Darkrai is a black, ghostly creature. It has a small black head with a white substance erupting from its head covering one of its bright blue eyes, and also has a red growth around its neck. It has skinny arms and long black tatters hang from its shoulders. It has an hourglass figure and appears to be wearing an old, ripped cloak. It normally doesn't have any sort of legs, but it is able to extend stilt-like appendages in their place.
Darkrai can trap people in nightmares. It can become a shadow to move quickly, but it is still susceptible to damage in this state. It is also capable of human speech.
This Pokémon "inhabits" people's dreams and causes them to have unending nightmares. However, in the 10th movie, Darkrai sacrificed itself to save the city, meaning that perhaps Darkrai has some good in it after all.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2, however, portrays a Darkrai with a much more evil character, who wants a world enshrouded in darkness, going to the edge of almost destroying time and space to accomplish that. However, after it is recruited, it shows surprising loyalty, even going as far as to say that he will never leave the player, no matter the danger.
Habitat
Whilst Darkrai isn't nesting in the dreams of humans, it lingers around a lost island called Newmoon Island.
Possibly dreams, characterized by its association with never-ending nightmares and the ability to learn the move Dream Eater.
In the anime
Darkrai co-starred in The Rise of Darkrai as one of the protagonists, taking the task of ceasing the fighting between Dialga and Palkia upon itself. In the movie, Darkrai feels that Alice is trustworthy, whose grandmother Alicia assisted Darkrai when it was injured. Darkrai even went so far as to save Alice after she fell off a crumbling cliff.
In the manga
Darkrai likewise appeared in the manga adaptation of The Rise of Darkrai.
Darkrai was rumored to be featured as one of the Poké Ball Pokémon in the Super Smash Bros. Brawl demo at Whobby 2008. However, it was later confirmed to not be in the final version, appearing as a trophy instead.
Game data
NPC appearances
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2: 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.
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
Darkrai was officially revealed to Japan in the March 2007 edition of Coro Coro and to America on January 25th 2008, on Pokémon.com.
Darkrai is the first Dark-type legendary Pokémon. This is also the first event legendary Pokémon of Generation IV, which can only be received during a Pokémon event or a Nintendo event. However in the Japanese version of Diamond and Pearl, it can be caught through the Surf glitch.
Despite being classified as a pure Dark-type, Darkrai displays a lot of Ghost-like traits.
While in the tenth movie and Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia Darkrai is portrayed as a hero, in the games it's the only Pokémon truly portrayed as evil, in a sense (though the nightmare inducing effects could have just as easily been a self-defense mechanism, like how the Nightmares induced by Darkrai in the 10th movie was actually a self-defense mechanism.).
Cheaters can reach Darkrai by using the infamous walk anywhere cheat. If they start at Fullmoon Island and walk across the water to the right, they will reach Newmoon Island. Between these islands is the Mystery Zone. From the island, they can simply take a boat back to Canalave City.
The boy of the sailor who owns the boat that normally goes to Iron Island says "Dar... Dark... Is watching me..." He probably means Darkrai, as it is known to give its victims horrific nightmares.
If Darkrai was the cause of the sailor's son's nightmares, it can be assumed Darkrai is aware that the player cured the boy using Cresselia's Lunar Wing: When the player takes the Member's Card to the Canalave Inn, the innkeeper (presumably a shade of Darkrai) states that he has been waiting for the player's arrival. The player then falls asleep at the inn, only to 'awaken' at an abandoned Newmoon Island, where Darkrai must be caught or defeated in order for the player to awaken from their nightmare and 'return' to the inn.
There were events giving away Darkrai through Mystery Gift that were held at participating theaters in Japan when Movie 10 was first released and also in some Toys "R" Us Stores in the United States from May 31 to June 1, 2008. These special edition Darkrai were contained in a Cherish Ball, with the OT of えいがかんMovie Theatre and an ID No. of 07147 for the Japanese version and with the OT of ALAMOS and an ID No. of 05318 for the American version. They were also holding an Enigma and had the normally unobtainable moves, Roar of Time and Spacial Rend.
Late 2008 in the UK, a Rise of Darkrai Event was held at participating Woolworths stores to promote the movie. The movie was played on the screens, and a Darkrai was given out. The original trainer is ALAMOS, it is level 50, and holds an Enigma Berry and is stored in a Cherish Ball. The moves are Roar of Time, Spacial Rend, Nightmare and Hypnosis.
As of yet, Darkrai is one of five Pokémon who were available on video games before having a set location, the others being Mew, Farfetch'd, Latias and Latios.
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2, it is rumored that Darkrai lost all of its memory when Palkia used a "Spatial Hyper Beam" in Dark Crater, thus turning it into a better Pokémon and is referred to as being male, despite not actually having a gender in the games.
Darkrai bears a resemblance to the monster that Celebi created from leaves and twigs in Pokémon 4Ever.
On, www.pokemon.com/drkgift typing "orasion" into the text box provided, a The Rise of Darkrai wallpaper is obtainable.
When Darkrai is captured in Pokémon Platinum, a voce will come up saying a reason that Darkrai causes nightmares to everyone and why it was put on New Moon Island with Cresselia close-by. A speculation (started by Serebii) says it could be the voice of Arceus.
Origin
Darkrai's appearance suggests it is based on the concept of nightmares. It also resembles a shadow. It may possibly be based on the Boogie Man.
Name origin
Darkrai's name is a combination of the word dark and the Japanese word for "dark" (暗いkurai).
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
For other sprites and images, please see Darkrai images on Bulbagarden Archives.
