Pokemon Go Darkrai Guide: Darkrai Counters, How To Catch Tips, And More

Pokemon Go’s Halloween 2019 event is officially underway, and it’s introduced a new Mythical Pokemon to the game: Darkrai. The nightmare-inducing Dark-type has started to appear in five-star Raid Battles, making this your first chance to catch it in Pokemon Go.

Darkrai will only be available in Raids until November 1, when Pokemon Go’s Halloween event ends, so you’ll want to make the most of this time if you’re hoping to add a few to your collection. To help you out, we’ve rounded up some tips on how to battle and catch Darkrai below.

How To Encounter Darkrai

Like many other Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, Darkrai can be found as a tier-five Raid Boss, so to encounter one in the game, you’ll need to head to a Gym where a Darkrai Raid is taking place. The Mythical Pokemon will periodically appear at Gyms, but your best bet for finding one will be during the Legendary Raid Hour events.

For one hour every Wednesday evening, more five-star Raids featuring Pokemon Go’s current Legendary will take place, effectively guaranteeing you’ll find a Raid. There will be two Darkrai Raid Hours before the Mythical Pokemon slinks back into the shadows. The first takes place on October 23, with the second following on October 30. Both events will run from 6-7 PM local time.

To participate in a Raid Battle, you’ll need to have a Raid Pass. You can either purchase these from Pokemon Go’s in-game store or receive one for free when you spin the Photo Disc at a PokeStop; however, you can only hold one free Raid Pass at a time.

Best Darkrai Counters

Before you can have a chance to catch Darkrai, you’ll first need to defeat it in battle, and it’ll prove to be a tough opponent. Darkrai is a pure Dark-type, which means it is susceptible to Fighting, Bug, and Fairy, so you’ll want to have Pokemon of these types on your team when you challenge it.

For Fighting-types, Machamp will likely be your best bet, particularly if it knows Counter and Dynamic Punch. Heracross and Scizor are both good Bug-types to use, the latter especially if it knows X-Scissor. Fairy-types are harder to find because they’re among the rarest Pokemon in the game, but Gardevoir with Dazzling Gleam is a good choice.

However, two types you’ll want to avoid using are Ghost and Psychic. Darkrai resists both elements, so those monsters won’t fare very well against it. Note that Gardevoir is also part Psychic, but it takes neutral damage from Darkrai thanks to the fact it is also part Fairy, and if it knows the aforementioned Dazzling Gleam, it can hit the Mythical Pokemon super-effectively. Follow these tips and you should have no problem taking Darkrai down.