Giratina is a dual ghost/dragon type Legendary Pokemon introduced in Diamond and Pearl but was given a bigger role in the story of Pokemon Platinum. This legendary Pokemon is supposed to be a god-like figure that controls the warping of spacetime.
About Giratina
| First appearance in anime | In the Pokemon movie ‘Giratina and the Sky Warrior’ |
| First appearance in game | Diamond and Pearl |
| Region | Sinnoh |
| Evolution | None |
| Pokedex Entry | This Pokémon is said to live in a world on the reverse side of ours, where common knowledge is distorted and strange. It was banished for its violence. It silently gazed upon the old world from the Distortion World. |
Giratina’s Base Stats
| HP | 150 |
| Attack | 100 |
| Defense | 120 |
| Sp. Attack | 100 |
| Ap. Defense | 120 |
| Speed | 90 |
Appearance of Giratina
Giratina has a few different forms depending on what dimension it appears in. Though they all follow similar designs, with the Pokemon looking large and snake-like. It has spiked, metallic accents that appear like a golden ribcage around its chest as well as a sort of mask around its face. Its wings vary in shape between forms but are always a deep black with red spikes sticking out from them.
Behavior of Giratina
Though Giratina is a god-like Pokemon, it's not known to be benevolent. It frequently appears as an antagonist and it's said that it was banished to an alternate dimension. All of this implies that it was an aggressive and destructive power, so much so that it had to be trapped in the distorted world.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Giratina has an uncommon dual typing which gives it uncommon strengths and weaknesses. Giratina takes half damage from poison, bug, fire, water, grass, and electric type moves and is completely immune to normal and fighting type attacks. It’s weak against ghost, ice, dragon, dark, and fairy-type moves and receives double damage from them.
Giratina Formes
There are two total Giratina Formes, each appearing when taking Giratina to different dimensions. These two Giratina Formes are shown to be necessary for its survival as each form is specifically designed to exist in each dimension it is made for. These Giratina Formes change automatically in both games and in the anime.
Origin Giratina
Origin Giratina is the forme Giratina takes when in the Distortion World. Giratina was banished to the Distortion World for its violence and subsequently took on the Origin Giratina forme. Origin Giratina is more snake-like than its primal form and includes more tentacle-shaped wings instead of more standard-shaped wings. Origin Giratina retains much of the same colors as its other forme.
Primal Giratina
Primal Giratina is the forme Giratina takes when in the real world. When Giratina was banished to the Distortion World it changed shape from its Primal Giratina forme to one that suited the warped reality of the Distortion World more. Primal Giratina is shaped more like a horse, with six large legs sprouting from its sides. The wings of Primal Giratina are also more standardly shaped compared to the tentacle design of the origin forme. Though after an update, Giratina can rarely appear in its origin forme.
Best Moveset for Giratina
Defensive: Giratina is very strong but is most useful as a wall. A wall is a Pokemon that stays on the field for a long period of time and wastes time in timed matches or whittles down opponent Pokemon as they try to take it out.
| Core Enforcer | Shore Up |
| U-turn | Spectral Thief/Stealth Rock/Defog |
Support: Giratina is incredibly durable and is able to learn a large number of stall moves like defog. Because of this, it can be used to stall a timer or in doubles to stall moves to allow its partner to set up stat boosts.
| Defog | Rest |
| Toxic | Will-O-Wisp/Roar |
How to Catch Giratina in Pokemon Go
Giratina is a Legendary Pokemon, which means it is exclusively found through special events. The event Giratina appears in is raid battles. Giratina will appear rarely as a raid boss on gyms. This Giratina will appear in its Primal forme due to it being in the real world.
Trivia
Giratina and its story are very close to the story of a biblical fallen angel, as it was sent to an alternate dimension by a god-like Pokemon for being destructive.
When in its Origin Forme, Giratina is the tallest Pokemon from Generation 4.
In Pokemon Platinum, Giratina can be encountered in the Distortion World and when this happens a unique message appears, reading “The Distortion World's Giratina appeared.”
FAQs
Q. What is Giratina the god of?
In Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the four legendary Pokemon are gods of different natural phenomena. Giratina can control both elements that are controlled by Dialga and Palkia but is more commonly called the god of death.
Q. Why did Giratina get banished?
Giratina was an incredibly destructive and aggressive god, earning it the title of the god of death. Because of its aggression, Arceus banished it to the Distortion World so it couldn’t destroy the world further.
Q. Did Giratina kill Cyrus?
In Pokemon Platinum, Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, is left in the Distortion World after the climax of the story. Though it's unclear what happens to him, it's unlikely he is killed as the player will either capture or defeat Giratina before they leave the Distortion World.
Conclusion
Giratina is a mysterious Pokemon that appears to be both tragic and an antagonist. Its power reflects its destructive tendencies and proves just why it was sealed in another dimension. While its unique story has been all but forgotten except in the Pokedex in modern games, it remains as a terrifying and eldritch Pokemon that can even still draw intrigue outside of its warped prison dimension.
