Darkrai Raid Counters Guide

Darkrai is transferable but not tradable. Darkrai is a Dark-type Mythical Pokémon that was introduced in Generation IV, being a counterpart to Cresselia in the Lunar Duo.

Darkrai Raid Counters

A list of best Darkrai counters in Pokemon GO, calculated from simulating hundreds of possible Pokemon and move set combinations.

#	Pokemon	Fast Move	Charge Move	Time to win	Deaths
1.	Pheromosa	Bug Bite Bug	Bug Buzz Bug	562.40s	37.00
2.	Lucario	Counter Fighting	Aura Sphere Fighting	589.19s	33.00
3.	Conkeldurr	Counter Fighting	Dynamic Punch Fighting	628.10s	23.83
4.	Machamp	Counter Fighting	Dynamic Punch Fighting	647.87s	27.83
5.	Terrakion	Smack Down Rock	Sacred Sword Fighting	676.22s	28.67
6.	Hariyama	Counter Fighting	Dynamic Punch Fighting	687.40s	27.17
7.	Buzzwole	Counter Fighting	Superpower Fighting	706.43s	21.83
8.	Breloom	Counter Fighting	Dynamic Punch Fighting	659.96s	36.00
9.	Meloetta (Pirouette)	Low Kick Fighting	Close Combat Fighting	720.58s	21.40
10.	Zacian (Hero)	Quick Attack Normal	Play Rough Fairy	721.60s	21.33
11.	Zacian	Metal Claw Steel	Play Rough Fairy	720.97s	23.33
12.	Xurkitree	Thunder Shock Electric	Dazzling Gleam Fairy	673.22s	39.33
13.	Togekiss	Charm Fairy	Dazzling Gleam Fairy	743.80s	21.00
14.	Blaziken	Counter Fighting	Focus Blast Fighting	707.65s	33.25
15.	Heracross	Counter Fighting	Megahorn Bug	722.07s	27.50
16.	Sirfetch'd	Counter Fighting	Close Combat Fighting	711.24s	34.33
17.	Gardevoir	Charm Fairy	Dazzling Gleam Fairy	710.56s	33.00
18.	Yanmega	Bug Bite Bug	Bug Buzz Bug	736.91s	22.50
19.	Toxicroak	Counter Fighting	Dynamic Punch Fighting	719.31s	32.33
20.	Bewear	Low Kick Fighting	Superpower Fighting	774.12s	20.00
21.	Tapu Bulu	Rock Smash Fighting	Dazzling Gleam Fairy	760.05s	26.17
22.	Emboar	Low Kick Fighting	Focus Blast Fighting	754.56s	29.00
23.	Tapu Koko	Volt Switch Electric	Dazzling Gleam Fairy	769.83s	25.75
24.	Genesect (Normal)	Fury Cutter Bug	X-Scissor Bug	740.09s	35.00
25.	Primarina	Charm Fairy	Moonblast Fairy	777.78s	23.50
26.	Genesect (Douse)	Fury Cutter Bug	X-Scissor Bug	738.59s	35.60
27.	Genesect (Burn)	Fury Cutter Bug	X-Scissor Bug	740.20s	35.25
28.	Sylveon	Charm Fairy	Dazzling Gleam Fairy	800.48s	21.00
29.	Scyther	Fury Cutter Bug	Bug Buzz Bug	763.85s	24.00
30.	Granbull	Charm Fairy	Play Rough Fairy	770.48s	27.67
31.	Ursaring	Counter Fighting	Play Rough Fairy	800.96s	23.50

Our Darkrai counters are solely derived from simulations run on the Go Hub Simulator. Simulations are always run with level 30 Pokémon against a Tier 5 raid boss, averaging all movesets and simulating lag and rejoining.

Results will vary with different movesets (such as Breloom receiving a preference against Dark Pulse move sets, while Hariyama will be better against Focus Blast). Results contain some unreleased Pokémon.

Important note: Prioritize Gardevoir and Togekiss versus Focus Blast. Fairy types take reduced damage from Fighting and they perform better than Machamp and Hariyama.

As we’ll go in-depth in the next section (moves breakdown), 60% of Darkrai’s move pool consists of Dark moves, which means that 60% of time Darkrai deals reduced damage to Fighting and Fairy types.

Taking reduced damage converts into more opportunities to activate charge moves, and in turn, into more damage. Hence why Machamp, Togekiss and Hariyama rule the top 3 spots. Once Conkledurr gets released, it will be an amazing Darkrai counter as well, but for now this is the list.

With Mega Pokémon included

#	Pokemon	Fast Move	Charge Move	Time to win	Deaths
1.	Beedrill (Mega)	Bug Bite Bug	X-Scissor Bug	476.61s	25.67
2.	Lopunny (Mega)	Low Kick Fighting	Focus Blast Fighting	536.26s	21.50
3.	Charizard (Mega Y)	Fire Spin Fire	Blast Burn Fire	588.98s	23.50
4.	Pheromosa	Bug Bite Bug	Bug Buzz Bug	562.40s	37.00
5.	Lucario	Counter Fighting	Aura Sphere Fighting	589.19s	33.00
6.	Conkeldurr	Counter Fighting	Dynamic Punch Fighting	628.10s	23.83
7.	Altaria (Mega)	Dragon Breath Dragon	Dazzling Gleam Fairy	658.39s	21.17
8.	Blastoise (Mega)	Water Gun Water	Hydro Cannon Water	651.08s	25.33
9.	Machamp	Counter Fighting	Dynamic Punch Fighting	647.87s	27.83
10.	Gengar (Mega)	Lick Ghost	Focus Blast Fighting	627.77s	37.83
11.	Latios (Mega)	Dragon Breath Dragon	Dragon Claw Dragon	655.63s	32.50

Moves breakdown

Darkrai’s has access to the following moves:

As most top Darkrai counters resist its Dark type moves (the only ones that benefit from STAB), there are only a handful moves that are considered to be a threat to the top counters. Watch out for Shadow Ball move sets if you are using counters like Gardevoir, as that will destroy her easily. Beyond that, the most difficult charge move to face is Shadow Ball, as it hits like a truck.

Charge moves

Darkrai’s move pool is consistently easy to counter, provided that you have appropriate Pokemon at your disposal:

• If Darkrai has Dark Pulse, you should prioritize Fighting types. They take reduced damage and easily land charge moves regardless of dodging. In order not to waste Revives, be careful with squishy ones like Breloom.
• Versus Focus Blast you should always prioritize Gardevoir and Togekiss. Due to their dual typing, they take 2x reduced damage from Focus Blast. Gardevoir and Togekiss are best counters to Darkrai when it has Focus Blast.
• Treat Shadow Ball in the same way like Dark Pulse and use Fighting types. Do not use Gardevoir as it takes increased damage from Ghost moves and will melt easily.

Feint Attack vs Snarl

There is no real difference between Feint Attack and Snarl in the long run, as they are very similar. Feint Attack has a higher DPS, while Snarl has a higher energy gain. Snarl is overall better, but it will not matter much here.

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