Nasty Plot Darkrai quickly decimates weakened teams with its swift 125 base Speed and 135 base Special Attack. With Dark Void, it can cripple an opposing Pokémon and set up Nasty Plot. STAB Dark Pulse is its main form of attack, hitting many Ubers super effectively. Focus Blast complements Dark Pulse well, eliminating Tyranitar, Dialga, and opposing Darkrai, while Substitute scouts switch-ins, eases prediction, and helps against status and Sleep Talkers. Focus Sash guarantees lead Darkrai at least one attempt to put the opposing Pokémon to sleep with Dark Void. Bad Dreams, combined with Dark Void, renders the Focus Sash held by leads like Deoxys-A and Deoxys-S useless. Lum Berry Darkrai can use Nasty Plot while status leads like Groudon use Thunder Wave. When using Substitute, Lead Darkrai should hold a Lum Berry to set up on Choice Darkrai locked into Dark Void, otherwise, use Leftovers for the HP recovery. Life Orb is generally superior late game for the extra power. Max Speed ensures Darkrai ties with other Darkrai at worst and outruns Latios and Latias. Max Special Attack EVs augments Darkrai's offensive capabilities. Countering Darkrai is difficult, as Dark Void cripples many would-be counters. Heracross can switch in on any attack and OHKO Darkrai with either Close Combat, Megahorn, or Sleep Talk. Choice Scarf Vital Spirit Primeape does the same with Close Combat, or it can U-turn to scout switch-ins, but Primeape should avoid Focus Blast and Substitute. Sleep Talk Kyogre survives two Dark Pulses and OHKOes Darkrai with Surf or 2HKOes with Thunder or Ice Beam. Teamwise, Giratina walls Heracross and Primeape, while Giratina-O can set up on either one locked into Close Combat and then proceed to sweep. Latias walls and sets up on any Sleep Talking Kyogre. Darkrai is most vulnerable after Sleep Clause is activated. Choice Scarf Palkia and Dialga can switch into Darkrai and OHKO with Draco Meteor. Choice Scarf Kyogre and Darkrai do the same with Surf and Focus Blast respectively. Life Orb Shaymin-S OHKOes Darkrai with Seed Flare after Stealth Rock damage. Although Mewtwo cannot switch into Dark Pulse or Substitute, it outspeeds Darkrai and has an 87% chance to OHKO Darkrai with Aura Sphere after Stealth Rock damage (guaranteed with Life Orb). Finally, Life Orb Scizor 2HKOes Darkrai with Bullet Punch, or OHKOes with U-turn, but keep in mind that a +2 Life Orb Focus Blast OHKOes Scizor after Stealth Rock damage. A Scizor of your own can switch into Choice Scarf Dialga's and Palkia's Draco Meteors and any offensive Mewtwo without Fire Blast, and either Roost or U-turn (or Pursuit in Mewtwo’s case). Wobbuffet destroys Choice Scarf Dialga and Palkia with Mirror Coat, while Encore can help Dakrai set up. Choice Scarf Dialga counters Shaymin-S with its quadruple Grass resistance, and it can switch into any of Scizor’s attacks except Superpower and OHKO with Fire Blast. Latias handles Kyogre and can switch into a Choiced Darkrai's Focus Blast.
Trick Darkrai is truly a nasty surprise for its opposition. Tricking a Choice Scarf onto an opponent can cripple their Sleep Talkers and can sometimes help against boosted Pokémon while in a pinch. After crippling a Sleep Talker with Trick, Darkrai is free to put it to sleep with Dark Void. As Sleep Talk malfunctions with Choice Scarf, most of the time Darkrai is capable of pulling off a free Nasty Plot or two assuming that the opponent is still slower than it with Choice Scarf. Dark Pulse is obvious, as it is STABed and packs fairly decent coverage with no Pokémon being immune to it. If hitting other lead Darkrai is more important, then Focus Blast is recommended over Nasty Plot. Trick Darkrai is an amazing lead; its Speed allows it to outpace Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A leads, either sleeping them with Dark Void, hitting them with Dark Pulse, or Tricking them so that they’re stuck on one move, allowing for easy pickings from Pursuiting Pokémon such as Scizor. Be careful about using Dark Void though, as Wobbuffet is a common switch-in to lead Darkrai. Due to Choice Scarf and Wobbuffet's ability, Shadow Tag, Darkrai will eventually be forced to Struggle to death if it uses Dark Void. Deoxys-S leads may also carry Lum Berry to take advantage of Dark Void as well, so make sure to switch out when Lum Berry is used, as the opponent may send in Wobbuffet to trap Darkrai. Despite these amazing qualities as a lead, Darkrai can still be used in late game, where it holds more of a surprise. Also, it is important to note that Giratina-O, the most used Trick absorber in Ubers, cannot switch into Darkrai due to STAB Dark Pulse. When leading with Darkrai, there are several leads that can give it problems. Choice Scarf Mewtwo will outspeed and OHKO Darkrai with Focus Blast, and Mewtwo will live through a Dark Pulse. Choice Scarf Shaymin-S can 2HKO Darkrai with Air Slash, which is particularly troublesome because of the flinch chance. Various leads rely on Lum Berry or Chesto Berry to stop Darkrai as well. A Special Defense Tyranitar with Lum Berry can live through Focus Blast and OHKO Darkrai with Superpower. In a similar manner, a lead Scizor with Lum Berry can OHKO Darkrai with U-turn, and a lead Kyogre with Lum Berry will also OHKO Darkrai with Surf. Both Dialga and Groudon often carry a combination of Chesto Berry and Thunder Wave when leading to cripple Darkrai. Support Dialga can be a very useful Pokémon to use with Trick Darkrai, because Dialga resists Shaymin-S’s Air Slash, and can take a U-turn from Scizor. Dialga can also help set up Stealth Rock, which will help the rest of team in sweeping. A specially defensive Bulk Up Dialga can also switch into Kyogre’s Surf and set up. Support Groudon is an excellent choice as a teammate, as it not only absorbs Thunder Wave from opposing lead Groudon or Dialga, it also destroys Tyranitar. Wobbuffet can switch into a Choice Scarf Mewtwo’s Focus Blast and 2HKO it with Mirror Coat. Scizor will also survive a Focus Blast from Mewtwo and OHKO Mewtwo with U-turn. Scizor also has the benefit of being able to do a serious amount of damage to lead Tyranitar as long as Scizor avoids a Fire attack. Finally, Blissey can easily switch into lead Kyogre and wall its entire moveset. Something to note is that Lucario can easily set up on Darkrai if it is locked into Dark Pulse. Choice Scarf Dialga can be used to switch into Lucario as it sets up, and OHKO it with either Aura Sphere or Fire Blast.
Since Nasty Plot Darkrai is a huge threat in the Uber metagame, people often deal with it by revenge killing it with faster Pokémon such as Mewtwo and Choice Scarf Palkia. By making use of Substitute and the Salac Berry, Darkrai can avoid this. Simply Nasty Plot and then Substitute down to activate the Salac Berry. With STAB Dark Pulse and Focus Blast, you'll still find it to be a quite fearsome sweeper. Focus Blast can also be replaced with Dark Void to sleep potential counters that Focus Blast would normally cover, such as Scizor and Dialga, and allow for more free turns to set up while your opponent is sleeping. After the boost, Darkrai will outrun just about everything and can sweep with its boosted Speed and Special Attack. The given EVs are rather intuitive for a sweeper. With these IVs, Darkrai will have HP divisible by four, allowing the Salac Berry to activate after three Substitutes. Without Dark Void, Darkrai will have serious issues with Choice Band Scizor. After taking Stealth Rock damage and getting its Substitute broken, Darkrai is in the KO range of Choice Band Scizor’s Bullet Punch. Scizor also has the capability of stopping Darkrai’s sweep with Bullet Punch after its Salac Berry has been activated and its Substitute broken. Both Rayquaza and Lucario can also stop Darkrai’s sweep in the same exact way with ExtremeSpeed. If Darkrai lacks Focus Blast, specially defensive Tyranitar will give Darkrai serious issues after Sleep Clause has been activated. Even a +6 Dark Pulse will only do 39% maximum to Careful 252 HP / 200 SpD Tyranitar. Meanwhile, the same Tyranitar with 56 Attack EVs and a Choice Band will easily break Darkrai’s Substitutes with either Stone Edge or Earthquake. Finally, Sand Stream will make Darkrai’s life even shorter, chipping away 6.25% of its HP each turn. Both Choice Scarf Mewtwo and Choice Scarf Shaymin-S have the potential to end Darkrai’s sweep after it has used Salac Berry and had its Substitute broken, thanks to their higher speed. Because of theses issues, Support Groudon is an excellent teammate for this Darkrai. Groudon will be able to demolish Tyranitar with its STAB super effective Earthquakes, and will do serious damage to Scizor. If Lucario has not set up, it will be unable to KO Groudon with Close Combat, while Lucario will easily be OHKOed by Earthquake. A Life Orb Gengar can lure in Scizor, and OHKO it with Hidden Power Fire as long as the weather is not rainy. Gengar also has the option of carrying Hidden Power Ice instead (or Icy Wind if it is carrying Life Orb) to always OHKO Rayquaza after Stealth Rock damage. Finally, Gengar can switch into Lucario as it uses ExtremeSpeed or Swords Dance, and OHKO it with Focus Blast. Metagross can take care of Choice Scarf Shaymin-S for Darkrai, thanks to its resistance to both of its STAB attacks and Clear Body. Metagross can then slam it with Meteor Mash. Choice Scarf Mewtwo is easily dealt with by Wobbuffet, who can switch into the Choiced Fighting move and beat Mewtwo with Mirror Coat. Wobbuffet also has the bonus of being able to set up Darkrai thanks to its combination of Encore and Shadow Tag.
Darkrai's great Special Attack, Speed, and STAB Dark Pulse make him a natural candidate for the role of Ubers revenge killer. Choice Scarf allows Darkrai to take out dangerous threats such as SubSalac Groudon, a once Dragon Danced Rayquaza, Choice Scarf Garchomp, and many others. Another great quality that separates Choice Scarf Darkrai from other Choice Scarf revenge killers is the immunity to Mirror Coat, which means that Darkrai is one of the few Choice Scarf revenge killers that has no problems with Wobbuffet. Dark Pulse is for obligatory STAB and helps to take out usually faster Pokémon such as Deoxys-A. Ice Beam will allow Darkrai to OHKO Rayquaza and Garchomp, and do 69% minimum to the standard 112 HP Rock Polish Groudon (which Choice Scarf Darkrai outspeeds). Spacial Rend will allow Darkrai to 2HKO Palkia, while Thunder will 2HKO Kyogre and has the potential to OHKO Manaphy after it takes Stealth Rock damage. Focus Blast allows Darkrai to OHKO opposing Darkrai, do some serious damage to Dialga and Tyranitar, and at least give some response to Blissey. The EVs are such that Darkrai's Special Attack is maximized and the 204 speed EVs allow Darkrai to outrun maximum speed Deoxys-S. If Deoxys-S isn't a concern then an alternative EV spread that can be used is 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spe which allows Darkrai to outrun positive natured, Choice Scarf Palkia. Maximum Speed is obviously an option. Choice Scarf Darkrai’s main objective is to revenge kill problem Pokémon, and thus some teammates really benefit from having these problem Pokémon eliminated. Thanks to Darkrai’s ability to revenge kill Garchomp that are locked into Outrage and all Gengar, Rayquaza becomes a very good teammate for Choice Scarf Darkrai. With Garchomp and Gengar out of the way, both Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Rayquaza will have a much easier time sweeping. Dragon Dance Tyranitar will also appreciate the removal of Garchomp. Thanks to opposing Darkrai being revenge killed by Choice Scarf Darkrai’s Focus Blast and offensive Mewtwo being OHKOed by Dark Pulse after Stealth Rock damage, the opponent’s team will likely lack a way of outspeeding and KOing Pokémon such as Swords Dance Haban Berry Garchomp. Due to the lack of a boosting move and Choice Scarf, Darkrai will encounter several more problem Pokémon then usual. Blissey is able to completely wall Darkrai with its massive Special Defense and HP stats, while Tyranitar can take any attack but Focus Blast. Lucario can switch into Dark Pulse and set up a Swords Dance, while Scizor can switch into Dark Pulse, Ice Beam, and Spacial Rend, and threaten Darkrai with a STAB super effective U-turn. Of special note, Mewtwo and Shaymin-S can outspeed Darkrai with a Choice Scarf of their own, and do massive damage to Darkrai. Once again, Life Orb Gengar can lure out Scizor, and OHKO it with Hidden Power Fire, as long as it is not raining, as well as OHKO Lucario with Focus Blast. Bulk Up Dialga can absorb Scizor’s U-turn, as well as set up on Blissey. Finally, Groudon will easily demolish Tyranitar with Earthquake, and force Blissey to switch out.
Mixed Darkrai 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 Bad Dreams to activate or force a switch. Dark Pulse is its most powerful method of attacking, so it should be used whenever possible. With Life Orb, 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. An Expert Belt boosted Focus Punch also hits 4 HP / 0 Def Dialga for 70% minimum, and OHKOes opposing Darkrai. With a Life Orb, Focus Punch will also do 52% minimum to a -Def nature Palkia. Thunder 2HKOes 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. Thus, Expert Belt is the preferred item for use with Substitute. Hidden Power Fire can OHKO Scizor and Forretress, except for when it’s raining, which is useful because they cause serious problems for the set otherwise. When using Hidden Power Fire, take 4 EVs from either Attack or Special Attack, and put them into Speed, as Darkrai is forced to use a Speed IV of 30. Naïve is also recommended if using Hidden Power Fire, as this will reduce the amount of damage Scizor’s Bullet Punch will do when compared to Hasty. The choice between Life Orb and Expert Belt is mainly up to personal preference. While Life Orb is more powerful, it drains Darkrai’s health quickly, making Expert Belt an equally appealing choice. Leftovers is another option with Substitute, as it allows Darkrai to live for quite a while with the help of prediction. With Stealth Rock set up, one can drop some EVs in Attack to Special Attack or Speed. With just 112 EVs in Attack, Darkrai can OHKO a 4 HP / 252 Defense Blissey with Focus Punch when Stealth Rock is factored in. With Expert Belt, Darkrai needs only about 124 EVs in Attack for Focus Punch to put Blissey into Dark Pulse’s KO range. Mess around with the EVs and try to find what is most suitable for you. Swords Dance Rayquaza and Swords Dance Lucario are excellent partners for mixed Darkrai for the following reason. After Darkrai puts a Pokémon to sleep, a common switch in to Darkrai is Choice Scarf Dialga. A Focus Punch boosted by Expert Belt will do 70% minimum to a 4 HP / 0 Def Dialga, which means with the combination of that and damage from Stealth Rock, Choice Scarf Dialga will no longer be able to survive a Life Orb boosted +2 ExtremeSpeed from either Lucario or Rayquaza, potentially opening up a team for a sweep. Scizor and Jirachi are also useful alongside these Pokémon, as they can take the weakened Choice Scarf Dialga’s Dragon-type attacks, and either force it to switch or die. This Darkrai set shares many of the same problems the other sets have, but this set is particularly weak to Scizor and Forretress if Darkrai lacks Hidden Power Fire. Kyogre will also stomp all over Darkrai if it lacks Thunder. If Darkrai lacks Hidden Power Fire, Dialga can be a good teammate. Dialga can take Scizor’s U-turn or Bullet Punch, and retaliate with Fire Blast if Scizor used Bullet Punch. Forretress is also easily OHKOed by Fire Blast. For Kyogre, Latias can handle most of its sets, while Palkia can switch into Choiced Water moves and 2HKO Kyogre with Thunder.
Swords Dance Darkrai jeopardizes offensive teams. Darkrai’s Sucker Punch is more powerful than Rayquaza’s ExtremeSpeed. It OHKOes Mewtwo, and with a Swords Dance boost, OHKOes Palkia (both KOs require Stealth Rock). Focus Punch complements Sucker Punch well, hitting Pokémon hard that do not attack. However, Dark-resisting Pokémon can simply attack Darkrai while shrugging off Sucker Punch. This makes a Brick Break a more reliable choice at the cost of power. For the last slot, Dark Void can put a Pokémon to sleep and enable a free Swords Dance, but then Pokémon that shrug off Focus Punch can set up against Darkrai while being unaffected by Sucker Punch, like Lugia, Giratina, Giratina-O, and Mewtwo. Taunt prevents this from occurring. Substitute eases prediction, but it does not prevent Lugia, Giratina, and Skarmory from phazing Darkrai, and Darkrai’s HP will drain quickly with both Substitute and Life Orb. Adamant Darkrai hits harder and deals over 50% to Groudon with a +2 Sucker Punch, while Jolly Darkrai speed ties with other Darkrai at worst. Adamant is often preferred due to Sucker Punch's and Focus Punch's abnormal priorities, but despite this, defensive EVs have little use, as Life Orb depletes Darkrai's health quickly, and Darkrai has mediocre defenses. 252 Speed EVs to outrun most Latias and Lugia. Swords Dance Darkrai can be a huge surprise to the opponent, eliminating some of Darkrai’s common switch-ins if played right. For example, Choice Scarf revenge killers like Palkia are OHKOed by Sucker Punch. After using Dark Void, it may be wise to immediately use Focus Punch, to 2HKO Choice Scarf Dialga (and Palkia) with the combination of Focus Punch and Sucker Punch. Removing Dialga from play aids Lucario and Swords Dance Rayquaza in sweeping, while removing Palkia aids Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Choice Specs Kyogre. While Sucker Punch's priority can tear up offensive teams late game, it is easily walled and almost useless against stall teams. Base 90 Attack is substandard, and some Pokémon, like Groudon, wall Sucker Punch without resisting it. Furthermore, it is extremely reliant on prediction, and with Darkrai’s mediocre defenses, Darkrai can be KOed due to a single misprediction. Support Dialga cripples Lugia and Groudon with Toxic, while roasting Scizor, Forretress, and Skarmory with Fire Blast (Scizor OHKOes Darkrai and doesn’t fear Sucker Punch, while Forretress and Skarmory only fear Dark Void). Giratina-O can switch into Forretress and use it as set-up bait, while destroying Giratina, Mewtwo, and Lugia, who wall Darkrai. Thus Darkrai can threaten offensive Pokémon, while Giratina-O threatens defensive Pokémon. Wobbuffet helps Darkrai set up, and can utilize Tickle to beat Lugia when paired with a Pursuit user like Tyranitar or Scizor. Team OptionsLike most offensive Pokémon, Darkrai has an easier time sweeping with Stealth Rock support, as it can turn 2HKOs into OHKOs on several Pokémon after a boost, such as Palkia. Like most Pokémon that involve set up, Wobbuffet is a useful teammate for Darkrai, as Wobbuffet can not only set Darkrai up, but it can also take down Choice Scarf revenge killers that attempt to KO it via either Mirror Coat or Counter. Offensively, there are not many Pokémon that can stop Darkrai until the Sleep Clause is activated. The few Pokémon that can are Choice Scarf Primeape, Sleep Talk Heracross, and Sleep Talk Kyogre. Primeape is easily handled by Giratina, who can take its attacks and use Will-O-Wisp to cripple it. Giratina also walls Heracross with no problems. Sleep Talk Kyogre is easily handled by Latias, who can set up Calm Minds against it. Once Sleep Clause is activated, Scizor, Mewtwo, Life Orb Shaymin-S, Deoxys-A, and Pokémon that use Choice Scarf will often be obstacles for Darkrai’s sweep. Life Orb Gengar can work excellently as a Scizor lure with Hidden Power Fire, which will OHKO Scizor after it takes Stealth Rock damage, unless it is raining. Scizor can easily destroy Deoxys-A with either Bullet Punch or Pursuit, and can switch into Choice Scarf Palkia’s and Choice Scarf Dialga’s Dragon attacks. Scizor also has the ability to beat offensive Mewtwo that lack Fire moves. Choice Scarf Dialga can be a good answer to Life Orb Shaymin-S, thanks to Dialga’s 4x resistance to Grass and the threat of powerful STAB Dragon attacks striking fear into Shaymin-S. Choice Scarf Kyogre can be dealt with by either Palkia or Latias. Latias will also be able to beat Substitute+Leech Seed Shaymin-S most of the time as well thanks to the combination of Calm Mind and Recover. Support Dialga can destroy Scizor as well with Fire Blast, in addition to beating Choice Scarf Shaymin-S locked into Seed Flare or Air Slash. Defensively, most Pokémon that cover Darkrai’s two weaknesses, Fighting and Bug, will do well. Gengar is an excellent example of this, as it sports an immunity to Fighting attacks and a 4x resistance to Bug attacks. In a similar manner, Giratina-O is immune to Fighting and sports a 2x resistance to Bug moves. The many Psychic-types of Ubers, such as Latias, Wobbuffet, and Mewtwo, are useful defensive teammates for Darkrai thanks to their Fighting resistance. Lugia gets a special mention for this, as it has a 4x resistance to Fighting moves and is neutral to Bug attacks. Both Dialga and Scizor have Bug resistances that can aid Darkrai in dealing with opposing Scizor. Although Lucario’s defenses are below par, it has a unique 4x resistance to Bug attacks, which can be helpful. Additionally, Dialga and Lucario also sport resistances to Scizor's Bullet Punch, which can save Darkrai when its at low health. Other OptionsWill-O-Wisp is nice for catching Rayquaza / Palkia / Groudon / Scizor on the switch after the Dark Void, crippling them for the rest of the match. Psychic is a novelty option and allows it to hit a Heracross / Primeape switch in, although aside from that, the move is useless. Faint Attack serves as a more reliable option on the Swords Dancer, but it is quite weak and does not have the +1 priority of Sucker Punch, and Pursuit can be used to catch fleeing Pokémon after it has been slept by Dark Void. Calm Mind can be used if one prefers the Special Defense boost over the sharp Special Attack boost, and allows Darkrai to take Giratina’s Dragon Pulses much easier. After a Calm Mind, Darkrai can survive an Aura Sphere from Mewtwo as long as Choice Specs is absent, and can help in late game sweeps. Taunt can be used in conjunction with Dark Void to prevent a Sleep Talker from striking back. Ice Beam destroys Groudon and Rayquaza. Rock Slide can be used on the Swords Dancer to beat down Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Rayquaza. EVsEach set has its own EVs, as mentioned. Darkrai's Speed can be lowered 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-natured Mewtwo. OpinionDarkrai is an extremely versatile and powerful Pokémon, and the opponent will need more than one Pokémon to safely take it down. Dark Void and Bad Dreams are the reasons why pretty much every team needs someone to absorb sleep, as the Uber tier is fast paced, and losing one important Pokémon can sometimes mean the end. Absorbing sleep does not always mean having a Sleep Talker, though; it can mean letting the most useless or bulky Pokémon in a team take the sleep. To make Darkrai even more menacing, after it puts a Pokémon to sleep, it can threaten to sweep an entire team with its Nasty Plot-boosted Dark Pulse (which hits a large number of Ubers for super effective damage). Darkrai’s main flaw is that, due to its below average defenses (compared to most Ubers), Darkrai will have a difficult time switching in. Darkrai is also easily revenge killed by powerful priority moves and faster Pokémon. Don’t let this flaw discourage you from using Darkrai though, as once the team’s main Darkrai check is eliminated, it can easily destroy entire teams. CountersDarkrai 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 and Nasty Plot. After Sleep Clause is activated, hopefully by absorbing the sleep with a Sleep Talker, Darkrai becomes much easier to stop. For the Nasty Plotter, Scarf Palkia can swap in and OHKO with Draco Meteor without worries of Dark Pulse flinching it, although one must be careful of Spacial Rend. Scarf Palkia can switch in on Trick and laugh as Darkrai receives a Choice Scarf. Kyogre can take a Nasty Plotted Dark Pulse with its base 140 Special Defense and deliver swift annihilation with Surf. Ho-Oh can also do this, but it isn’t quite as effective due to the abundance of Stealth Rock in the Uber metagame. Sleep Talk Choice Scarf Heracross can come in and scare it off as long as it doesn't have the rare Psychic. Scizor can take on anything besides Nasty Plotted, Life Orb Focus Blast, and U-turn away to a faster Pokémon to finish off any remaining HP should Darkrai survive. Toxicroak resists both Dark Pulse and Focus Blast and OHKOes Darkrai with Cross Chop. Choice Scarf Primeape gets special mention for being able to switch into Dark Void, thanks to its immunity to sleep, and OHKO it with Close Combat. Although most certainly not a counter, Lucario can set up a Swords Dance on a Choice Scarf Darkrai locked into Dark Pulse. The mixed attacker is countered by Scizor, who doesn’t mind taking its attacks and can deliver a powerful Bullet Punch or U-turn. Should Thunder be absent from the set, Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and Forretress destroy it. The Swords Dancer is very easily walled by Skarmory, Scizor, and Forretress, as they resist Sucker Punch and don’t mind Brick Break. They can always attack to plow through Focus Punch as well. Dialga resists Sucker Punch and can quickly KO Darkrai, but must be careful of Focus Punch or Brick Break. Groudon does not mind taking a Swords Danced Sucker Punch as long as it is above 60% in health, and OHKOes Darkrai back with Earthquake. A healthy bulky Kyogre can accomplish the same as Groudon. Any Ghost with at least one move that is not an attack can wall Swords Dance Darkrai as long as Taunt or Faint Attack is not present. As long as Taunt is not present, Lugia laughs at it from behind a base 130 Defense, 106 HP, and a 4x resist to Fighting. Physical wall Mewtwo resists Focus Punch and can burn Darkrai, assuming that Taunt is not present. Dragon Dance Rayquaza with ExtremeSpeed can strike before Sucker Punch and can KO Darkrai with ease, while resisting Brick Break or Focus Punch. The Swords Dancer is countered by many things and should not be too much of a problem to stop. Generally all it takes is to be able to either absorb or bypass Sucker Punch, and at the same time resisting Brick Break or Focus Punch, or having enough defense to take them. Beware of Taunt, however. In general, one needs 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. It is definitely not as simple as it sounds, because Darkrai can psych the Sleep Talker out with Nasty Plot or Trick and still have the advantage in combat. |
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