Diantha in Sword: An Overview

Written By NatAttack862 .

Having finally gotten around to playing X and Y (X specifically), I found myself enjoying a few of the characters introduced in these games. Namely Diantha, Sycamore, and Lysandre. Having at least one of their units in Pokémon Masters didn't hurt either.

When coursing out my next Sword and Shield run, I initially thought I would use Lysandre and fill the last two slots with Incineroar and Yveltal. Incineroar because of the Dark and Fire types that can be found on his team and Team Flare's as a whole. Yveltal because of his Ultra Moon team and his base unit in Masters. However, once I remembered that Pyroar was not an option in the base game or DLC, I decided to save that run for my current secondary Scarlet run. Adding Volcarona and Hydreigon instead as of right now.

As for Sword, I decided to do a Diantha run. Her entire team can be obtained between the base game and the DLC. Specifically the Crown Tundra.

Which Starter Should You Pick?

I ended up going with Sobble. This was mainly to emulate the battle between her and Leon from the Masters 8 tournament. however, it won’t really matter which starter you choose. Inteleon and Rillaboom will give at least one party member a challenge, but there will be, at least one, counter for both. Hawlucha and Aurorus for Rillaboom and Gourgeist for Inteleon. However her team will have pretty good coverage over Cinderace with Tyrantrum, Aurorus, and Goodra, who can learn Water type moves like Muddy Water and Surf.

Ultimately, it would come down to which starter you’d prefer going up against every time you face Hop. Outside of the Stow on Side and post-Opal battles, his team stays the same until the final battle when he swaps out Cramorant for the opposing box legendary. So his team won’t be effected by the starter you choose. Unlike Leon, where one third of his team will switch based on the Starter (Cinderace and Seismitoad, Inteleon and Mr. Rime, and Rillaboom and Rhyperior).

That said, I would say that Sobble will probably be the best pick. Even though yo won’t be using it past the third gym, the fourth depending on when you get your hands on her full team, Hop having Cinderace allows Diantha’s team to have more counters for it.

Where Does Diantha's Team Struggle the Most?

Diantha at Dyna Tree Hill

Steel. Her team's biggest weak point has to do with the Steel type.

The only other types that really come close are Ground, Fighting, and Fairy, with two members of her party being weak to one of them. The Kalos Fossils will have an issue with Ground and Fighting while Hawlucha and Goodra won’t like Fairies. However, her team will have counters for them with Gardevoir, Hawlucha, Gourgeist, and Aurorus. Goodra can also learn Sludge Ball, Poison Tail, and Iron Tail via TMs and TRs.

Steel, on the other hand, has very few counters, with Hawlucha being the primary counter to them. Goodra and Tyrantrum can learn a few Ground moves, but it is a bit risky depending on the Pokemon. Especially in Tyrantrum since it is a Rock/Dragon.

Hawlucha will be able to handle the battles with Rose and Peony, which are, thankfully the only two Steel specialists in the game. However, Hawlucha won't always be able to handle every Steel type. Case and point, Zacian and Zamazenta. Hop will get whichever box legendary isn’t tied to your game (Zamazenta in Sword and Zacian in Shield). If not prepared, either can be challenging in general. However, it gets a bit more challenging when they have the Rusty Sword or Rusty Shield equipped since that’s what gives them the Steel type in battle. Especially since Zacain is Fairy and Zamazenta is Fighting before and after gaining the Steel type.

Zamazenta, while being weak to Ground and Fighting, has counters with Psychic Fang and Play Rough. Zacian, on the other hand, is Fairy. So it will be dealing super effective Fairy damage, on top of the Steel typed Behemoth Blade. So while Hawlucha could deal super effective damage onboth with an Earthquaking Tyrantrum as back up, Zamazenta and Zacian will be challenging if not prepared for.

All in all, her team isn't built for Steel types.

Does it Matter Which Version a Diantha Run is done in?

Not really. I did mine in Sword. Mainly because that was the game that I felt fit the most (as weird as that may sound). The only major differences will be the rival you have in the Isle of Armor, which box legendary Hop has, and which Stow on Side and Circhester gym leader your game has.

When it comes to the version exclusive gym leaders, Diantha’s team will do fine against all of them. Allister will have a type advantage over Gourgeist and Kirlia, however, Gourgeist will also have the advantage over his team due to Ghost being weak to itself. Meanwhile, Kirlia will have the advantage over Gengar since Psychic is super effective against Poison, with caution due to Gardevoir’s Fairy typing. Bea will be a bit easier since you would have Kirlia and Hawlucha by that point. As for Gordie and Melony, her team does about the same. Gourgeist, Hawlucha, and Tyrantrum will do great against Gordie, while Hawlucha, Tyrantrum, and Aurorus will be great against Melony.

Hop, as I mentioned in the previous point will be a bit harder in his final battle regardless. The first five team members won’t be super hard, but once you get to Zacian/Zamazenta, it will get harder if you’re not prepared. And I don’t believe there is much of, if any difference between them.

As for Klara and Avery, it’s another case of neither being more challenging than the other. Klara does have the benefit of specializing in Poison, which would be super effective against Gardevoir, but Gardevoir also has the type advantage as a Psychic type. Plus, as I’ve mentioned previously, Goodra and Tyrantrum can learn an array of TMs and TRs that could counter that, as well as Steel and Rock. Avery, on the other hand you would have Gourgeist for his Psychic types. Tyrantrum can also learn Bite and Crunch, which get a boost with the Strong Jaw ability.

How Does She do Against the Non-Exclusive Gyms and Rivals?

For the most part, her team does fine. The first three may require some temporary team members since a few of her Pokémon aren’t available that early unless you transfer them over from Home.

Of the three remaining non-version exclusive Gym Leaders, Raihan would probably be the easiest. Aurorus can take care of his Flygon, Goodra, and Sandaconda. Tyrantrum can handle his Torkoal, Turtonator, and Goodra. Gardevoir can help with Goodra and Flygon. All the while Hawlucha can handle his Gigalith and Duraludon. And since Aurorus and Tyrantrum are part Rock, they won’t take damage from Sandstorms.

Piers would be the second easiest/in the middle. Gardevoir and Hawlucha will be able to handle his team thanks to their respective Fairy and Fightng types. There will be some caution with Skuntank and Toxtricity since both are part Poison type, but Gardevoir will be able to dish out super effective Psychic damage against Toxtricity.

While I wouldn’t say that Opal is the hardest of the three, there is less that Diantha’s team can do super effective damage on. For her battle, it’s just a matter of teaching one of her team members a Steel or Poison type move. For Instance, Aurorus can learn Iron Tail, which is what I went with. SO it’s not so much difficulty as it is typing.

As for the rivals, Hop, Bede, and Marnie, I can’t say that I found any of them particularly challenging. Bede is in a similar boat where he uses types that you don’t have a type advantage over. Those being Psychic and Fairy. However, Diantha’s team has Gourgeist, which will have the upperhand against his psychic types, and all her team really needs is one super effective move for Fairy types. Marnie, much like Piers, most of her team can be handled by Gardvoir and Hawlucha. There will just be some precaution due to Toxtricity and Morpecko.

What About the DLC? Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra

Helping Calyrex

Playing through both, I’d say that a Diantha run does just fine. There will be instances in both where you either won’t battle anyone or won’t be using her team for battles. In the Isle of Armor, the first trial has you hunting down three speedy Galarian Slowpoke and the Kubfu venture takes up the second Mustard battle are two such examples. In the Crown Tundra, none of Diantha’s team will be used in the den raids. Nor will they be necessary for the Keldeo event. The main battles where you’ll use her team is during the first and third Mustard battles, the mandatory Peony battle when you get to the Crown Tundra, and every Klara/Avery battle.

Since I already went over the Klara and Avery battles already, I’ll just get right into the Mustard and Peony battles. As well as the expeditions Peony has you go on for the Galarian Bird Trio, the Regi Trio and either Regieleki/Regidrago, and Calyrex with either stead. The only things I won’t be going over are the Max Honey quest, the Ultra Beast quest (Necrozma included), or the Swords of Justice quest (Keldeo included). The Max Honey quest is a post main game quest for Dynamaxing Urshifu. The Ultra Beast Quest won’t unlock until you complete the other three of Peony’s quests and won’t require Diantha’s team due to it involving the Max Raid den. And lastly, the Swords of Justice quest (and catching Necrozma) are only required if you planned on unlocking the Galarian Star Tournament. So assuming you don’t need/want to do any of that, these three quests are optional.

Mustard

Jumping to Mustard, neither of his battles stand out in terms of difficulty. In his first battle he uses a Mienfoo and Shinx, where the only major challenge will be what you have on your team if you start the Isle of Armor before beating the main game. They will be level sixty-one if you start it after beating the main game, but by that point, but by that point, the team will be more than prepared for both. As for the third battle, the only Pokémon that may give her team any issue is Corviknight and/or Kommo-o since they know Iron Head and Flash Canon respectively. However, they will have their counters. As for the Urshifu, her team has a better advantage over Rapid Strike Urshifu over Single Strike. Both can be taken down by either Gardevoir or Hawlucha (with caution since both forms will know Poison Jab and Iron Head), as well as Gourgeist being immune to Close Combat. That said, Gourgeist will have the type advantage over Rapid Strike Urshifu since it’s part Water type, while Single Stroke would have the type advantage over it thanks to it’s Dark typing. Between the these two battles, I would say the third battle against Mustard would probably be the more challenging. It does require that you beat Leon and Mustard’s team’s levels are between seventy-three and seventy-five.

The Crown Tundra

As for the first Peony battle, he’ll be the easiest of the out of him, Rose, and Zacian/Zamazenta. He only uses two Pokémon: Copperajah and Aggron. Both of which Hawlucha will handle just fine. Even with his Copperajah knowing Play Rough (she won’t get the STAB from it like Zacian would). He does have a five member team if you decided to rematch him in the rest area of the Max Raid den (once you’ve unlocked the Galarian Star Tournament) that adds Perserker, Bronzong, and Scizor. And while this may make his team a bit more challenging, Diantha’s team will have counters through Hawlucha, Gourgeist, and/or moves. That said, he will be the easiest Steel specialist in the game. The only way I feel like he would be more of a challenge is if you went to the Crown Tundra before beating Leon to catch the Kalos Fossils, since, unlike the Isle of Armor, the level caps won’t change if you go there before or after beating the main game.

After you beat him that initial time, he will give you the clues for the Galarian Birds, Calyrex, and the Regis. Catching them is a requirement to complete each quest. Of the three, I would say that the Regi battles will be the easiest. They will have some requirements for you to open the doors (ex. having your lead Pokemon hold an Everstone and having Cryogonal leading your team), but once the doors are unlocked, you can use Diantha’s team. Since they need to be captured, my strategy was paralyzing them (Gardevoir can earn Thunder Wave), chip away at their health, and stock up on Ultra Balls. Registeel may be the only one that gives the team a hard time based on type, but, in this case, that will be an advantage since you’d be chipping away at it’s health rather than knocking it out. Between Regieleki and Regidrago, it won’t really matter which one you go up against.

The Galarian Birds aren’t really difficult to battle. Similar to the Regis, it’s just a matter of chipping away at their health to catch them. Rather, what makes them a bit more difficult is initiating the battle. This is mainly due to the fact that they are similar to roaming legendries from previous generations, with the caveat that each bird will have a set location that you have to chase them down in (the Wild Area outside of Motostoke for Zapdos, the Isle of Armor for Moltres, and the Snowslide Slope for Articuno). However, once you intercept them, all that you’d need to worry about is catching them. Of the three, Articuno is the trickiest in my experience since it involves it creating two illusions of itself and you having to run into it while its moving in a circle with them. So if you hit one of the illusions, it will disappear. With Zapados, you just have to cut it off and Moltres can be intercepted in front of the Dojo when timed right, so the only real challenge is chasing them down.

The only major battle in The Sacred Bonds of Sovereign and Steed! will e the battle against either Ice Rider Calyrex or Shadow Rider Calyrex depending on which stead you go for. Diantha’s team will do roughly the same against both, however, between the two, her team will have more type advantages over Ice Rider Calyrex. This will be another encounter that you’ll have to catch, and much like Zacian/Zamazenta, even if it beats you or vise versa, you won’t have to do anything special to try catching them again.

All and all, Diantha’s team will do well against all of the DLC battles that involve her team. Some she’ll have more of an advantage over than others, but none of them stuck out as super challenging when I did them.

Conclusion

This was a fun playthrough to try. It’s also the first character themed playthrough I tried that didn’t require any team alterations. Her team can go through the game pretty well, save for a few Steel encounters. And when it comes to Leon’s team, she can, in practice, beat it. At least from an in-game perspective.

What are your thoughts on Diantha? Would you ever considered doing a Dianthat run?

Sources

NatAttack862 .