Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearlbring players back to the Sinnoh region for the first time since the original games were released. The original Sinnoh games introduced some iconic legendary Pokemon like Palkia, Dialga, and Cresselia. The legendary options inBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlarea bit different from the originalsand the legendaries are obtained in a number of different ways.
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For many players, having alegendary Pokemon on their teamis a must. There are lots oflegendary Pokemon inPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearland with so many options, it can be tough to decide which legendaries to go for. Many players have strong opinions on which legendary Pokemon is the best, but the stats don’t lie.
Updated June 06, 2025, by Kirkland Fortner:Stats don’t lie, and when choosing a team of Pokemon, they are extremely helpful in deciding which creatures do and do not belong. However, stats aren’t everything. There are many aspects to consider when picking team members, and stats are just one of them. Players should also consider Pokemon typing, and how that influences the effectiveness of each creature. That said, we’re going to add the Pokemon-type information for each of these entries and explain how that helps or hinders the quest.
19Regirock, Regice, & Registeel
The Regi-trio,Regirock,Regice, andRegisteel, are notoriously stale legendary Pokemon. Though they have a stat total of 580, the distribution of these stats makes it hard for them to perform well in most battles. Each of the Regis has a Speed stat of 50, allowing them to easily be outpaced by even lower-tier opponents. Registeel’s stats are the most well-rounded of the three, with its Speed stat being its only real setback, though the other two Regis are lacking major stat numbers in their Attack and Special Attack stats.
These legendary Pokemon can be obtained fromRamanas Park, where players will need aDiscovery Slate.3 Mysterious Shardsor1 Mysterious Shard Lare required to obtain the Discovery Slate.
Regirock’s Type and Stats
Regirock is a pure Rock-type.Rock as a type has rather poor defenses (5 weaknesses with only 4 resistances), but some good strengths to make up for it. The Regi-trio can hit 4 types for super effective damage, Ice, Flying, Fire, and Bug, and of those 4, Flying and Fire are especially valuable to hit. All Rock-types also get the advantage of the 50% Special Defense boost Sandstorm gives, which makes the type as a whole much more useful.
Regice’s Type and Stats
Pure Ice is an abysmal type. While it does have some good strengths in being able to hit Dragon, Ground, Flying, and Grass for super effective damage, only being able to resist itself is terrible, it makes the type very difficult to position well.
Registeel’s Type and Stats
Pure Steel is a rare and pretty useful type. It resists a whopping 10 types and has immunity to another, meaning it resists more than half of the type chart. Steel is also one of only 2 types that can hit Fairy Pokemon for super effective damage, and that alone makes it noteworthy offensively.
18Entei, Raikou, & Suicune (Pokemon Brilliant DiamondExclusives)
The three legendary dog Pokemon,Entei,Raikou, andSuicune, are a part of the 580 stat total legendaries. These three Pokemon have a great spread of stats across their categories, with Entei being Attack and HP heavy, Raikou Special Attack and Special Defense, and Suicune being a heavily defensive Pokemon with its strongest stats being Defense, Special Defense, and HP.
These three Pokemon can be found when players have access toRamanas Parkand use aJohto Slate. These three Pokemon areexclusive toPokemon Brilliant Diamond.
Entei’s Type and Stats
Pure Fire is definitely a good typeto have. It resists 6 types, the second most of any type in the game, and some of the types that are resisted are Fire, Fairy Steel, and Grass, some valuable types to take less damage from. Offensively, it’s a bit mixed. Hitting 4 types for super effective damage, but of those 4, only Grass and Steel are really worth hitting. Being resisted by 4 types in itself (Fire, Water, Rock, and Dragon) is also not stellar.
Raikou’s Type and Stats
Pure Electric is excellent.A single weakness to Ground (yes, that’s it), resistances to itself, Steel and Flying, and the ability to hit both Water and Flying for super effective damage, which is 2 of the most common types in the game.
Suicune’s Type and Stats
Pure Water is probably one of the best pure types to have. Only 2 weaknesses 2 Electric and Grass, resistances to itself, Steel, Ice, and Fire, and the capability of hitting Ground, Rock, and Fire for super effective damage, all good types.
17Articuno, Zapdos, & Moltres (Pokemon Shining PearlExclusives)
Articuno,Zapdos, andMoltresare the three bird legendaries of Generation 1. All three of these legendary Pokemon have great stats across the board, with Moltresbeing one of the best Fire-typeattackers thanks to its high Attack and Special Attackstat. Zapdos comes with a focus on Speed and Special Attack, and Articuno on Defense and Special Defense.
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These three Pokemon are exclusive to Pokemon Shining Pearl and can be caught when players use theKanto Slatewhen they have access toRamanas Park.
Articuno’s Type and Stats
Ice/Flying is a typing that shines offensively. It hits 6 types for super effective damage, Dragon, Flying, Ground, Bug, Grass, and Fighting, most of which are good types to hit, and only Steel can resist both types. Unfortunately, this pairing struggles a bit defensively. Weaknesses to Fire, Steel, and Electric are bad on their own, but it also has a 4x weakness to Rock, which can be devastating. On top of that, the resistances aren’t much better. While having resistance to Grass and an immunity to Ground is always good, the Bug resistance isn’t anything special, so this combination really only has 2 relevant resistances.
Zapdos' Type and Stats
Electric/Flying is almost scarily good. It’s very solid offensively, hitting 5 unique types, with only Electric being able to resist both types. However, the defensive end is where the real magic is. Only 2 weaknesses to Rock and Ice, 5 resistances to Fighting, Bug, Grass, Steel, and Flying, with an immunity to Ground on top of that. This type pairing is very annoying to KO.
Moltres' Type and Stats
Fire/Flying is basically a better Ice/Flying. Good for attacking (5 strengths, with only Rock being able to resist both Fire and Flying), and the defensive side is much better. 4 regular resistances to Fighting, Steel, Fire, and Fairy, 2 4x resistances to Bug and Grass, and an immunity to Ground. It is however weak to both Electric and Water, and it has a 4x weakness to Rock, which loses drags it down. Despite this, it still manages to be a more than useable combination.
16Uxie
Uxie, the knowledge Pokemon, has good stats across the board but stands out with its defensive stats. A 130 Defense and 130 Special Defense make it a tough Pokemon to face in battle.
Uxie can be caughtafter facing Palkia/Dialgain normal story progression by traveling toLake Acuity.
Uxie’s Type and Stats
Pure Psychic doesn’t really do a lot. Offensively, it can only hit Poison and Fighting for super effective damage, with Steel, Dark, and itself resisting it. Defensively, it only resists itself and Fighting, and is weak to Bug, Dark, and Ghost. Again, this ends up being average, as being weak to Bug doesn’t really matter, being weak to Dark is fine, but being weak to Ghost is never good. Psychic on its own isn’t particularly good or bad.
15Mesprit
Mesprit, the emotion Pokemon, is much more well-rounded than the other two lake legendaries. It has four stats set at 105, making it a reliable choice for players to keep in their party.
Mesprit can be caught atLake Verityafter players havefought Palkia/Dialgain their playthrough.
Also, Pure Psychic.
14Azelf
Azelf, the willpower Pokemon is a mostly attack-focused legendary. With a stat total of 580 mostly taken up by its Speed, Attack, and Special Attack stat, Azelf isa strong legendary for players to catchand can be of great use in battle.
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Azelf can be caught atLake Valoronce players havefought Palki/Dialgain their playthrough.
13Latios & Latias
The Eon PokemonLatiosandLatiashave great stats. While they are almost identical in their stat composition, Latios leans more on the attack side, with an Attack stat of 90 and a Special Attack of 130. Latios has a 90 Defense and a 130 Special Defense stat.
Players can catch these Pokemon once they have access toRamanas Parkand use theSoul Slate.
Both Latios and Latias have the Dragon/Psychic pairing, so this part of the article will describe both of them.
Latios' Type and Stats
Psychic/Dragon is a “give and take” combination. 6 Weaknesses to Bug, Ghost, Ice, Dragon, Dark, and Fairy, but also 6 resistances to Water, Fire, Electric, Grass, Fighting, and Psychic. This is a combination that needs to be handled with care, because when a type pairing has loads of weaknesses but loads of resistances, the Pokemon with said pairing still ends up feeling threatened by other types very often. Offensively, it deals super-effective damage to Fighting, Poison, and Dragon. It also hits most other types for neutral damage, although it should be noted that Steel is the sole exception to that.
AlsoPsychic/Dragon.
12Heatran
Heatranhas a great Special Attack stat but falls short in other areas. Its Speed stat is lower than many other legendary options, but it compensates with its Attack and Defense.
Heatran can be caught inStark Mountainby completing a side quest. Players will need to finish theNational Pokedexbefore they can catch it.
Heatran’s Type and Stats
Fire/Steel is an incredible type combination. It does well offensively, despite Water and Fire resisting both types, it hits Rock, Bug, Grass, Fairy, Ice, and Steel for super effective damage, which is quite good. The defensive side of this pair, however, is simply amazing. 4 regular resistances to Dragon, Psychic, Normal, and Flying, an outstanding 5 4x resistances to Bug, Steel, Grass Ice, and Fairy, and (as if it couldn’t get better) an immunity to Poison. This pairing’s only real drawbacks are weaknesses to Fighting and Water, with a 4x weakness to Ground. If this pairing is kept away from Ground-type moves, it’s extremely difficult to remove from battle.
11Cresselia
Cresseliahas high health and great Defense and Special Defense but falls short in its attack stats.
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After completing theNational Pokedex, players can start a side quest by talking to a sailor in Canalave City and traveling toFull Moon Island.
Cresselia’s Type and Stats
10Kyogre
Kyogrehas huge stats, and with a 150 Special Attack stat and a 140 Special Defense stat, there are few Pokemon that could challenge it.
Players can get Kyogre inBrilliant Diamond and Shining Pearlby placing theOceanic Slateonce players have access toRamanas Park.
