The fourth generation of the Pokemon franchise was revealed to the world in 2006 with the release of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and the reception was, at best, underwhelming. Diamond and Pearl quickly became 2 of the least loved games in the series, with fans citing issues on everything from a mediocre storyline to a boring region.
Even the Pokemon roster itself became the subject of much debate due to many of the creatures not coming available in the games until after the main game story arc was completed. However, some great creatures are available in Diamond and Pearl and some have become fan favorites over the years. Let's take a look at the strongest of the Pokemon introduced in Diamond and Pearl, based on stats.
Updated by Kirkland Fortner on June 26, 2022: As fans continue to look for the best options to build their teams in Diamond and Pearl, players also continue to experiment with different lineups. Many players want to create the most diverse teams possible, with the most type coverage. With that in mind, a few more entries have been added to the list. The next three groups of Pokemon with the highest stats are now ready to go for players and fans to read about, catch, train, and choose in their next battle. Good luck, and catch 'em all!
13 Torterra, Lucario and Dusknoir
All of these Pokemon share a base stat total of 525.
Torterra
Torterra is a Grass/Ground-type Pokemon, the only one of its kind. Grass/Ground is a somewhat rough combination. While its STAB moves do hit seven different types for super effective damage, neither type can hit Grass, Bug, or Flying Pokemon neutrally. It also comes with a 4x weakness to Ice and additional weaknesses to Bug, Flying and Fire, with only resistances to Rock, Ground and an Electric immunity to make up for it.
Lucario
Lucario is a Fighting/Steel-type Pokemon. This combination is amazing, as it's a more offensive take on the usually defensive Steel-type. It only has three weaknesses to Ground, Fire, and Fighting, with a hefty six resistances, two quadruple resistances, and an immunity to Poison in exchange for this.
Offensively, Lucario's STAB moves can hit six types super effectively, and there is no individual type that can resist both Fighting and Steel. Lucario has very high Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, but middling defenses. This makes its role very obvious: it's a fast mixed attacker that uses this great type combination both to switch in safely and to do meaningful damage. Riolu (Lucario's pre-evolution) is given out as an Egg at the end of Iron Island, provided that the current party space is less than 6. Riolu will then evolve when it has a high friendship level during the day.
Dusknoir
Dusknoir is a pure Ghost-type Pokemon, easily one of the best single types to have. It has only two weaknesses to itself and Dark, resistances to Bug and Poison, with immunities to Normal and Fighting. Ghost-type moves hit every type in the game at least neutrally except for Normal and Dark, while also doing double damage to itself and Psychic.
Dusknoir has extremely high defenses and good Attack, but the rather poor HP stat does hurt its survivability quite a bit. Wild Duskull are located on Route 224 when using the Poke Radar in Diamond and Pearl, and can be found regularly in Route 209, the Lost Tower and Turnback Cave.
12 Luxray
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Luxray has 523 points in its base stat total and is a pure Electric-type, a great typing to have. It has a single weakness to Ground; resistances to itself, Flying, and Steel; and its STAB attacks hit Water and Flying super effectively. Its own type, Dragon, Grass, and Ground all resist it, which is really this type's only major flaw.
In terms of stats, Luxray suffers a bit. While it has great Attack and serviceable Special Attack, it is somewhat slow and has middling defenses, making it easy to KO. Players that want to take advantage of Luxray's fantastic typing and stats are in luck, as this is one of the easiest Pokemon to get in Sinnoh. Shinx, Luxray's pre-evolution, is available immediately on Routes 202, 203, and 204.
11 Rotom's Alternate Forms
All of Rotom's forms share a base stat total of 520.
Rotom is an Electric/Ghost-type that has five alternate forms based on what electronic appliance it's currently possessing. Rotom gains higher stats while in the appliance, going from 440 stat points up to 520. All alternate Rotom forms have very good defenses, Special Attack, and usable Speed.
It also has access to Levitate, a fantastic Ability, as it removes the Ground weakness that normally spells doom for Electric types. Each form gains a new move Rotom cannot usually learn. Wash gets Hydro Pump, Heat gets Overheat, Mow gets Leaf Storm, Frost gets Blizzard and Fan gets Air Slash.
There is only one Rotom to be found in Sinnoh. At the Old Chateau, there is a TV in the back of a room that Rotom will come out of at night (8:00 p.m. to 3:59 a.m). In Diamond and Pearl, this will not happen until post-game, but in Platinum, this can happen at any point.
10 Empoleon and Mamoswine
With both of these creatures having a base stat total of 530, Empoleon and Mamoswine are definitely Pokémon to look out for.
Empoleon
Empoleon is the final form of Gen 4's Water-type starter, Piplup. It is the only Water/Steel-type, which is an absolutely phenomenal typing. Water/Steel gives Empoleon nine resistances and an immunity to Poison. Combine that with high Special Attack and Special Defense stats, and the result is a great Pokemon.
Empoleon evolves from the Water-type starter for Diamond and Pearl, meaning that players are given the option to pick it right at the beginning of the game. If the player picked another starter and still wants Empoleon, they will need to trade members of the family in from other games.
Mamoswine
Mamoswine has an excellently offensive typing in Ice/Ground, in addition to having a great Attack stat and decent Speed. Combine all of that with its fantastic design and wonderfully punny name, and the result is an all-time fan favorite. Wild Swinub can be found on Route 217 as a swarm encounter.
9 Infernape
Infernape is the final evolution of Sinnoh's Fire-type starter, Chimchar. With 534 as its base stat total, Infernape is an extremely offensively-focused Pokemon. It has incredibly high Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stats, but unfortunately, it also has very frail defenses. Fire/Fighting is always a great offensive type, allowing its STAB moves to hit seven different types for super effective damage. Infernape can also learn moves that are unusual for its typing, such as Earthquake and Thunder Punch.
Infernape evolves from the Fire-type starter for Diamond and Pearl, meaning that players have the option to pick it right at the beginning of the game. If the player picked Turtwig or Piplup, they will need to trade members of the family in from other games.
8 Magnezone, Rhyperior, Tangrowth, and Porygon-Z
This quartet is made up of new evolutions of older Pokemon which all share the same base stat total of 535. Magnezone has an incredible typing in Electric/Steel, giving it a massive 10 resistances and an immunity. Wild Magnemite can be found at the Fuego Ironworks as a swarm encounter.
Rhyperior is a physical beast, with its HP, Attack, and Defense all being ridiculously high. Wild Rhyhorn and Rhydon, Rhyperior's pre-evolutions, can be found on Route 227, 228, or Stark Mountain respectively.
Tangrowth has beautiful stats in general, with only its Special Defense and Speed being subpar. Tangela can only be obtained by transferring it from a Gen 3 game.
Porygon-Z is the most interesting of the bunch, though. It's not the expected evolution of Porygon2 with better stats; rather, it is essentially is Porygon2 with rearranged stats. This allows the two evolutions to coexist, something very rarely seen. Wild Porygon are found in the Trophy Garden as a special encounter.
7 Electivire and Magmortar
Electivire and Magmortar are new evolutions of Gen 1's Electabuzz and Magmar, seemingly created to give them more individuality in battle, as they have extremely similar stats when not fully evolved.
Both have a shared base stat total of 540, with Electivire being more physically focused and Magmortar being more Special stat focused. Other than that, both boast good HP and Speed, as well as some interesting type coverage options.
Wild Elekid can be found on Route 205 or the Valley Windworks, with a copy of FireRed inserted into the bottom of the player's DS. Meanwhile, Wild Magby can be found on Route 227 and Stark Mountain with a copy of LeafGreen inserted into the bottom of the DS.
6 Togekiss
Togekiss is the final evolution of the Togepi line and has a base stat total of 545. There is not enough good to really say about Togekiss. Its stats are incredible, with only the Attack stat being underwhelming out of the whole set. Serene Grace is an excellent ability, the typing is solid, and the movepool is beyond diverse. Wild Togepi can be found on Route 230 as a swarm encounter.
5 The Lake Guardians
This trio of Pokemon plays a very important role in the main storyline of Gen 4, so players should be familiar with them. All three of them have pure Psychic typing and share a base stat total of 580, with the points being distributed differently among them.
Uxie is the defensive one of the group, Mesprit is the balanced one, and Azelf is offensively focused. Uxie and Azelf can be found at their respective lakes after facing Dialga/Palkia. Mesprit is a roaming legendary.
4 Garchomp, Heatran, Cresselia, Manaphy, Darkrai, and Shaymin
This amazing 6-way tie consists of two actual Legendary Pokemon, three Mythicals, and a Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon, all having 600 points in their base stat totals.
Garchomp is Gen 4's pseudo-legendary, a Ground/Dragon-type with good stats all around. Heatran has an amazing type combination and Special Attack, while. Cresselia is a pure Psychic-type with phenomenal defenses and HP. As for the Mythical Pokemon, Darkrai is a special attacking beast in every sense, and Manaphy and Shaymin are jacks of all trades for the Water and Grass types respectively.
- Wild Gible (Garchomp's first evolution) can be found at the Wayward Cave after obtaining the ability to use Strength outside of battle.
- Cresselia becomes a roaming Legendary after first meeting it on Fullmoon Island.
- Heatran can be found at the end of Stark Mountain after returning the Magma Stone.
- Manaphy can only be obtained by transferring its egg from Pokemon Ranger.
3 Regigigas
Regigigas is the leader of the Legendary Titan Trio from Gen 3 and has a base stat total of 670. It has a great type of pure Normal, downright amazing stats, and a very diverse learnset. The issue with it comes from its ability Slow Start, halving its Attack and Speed stats for the first five turns of battle. If the player can unshackle it from its ability, then they have some gold in their hands, but it does have a huge handicap to surmount.
Regigigas can be obtained by interacting with it at the Snowpoint Temple. To do so, the player must have the other Legendary Titans (Regirock, Regice, and Registeel) in their party, which all need to be transferred from a Gen 3 game.
2 The Creation Trio
Here we have all the mascot Legendary Pokemon for Gen 4: Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. All with a base stat total of 680, this trio of dragons are all powerful in their own ways. Dialga and Palkia both have great type combinations in Steel/Dragon and Water/Dragon, with stats that enable them to be mixed attackers. Giratina comes in two different forms that alter its stats to be either offensively or defensively focused, with it being part Ghost to give it two immunities.
Both Dialga and Palkia are required encounters throughout their respective game's stories, during the game's climax at Spear Pillar. Giratina can be found at the end of Turnback Cave.
1 Arceus
Here it is: the ultimate Pokemon. Arceus is the pinnacle jack of all trades Pokemon, having 120 points in every stat adding up to a total of 720. It defaults to being pure Normal, but if given a plate of a specific type to hold, it will become whatever type the plate advertises. On top of all of this, its signature move Judgement also matches whatever type Arceus is, meaning it will always have a STAB.
It is impossible to obtain Arceus without the use of cheating, but the reasoning behind this is very interesting. The item that was meant to make Arceus accessible, the Azure Flute, was never released. According to one of Game Freak's founding members, Junichi Masuda, the development team thought the Azure Flute would be "too confusing for players to use," so they decided not to release it.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available on Nintendo Switch.