Why you should be excited for Darkrai’s return to Pokemon Go

Darkrai is once again returning to Pokemon Go for a special raid week, and its shiny form is once again available.

The Pitch-Black Pokemon will be available for the third time from Tuesday April 28, 1pm PDT to Tuesday May 5, 1pm PDT. Its return coincides with the Remote Raid Pass celebration event where other legends also return to five-star Raid Battles.

Why you should get Darkrai

Mythical Pokemon are obviously going to be strong but when you add that it’s a dark-type, it becomes even more appealing. It’s base attack stats are among the best in Pokemon Go, making it an excellent raid battle option.

While Tyranitar, another dark-type, is a more rounded Pokemon (it has better defense and stamina stats), its damage per second is far inferior to Darkrai. This is why it’s the best dark-type option for taking down raids.

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Its typing also makes it an extremely effective option against psychic-types. It is also effective against ghost and fellow dark-types — although the latter is kind of cancelled out. Its stats are as follows:

• Attack 285 – 12 of 688
• Defence 198 – 82 of 688
• Stamina 172 – 268 of 688

Darkrai counters and weakness

In terms of capturing Darkrai you’ll need strong fighting and fairy-types at your disposal. Bug-types are an alternative option, but viable species are few and far between.

At the top of the list is Machamp and Breloom, although the latter is lacking in stamina. Togekiss and Gardevoir are other options but don’t expect them to last long with the dark half of the Lunar Duo.

Ideally you’ll tackle Darkrai in cloudy conditions which boosts fighting-types. However, there is more to defeating Darkrai than just relying on a particular type.

Focus on the moves

Darkrai has three Charge Moves — Dark Pulse, Focus Blast and Shadow Ball — and which of these it has determines the type of Pokemon you should use. As Dark Pulse is a dark-type move you should prioritize fighting-types.

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Elsewhere, two of the aforementioned counters — Gardevoir and Togekiss — have resistance to Focus Blast, so you should use these in this scenario. We all know Shadow Ball hits like a truck and will quickly obliterate the fairy-types.

This is the hardest move to compete against but fighting-types are the best option here. Battle it in foggy conditions if at all possible as this will weather boost it to between 2560 and 2671 CP.

GO Battle League

Darkrai could be the difference in the Master League section of GO Battle League, so its well worth grabbing one if you can! Its high CP and ultra high attacking stats means it’s far less effective in Ultra League, however.

Any of the aforementioned Charge Moves are fine options but Dark Pulse does benefit from STAB. Elsewhere, Darkrai has two Fast Moves – Feint Attack and Snarl. The former hits harder but does generate less energy. Snarl is a weak move in terms of damage but does do a massive 4.33 EPT which will allow you to utilize Charge Moves more often.

Darkrai is a Pokemon that really does need investment though, as its benefit comes from its high CP limit.