
Is Darkrai Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Event and transfer only. Dark with AbilityBad Dreams damaging sleeping opponents. If imported, Darkrai dominates through Dark Void sleep. Most players will never have one.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Darkrai resists most of Morty's coverage and hits back hard.
Chuck's team hits Darkrai's weaknesses hard.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Darkrai resists most of Pryce's coverage and hits back hard.
Darkrai resists most of Clair's coverage and hits back hard.
Darkrai resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Darkrai resists most of Misty's coverage and hits back hard.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Darkrai resists most of Sabrina's coverage and hits back hard.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Darkrai resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Darkrai trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Darkrai has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Darkrai resists most of Lance's coverage and hits back hard.
Trade
Darkrai cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- LV 66DarkDark VoidPower —Accuracy 80%PP 10
- LV 75DarkNasty PlotPower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 84PsychicDream EaterPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 93DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Darkrai in HeartGold & SoulSilver
No wild encounters for Darkrai in HeartGold & SoulSilver. It can be transferred in from Diamond & Pearl or Platinum.
Darkrai cannot be caught in the wild in HeartGold & SoulSilver, but you can still get it via these paths:
Obtain and trade from these games:
Then trade to HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Also Obtainable In:
Pokemon transfers only go forward through generations, never backward. Direct cross-gen trades aren't supported.
How to Get Shiny Darkrai in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Darkrai never appears in HGSS at all, so a shiny one has to be brought in from a game that offers it. See every game where Shiny Darkrai can be hunted
Shiny Darkrai Evolution
Does Not EvolveDarkrai Weakness
Darkrai's Dark typing leaves it vulnerable to Fighting and Bug. It shrugs off Psychic-type attacks completely. With 70 HP and balanced defenses, Darkrai can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fighting, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Ghost, Dark |
| 0x (Immune) | Psychic |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Darkrai Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Darkrai
Hariyama Fighting | B | |
Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Blaziken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Silph Co Gift) | ||
Hitmonlee Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrogue (Mt Mortar Gift) | ||
Gallade PsychicFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Darkrai View Gallade builds →Focus Punch 2x155-182%KO X-Scissor 2x55-65% | ||
Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Darkrai View Toxicroak builds →Focus Punch 2x134-158%KO X-Scissor 2x48-57% | ||
Primeape Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Darkrai View Primeape builds →Focus Punch 2x133-157%KO U-turn 2x42-49% | ||
Machoke Fighting | C | |
Pinsir Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Darkrai View Pinsir builds →Focus Punch 2x103-122%KO X-Scissor 2x83-98% | ||
Scyther Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Darkrai View Scyther builds →X-Scissor 2x74-87% Brick Break 2x47-55% | ||
Armaldo RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Darkrai View Armaldo builds →X-Scissor 2x83-98% Brick Break 2x52-61% | ||
Riolu Fighting | C | |
Medicham FightingPsychic | C | |
Yanmega Bug | B | |
Darkrai Evolutions
A Dark-type mythical at 600 base stats, Darkrai can't breed or evolve. Event distribution is the standard way to obtain one. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
HGSS Darkrai Best Moveset
MoveDark Void puts both opponents to sleep at 80% accuracy while AbilityBad Dreams drains 12.5% HP per turn from sleeping targets. 135 Sp. Atk at 125 Speed fires special Dark attacks while targets sleep. Banned for making competitive play unwinnable.
Best Build
Darkrai best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Dark Void
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
STAB runs through Dark Pulse and Sucker Punch for the basics, but Darkrai's real strength is the 10-type coverage spread. Ghost and Normal hit common defensive types, and the movepool keeps going.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 37 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It chases people and Pokémon from its territory by causing them to experience deep, nightmarish slumbers.
Darkrai Event Distributions
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Darkrai has been offered just once as a Mystery Gift event Pokemon.
Dear Pokemon Trainer:HeartGoldDiamondPearlNot shiny
Darkrai HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Darkrai isn't catchable in HeartGold & SoulSilver. Obtain it through event distribution in Platinum, then trade it to HeartGold & SoulSilver.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Darkrai as a sweeper. Special attacks are the main output. It outspeeds most threats,
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, build your team around Kyogre, Dialga, and Deoxys Speed. These have the highest co-usage rates with Darkrai in competitive formats. They cover each other's weaknesses.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Timid on Darkrai. +Speed is what matters, and the -Attack cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the sweeper role.
Game Availability
Introduced in Diamond & Pearl, Darkrai shows up in 13 games across 6 generations. Mythical status keeps it locked behind events or specific story content in most appearances.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB

Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS

Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS

Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG

FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut

Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS

HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW

Black & White - Gen 5B2W2

Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY

X & Y - Gen 6ORAS

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM

Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh

Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV

Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW

Winds & Waves
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