Darkrai
Best Darkrai counters are strong Fighting and Fairy types. Darkrai is weak to Fighting, Fairy, and Bug type moves. Darkrai is boosted by Fog weather. Darkrai perfect CPs from raids are:
- 2048 – 2136 CP for a regular encounter (Level 20)
- 2560 – 2671 CP for a weather boosted encounter (Level 25, Fog )
Due to relatively high defense, a high Attack stat and 22500 HP in raids, Darkrai is difficult to take down in smaller groups. A best case scenario is a super difficult trio under Cloudy weather that boosts strong Fighting types, but a duo is not possible.
That being said, our recommendation is that you have 2 – 6 high level trainers for Darkrai raids. For groups larger than 6, consider splitting into smaller groups for better raid rewards.
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.
| # | Attacker | Fast Move | Charge Move | Faints | TTW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Terrakion
|
Double Kick Fighting | Sacred Sword Fighting | 5 | 128.2s |
| 2. |
Blaziken (Mega)
|
Counter Fighting | Focus Blast Fighting | 5 | 128.6s |
| 3. |
Rayquaza (Mega)
|
Dragon Tail Dragon | Dragon Ascent | 4 | 130.5s |
| 4. |
Gardevoir (Mega)
|
Charm Fairy | Dazzling Gleam Fairy | 6 | 130.7s |
| 5. |
Keldeo (Ordinary)
|
Low Kick Fighting | Sacred Sword Fighting | 5 | 134.7s |
| 6. |
Machamp (Shadow)
|
Counter Fighting | Dynamic Punch Fighting | 6 | 134.5s |
| 7. |
Hariyama (Shadow)
|
Counter Fighting | Dynamic Punch Fighting | 6 | 138.8s |
| 8. |
Pheromosa
|
Bug Bite Bug | Bug Buzz Bug | 10 | 143.9s |
| 9. |
Alakazam (Mega)
|
Counter Fighting | Dazzling Gleam Fairy | 9 | 144.7s |
| 10. |
Lucario
|
Counter Fighting | Aura Sphere Fighting | 7 | 144.2s |
| 11. |
Pinsir (Mega)
|
Bug Bite Bug | X-Scissor Bug | 5 | 145.9s |
| 12. |
Conkeldurr
|
Counter Fighting | Dynamic Punch Fighting | 6 | 149.5s |
| 13. |
Beedrill (Mega)
|
Bug Bite Bug | X-Scissor Bug | 7 | 151.6s |
| 14. |
Gardevoir (Shadow)
|
Charm Fairy | Dazzling Gleam Fairy | 9 | 153.0s |
| 15. |
Blaziken (Shadow)
|
Counter Fighting | Focus Blast Fighting | 8 | 153.3s |
| 16. |
Lopunny (Mega)
|
Double Kick Fighting | Focus Blast Fighting | 6 | 154.5s |
| 17. |
Volcarona
|
Bug Bite Bug | Bug Buzz Bug | 6 | 154.6s |
| 18. |
Scizor (Mega)
|
Fury Cutter Bug | X-Scissor Bug | 5 | 158.2s |
| 19. |
Sirfetch'd (Shadow)
|
Counter Fighting | Close Combat Fighting | 9 | 157.5s |
| 20. |
Machamp
|
Counter Fighting | Dynamic Punch Fighting | 6 | 158.4s |
| 21. |
Xurkitree
|
Thunder Shock Electric | Dazzling Gleam Fairy | 8 | 159.7s |
| 22. |
Granbull (Shadow)
|
Charm Fairy | Play Rough Fairy | 9 | 160.5s |
| 23. |
Pinsir (Shadow)
|
Bug Bite Bug | X-Scissor Bug | 9 | 161.1s |
| 24. |
Scizor (Shadow)
|
Fury Cutter Bug | X-Scissor Bug | 8 | 161.6s |
| 25. |
Zapdos (Galarian)
|
Counter Fighting | Close Combat Fighting | 5 | 164.4s |
| 26. |
Buzzwole
|
Counter Fighting | Superpower Fighting | 5 | 165.3s |
| 27. |
Hawlucha
|
Low Kick Fighting | Flying Press Fighting | 7 | 162.6s |
| 28. |
Scyther (Shadow)
|
Fury Cutter Bug | Bug Buzz Bug | 9 | 163.9s |
| 29. |
Cobalion
|
Double Kick Fighting | Sacred Sword Fighting | 5 | 167.1s |
| 30. |
Hariyama
|
Counter Fighting | Dynamic Punch Fighting | 6 | 165.0s |
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.
Shiny Darkrai
Shiny Darkrai is available in Pokémon GO and can be obtained from Raids. It looks like this:
Moves breakdown
Darkrai’s has access to the following moves:
| Fast moves | Charge 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.
Halloween 2021 Exclusive move: Sludge Bomb
In case you missed it, Darkrai that knows the attack Sludge Bomb will be appearing in five-star raids from Friday, October 22, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Friday, November 5, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time. Read more about Darkrai’s performance with Sludge Bomb here: Sludge Bomb Darkrai analysis: trick or treat?
Weather Effects
| Weather | Pro | Con |
|---|---|---|
| Sunny | – | – |
| Windy | – | – |
| Partly Cloudy | – | – |
| Cloudy | Boosts Fairy and Fighting counters | Boosts Focus Blast Fighting |
| Snow | – | – |
| Rainy | Boosts Bug counters | – |
| Fog | Boosted Raid Boss for a Level 25 counter | Boosts Dark and Ghost Type moves |
