dragon Pulse can be run in place of either move if the team already possesses an answer to Ferrothorn such as Rayquaza. On sun, Fire Blast and Aura Sphere are good, but Dragon Pulse can again be run if Ferrothorn is not an issue. On sand, Aura Sphere and Thunder would again be best as coverage to hit miscellaneous threats such as Omastar and Extremekiller Arceus.
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Additional Comments:
- Outrage can run to troll Latios, Latias, and Blissey, but is a pretty terrible option outside of this.
- Stone Edge for Ho-oh if real.
- Dragon Pulse can potentially be run in place of Draco Meteor as the first move, but then Dialga will need Aura Sphere, as otherwise it will not check Extremekiller Arceus.
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Team Options:
- Debating sticking the whole Genesect vs Dialga argument in this section but then Set Details will be rather bare.
- Fits best on Hyper Offense due to its ability to check Genesect and just generally mess with Pokémon commonly seen on that archetype.
- Ho-oh is a great partner to form a core that hits hard and resists or is immune to every type in the game barring Dragon.
- Frail Pokémon and Pokémon that rely on setup to do damage tend to benefit from Dialga’s support as it can check things that might harm them, while also benefitting from Dialga’s ability to clean up after said Pokémon or punch holes in teams for them. This includes Calm Mind + Draco Meteor Latios, Swords Dance/Calm Mind Arceus-Ghost, Nasty Plot Darkrai, Extremekiller Arceus, Life Orb Deoxys-Attack, Psycho Killer Mewtwo, and Swords Dance Rayquaza.
- Forms a fun core alongside Rayquaza and something to deal with support Arceus, such as Wobbuffet or Kyogre.
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Set #3:
Name: Offensive Stealth Rock
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Satk / 4 Def
Move 1: Stealth Rock
Move 2: Draco Meteor
Move 3: Thunder
Move 4: Aura Sphere
- Stealth Rock is obligatory on all teams and awesome.
- Draco Meteor is seriously powerful with Base 150 Satk and Life Orb—even a resist such as Genesect ends up taking upwards of 80% damage from it.
- Thunder 2HKOs even the most specially bulky of Kyogre, with a guaranteed chance of OHKOing 4 HP / 0 Sdef Kyogre after Stealth Rock. Additionally, it hits Ho-oh and steels such as Forretress, Skarmory, and Jirachi harder than Aura Sphere.
- Aura Sphere provides coverage on targets such as Heatran, opposing Dialga, Extremekiller Arceus (this variant of Dialga does not check this, it simply hits it hard then switches out), Arceus-Rock/Steel, and Tyranitar.
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Set Details:
- Much more straightforward than Defensive Stealth Rock, the aim of this is to lure out would-be checks to a suspected Defensive Dialga, and pummel them with high-power STAB and coverage. It has the same coverage and potentially even more luring capability than Mixed Zekrom.
- As such, this is fantastic at bluffing, and can be played either conservatively or aggressively depending on the user’s preference—it can be switched out of threats such as Ho-oh and Groudon, only to KO or severely dent them as they inevitably switch in, or it can just fire off coverage on them immediately, hitting like a truck.
- This is probably Dialga’s best shot at being anti-sun, due to its ability to dismantle Groudon/Ho-oh/Forretress cores on its own and confound even Espeon and Xatu when it outspeeds and OHKOs (or just sets Stealth Rock on) the Offensive Groudon they are typically paired with.
- Timid is an option over Modest to outspeed or at worst speed tie with Earth Plate Groudon and fast Specs Kyogre, but this greatly diminishes Dialga’s chance of netting a guaranteed OHKO on bulky Groudon or even OHKOing no HP Kyogre.
- Don’t run anything other than Life Orb, otherwise you will miss out on too many KOs.
- Is more frail than Bulky Stealth Rock Dialga, so attacks such as Genesect’s +1 sunny Flamethrower will have a high chance of 2HKOing it with Stealth Rock up.
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Additional Comments:
- Very, very few other options. Fire Blast can be used over Aura Sphere, but it overlaps with Thunder and leaves you walled by Heatran.
- Roar can also be used over Aura Sphere if you are fine with being walled by Ferrothorn and are paranoid about setup sweepers.
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Team Options:
- Due to its ability to lure and OHKO or just otherwise force out several bulky Pokémon, sweepers (particularly physical ones), benefit greatly from support from this set—Extremekiller Arceus, Calm Mind Arceus-Ghost, Mewtwo, Darkrai, Ho-oh, Kabutops, Rayquaza, and even Blaziken appreciate Dialga’s ability to either check or lure out their counters and dispose of them.
- Is more suited to Hyper Offensive teams, but it also niches itself on Balance and maybe even Quickstall as it can open up holes in teams or clean up with coverage after the opponent has been ravaged by hazards and weakened by teammates.
- Still synergizes fairly well with rain-based Pokémon such as Tentacruel, Omastar and Ferrothorn, which are otherwise deadweight in Sunlight.
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Set #4:
Name: Trick Room
Item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
Nature: Quiet
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Satk / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Spd
Move 1: Trick Room
Move 2: Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
Move 3: Fire Blast / Aura Sphere
Move 4: Outrage / Thunder
- Trick Room is a fantastic move that instantly allows Dialga to “outspeed” many would-be checks and counters and wreak havoc from there. Dialga very easily avoids being Revenge Killed should it set the move up, due to high defensive stats, 150 Satk backed by Life Orb, and resistance to common priority such as Extremespeed and Shadow Sneak.
- Draco Meteor hits like a tank, but Dragon Pulse is more reliable.
- Fire Blast vs Aura Sphere typically comes down to what the team wants to hurt more—Fire Blast hits steel types in general harder, but Aura Sphere has miscellaneous targets such as Terrakion, opposing Dialga, Darkrai, and Extremekiller Arceus.
- Thunder mainly hits Kyogre, but Outrage hits targets such as Chansey, Blissey, and defensive Latias, while still doing respectable damage to Kyogre and Ho-oh, 2HKOing both.
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Set Details:
- Possibly the biggest dick to Hyper Offense ever created.
- An alternate spread of 108 HP / 148 Atk / 252 Satk can be run, which ensures a 2HKO on Chansey with Outrage.
- Life Orb is generally the better item, if you are making a full-on Trick Room team you should probably have other sleep fodder besides Dialga.
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Additional Comments:
- Mental Herb is an option to set up in the face of Taunt users. The power loss is noticeable, though.
- Similarly, Shucca Berry or Air Balloon can be used to set up on Ground types.
- No idea what else this thing can run really, but I know that Polop really wanted it to have an analysis. Would appreciate some advice here lol, I have never even used TRalga seriously.
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Team Options:
- You don’t necessarily need to run a full-on Trick Room team to use TRalga, but team support is greatly appreciated. Trick Room Palkia and Bronzong make excellent partners to set up Trick Room for Dialga.
- Darkrai, especially Taunt variants, can give Dialga a free turn to set up, which can be helpful.
- Giratina-Origin, especially if it has Substitute, helps with a lot of things that could pose a problem for Dialga, such as Groudon and stallier teams.
- Extremekiller Arceus has nice offensive synergy with Dialga, primarily due to the fact that Dialga tends to force out bulkier Pokémon to stall out its Trick Room and severely dents them in the process— this gives Extremekiller Arceus an easier time to sweep afterwards.
- Spikes and Stealth Rock, from something such as Ferrothorn or Custap Forretress can help push things into the KO range of Dialga’s moves.
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Set #5:
Name: Uber Choice Specs
Item: Choice Specs
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Satk / 4 Spd
Move 1: Draco Meteor
Move 2: Thunder / Fire Blast
Move 3: Aura Sphere / Dragon Pulse
Move 4: Sleep Talk / Dragon Pulse
- Draco Meteor hits like a truck, etc etc you know how it works already
- Thunder is coverage on steels but also hits Kyogre and Ho-oh, Fire Blast hits Groudon hard without an Satk drop and also hits Ferrothorn.
- Aura Sphere for opposing Dialga and Darkrai, but Dragon Pulse is a more consistent alternative versus Support Arceus and dragons.
- Sleep Talk is to beat Smashpass and Darkrai, though Dragon Pulse is a solid alternative if you don’t already have it.
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Set Details:
- A solid defensive backbone is borderline mandatory since this does not check nearly as much as Dialga’s other, more useful variants.
- Basically a bad Specs Palkia, the only niche Dialga really has over it is the ability to take sleep and a neutrality to dragon type moves.
- An alternative spread of 252 Satk / 252 Spd with a Modest or Timid nature can be used, which at least lets you outspeed and OHKO Groudon.
- Is more suited to bulkier teams due to how easily it kills momentum.
- Yeah honestly I’m not even sure if this deserves its own set. Specs Dialga is probably the worst bulky attacker in the game, and is really just fantastic on paper but disappointing in practice.
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Additional Comments:
- Ancientpower hits Ho-oh I guess.
- Hidden Power Ghost and Flash Cannon are really niche options for hitting Arceus-Ghost and Arceus-Rock respectively. Just stick to the coverage in the main set if you want to use this thing.
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Team Options:
- Spikes and Stealth Rock support are again pretty helpful, and plenty of things, such as Ferrothorn and Hippowdon, can set these moves for Dialga.
- Calm Mind Latias is a great partner for this set, as Dialga beats Genesect for it and Latias beats Arceus-Fighting/Ground for Dialga as well as checking Kyogre.
- Calm Mind Arceus forms, particularly if they have Substitute, tend to go along well with Specs Dialga as they have an easier time cleaning after it has broken through teams and SubCM Arceus can serve as an additional stallbreaker.
- Anything with access to Volt Switch or U-turn, such as Forretress, Zekrom, or Genesect, tends to partner well with Specs Dialga as it really likes having free turns so it can at least try to do something to the opposition.
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Set # 6:
Name: Bulk Up + ResTalk
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Sdef / 4 Def
Move 1: Rest
Move 2: Sleep Talk
Move 3: Bulk Up
Move 4: Outrage / Dragon Claw
- Rest is important to keep Dialga at optimal HP and heal it of status.
- Sleep Talk complements Rest well, enabling Dialga to continue boosting or attacking in its sleep.
- Bulk Up is a fantastic move that increases both Dialga’s Attack and Defense to frightening levels after a few boosts.
- Outrage is powerful STAB that Dialga doesn’t get locked into while it’s asleep, but Dragon Claw provides a weaker alternative that is more reliable when Dialga is awake.
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Set Details:
- Underwhelming at first, but it easily finds the opportunity to boost thanks to great 100/120/100 Defenses and is terribly strong once it gets the ball rolling.
- Maximum special defense investment pairs well with Bulk Up—Choice Specs Palkia has less than a 50% chance to 2HKO Dialga with Spacial Rend.
- Total deadweight versus Sun and Hippowdon Sand if their weathersetters are still alive, though Dialga is bulky enough to set up in a last-Pokémon scenario versus Hippowdon or Support Groudon, assuming it already has a boost up for the latter.
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Additional Comments:
- Absolutely nothing. Like with Specs Dialga, it’s best to stick with the coverage in the main set.
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Team Options:
- One of the best answers to Support Arceus in the game, so things that would otherwise have trouble with Supportceus such as Rock Polish Groudon, Double-Dancing Landorus Therian, and Extremekiller Arceus can all make good teammates. It has the added benefit of scaring out Palkia for Groudon and Landorus-Therian.
- Terrorized by opposing Groudon and Hippowdon so Latios, Latias, and Arceus-Grass, especially their Grass Knot variants, make fantastic teammates as they immensely threaten these Pokémon.
- Choice Band Ho-oh is great alongside Bulk Up Dialga to threaten Ferrothorn, one of its biggest checks, and lure out and severely weaken Groudon and Hippowdon. Choice Band Kabutops is in a similar boat, especially considering how it can lure out and severely dent the aforementioned plant durian with Low Kick.
- Fits well on basically any team that has space for it—this is a pretty intimidating sweeper, and requires minimal support to break through teams.
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Checks and Counters:
Dialga is one of the more difficult Pokémon to outright check or counter due to the many viable variants it has—checks to Defensive Dialga will often find themselves losing to the more offensive variants, and Offensive Dialga tends to have an entirely different set of checks. Arceus-Ground and Arceus-Fighting are probably the best counters to it that exist, but Arceus-Fighting needs significant Special Attack investment to OHKO bulkier Dialga, which means that it may risk Paralysis from Thunder Wave. Ho-oh can set up a Substitute on Dialga or just hit it with coverage if Dialga predicts wrong and tries to Roar it. Groudon and Landorus-Therian, particularly their respective offensive variants, handle most Dialgas extremely well, though they need to watch out for Offensive Stealth Rock or Choice Scarf variants. Choice Scarf Terrakion can’t safely switch into Dialga, but it forces out all of its relevant variants. Lures like Taunt Darkrai, Calm Mind+Draco Meteor Latios, and Choice Specs Palkia are generally effective at beating Dialga but cannot handle all of its variants. Hippowdon and Gliscor can take on Defensive and Bulk Up sets but are subject to losing to Offensive Dialga, and Hippowdon in particular does not enjoy taking a Draco Meteor. Heatran shuts down Dialga lacking Aura Sphere due to a resistance to Dragon coverage and immunity to Fire moves. Opposing Dialga, especially if it has Aura Sphere, serves as a good check. Finally, Tyranitar can come out on top versus any variant of Dialga lacking Aura Sphere due to nice special bulk that is further augmented by sand, and either set Stealth Rock or Low Kick it for a 2HKO.
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