It’s Saturday once again, which means it’s time for one of my Legendary Pokemon of the Weeks posts. This week I thought I’d talk about a favorite Pokemon of mine from the fourth generation games. Though I’ve never played the games that this Pokemon has appeared in, I’ve seen it in the anime and have read about it online. The Pokemon I’m talking about is the mascot of Pokemon Platinum. I’m speaking of course of the third member of Sinnoh’s Creation Trio, Giratina.
So in the beginning there was Arceus, and according to the myth Arceus created the Pokemon World (and possibly the universe). Then it created three dragons. The first dragon, Dialga, was made the guardian of time. The second dragon, Palkia, was made the guardian of space. And the third dragon, Giratina, was put in charge of guarding the antimatter realm known as the Distortion World.
Giratina is the second Pokemon to be the “secret” member of a Legendary Trio. The first was Rayquaza in Ruby and Sapphire. Giratina has one of the most unique type combinations I’ve ever seen, Ghost and Dragon. Not really a combination that one would expect to see. Of course in this case Giratina’s Ghost typing is meant to represent its origins from another dimension, not imply that it’s the spirit of some dead dragon.
Hangout: In Diamond and Pearl, Giratina can be found in the ominous Turnback Cave. But in Pokemon Platinum, Giratina is first found in its true home, the Distortion World. Now as I’ve mentioned before, I have never played Platinum, but I’ve captured Legendary Pokemon that have lived in caves and abandoned buildings, Legendary Pokemon that have dwelled at the top of ancient towers and have been entombed behind an elaborate series of seals. I’ve even captured Legendary Pokemon that just run wild through the grass and bolt when they see you. But I have to admit; an alternate dimension where the normal laws of time and space don’t apply is the most unique location for a Legendary Pokemon.
I’ve seen pictures of the Distortion World online, and it looks like a weird place to navigate. Terms like up and down don’t seem to have any meaning. Of course I’ve watched a lot of sci-fi and have seen dimensions like this. Unfortunately, aside from capturing Giratina there isn’t very much reason to return to go to the Distortion World. There are no wild Pokemon in the realm, though that might be for the best. Because in my experience, constant wild Pokemon encounters can throw off one’s sense of direction when trying to navigate a complex dungeon. Plus there aren’t any items in the Distortion World except for one, which I’ll get to in a minute. And once you get that item, the Distortion World becomes completely sealed off.
Signature Move: As one of the more powerful Legendary Pokemon out there, Giratina has its own signature move, the ominous Shadow Force. This move seems to fit Giratina perfectly. It causes Giratina to disappear for one turn, either just becoming invisible, or moving into a layer of subspace or something. Then on the next turn it strikes, and the only way for the opponent to defend against the move is to use a move like Fly or Dive. Other moves like Detect won’t do a thing against Shadow Force.
Forms: Giratina continues the trend of Pokemon who take on different forms rather than evolve. In the case of Giratina, these forms are dependant on which dimension it’s in. If on our earthly plane, Giratina takes on its Altered Form. But while in its home in the Distortion World, the ghostly dragon takes on its Origin Form. Aside from the obvious physical differences, the Altered Form is more focused on defense, while to Origin Form is more focused on attack.
There is only one way to keep Giratina in its Origin Form while in our dimension, and that is to have it hold the mystical item known as the Griseous Orb, which in Platinum is found in the Distortion World after beating the Elite Four. As near as I can figure out, the Griseous Orb creates a small skin-tight pocket of the Distortion World around Giratina, allowing it to take on its Origin Form. You could sort of think of it like putting a fish in a bucket of water. How did I come up with this theory? By watching every episode of every Star Trek series ever made.
That about covers this week’s post. I’ll be back next week with another one of my favorite Legendary Pokemon, so stay tuned.
