Darkrai… Dark Kurai (Japanese for ‘dark’) is among the most iconic Pokémon in the franchise, one of the Mythicals that can be captured from 5-Star Raids in Pokémon GO.
But Darkrai is also a veerrryyyy creepy thing. That thing just exudes nightmares to anyone who falls asleep in its vicinity. And, the person in question is tormented by horrible nightmares.
So, what are the origins behind the design and creation of Darkrai? We’ll find out as you read along, and you bet the lore is deep and dark!
Darkrai is categorized as the Pitch-Black Pokémon and is most active on the night of the new moon, the phase of the moon where you can’t see its lit side at all.
The term ‘pitch black’ is incredibly fitting as it’s been used since the days of old English. Pitch is an extremely dark wood tar used for waterproofing the seams of ships.
Now, moving on to Darkrai’s Pokedéx entries, a couple of them go:
“Folklore has it that on moonless nights, this Pokémon will make people see horrific nightmares”
“It chases people and Pokémon from its territory by causing them to experience deep, nightmarish slumbers”
In the mainline games, there’s a sailor you meet whose son is plagued by nightmares. This sailor’s name is Eldritch. Wow, this name is so justified!
The name ‘eldritch’ is defined as weird, sinister, or ghostly. Does this name ring a bell, by the way?
It’s most well-known for its use in the horror genre, primarily the Eldritch Horror board game (aka Lovecraftian or Cosmic Horror). This emphasizes the horror of the unknown and forbidden knowledge in general.
Many beasts from this genre are amorphous and shapeless, breaking the confines of physics… like ghosts… like Darkrai.
Its cloudy, wispy appearance is very intentional. A typical new moon night is full of clouds in the sky.
Even if the moon is visible to some extent, small clouds passing in front of it make the shadows around you undulate… smoothly transitioning up and down in a wave-like motion… like Darkrai’s shoulders!
This all adds up to the fear of the dark and after all, what is fear of the dark if not fear of the unknown!
Moving on, Darkrai has numerous Greek and Roman mythological inspirations.
For starters, if you look at the Greco-Roman God of Dreams, Morpheus, you’ll see plenty of interesting connections.
Morpheus is close to his brother Phobetor, who is known as the frightener. This is due to the fact that he appears in people’s dreams as a shadow-like humanoid. These two brothers are sons of Somnus, the Roman personification of sleep and the equivalent of the Greek Hypnos.
Hypnos then is the twin brother of Thanatos, the god of death, both of whom live in the underworld. This is the reason many thought that death is the final sleep. People also believed that when you sleep, a part of you dies and needs to find its way back. And, if it has a hard time doing that, nightmares happen.
The parents of Hypnos and Thanatos were Nyx, the goddess of the night, and Erebus, a primordial personification of darkness and shadow.
Erebus was one of the first five beings in existence and the name ‘Erebus’ would soon go on to represent darkness itself. He was also described as the darkness between the Earth and Hades (the underworld), a place you would go when you sleep… like a soft death.
All these elements are neatly wrapped to give you Darkrai. But is that it? A personification of darkness, sleep, and nightmares, and nothing more?
If you think that, you’re gravely mistaken as there’s more to Darkrai.
Just think about the origins of the word ‘nightmare’.
This comes from old English and it refers to a visit in the night with a mare, a mythological demon or goblin who torments people with sleep paralysis and frightening dreams.
Mare was also used for Incubus, a demon of sorts that lies upon and suffocates sleepers. All these tales and myths would soon evolve into the Boogeyman, ghosts, and monsters in today’s time. A common ground is these entities tormenting people in their sleep.
But, there’s a reason behind these shenanigans as the sleep-tormenting entities took the blame for a rather interesting outbreak of a disease starting in the Middle Ages… Polish Plait, a rare hair disease where the hair becomes entangled irreversibly, forming a matted blob that’s sticky and moist.
This disease was caused due to a complete absence of hair grooming while working dirty jobs. So, it was common among peasantry who attended to farmlands and livestock, leaving them susceptible to lice.
Of course, they didn’t know the cause and they blamed it on… you guessed it… visits from mares in the night. But, the cherry on the cake is… Darkrai’s hairstyle. It’s literally like a Polish Plait!
Another name for this hairdo was Wichtelzopf, meaning plait of wight as it was believed to be caused by a visiting wight, a ghoulish undead being. This was an inspiration for the boogeyman. These creep in the night, like Darkrai!
Also, all these tales are known courtesy (in part) to the research done by the Brothers Grimm, the authors responsible for the dark and creepy slice at certain fairy tales.
These were the original tales that Disney took and made less dark. Furthermore, the Grimm Brothers were doing their thing back when the Polish Plait was at its peak!
Darkrai just screams a fairy tale monster or ghost, eh! Think Bloodborne!
Looks familiar? Yes, indeed:
In fact, Darkrai looks kinda like a vampire hunter or witch hunter. No wonder it’s super-effective against Ghost and Psychic 😉
If you’re interested in reading lore, design, and science articles for some more popular Pokémon, then check these out:
Dragapult | Morpeko | Cresselia | Mega Salamence | Dialga & Palkia Origin | Garchomp | Baxcalibur | Hydreigon | Zygarde| Druddigon | Naganadel | Gardevoir | Drampa | Enamorus | Wooloo & Dubwool | Houndoom | Hatterene | Gardevoir
Have fun, trainers!
