Diancie can now be caught in Pokémon Legends: Z-A! Though there are a couple of requirements you need to fulfil first before you can catch Diancie…
Once you’ve met them, however, it’s a good idea to read up on the Diancie weaknesses and counters to ensure you’re fully prepared for this fight! After all, you don’t want to miss out on adding a Mythical Pokémon to your Pokédex in Pokémon Legends: Z-A do you?
So read on to learn how to get Diancie in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Alongside this, I’ve detailed an overall Diancie fight strategy, including the Diancie counters, weaknesses and moveset. Finally, I’ve answered whether Diancie is shiny locked.
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Need more help in Lumiose City? Then take a look at our Pokémon Legends: Z-A walkthrough.
How to get Diancie in Pokémon Legends Z-A
There are three important steps you need to complete if you want to add Diancie to your Pokédex in Pokémon Legends: Z-A:
- Complete the main campaign of Legends: Z-A.
- Download ‘Shine Bright like a Gemstone’ via Mystery Gift.
- Complete the extra Side Mission ‘Shine Bright like a Gemstone’.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
It’s important to note that Steps 1 and 2 can be completed in any order. You may want to download Diancie’s related Mystery Gift before completing the game to avoid forgetting to do so or maybe you’ll prefer to watch the main adventure play out before you go Mythical Pokémon hunting.
No matter what order you choose, however, keep in mind that completing the main campaign is required for Diancie. We’ve got a main campaign walkthrough and a guide on the Mystery Gift feature to help you complete both of these tasks.
The Mystery Gift itself contains the Extra Side Mission ‘Shine Bright like a Gemstone’ which lets you catch Diancie itself and the Diancite Mega Stone – quite useful since it means you’ll be able to Mega Evolve Diancie straight away. We’ve got a ‘Shine Bright like a Gemstone’ walkthrough to help you complete that.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
Pokémon Legends Z-A Diancie weaknesses
Here are Diancie’s counters and weaknesses in Pokémon Legends: Z-A:
- Diancie type – Rock / Fairy-type
- Diancie is weak against – Grass, Ground, Steel and Water-types
- Diancie is resistant to – Bug, Dark, Fire, Flying and Normal-types
- Diancie is immune to – Dragon-types
Since they share the same typing, the two Carbink’s in the fight will also share the above weaknesses, resistances and immunities.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
Pokémon Legends Z-A Diancie counters
The best Diancie counters are Grass, Ground, Steel and Water-types. Keep in mind that Diancie is especially weak to Steel-type moves. The two Carbinks in the battle share these weaknesses, so the following Pokémon will work well on them two:
Pokémon
Type
Meganium
Grass
Ferligatr
Water
Diggersby
Normal / Ground
Roserade
Grass / Poison
Gyarados
Water / Flying
Barbaracle
Rock / Water
Starmie
Water / Psychic
Gogoat
Grass
Aegislash
Steel / Ghost
Victreebel
Grass / Poison
Simisage
Grass
Simipour
Water
Vaporeon
Water
Leafeon
Grass
Hippowdon
Ground
Excadrill
Ground / Steel
Mawile
Steel / Fairy
Slowbro
Water / Psychic
Slowking
Water / Psychic
Venusaur
Grass / Poison
Blastoise
Water
Clawitzer
Water
Abomasnow
Grass / Ice
Klefki
Steel / Fairy
Onix
Rock / Ground
Steelix
Steel / Ground
Agrron
Steel / Rock
Gourgeist
Ghost / Grass
Pupitar
Rock / Ground
Frogadier
Water
Chesnaught
Grass / Fighting
Skarmory
Steel / Flying
Metagross
Steel / Psychic
It’s important to note that, while you do want to weaken Diancie to the point where it’s in the red health, you don’t want to knock it out completely. This will only give you one chance to catch it and the battle will reset if this catch attempt fails. Due to this, it’s a good idea to bring a few Pokémon with moves Diancie is resistant to as these will still cause damage, but hopefully not enough to knock it out.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
Pokémon Legends Z-A Diancie recommended level
Diancie is Level 70 in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, so we recommend bringing Pokémon which are Level 75 or a few levels higher. If the Pokémon isn’t fully targeting Diancie’s weaknesses, then it can get away with being between Level 80 to 83.
Yet, you don’t want any perfect Diancie counter being above Level 80 or else you’ll risk knocking it out completely. If this occurs, then you’ll have to restart the battle.
The two Carbinks will both be Level 66 and whichever counters you’re using should be able to easily knock them out. I highly recommend knocking these Pokémon out first, so you can focus on Diancie.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
Pokémon Legends Z-A Diancie moveset and strategy
Knowing Diancie’s moveset in Pokémon Legends: Z-A will help you catch, so here’s a rundown of its moves:
- Diamond Storm (Rock-type) – By far Diancie’s most deadly attack. A series of diamonds, accompanied by a purple glow, with beam out from Diancie. Any Pokémon caught in their path will take damage. This attack may also boost Diancie’s Defense stat.
- Stealth Rock (Rock-type) – A series of spiky rocks will appear in the location directly in front of Diancie when this attack is used. If your Pokémon is standing within this location, walks in or touches one of these rocks, then it will take damage. The rocks will remain on the field for a short period of time after the attack is used, so you’ll want to avoid having your Pokémon placed within them.
- Moonblast (Fairy-type) – A beam of purple-ish light will appear around Diancie before it hits your Pokémon with a beam of moonlight. This attack will cause damage! It may also lower your Pokémon’s Sp. Atk stat.
- Draining Kiss (Fairy-type) – A collection of pink hearts will fly out from Diancie and, if they hit your Pokémon, they will deal damage. Alongside this, a portion of Diancie’s HP will be restored.
Watch out for Diamond Storm! | Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
I highly recommend defeating the two Carbink’s first as this will make it a lot easier to manoeuvre about the small rooftop and allow you to focus solely on Diancie. Plus it will no longer be three against one! Both of the Carbink’s will be Level 66 and share the same weaknesses as Diancie. This means they can be easily taken care of by using moves like the Solar Beam – a powerful Grass-type attack that has the potential to knock out both Carbink’s at once if lined up correctly. Though there are other moves, which have the potential to hit two Pokémon at once.
It is possible to hit all three Pokémon at once. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
After spending the first few minutes of the fight knocking out these Carbinks (catching them if you like), it’s time to focus on Diancie.
I recommend using super effective moves – be it Grass, Ground, Steel or Water-type – to knock it down to either low yellow or red health. Remember: this battle is won by catching Diancie, not defeating it. This means the battle will reset if you fail to catch Diancie after it faints. For this reason, it’s also best to avoid using status effects that will cause continuous damage, like Burn or Poison. Though paralysing Diancie may make the fight a little easier.
Basically, you’ll want to use super effective moves to get Diancie’s health low enough that you think one more hit will knock it out. Depending on how much health Diancie has left, you’ll then want to switch to a Pokémon which uses moves it is resistant to. These attacks will still cause damage, but not enough to knock Diancie out. This means you can easily whittle its health down to the point where your chances of catching it are higher.
If there’s one move of Diancie’s you really need to look out for, however, it’s Draining Kiss. If this move successfully lands on your Pokémon, then some of Diancie’s health will be restored and, in doing so, make it harder to catch. You can try to avoid this move by using the nearby scenery to block Diancie’s aim as sadly you can’t return your Pokémon to their balls in this fight.
Draining Kiss will let Diancie restore some of its health. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
If Diancie is able to restore its health, then I would recommend again using a Pokémon whose attacks it’s resistant to. Like before, this will allow you to safely knock down some of Diancie’s health without causing too much damage. I found that Dark-type moves worked best as these decreased Diancie’s health a small, but noticeable, amount.
Finally, the other obstacle you need to keep in mind when battling Diancie is that the rooftop the fight takes place on is small. Like very small. It’s incredibly easy to get trapped in a corner by Diancie if you’re not careful, especially since it, and the Carbinks, can use Stealth Rock to reduce the amount of free space even more. Sure, your Pokémon can still exist in a Stealth Rock filled area, but they will lose health!
To avoid being trapped, I recommend removing as many of the Mega Shard clumps as physically possible before the fight begins. Then, as I’ve mentioned previously, your first step in the battle is to defeat the Carbinks. Once it’s time to focus on catching Diancie, you should now be free to run around the edge of the rooftop whenever it gets angry from your many attempts to catch it.
Try to avoid walking into Stealth Rock. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
Is Diancie shiny locked in Pokémon Legends Z-A?
Yes, Diancie is shiny locked in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Like all of the Pokémon tied to Main and Side Missions, it’s impossible to get a shiny Diancie in Legends: Z-A without the use of a mod.
While this might be disappointing, it will save you from having to close and reopen Legends: Z-A potentially hundreds of times in an attempt to get your shiny Diancie.
Mega Diancie’s Pokédex entry. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo
Best of luck adding Diancie to your Pokédex! Remember to take a look at our all Mega Evolutions list, Mega Stones list, complete Legends: Z-A Pokédex and TM locations.
