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Bad Dreams
- Deals 12.5% damage to sleeping opponents.
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Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
70
|
- |
281 |
344 |
- |
| Atk |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| Def |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| SpA |
135
|
275 |
306 |
369 |
405 |
| SpD |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| Spe |
125
|
257 |
286 |
349 |
383 |
This set relies on some prediction but can be quite effective if pulled off. Dark Void is an obvious choice as it puts the opponent to sleep, allowing you to activate Bad Dreams or force a switch. Dark Pulse is your most powerful method of attack, so you should try to use it whenever possible. A Focus Punch to a 4 HP / 252 Def Blissey, the most physically defensive Blissey in Ubers, deals 92%-100% on the switch, and the remaining damage is easily siphoned off with Dark Pulse. Focus Punch also hits Dialga and other Darkrai (if for some reason one tries to switch into you) super effectively and does 52% minimum to a -Def nature Palkia. Thunder hits Kyogre and, if you're lucky, Ho-oh. Substitute can scout against an incoming Sleep Talk Giratina who actually wants to absorb the sleep, but the damage from Life Orb and Substitute damage can add up and drain Darkrai's HP rather quickly. Hasty is ordinarily the recommended nature, as most Ubers are based on special attacks, but Naive is occasionally useful for taking something random like a Metagross's Bullet Punch.
This Darkrai's job is to Substitute against status users and special attackers and hope it does not break while it attempts to get in some Calm Minds. This set runs into problems, though. First, Dialga walls it, and second, the special attacks in Ubers run at such insane levels (base 150 Special Attackers, Latias and Latios, etc) that Substituting doesn't really work very well. However, Substitute allows you to scout for slower Choice Banders and safely do something if the opponent switches. It outspeeds Arceus (watch out for ExtremeSpeed) and Modest Mewtwo. You can always run down the Speed to 374 or 360, but lowering to 374 doesn't make much of a difference and you might as well use max Speed so you can outspeed other Darkrai and put them to sleep before they do the same to you.
Dark Void a Sleep Talker switch, like Giratina, and then Taunt it. Proceed to Calm Mind while they're unable to do anything and getting hurt by Bad Dreams over and over again. The biggest flaws with this set are that the opponent could simply switch out after the Taunt, and that it is utterly walled by Blissey and Dialga again. Taunting a Blissey can be handy in the long run, but Taunting a Dialga only really prevents it from Thunder Waving things.
Other Options
Will-O-Wisp is nice for catching Rayquaza / physical Arceus / Palkia / Groudon on the switch after the Dark Void, burning them and making them harder to utilize. Psychic can be funny and allows you to hit a Heracross / Fighting Arceus switch in, although aside from that, the move is useless. Rock Slide OHKOs Ho-oh if you also run Swords Dance, Choice Band, or even Life Orb. Thunderbolt is, as always, a safer alternative to Thunder if you're fighting in the sun, and Spacial Rend is your only option for hitting both Palkia and Rayquaza at the same time.
EV
Each set has its own EVs, as mentioned. For Speed, you can lower your stat to 360, 361 or 374 if running a +Speed Nature. If not, then you can lower your Speed down to 340 or even 330 to outspeed neutral Speed Arceus or Timid / Hasty Palkia, respectively. Darkrai should generally not be used without a +Speed nature, as doing so will risk it being outsped by Latias and Latios, and neutral Speed natured Mewtwo.
Opinion
Darkrai is an extremely versatile Pokémon, and the opponent will need more than one Pokémon to safely counter this thing, just like Gengar. Dark Void and Bad Dreams are the reasons why every team needs someone to absorb sleep as the Uber tier is a fast paced game, and losing one guy can sometimes mean the end for you. However, it does not have insane offense like Rayquaza or Arceus, and its power is cut rather dramatically once Sleep Clause becomes active. Darkrai is also rather frail and dies VERY easily, although not as easily as Deoxys-A. It can survive an Ice Beam, or even Aura Sphere with enough HP / Special Defense, but that isn't its area of importance.
Counters
Darkrai does not have a true counter, due to most counters' fear of Dark Void and the possibility of being Taunted, as well as the unpleasant Bad Dreams. After Sleep Clause is activated, hopefully by sleep's being absorbed by a Sleep Talker, Darkrai becomes much easier to stop. Dialga can come in on the latter 2 sets and wipe it out with Dragon Pulse or Dragon Claw, and Heatran does the same with Fire Blast. Additionally, both can use Sleep Talk well. Rayquaza can be a problem if you don't have Ice Beam / Spacial Rend. Blissey walls all sets that do not have physical moves. Sleep Talk Choice Scarf Heracross can come in and scare it off as long as it doesn't have Psychic or Aerial Ace, but it will get worn down very fast by Thunder. Scizor is in the same boat as Heracross. Fighting or Bug Arceus is your closest thing to a "true counter". It shrugs off Darkrai's hits pretty well and OHKOs it with Judgment. If Darkrai is caught without Thunder, Thunderbolt or Rock Slide, Ho-oh shrugs off its attacks with a base 154 Special Defense and utterly rips it apart. In general, you need two Pokémon to stop Darkrai: one to absorb sleep, and the other to withstand its moves and annihilate or scare Darkrai out of the battlefield.