Palkia is a light-purple, theropod-like Pokémon adorned with darker stripes and markings. It features gray underarms and waist areas. Its shoulders are covered with round, purple-striped plates, each embedded with pink, pearl-like crystals encased in a gray rim. Palkia has fin-like wings on its back. Its arms extend into formations resembling gauntlets, with purple bands around the wrists. The Pokémon's elongated neck usually bends, topped by a pointed white crest extending to its wings. It also has strong horn-like tusks on either side of its jaw and a powerful tail, both showing faint cracks along their lengths.
In "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness," Palkia demonstrates its ability to travel by generating a large yellow sphere from its pearls, using it for rapid flight. In the anime, Palkia is shown to levitate similarly to Dialga and Arceus. Palkia controls space, capable of warping it, traveling to distant locations or other dimensions, creating dimensional portals, and even destroying space itself. Legends suggest it can create alternate realities. With every breath, Palkia stabilizes the space it governs. A proverb claims that Palkia's birth gave rise to the world’s sky.
Palkia has the power to create a new universe independently or alongside Dialga. Living in a spatial dimension makes its behavior hard to study. The Origin Forme Palkia resides in a dimension described as shredded ribbons, fiercely protective of its home. Palkia has been seen in violent clashes with its counterpart, Dialga. Revered as a deity in Sinnoh myths, it was worshipped by the Pearl Clan, who called it "almighty Sinnoh." Palkia communicates telepathically, as seen when interacting through Irida, the clan leader. Both Palkia and Dialga can control and spread space-time distortions caused by Giratina, leading to alpha Pokémon and causing Noble Pokémon to go berserk.
Forms
Palkia can switch between its standard form and Origin Forme. In Origin Forme, considered its true form, Palkia drastically changes appearance, adopting a centaur-dragon hybrid look akin to its creator, Arceus. Its main body grows larger and grayish-pink, with light gray accents on wing tips and legs, and dark purple accents elsewhere. Shoulder plates enlarge, appearing made of pearl-like crystals with six dark purple protrusions surrounding them. The lower half resembles a horse, with forelegs now serving as arms, hooves, knee protrusions, and rectangular spikes mirroring its standard form's arms. Back legs gain hooves and heels, enabling bipedal standing. The tail shortens and splits into five parts. On its abdomen is a structure resembling Arceus's cross-like wheel. Palkia's neck and lower body markings shorten, while the pointed crest on its neck grows taller. Its lower jaw gains a plate-like mask with multiple spikes, which lowers to reveal its mouth during roars or attacks.
Palkia reaches full power in Origin Forme, assumedly staying in this form within its home dimension. It is believed that Palkia's Origin Forme mimics Arceus to harness its power. Transformation into Origin Forme can be triggered using the Lustrous Globe or radiant light. Origin Forme Palkia can walk on all fours and fly, unleashing meteors and shockwaves. Its Spacial Rend becomes more potent in this form, as seen in "Pokémon Legends: Arceus." When using powers, Palkia's crystals and purple accents glow brightly.
