Welcome to Pokemon of the Week! This week we'll be taking a look at one of the most monstrous threats in the entire game. This week, we discuss Darkrai.

Have you ever awoken from a terrible dream in the dead of night with the feeling that something else is looming in your room? A shadow, a figure, something you can't quite make out. You find your eyelids too heavy to do a thorough inspection, and slowly you drift back into your slumber, only to find that the nightmares have completely taken over. He is there. Watching. Motionless. Omnipresent. Your soul is forfeit; you are now his puppet. A lifeless shell of a being that only knows the agony of wishing for death.

I'd say that's a pretty fair overview of our cuddly friend here.

Since the moment Darkrai was introduced, everyone knew he'd be a threat. 80% accurate Sleep move that ensures 12% chip damage from Bad Dreams, and a great offensive typing for the Uber tier meant that Darkrai's malevolent appearance certainly matched his terrifying movepool. But it didn't end there. Platinum saw Darkrai receive Nasty Plot and Trick, two moves that allowed Darkrai to run various sets that make it a frustrating, unpredictable threat. While he's a bit lacking in power and offensive prowess for the Uber tier, Darkrai has no problem fitting on virtually any Uber team with the unique tools it has at it's disposal.

Darkrai@ Leftovers / Life Orb / Focus Sash Bad Dreams Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack) EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Sp. Attack / 4 HP Dark Void Dark Pulse Focus Blast / Nasty Plot Nasty Plot / Substitute

This is the main Darkrai set used, and for good reason. Darkrai is incredible at what it does and it's not hard to see why. Dark Void has an 80% chance of shutting the foe down entirely. Dark Pulse is mandatory STAB and has a nifty Flinch chance that can sometimes come in handy, but don't rely on it. Focus Blast provides excellent coverage for Darkrai, hitting most things in the Uber tier for at least neutral damage alongside Dark Pulse, and gives Darkrai an option to really damage Steel types. Substitute is a great choice for Darkrai, providing him with a buffer for whatever switches in after his Dark Void, and preventing status, as well as allowing you to safely choose which move to use. Finally, Nasty Plot doubles Darkrai's Special Attack, turning it into a capable and terrifying special sweeper. Nasty Plot can be used alongside Focus Blast or Substitute, and both have their merits, but if you choose to use it alongside Substitute, don't attempt to set this up until all the Dark type resists have been cleared out of your opponent's team.

The choice of item is a bit of a tough one. Leftovers provides an extra 6% per turn, and if used with Substitute, Darkrai will appreciate this a lot. Life Orb gives a x1.3 boost to all of your attacks at the cost of 10% health per turn, which is a nice trade-off. It also allows Darkrai to OHKO Mewtwo with Dark Pulse, which is fantastic.

Focus Sash is an option for using Darkrai as a lead: it ensures Darkrai gets a chance to launch his Dark Void, preventing Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion from OHKOing Darkrai immediately (though Darkrai should ideally never stay in against Terrakion unless it's absolutely necessary for you to remove Terrakion from the game to win), as well as nearly ensuring Darkrai gets 3-4 attacks if you outspeed the foe's lead: one to put their lead to Sleep, one to hit their switch-in, and one more as they bring you down to 1 HP. If you outspeed that Pokemon as well, you get a 4th hit, provided they don't have a priority attack. Obviously Focus Sash shouldn't be used alongside Substitute.

Darkrai@ Choice Scarf Bad Dreams Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack) EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Sp. Attack / 4 HP Dark Void Trick Dark Pulse Focus Blast / Nasty Plot

Choice Scarf does many wonderful things for Darkrai, especially in the lead position. First, it gives it the Speed it needs to outspeed Scarf Kyogre and immediately put it to Sleep, effectively shutting it down (watch for odd Scarf Sleep Talk users... I've actually run into this), which removes, in my opinion, the biggest threat in not only Ubers, but the entire game. It also allows you to outpace Deoxys-Speed, so I don't really feel I need to go on from here. Dark Void is used to shut an opposing Pokemon down, but force you out as well, due to being locked into Dark Void and activating Sleep Clause. Trick allows Darkrai to possibly an opposing Pokemon, preferably a defensive one, but be careful of Tricking your Scarf away too early as you could easily be giving it to a Pokemon that wouldn't mind having it. Dark Pulse is obligatory STAB with good coverage. Focus Blast rounds out the coverage, and this Darkrai actually outspeeds Scarf Terrakion, allowing you to deal massive damage to Tyranitar, Terrakion, Dialga and various other Steel types.

Nasty Plot can, however, be used after the Scarf has been Tricked away, turning Darkrai into an offensive threat. Again, this limits Darkrai to one attack and one attacking type, which can easily be resisted, so be careful if you plan to employ this strategy, and carry Pokemon that can remove Darkrai's would-be counters. Fighting types are a great option for this, as they hurt both Dark and Steel types that would stop Darkrai's sweep.

Darkrai@ Focus Sash / Life Orb / Leftovers Bad Dreams Timid nature (+Speed, -Attack) EVs: 252 Speed / 252 Sp. Attack / 4 HP Dark Void Thunder Wave Dark Pulse Focus Blast / Nasty Plot

The idea behind this set is that once an opponent has been put to Sleep, they're immediately forced out, to activate Sleep Clause and stop you from putting anymore Pokemon to Sleep, as well as not giving you time to setup any boosting moves. After hitting the foe with Dark Void, immediately using Thunder Wave as they switch can effectively cripple two Pokemon in two turns, which puts you at a huge advantage over your opponent, so much so that it can be impossible for some Uber teams to come back from such a play (obviously depending on the team, but teams usually don't like two crippled Pokemon). From here, you've got the obvious STAB Dark Pulse, which hits a lot of things neutrally and Super Effectively in the Uber tier. The last slot is once again a toss-up between coverage and more power. Focus Blast hits Steel types and damages ExtremeSpeed Arceus much more than Dark Pulse, as well as hitting any Choice Scarf Terrakion that switch into Thunder Wave, while Nasty Plot allows Darkrai to possibly sweep in a late-game situation where the opposing Pokemon have been weakened, and counters have been removed.

This set is more about team support, and much like any other set, likes entry hazard support, except for Toxic Spikes, which would be detrimental to the success of this set.

Obtaining a Darkrai in-game isn't easy, as they're only given out by official Nintendo events. The last one (at the time of writing this) was May-June in 2012, so you'll have to trade for one. If you ever want to play competitive Ubers and only have one Darkrai, I'd recommend not training it in the way I'm about to describe, but scrolling back up and using one of those methods.

Darkrai Dark Pulse Focus Blast Dark Void Ice Beam / Psychic / Nasty Plot

In-game Darkrai works similarly to competitive, but not entirely. Dark Pulse and Focus Blast still make up the core of the set, providing STAB and coverage, while Dark Void puts the foe to Sleep 80% of the time, and in-game, the opponents don't switch out most of the time, nor is there a Sleep Clause to abide by. Finally, Ice Beam provides coverage against Dragons, effectively OHKOing many of the common Dragon/Flying and Dragon/Ground types that exist, while still damaging other Dragons. Psychic hits Fighting types hard, who you'd otherwise have to hit with a weak, unreliable neutral Focus Blast. Finally, while boosting isn't as useful in-game, Nasty Plot is an option to use after Dark Void to sweep the opposing team in no time.

Darkrai has been my second favorite Pokemon since I first saw it when DP was released in Japan and hackers had leaked the entire Pokedex. I love the way it looks, I love its ability, I love his status as a legendary shadow of evil that lives to torment others, I love everything about him. The anime sort of ruined how he should be taken, for the sake of the kiddies, but make no mistake, the in-game Pokedex from the first games it was in reveal the true Darkrai: "Folklore has it that on moonless nights, this Pokémon will make people see horrific nightmares."

I admit, Tim may be a huge reason why I see Darkrai the way I see it now, but I always thought he should be the one truly evil Pokemon, and no amount of backpedaling or retcons by the Pokemon company will make me see otherwise. Make no mistake, this Pokemon will break the soul of anyone unfortunate enough to go up against it. Meet us in the Uber arena... we'd be happy to break you.

Digg this! | del.icio.us | Reddit | Stumble Upon | Facebook

Tags: None!