Darkest Day

If you were looking for the Eternatus previously known as the Darkest Day in the anime, see Leon's Eternatus.

Victor and Hop confronting Eternamax Eternatus during the Darkest Day

The Darkest Day (Japanese: ブラックナイト Black Night) is a black storm that covered the Galar region 3,000 years prior to the events of Pokémon Sword and Shield. During the course of the story, Rose deliberately causes another occurrence in an ill-advised effort to replenish Galar's Dynamax energy.

History

Zacian and Zamazenta arriving to help Gloria and Hop to stop Eternatus

3,000 years ago, when Eternatus attempted to stay alive by absorbing Galar's energy, it caused a red light to appear. This resulted in the Darkest Day. This phenomenon, in the form of a black storm, caused Pokémon to Dynamax and Gigantamax. However, they went berserk in the process, almost destroying the region. The event ended when Eternatus was defeated by Zacian, Zamazenta, and the two Ancient Galarian kings.

In the present day, Rose aims to use Eternatus to bring about a second Darkest Day above Hammerlocke Stadium to avert the Dynamax energy shortage predicted to happen after a thousand years. Sonia has also conducted research into the Darkest Day. She learns that the event was connected to one Pokémon and that the two heroes of Galar were not humans, but rather Pokémon.

Rose awakens Eternatus during the time the player and Leon are about to have their Championship Match. However, he could not control it, so Eternatus caused the Darkest Day to happen again, affecting all the Power Spots in the region. When the player defeats Eternatus for the first time, it absorbs all of the energy in Galar to achieve its Eternamax state, further speeding up the Darkest Day. The player and Hop then bring out the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield with the hopes of stopping Eternatus. This results in Zacian and Zamazenta awakening and coming to their aid. The four work together to defeat Eternatus in a Max Raid Battle before the player catches it, thus putting an end to the second Darkest Day.

Hammerlocke vault tapestries

The Hammerlocke vault contains a series of tapestries describing the Darkest Day, which are shown from the perspective of the two heroes who stopped it.

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  The first tapestry depicting a Wishing Star falling out of the sky

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  The second tapestry depicting a disaster amid a black storm

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  The third tapestry depicting the two heroes using the sword and shield

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  The fourth tapestry depicting the two heroes being crowned as kings

Circhester tapestry

The Bob's Your Uncle restaurant in Circhester contains a ripped part of tapestry, presenting the two heroes standing before two tombstones with sword and shield symbols on an altar similiar to the one in the Slumbering Weald.

In the anime

Main series

The Darkest Day in the anime

In Toughing It Out!, Sonia told Ash and Goh the story of the Darkest Day.

In Sword and Shield: "From Here to Eternatus!", the Darkest Day began again after Eternatus emerged from the Energy Plant core. Rose also revealed that "Darkest Day" was what people used to call Eternatus, before he gave it its current name.

In Sword and Shield... The Legends Awaken!, Leon battled Eternatus but failed to catch it. As it assumed its Eternamax form, Ash and Goh started battling it, but they were outmatched as well. However, using the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield that Goh had found in the Slumbering Weald, they were able to summon Zacian and Zamazenta to their aid and defeat Eternatus. Goh then caught Eternatus, ending the Darkest Day. Eternatus's Poké Ball was subsequently sealed away by Professor Magnolia to prevent the disaster from occurring again.

Pokémon Evolutions

The Darkest Day in Pokémon Evolutions

The Darkest Day was featured in a series of flashbacks in The Champion. Leon recalled how he had been unable to stop Eternatus, but Victor and Hop, with the help of Zacian and Zamazenta, had succeeded in it, with Victor ending the event by catching Eternatus.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

The Darkest Day in Pokémon Adventures

Sword & Shield arc

The Darkest Day was first mentioned in Watch Out!! Strong Rivals, where Sonia told Henry and Casey about it.

In Glittering!! The Tapestry in the Vault, Sonia and Henry examined the tapestries in the Hammerlocke vault, depicting the events of the Darkest Day.

In Unbelievable!! The Shocking Truth, Sonia told Leon how she had found out that Chairman Rose had teamed up with Sordward and Shielbert, their intention being to start a new Darkest Day.

In Rumble!! The Horrific Darkest Day, once Leon had relayed Sonia's discoveries to the Galar Gym Leaders, they, along with Henry, Casey, Hop, Marnie, and Bede, decided to confront Chairman Rose at Rose Tower regarding this information. However, Rose wasn't at the tower, instead contacting the Gym Challengers through a giant screen from the Hammerlocke Stadium Energy Plant. He had originally intended to wait for the Champion Cup to begin before starting the Darkest Day, so that he'd have all of Galar's attention, but due to the circumstances having unexpectedly changed, he chose to start the cataclysm immediately. As such, Power Spots around the region started to react, and multiple Pokémon around Galar began to Dynamax uncontrollably. Soon afterwards, Eternatus was sighted in Hammerlocke, as it perched itself atop the Hammerlocke Stadium's tallest tower. Meanwhile, Macro Cosmos employees stationed around Galar started fighting against the rampaging Dynamax Pokémon to keep them in check.

In Shock!! Chairman Rose's Plan, Sordward and Shielbert confronted Eternatus atop Hammerlocke Stadium, but their Pokémon failed to defeat it, and the Rusted Sword and Shield they had stolen from Slumbering Weald a year earlier didn't do anything, forcing Rose to battle Eternatus himself, only to be defeated as well. In Splash!! The Return of the Two Pokémon, the Gym Leaders who had come to Hammerlocke started fighting Eternatus. Meanwhile, the Rusted Sword and Shield were retrieved by Casey's Falinks and Stunfisk and given to Henry to be repaired. While the Gym Leaders seemed to be able to defeat Eternatus, the pressure it exuded didn't lessen, and moments later, it transformed into its more powerful Eternamax form. At the same time, Henry realized, to his horror, that he was unable to repair the artifacts.

Eternamax Eternatus proceeded to defeat the Gym Leaders, but the tide of the battle changed when Zacian and Zamazenta appeared, having woken up in Slumbering Weald in response of the start of the Darkest Day. His mind warped by Eternatus's poison, Henry refused to give the artifacts to the legendary heroes, even as they started to be pulled towards Eternatus. In PASS30, Zacian and Zamazenta attacked Eternatus with Giga Impact, resulting in a bright burst of light. When it faded, the Legendary Pokémon, the artifacts, and Henry had all disappeared. Following this, Rose turned himself in and resigned as the Chairman of the Galar League.

In PASS39, while on Route 6, Marnie spotted the sky darkening again, indicating that Eternatus had reappeared and the Darkest Day had restarted. This time, however, the cataclysm was more widespread than before, causing Dynamax Pokémon to also appear on the Isle of Armor and at the Crown Tundra. At the Crown Shrine, the appearance of a Gigantamax Butterfree and a Gigantamax Corviknight temporarily interrupted Calyrex's reunion with its steed, Spectrier, but both of them were eventually defeated by Peony, while Shadow Rider Calyrex defeated a group of Dynamax Pokémon at Freezington. Elsewhere in Galar, Leon and the Galar Gym Leaders set out to protect the people of Galar from the cataclysm once more.

Trivia

• Any Dusk Ball used during the Darkest Day always has a 3× catch modifier.
• After the Darkest Day starts, the minimum level for all wild Pokémon in the Wild Area and the Isle of Armor becomes 60. It stays this way for the rest of the game.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 闇夜 Amyeh Mandarin 闇夜 Ānyè Czech Nejtemnější den Finnish Pimein päivä French Nuit Noire German Finstre Nacht Italian Notte Oscura Korean 블랙 나이트 Black Night Polish Najmroczniejszy Dzień Portuguese Dia Mais Sombrio Spanish Negra Noche

See also

• Zacian
• Zamazenta
• Eternatus
• Dynamax
• Gigantamax
• Myths and legends involving Legendary and Mythical Pokémon
• Leon's Eternatus
• Legendary heroes
• Ancient Galarian kings

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.