Palkia

**Palkia** (Japanese: **パルキア** *Parukia*) is a water and dragon}-type Legendary Pokémon introduced in Generation IV. Palkia is the Version Mascot for Pokémon Pearl. It is Dialga's rival.

## Biology

### Physiology

Palkia is a very large, bipedal Water/Dragon Pokémon. The majority of its body has a light pink-grey-white coloring with linear sections on its body being purple. Its arms and shoulders are covered by large, armored plates, and each hand holds five nails. The round plates on its shoulders each have a large pearl in the center, representing its affiliation to Pearl. On Palkia's back are wings, which are seemingly not used for flight, as Palkia does levitate.

Palkia, along with Dialga and Giratina, was created by Arceus when it hatched from its egg. Palkia was tasked with creating space by Arceus.

### Natural abilities

Palkia has the ability Pressure, which causes opponents PP usage to be doubled for every hit. In addition to this, Palkia has been described as having the ability to warp space creating ways for it to live and travel in a different dimension. When Palkia appears in Pokémon Pearl, it bends space and changes the looks of things around it. This effect is similar to Giratina's effect in Pokémon Platinum. It is said that Palkia and Dialga were never supposed to meet.

## Evolution

Palkia does not evolve because it is a legendary.

## Game Info

Palkia is described as a deity/god in Sinnoh-region creation mythology, and is said to live in a gap in a parallel spatial dimension. Referred to as the Spatial Pokémon, Palkia has the ability to distort space. Palkia also has the power to create new dimensions. In The Rise of Darkrai, it was shown to be able to trap dimensions into another one. In Mystery Dungeon, Palkia is referred as a male.

### Main Series

#### In *Pokémon Pearl*

After chasing and battling Team Galactic countless times through Mt. Coronet, the player ends up on the summit of the mountain, where lies a place known as Spear Pillar. When there, you see Cyrus, who uses the Red Chain he crafted from the powers of legendary Pokémon Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit to call up and control Palkia, in order to change the world to Cyrus's liking. After defeating Cyrus, the Palkia seemingly awaits to battle the player. When the player battles is it, the player has the chance to catch the Palkia. If the Palkia is defeated before caught, there is another chance to encounter the Pokémon; after defeating the elite four and Cynthia.

#### In *Pokémon Diamond*

Palkia is not encountered in *Pokémon Diamond*, but can be registered into the PokéDex, and/or traded from *Pokémon Pearl.*

#### In *Pokémon Platinum*

Palkia, along with Dialga can be encountered both at level 70 after the player defeats the game. To encounter these two powerful Pokémon, the player must possess the Lustrous Orb for Palkia, and the Adamant Orb for Dialga. These items can be obtained from an old lady after beating the game. When the items are in possession, the player can go to Spear Pillar, where s/he can use the orbs to summon the legendaries for battle.

### In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

#### Explorers of Time and Darkness

You and your partner are having a good night sleep. Suddenly, the ground starts to shake. A blinding light appears for a split second, then clears, revealing Palkia. Palkia takes you to Spacial Rift and pushes you off a cliff of 40,000 ft. but you and your partner somehow survive the fall.

At the end you will face Palkia. Palkia is a nasty encounter if your a Fire type Pokémon. When you defeat him he will get trapped in nightmare (Exactly the same way Azurill does.). You enter it and as soon as Cresselia prepares to destroy you, another Cresselia (which the other is completely unaware of.) appears. You, your partner and Palkia look back and forth a few times, confused. Creselia 2 blasts light at the other one, revealing Darkrai underneath. After the final battle, Darkrai tries to escape. Fortunately, Palkia appears and shatters the dimensional hole while Darkrai was half way through as revenge for using him.

### Other

#### In *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*

Palkia along with the chance of two other Pokémon, Dialga and Cresselia, will appear in the Spear Pillar stage. When Palkia appears on the stage, it will distort the level in a variety of ways. In addition, it will also fire a number of beams causing damage to hit players. Palkia will appear when the sky becomes purplish pink.

## Trivia

* In the anime, Palkia's roar is a mix of Godzilla and King Ghidorah's (both monsters from the *Godzilla* franchise) roars, plus Boga from *Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith*. In the movie trailer, roars from Gamera and Bowser were mixed.
* Palkia is the only member of the creation trio that does not have a unique type combination, because Kingdra is also Water/Dragon.

### Origins & Etymology

Palkia, along with Dialga, may be based on the Shinto legend of Izanami and Izanagi, who are said to have created one island with a spear, erected a pillar on it, and from there created the islands of Japan. Appearance-wise, Palkia is likely based after a European dragon combined with a pearl, being a water based precious stone. Its appearance may also be derived from the Plateosaurus or other bipedal dinosaurs such as the Oviraptor. How it is significant of the aspects of Space is shown through its Water typing, as it is the most similar medium which simulates both outer space and the metaphorical aspects of space, and whose consistency can manifest in various densities.

The name "**Pal**kia" is partly derived from the word "**Par**u", meaning pearl in Japanese. Since the Japanese language possesses only one liquid consonant, which is the equivalent of the English language /l/ and /r/, the "r" in pa**r**u can be used as an "l", creating Pa**l**kia when romanized.