Dialga is a dark-blue, sauropod-like Pokémon with some gray metallic portions, such as its chest plate, which has a diamond in the center. It also has various light blue stripes. It has a fin-like structure on its back and a crest on its head, resembling a dinosaur. Dialga also has two horns on top of its head, two fang-like horns around its mouth, and three spines on the back of its neck. It has three claws on each foot of the same metallic looks as its chest plate. Faint cracks exist across its body. The wing-like structure on its back can be used to focus the flow of time, as seen in Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky.
Dialga can warp time by either speeding it up, slowing it down, or stopping it altogether. It can also travel through time to visit the past, present, and future. It is said that time started moving when Dialga was born and will continue flowing as long as Dialga's heart still beats. As Dialga primarily resides in a different dimension, its behavior is nearly impossible to study. It has been shown to be very protective of its home. It also tends to have violent conflicts with its counterpart Palkia. Dialga has been referred to a deity in Sinnoh myths.
Appearances
Main Pokémon games
Other Pokémon games
Super Smash Bros. series
In the Wii video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Dialga, along with Palkia and Cresselia (take note, however, that these Pokémon would appear here at different times), appeared in the center of the Spear Pillar stage, where it would deliver one of many different attacks based on moves from the Pokémon video game series. The Lake trio also appeared here, though they had no effect on the gameplay.
Trophy descriptions
"A Temporal Pokémon. This Legendary Pokémon is talked about as a deity in fables passed down through generations in the Sinnoh region. Identifiable by the diamondlike crystal in the center of its chest, Dialga is said to have set time in motion at the moment of its birth. Its fearsome Roar of Time attack is so powerful that it must refrain from attacking on its next turn."
In the anime
Origin and inspiration
The origin of Dialga (and Palkia) might be based on the Shinto legend of Izanami and Izanagi, who are said to have created an island with a spear and from there created the islands of Japan.