==General== Darkrai is one of the Scariest pokemon in the tier. Literally. Just look at it's haunting face... Ok enough of that now. Let's discuss it for real. For one it has amazing speed and amazing special attack. It also has a fairly strong stab move in dark pulse. It's claim to fame though is dark void. A very powerful attack. It put the opponent to sleep at an 80% accuracy. It can set up with nasty plot or just hammer away when the opponent is snoring. It can also run a scarf or specs and trick them away. It has great coverage with bolt beam or dark pulse + focus blast. It is very frail though so you'll really want to run a sash. ==Bad Dreams== Darkrai @ Focus Sash Nature : Modest/Timid (+SpA -Atk)(+Spd -Atk) EV's : 252 SpA/252 Spd/4 HP -Dark Void -Dark Pulse -Nasty Plot / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam -Focus Blast / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam This set hit's very very hard. It is the main bread and butter set. Bolt Beam can be run over nasty plot and focus blast but the others are preferred. After a nasty plot you can literally 1hko the opposing pokemon 90% of the time. Darkvoid hits 80% of the time. This set is one of the most used sets. And one of the most successful too. Lum berry gives it pains but other than that this set is one of the best. Amazing coverage, a strong stab, and a status move. ==Scarfrai== Darkrai @ Choice Scarf Nature : Timid (+Spd -Atk) EV's :252 SpA/252 Spd/4HP -Trick -Dark Pulse -Thunder/Thunderbolt -Focus Blast/Ice Beam This set is an all out attacker. It hit's extremely hard. However if it doesn't one or two hit ko it's dead. You can trick to stop some walls, thunder can be run against kyogres. Focus blast is a good coverage move though Bolt Beam can be better on this set. It is pretty simple yet deadly. It is a double edged sword though and is much more risky. ==SubRai== Darkrai @ Focus Sash/Lum Berry Trait: Bad Dreams EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Dark Void - Substitute/Dream Eater - Dark Pulse - Focus Blast So this set is easy to understand. Put the opponent to sleep. Give yourself a sub as a safety net if the opponent wakes up. And hammer away. ==Other Options== *Choice Specs *Hidden Power Fire *Dream Eater + Nightmare combo. *Thunder Wave *Blizzard and Thunder over tbolt and ice beam. ==Checks and Counters== *Other Darkrai. *1st turn wake up. *Shaymin-S *Lum Berry *Sleep talk kyogre and giratina. *Band ESpeed Arceus
I find the following set very effective, especially when it comes to beating other Darkrai. It loses to Mewtwo/Deo-A, but it has a chance of beating Arceus: Darkrai @ Lum Berry Trait: Bad Dreams EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Dark Void - Substitute - Dark Pulse - Focus Blast DV them, then set up with Substitute while they're asleep. Even if they get one turn wake up, you can DV and Sub until they don't (assuming Dark Void hits). Also, Dark Pulse+Focus Blast hit everything neutrally except Heracross. BoltBeam isn't needed. Deo-A, Mewtwo, Darkrai and Arceus are the most used 4 in G51v1U, and they all are weak to either Dark or Fighting - but not Electric or Ice. Some people (like me) use Arceus-Fighting, and this takes neutral from everything (so Focus Blast it still your strongest move). If you're going to carry another coverage move, it should be Thunder (for Kyogre). Imo, last 4 OO should be removed, except for Thunder.
and Toxicroak/Croagunk but they aren't common. Agreeing BoltBeam is complete crap although Dream Eater is not terrible it makes beating Arceus Fighting a lot easier and can let you regain your sash from Fake Out users I would just mash it all into one set: Darkrai @ Focus Sash/Lum Berry Trait: Bad Dreams EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Dark Void - Substitute/Dream Eater - Dark Pulse - Focus Blast Choice scarf Darkrai is pretty bad in 1v1 not being able to sleep effectively the first turn, nothing to finish off sashes ect.
BTW A Banded Espeed Arceus can Beat substitute. Espeed first turn. Wake up next turn or dark void misses. Arceus wins.
Ubers...... Who uses vital spirit primeape in gen 5 1v1 UBERS.... And also hariyama would be a counter too if primeape is.
Check through and edit, but this should be wiki-ready, if someone can put it up. ==General== Darkrai is one of the most threatening Pokémon in the tier, and one of the main threats to look out and be prepared for. It has massive special attack and speed that make it a pain for most opponents, outspeeding almost everything important in the tier, and the reason many Pokémon carry lum berry. Its signature dark void define almost all of its use in the tier. ==No Imagination== Darkrai @ Focus Sash/Lum Berry Nature : Modest/Timid (+SpA -Atk)(+Spd -Atk) EV's : 252 SpA/252 Spd/4 HP -Dark Void -Dark Pulse -Nasty Plot / Substitute /Dream Eater -Focus Blast / Nightmare Dark Void means (although its accuracy makes it slightly unreliable) you can send your opponent to sleep, unless they have lum berry, in which you generally must do it on the second turn. You can have lum berry yourself if you're afraid of facing a mirror (which will happen). Bad dreams means you break any Pokémon's focus sash. Dark Pulse is for hitting stuff, and is your primary STAB with which to spam at your helpless sleeping opponent. The other moves are somewhat more filler, depending on what threats you want to hit. It is the bread and butter Darkrai set, status, stab, and coverage. ==Not Got A Choice== Darkrai @ Choice Scarf/Choice Specs Nature : Timid (+Spd -Atk) EV's :252 SpA/252 Spd/4HP -Trick -Dark Pulse -Disable / Thunder -Focus Blast/Ice Beam This abuses the high Sp. Atk and Speed, and the unpredictability of not beginning with dark void. Scarf means you can outpace your mirrors, and pretty much every other Pokémon you will see. And then you hit them with your move of choice, probably dark pulse, as your STAB. The other moves are more filler; you get virtually perfect coverage with dark pulse and focus blast anyway, and if you're using Darkrai you probably won't fret too much over focus blast's 70% accuracy. You could also abuse disable and force your opponent to struggle, which is beautifully simple and exceptionally effective. This set is of course easily beaten by opposing choice users. ==Other Options== There's not much worth saying, since lum berry and focus sash are necessary to beat so many threats in this metagame. Thunder wave, as a reliable status move, should probably be noted. A pure nasty plot set could be run but it's usually inferior to those already mentioned. It gets priority in Quick Attack which may be useful on sets not trying to end an opponent to sleep. Not much else in its movepool is really worth noting. ==Set Matchups== Be prepared to play against other Darkrai sets. You may lose to certain abusers of Lum Berry - you're the reason they even carry one. Under certain conditions Choice Band E-speed Arceus is a bad match-up Pokémon with abilities like Vital Spirit and Insomnia should be noted, though viable users of these are currently more or less inexistent. Umbreon may be capable of beating it. Strong Kyogre forms can also beat you unless you carry a focus sash, if they outpace you with a scarf, or if dark void misses, or they wake up too soon. Beats Lugia.