For the Sword & Shield meta, At 680 BST, Dialga is built different. We rank it S-Tier. As a Legendary Pokemon, the raw stats back up the reputation. Best used as a wallbreaker.

What is Dialga weak to?

In Sword & Shield, watch for Lucario (Fighting) and Golem (Ground) when using Dialga. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about. Dialga has enough bulk to absorb a hit, but don't push the matchup. Pivot to a teammate that resists.

What is the best ability for Dialga?

Pressure increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one. That's the one you want on Dialga. Telepathy is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses.

What role does Dialga play in battle?

In Sword & Shield, Dialga fills the wallbreaker role. It's a special attacker with base 150 Sp. Atk. Base 90 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's tanky enough to absorb a few hits.

What counters Dialga?

For Sword & Shield, Dialga has answers, but so do you. Status moves (Toxic, Will-O-Wisp) wear it down. Setup sweepers can use it as a boost opportunity. Physical attackers can break through.

Dialga - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Wallbreaker

STier

90Speed · Above Avg

Stats & Training

Dialga's spread isn't flashy. Sp. Atk leads, Speed trails, 6 stats clear the bar. Near-impossible to catch and worth 3 Sp. Atk EVs, on a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

Legend

HP100

Attack120

Defense120

Sp. Atk150

Sp. Def100

Speed90

Total680

Details

Catch Rate

Legendary3 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height5.4 m

Weight683.0 kg

Base XP340

Abilities

Pressure

Increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one.

TelepathyHA

Protects against friendly Pokémon's damaging moves.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpA+3SpDSpe

Strong Special Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

No Sword Shield entries available

Radiant light caused Dialga to take on a form bearing a striking resemblance to the creator Pokémon. Dialga now wields such colossal strength that one must conclude this is its true form.

Legends: Arceus

Dialga Weakness

Dialga's Steel/Dragon typing leaves it vulnerable to Fighting and Ground. It shrugs off Poison-type attacks completely. 9 resistances give it solid defensive coverage on top of that. Dialga's overall bulk (100/120/100) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.

Dialga Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Fighting, Ground
0.5x (Resist)	Normal, Water, Electric, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Steel
0.25x (Resist)	Grass
0x (Immune)	Poison

Type ChartFortress

2Weak

9Resist

1Immune

Score+9

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Fighting Ground

½xResist

Normal Water Electric Flying Psychic Bug Rock Steel

¼xResist

Grass

0xImmune

Poison

STAB (4)

Ice Rock Fairy Dragon

How to Beat Dialga in Sword & Shield (Best Counters)

In Sword & Shield, Excadrill can KO Dialga with Earthquake (85-100%). Cobalion's Close Combat hits Dialga for 77-91%. Garchomp deals 83-98% with Earthquake.

Excadrill GroundSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilityMold Breaker ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Rapid Spin Iron Head Swords Dance Damage vs Dialga Earthquake 2x 85-100%KO Rapid Spin 7-9% View Excadrill builds →
Cobalion SteelFighting	A
Recommended Build AbilityJustified ItemRocky Helmet NatureJolly Moves Close Combat Swords Dance Iron Head Stealth Rock Damage vs Dialga Close Combat 2x 77-91% View Cobalion builds →
Garchomp DragonGround	A
Recommended Build AbilityRough Skin ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Swords Dance Scale Shot Stealth Rock Damage vs Dialga Earthquake 2x 83-98% View Garchomp builds →
Urshifu FightingDark	C
Fighting is super effective against DialgaView Urshifu →

Sword & Shield Evolution

You can't breed Dialga or evolve it into anything else. This Steel/Dragon legendary packs 680 stats and doesn't need a chain to be relevant. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

No Evolution

#483DialgaDoes not evolve

Breeding

Unavailable

Undiscovered egg group

Sword & Shield Dialga Best Moveset

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

Without TMs, Dialga's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get coverage across 8 types on top of Roar of Time and Outrage for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Metal Claw

C509535Steel

Lv 1

Scary Face

——10010Normal

Lv 8

Dragon Breath

—6010020Dragon

Lv 16

Ancient Power

C601005Rock

Lv 24

Slash

C7010020Normal

Lv 32

Flash Cannon

B8010010Steel

Lv 40

Dragon Claw

B8010015Dragon

Lv 48

Aura Sphere

B80—20Fighting

Lv 56

Power Gem

B8010020Rock

Lv 64

Metal Burst

D—10010Steel

Lv 72

Earth Power

B9010010Ground

Lv 80

Iron Tail

B1007515Steel

Lv 88

Roar of Time

—150905Dragon

TM Moves

TR56

Aura Sphere

B80—20Fighting

TR06

Blizzard

C110705Ice

TR99

Body Press

C8010010Fighting

TR01

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

TM99

Breaking Swipe

C6010015Dragon

TM43

Brick Break

C7510015Fighting

TR48

Bulk Up

C——20Fighting

TM81

Bulldoze

C6010020Ground

TR47

Dragon Claw

B8010015Dragon

TR62

Dragon Pulse

B8510010Dragon

TR67

Earth Power

B9010010Ground

TR10

Earthquake

B10010010Ground

TR26

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM39

Facade

C7010020Normal

TR15

Fire Blast

B110855Fire

TR02

Flamethrower

B9010015Fire

TR70

Flash Cannon

B8010010Steel

TM09

Giga Impact

B150905Normal

TR79

Heavy Slam

D—10010Steel

TM08

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TR42

Hyper Voice

B9010010Normal

TR05

Ice Beam

B9010010Ice

TR46

Iron Defense

C——15Steel

TR74

Iron Head

B8010015Steel

TR31

Iron Tail

B1007515Steel

TR24

Outrage

B12010010Dragon

TR43

Overheat

B130905Fire

TR63

Power Gem

B8010020Rock

TM25

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM33

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM21

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM22

Rock Slide

C759010Rock

TM48

Rock Tomb

C609515Rock

TM76

Round

C6010015Normal

TM19

Safeguard

C——25Normal

TM32

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TM26

Scary Face

——10010Normal

TM65

Shadow Claw

C7010015Ghost

TR27

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM24

Snore

—5010015Normal

TR76

Stealth Rock

C——20Rock

TM98

Stomping Tantrum

C7510010Ground

TR75

Stone Edge

C100805Rock

TR20

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM34

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM40

Swift

C60—20Normal

TR09

Thunder

C1107010Electric

TM14

Thunder Wave

C—9020Electric

TR08

Thunderbolt

B9010015Electric

TM70

Trick Room-7

C——5Psychic

Egg Moves

Dialga doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Scale Shot

D259020Dragon

How to Get Dialga in Sword & Shield

Dialga doesn't appear in Sword & Shield. Transfer it from Diamond, Platinum, or Legends: Arceus to add it to your collection. Check the source games below for encounter details.

Dialga is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Special encounter in:

Legends: ArceusSpecial encounter · Temple of Sinnoh

Then trade to Sword & Shield.

Also found in:

Diamond Platinum HeartGold Ultra Sun

Dialga Guide

For the Sword & Shield meta, At 680 BST, Dialga is built different. We rank it S-Tier. As a Legendary Pokemon, the raw stats back up the reputation. Best used as a wallbreaker.
In Sword & Shield, watch for Lucario (Fighting) and Golem (Ground) when using Dialga. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about. Dialga has enough bulk to absorb a hit, but don't push the matchup. Pivot to a teammate that resists.
Pressure increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one. That's the one you want on Dialga. Telepathy is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses.
In Sword & Shield, Dialga fills the wallbreaker role. It's a special attacker with base 150 Sp. Atk. Base 90 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's tanky enough to absorb a few hits.
For Sword & Shield, Dialga has answers, but so do you. Status moves (Toxic, Will-O-Wisp) wear it down. Setup sweepers can use it as a boost opportunity. Physical attackers can break through.

Game Availability

Dialga has appeared in 13 games since Diamond & Pearl, spanning 7 generations. As a Legendary, it's typically a one-per-save encounter tied to the story or post-game content.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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