Dragon trio

Palkia, Giratina and Dialga at the Spear Pillar (art by Ken Sugimori)

The dragon trio, sometimes called the deity trio, is a term used to refer to three powerful legendary Pokémon of the Sinnoh region: Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.

Much like members of other legendary trios, the three Pokémon have similar appearances. Each has Dragon as their secondary type, as well as a base stat total of 680, divided among the stats as 150-120-120-100-100-90, in different orders.

Dialga controls time and Palkia controls space, two aspects of the four-dimensional universe that the Pokémon world, like our own, is a part of. The final member, Giratina, has control over antimatter and the Distortion World, where time does not flow and space is unstable.

The three members of this trio share the ability Pressure; however, Giratina's Origin Forme has Levitate. Likewise, the three are the version mascots of the three Generation IV Sinnoh-based games, and have similar level-up learnsets.

The dragon trio makes another appearance in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. An event involving Cynthia and Arceus at the Shinto Ruins will allow a single one of the three to be obtained at level 1.

Similar movesets

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum

Lv.	Dialga  Steel  Dragon	Palkia  Water  Dragon	Giratina  Ghost  Dragon
Start	DragonBreath
	Scary Face
10	Metal Claw	Water Pulse	Ominous Wind
20	AncientPower
30	Dragon Claw
40	Roar of Time	Spacial Rend	Shadow Force
50	Heal Block
60	Earth Power
70	Slash
80	Flash Cannon	Aqua Tail	Shadow Claw
90	Aura Sphere
Moves in bold are STAB. Moves in italics do no damage.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Lv.	Dialga  Steel  Dragon	Palkia  Water  Dragon	Giratina  Ghost  Dragon
Start	DragonBreath
	Scary Face
6	Metal Claw	Water Pulse	Ominous Wind
10	AncientPower
15	Slash
19	Power Gem		Shadow Sneak
24	Metal Burst	Aqua Tail	Destiny Bond
28	Dragon Claw
33	Earth Power
37	Aura Sphere
42	Flash Cannon	Hydro Pump	Shadow Claw
46	Roar of Time	Spacial Rend	Shadow Force
Moves in bold are STAB. Moves in italics do no damage.

Base stat comparison

Pokémon	Dialga	Palkia	Giratina	Giratina
HP	100	90	150	150
Attack	120	120	100	120
Defense	120	100	120	100
Sp. Attack	150	150	100	120
Sp. Defense	100	120	120	100
Speed	90	100	90	90
Total	680	680	680	680

In the games

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

In the Diamond and Pearl, both Dialga and Palkia appear atop the Spear Pillar, and after the defeat of the Elite Four, the player can find Giratina hidden at the end of a puzzle in Turnback Cave.

Dialga

Palkia

Giratina

Pokémon Platinum

In the third version of Diamond and Pearl, both Dialga and Palkia appear in dimensional rifts atop the Spear Pillar after beating the Elite Four. Giratina appears in its Origin Forme in the Distortion World when first encountered, but if it is defeated or fled from, it will appear in Turnback Cave in its Altered Forme, after the Elite Four.

Dialga

Palkia

Giratina

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

One of the three Pokémon can be obtained in HeartGold and SoulSilver if the player has a level 100, fateful encounter event Arceus by itself in his/her party. The player must go to the Shinto Ruins and speak with Cynthia, and, after some time, Arceus will create a member of the Dragon trio which will be at level 1 and have a basic moveset.

Gallery

The dragon trio at Spear Pillar in Platinum

At the Shinto Ruins with Arceus

Arceus creating a member of the trio

A member of the dragon trio being hatched

Trivia

• Of the three, Palkia is the only member of its trio to share its type with another Pokémon.
• Giratina (in Platinum), has its own unique battle music, is able to change forms (between Altered Forme and Origin Forme), and has two different menu sprites. Also, Giratina is the only member whose box art differs from its Sugimori art released with Diamond and Pearl.
• This trio is the only one whose members are not all in a direct National Pokédex sequence: Heatran and Regigigas divide Dialga and Palkia from Giratina.
• No two members of the trio have the same number of legs. Even when one considers Giratina Origin Forme this remains true, as Origin Forme Giratina has no legs, Palkia has two, Dialga has four, and Altered Forme Giratina has six.
• The primary types of each of the trio are the specialty types of three gyms of Sinnoh, the only region that has gyms of those types all together.