Darkrai (Pokémon): Difference between revisions

For Pokémon GO information on this species, see the game's section.
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This article is about the species. For a specific instance of this species, see Darkrai (disambiguation).

Darkrai Pitch-Black Pokémon ダークライ Darkrai #491 Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Type Dark Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown
Abilities Bad Dreams Cacophony Cacophony Cacophony Hidden Ability Cacophony Hidden Ability Cacophony Cacophony
Gender ratio Gender unknown	Catch rate 3 (1.6%)
Breeding Egg Group Undiscovered Hatch time 120 cycles Egg not obtainable
Height 4'11" 1.5 m Darkrai 0'0" 0 m {{{form2}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form3}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form4}}}	Weight 111.3 lbs. 50.5 kg Darkrai 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form2}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form3}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form4}}}
Mega Stone [[|]] [[|]]
Base experience yield 210 Gen. IV Unknown IV 270 V+	Leveling rate Slow
EV yield Total: 3 Darkrai 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 2 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 1 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed
Shape	Footprint {{{form2}}}
Pokédex color   Black	Base friendship 0
External Links On Smogon Pokédex: Generation IV Generation V Generation VI Generation VII Generation VIII Generation IX Artwork on Bulbagarden Archives

Darkrai (Japanese: ダークライ Darkrai) is a Dark-type Mythical Pokémon introduced in Generation IV.

It is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon.

It was officially revealed in February 2007.

It is a member of the Lunar duo with Cresselia.

Biology

Darkrai's extendable stilt-like appendages.

Darkrai is a black, shadow-like Pokémon. It has a small head with a white fog-like ghostly plume billowing from its head covering one of its bright blue eyes, with the portion on its face resembling hair. It also has a red spiky growth around its neck. It has skinny arms and long black tatters hanging from its shoulders. It also has black, claw-like hands. It has the slight appearance of an hourglass figure and appears to be wearing an old, ripped cloak. It normally does not have any sort of legs, but it is able to extend stilt-like appendages in their place. In self-defense, Darkrai can retract its head and white "plume" into the pit atop its torso fringed by the aforementioned red growth.

Darkrai is known to "inhabit" dreams and causes the target to have unending nightmares, which can be stopped if exposed to a Lunar Wing from Cresselia. However, the "unleashing of nightmares" is actually a defense mechanism, instead of an intentionally malicious act. It can become a shadow and escape danger or contact with humans. It is also capable of some human speech. In The Rise of Darkrai, it was shown its power was weaker than that of Dialga and Palkia. As seen in an anime episode, Darkrai does not only cause nightmares; it is also attracted to them. It can also go around objects it is attracted to several times, as seen in the mentioned episode and Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. Darkrai possibly feeds off dreams, characterized by its association with never-ending nightmares. Darkrai is the only known Pokémon that learns Dark Void.

In the anime

Darkrai in the anime

Major appearances

Darkrai (M10)

Darkrai debuted in The Rise of Darkrai as a protagonist. It took the task of holding off the fighting between Dialga and Palkia until Ash and Dawn could put the Oración disk in the Space-Time Towers music player to calm the two Legendary Pokémon down. It reappeared in a cameo in the ending credits of Arceus and the Jewel of Life.

Other

Darkrai made its main series debut in Sleepless In Pre-Battle!. Unlike the Darkrai in The Rise of Darkrai, this Darkrai was maliciously causing nightmares, much like the one in the games. According to Officer Jenny, it comes at a certain time every year. In the episode, however, it came earlier due to it being lured out by Team Rocket's machine, which was also causing nightmares. Cresselia is normally in the same place as Darkrai to stop it from giving nightmares, but due to Darkrai's early arrival, the people in Canalave City had nightmares for several days. One night, it was concealing itself when Cresselia used its abilities to reveal it from the darkness. The two then battled and Darkrai hid itself once more in the shadows.

In League Unleashed!, a mysterious Trainer competed in the Lily of the Valley Conference with a Darkrai. In the following episode, Conway revealed that the Trainer, Tobias, had easily defeated eight Gym Leaders of the Sinnoh region using only Darkrai. In the Sinnoh League semifinals, this Darkrai was used against Ash, where it easily defeated Heracross, Torkoal, and Gible. However, it was defeated by Ash's Sceptile in The Semi-Final Frontier!.

In Pikachu, What's This Key?, Meowth, Wobbuffet, and Inkay visited a Darkrai courtesy of Klefki's keys. Darkrai scared them out of a dark world in which it resided.

In Dream a Little Dream from Me!, a Darkrai was the source of Pikachu, Meowth, and Squishy's nightmare. Darkrai eventually left as soon as it was spotted by Ash and his friends.

Minor appearances

A Darkrai appeared in the opening sequence of Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel.

Pokédex entries

In the manga

Darkrai in Pokémon Adventures

In the Darkrai Mission Story: Pokémon Ranger Vatonage - the Comic manga

Darkrai plays in a major role in Darkrai Mission Story: Pokémon Ranger Vatonage - the Comic.

In the movie adaptations

Main article: Darkrai (M10)

Darkrai plays a major role in the manga adaptation of The Rise of Darkrai.

In the Phantom Thief Pokémon 7 manga

A Darkrai has a recurring role in Phantom Thief Pokémon 7.

In the Pocket Monsters DP manga

A Darkrai appeared in PMDP19.

A Darkrai appeared in PMDP29.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

In Phew for Mew, Sird let out a beam of light from a Poké Ball upon seeing Deoxys leaving for space. Thinking that Sird was trying to retrieve Deoxys, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Silver tried to stop her, and Mewtwo charged into the light of the Poké Ball. Within moments, the five Pokédex holders were turned into stone, and a black shadow appeared in front of Sird. When Sird reappeared in front of her Team Galactic colleagues in Double Trouble with Dialga and Palkia IV and explained what happened, the black shadow was revealed to be Darkrai, though Sird still did not reveal its name. Darkrai later reappeared in The Final Dimensional Duel VIII, where it was revealed that Sird had released it into the Distortion World. It first faced its arch-rival Cresselia. Charon later took control of the Pokémon, and, along with Giratina and Heatran, used it in a battle against the Sinnoh Legendary Pokémon in the climax of the chapter. Darkrai was later freed from the control of Charon, and departed to parts unknown.

A Darkrai appeared as a silhouette in a fantasy in Unplugging Rotom (Heat, Wash, Mow, Fan, Frost).

In the TCG

Main article: Darkrai (TCG)

Other appearances

Darkrai in Pokkén Tournament

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Darkrai appears as a trophy.

Trophy information

A Pitch-Black Pokémon. It becomes active on nights of the new moon. This legendary Pokémon has the power to lull people to sleep and fill their heads with dreams. Proverbs say that Darkrai will make people have terrifying dreams on moonless nights. A Dark-type Pokémon, Darkrai uses the Dark Void move, along with Embargo, which stops foes from using held items.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U

Darkrai appears as a Poké Ball Pokémon. It puts fighters to sleep and damages them by using Dark Void.

Trophy information

NA: This Dark-type Pokémon can cause people and other Pokémon to experience nightmares. While it is floating in the air, it tucks its legs in so far, it looks like they vanish! In battle it will use a move called Dark Void, which sucks in surrounding opponents and puts them into a deep sleep.

PAl: A Pokémon shrouded in mystery, Darkrai has the ability to implant nightmares into the minds of both humans and Pokémon. It has legs, but seems to prefer to float in the air. Its favourite move in this game is Dark Void. When this attack hits something, it creates a vortex that sucks in fighters and puts them to sleep.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Darkrai returns as a Poké Ball summon. As before, it uses Dark Void, which puts foes to sleep and damages them. Darkrai also appears as a Spirit.

Pokkén Tournament DX

Main article: Darkrai (Pokkén Tournament)

Darkrai is a playable character in the arcade and Nintendo Switch versions of Pokkén Tournament.

Game data

NPC appearances

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness: Darkrai is revealed to be the main antagonist of the game in the post-game story. He wants to cover the world in darkness, and was behind the collapse of the Temporal Tower in the main storyline of the game. His interference is also the reason the player was separated from Grovyle and turned into a Pokémon. In the post-game story, he turns his attention to distorting the fabric of space to cover the world in darkness.
• PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond: Darkrai is the main antagonist in the game. He resided in Wish Park and wants to merge the Wish Park with PokéPark.
• Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia: Darkrai is the final boss, summoned by Blake Hall.

	Spoilers end here.

Pokédex entries

Game locations

In side games

In events

In-game events

Held items

Game		Held Item(s)
Events*		Enigma Berry (100%)

Stats

Base stats

Pokéathlon stats

Type effectiveness

Learnset

Side game data

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky Body size: 1 Recruit rate: -22% IQ group: I
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia Group: Dark Poké Assist: Dark Field move: (Dark Power ×-) Browser entry R-257 It sends gusts of dark wind and lets loose dark pulses to attack.
Pokémon Rumble Attack ●●●●● Defense ●●●● Speed ●●●●●			Pokémon Rumble Blast Attack ●●●●● Defense ●●●● Speed ●●●●●
PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure PokéPark Pad entry: Darkrai came to the PokéPark in search of a comfortable place to stay. He's second to none when playing Dusknoir's Speed Slam.
PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond PokéPark Pad entry: He tried to ease his loneliness by inviting everyone to one world, but the incident with the Dark Vortex made him realize that he was not alone.
Pokémon Battle Trozei Dark Attack Power: ★★★★★ Power of Five Increases the damage dealt by matching five Pokémon.			Pokémon Shuffle Dark Attack Power: 80 - 145 20 #303 Sleep Charm Leaves the foe asleep. Swappable Skill(s): Spookify+
Pokémon GO Base HP: 172 Base Attack: 285 Base Defense: 198 Egg Distance: N/A Buddy Distance: 20 km Evolution Requirement: N/A Fast Attacks: Snarl, Feint Attack Charged Attacks: Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse

Evolution

Unevolved Darkrai  Dark

Sprites

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
Generation IV Diamond Pearl Platinum HeartGold SoulSilver Front Back Front Back Front Back
Generation V Black White Black 2 White 2 Front Back Front Back
Generation VI X Y Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire Front Back Front Back
Generation VII Sun Moon Ultra Sun Ultra Moon Front Back Front Back

For other sprites and images, please see Darkrai images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

Trivia

• Darkrai's effort value yield of 2 Special Attack and 1 Speed is unique.
• Darkrai has two different portrait pictures in both Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.
• Sailor Eldritch's son says "Dar... Dark... Is watching me..." in his sleep before the player cures his nightmare. It is assumed that he is talking about Darkrai, as it is known to give its victims horrific nightmares.
• In the early Japanese versions of Diamond and Pearl, Darkrai can be caught with the Surf glitch. However, this glitch was fixed in other language versions. Another glitch has been discovered that allows players of other language releases to reach Darkrai without the Member Card.
  • This has been remedied in Pokémon Platinum, however, as Darkrai itself will not appear on the island without the event ticket.
• Darkrai was designed by Hironobu Yoshida.^[1]
• In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, Darkrai is the only non-Ghost type Pokémon capable of traveling through walls and all terrain types without the All-Terrain Hiker IQ skill.

Origin

Darkrai's appearance and abilities suggest it is based on the concept of nightmares. Resembling a shadow, it may also have been inspired by the bogeyman, the Greek god Morpheus, genies (or jinn), or the Oneiroi, namely Phobetor.

Name origin

Darkrai is a combination of dark, and 暗い kurai (dark).

In other languages

Language Title Meaning Japanese ダークライ Darkrai From dark and 暗い kurai (dark) French Darkrai Same as Japanese name Spanish Darkrai Same as Japanese name German Darkrai Same as Japanese name Italian Darkrai Same as Japanese name Korean 다크라이 Darkrai Transliteration of Japanese name Mandarin Chinese 達克萊伊 Dá Kè Lái Yī Transliteration of Japanese name Cantonese Chinese 達克萊伊 Daat Haak Loi Yi Transliteration of Japanese name

More languages Russian Даркрай Darkray Transcription of English name Thai ดาร์กไร Darkrai Transcription of trademarked Japanese name

Related articles

• Lunar duo
• Darkrai (M10)
• Darkrai (Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky)
• Darkrai (Pokkén Tournament)
• Mythical Pokémon

Notes

External links

• Darkrai on Pokemon.com

Mythical Pokémon

Generation I

Generation II

Generation III

Generation IV

Generation V

Generation VI

Generation VII

Generation VIII

Generation IX

See also: Legendary Pokémon

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Pokémon

#492: Shaymin →

This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon as a species.