• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Community POTW #104

Serebii

And, as if by magic, the webmaster appeared...
Staff member
Admin
Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and this week we start our 2 week Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl celebration

This week we focus on the Pokémon adorning Brilliant Diamond; Dialga

483.png


 

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
Dialga, the ruler of time, has had a tumultuous history. One of the best Pokémon introduced in its debut Generation, Dialga's main claim to fame is its Dragon Steel typing. A Dragon type not weak to Ice and Dragon was rare and Dialga had the defenses to prove immensely frustrating to take down. This boon kept Dialga in relevance when Fairies were introduced, as even Xerneas does not like eating STAB Flash Cannons from Dialga. However, as the generations passed on, more and more legendary Steel types like Solgaleo, Dusk Mane Necrozma, and Zacian Crowned were added, giving Dialga competition that it did not really have before. And while Dialga isn't weak to Fire like other Steel types, it doesn't resist it either. And unlike other Steel types, Dialga doesn't resist Fairy or Dragon which is worrying considering the immense power creep over the generations, that has seen its bulk turn less and less impressive.

Dialga remains eternal. Its defensive profile is unique and has a wide and varied Special movepool that gives Dialga an option for just about anything. Its bulk has it act as an excellent Stealth Rock setter and has Trick Room as an excellent Speed Control tool.

Two Hands to a Clock
Dialga
Ability
: Telepathy
Item: Adamant Orb
-Roar of Time
-Flash Cannon
-Earth Power
-Trick Room
Nature: Modest (+SATK, -ATK)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SATK / 4 SDEF

Thanks to its immense bulk and typing, Dialga remains a persistent threat on the field in a doubles format. Roar of Time and Flash Cannon comprise Dialga STAB moves. Roar of Time to be used while Dynamaxed or to reach a KO, while Flash Cannon is more reliable and both are complimented by the Adamant Orb. Earth Power hits Steel and Fire types hard, and compliments Dialga's STABs immensely while it is Dynamaxed, enabling Dialga to snowball defensively.

Trick Room may be odd on Dialga, whose base 90 speed is high for a Trick Room user, but it functions as an excellent form of Speed control. Against universally faster teams, Dialga can pop a Trick Room to swing momentum into its favor, while having enough Speed that an ally with Tailwind will enable an uninvested Dialga (assuming perfect Speed IV) to outspeed a Timid Dragapult, and thus most of the unboosted metagame.

Telepathy enables Diagla to play well with Pokémon that have damaging spread moves like Earthquake, Lava Plume and Discharge.

Other Options
-Blizzard -hits Groudon and Landorus-Therian hard and provides weather control while Dynamaxed.
-Fire Blast -melts Zacian and Amoongus
-Thunder -punishes Kyogre and Rain
 

Starspinner

Active Member

#104: DIALGA​

MOVESET NAMETRAPPED IN THE SANDS OF TIME
FORMAT TYPESINGLES
ABILITYPRESSURE
NATUREADAMANT
ITEMASSAULT VEST
DYNAMAX POTENTIALYES

EFFORT VALUE DISTRIBUTION
252 EVSATTACK
252 EVSDEFENSE
4 EVSSPECIAL DEFENSE

MOVES
1OUTRAGE
2HEAVY SLAM
3BODY PRESS
4EARTHQUAKE

EXPLANATION:

Upon first glance, this moveset might appear extremely controversial to several of Dialga’s natural talents. First of all, it completely ignores Dialga’s best stat, its Special Attack, and blights it in favor of a higher Attack stat. Moreover, it fails to provide any built-in tricks or gimmicks that make up for Dialga’s decent Speed stat, leaving it vulnerable to faster opponents. Dialga isn’t even holding its signature item, the Adamant Orb, making its Steel and Dragon-type moves weaker than they ought to be. Nevertheless, this moveset is designed to maximize Dialga’s abilities by looking at the Temporal Pokemon differently.

To start with, the physical moveset was selected because Dialga can learn Bulk Up, but it lacks any moves that contribute any special attack boosts whatsoever. One could argue that Dialga’s Special Attack is already high enough to flag Dialga as a major threat, but it doesn’t change the fact that a special moveset leaves Dialga’s Special Attack fixed. In other words, Dialga can’t deal with opponents that have a high Special Defense or moves that lower Dialga’s Special Attack before it moves. Even if it takes an extra turn for Dialga to boost its own stat, having a backup stat booster of some kind is generally better than neglecting one. Another benefit of a physical moveset is the element of surprise (mostly against players who remember stat distribution). If most competitive players expect a special moveset Dialga, then they might get caught off guard when Dialga suddenly uses Outrage or Earthquake.

Along with a lack of stat-boosters for its Special Attack, Dialga can’t boost its own Speed. It could try using Bulldoze to reduce the Speed of opponents, but Bulldoze’s usefulness is often unpredictable and situational. It’s not always guaranteed that your ally can dodge or that your opponents happen to be grounded. It will also become a useless move if your opponents happen to resist Ground-type moves. In this case, if Dialga can’t outpace its opponents, it will have to outlast them. Therefore, I decided to boost its defenses using 252 Defense EVs and Max Steelspike to cover its Defense and its Assault Vest Item, 4 Special Defense EVs, and Max Quake to facilitate its Special Defense.

By increasing its Defense, you also contribute to Body Press’s base power. In turn, this gives Dialga a good counter to Steel-types that resist Dialga’s STABs and provides a Max Move that strengthens Dialga’s Attack stat. Alongside an Adamant Nature and 252 Attack EVs, Outrage, Heavy Slam, and Earthquake become powerful physical moves (Heavy Slam especially because it is a STAB and it receives additional support from Dialga’s massive weight). Finally, Pressure serves as a passive restriction on opponent’s moves (especially problematic for Dynamax Pokemon because the PP of all their moves is no greater than 5). For this week’s Pokemon of the Week, I’m hoping that some “out-of-the-box” thinking will be a great start to the second phase of Gen. 8!
 
Top