Pokemon Go Darkrai Raid Guide: Best Counters, Weaknesses, Raid Hours, And More Tips

The legendary Darkrai makes its triumphant return to Pokemon Go raids during the spooky Halloween 2020 festivities, presenting trainers with valuable opportunities to capture this elusive Mythical creature. Our comprehensive guide provides battle-tested strategies to ensure your victory against this formidable Dark-type opponent.

Pokemon Go’s Halloween celebration brings Darkrai back to five-star raid battles through November 5, giving both new and experienced trainers another chance to add this powerful Pokemon to their collections. Whether you’re seeking your first Darkrai or aiming to accumulate additional Candy for power-ups, mastering these raid strategies will significantly improve your success rate.

Darkrai emerges in five-star raids beginning October 23 at 1 PM Pacific Time / 4 PM Eastern Time, coinciding with the Halloween event launch. The Mythical Pokemon remains available until November 5 at the same time, providing exactly two weeks for raid encounters. Since Darkrai raids operate on random schedules rather than fixed timetables, staying alert for in-game notifications about nearby raid activity becomes crucial for participation.

Your optimal Darkrai encounter opportunities occur during Wednesday evening Raid Hour events hosted weekly by Niantic. Before Darkrai disappears, trainers have two dedicated raid windows: October 28 and November 4. Both events consistently run from 6-7 PM local time, making them ideal for coordinating with local raid groups.

Remember that participating in Darkrai raids requires a Raid Pass, obtainable either through purchase in Pokemon Go’s shop or by spinning Photo Discs at PokeStops. Strategic planning is essential since you can only maintain one free Raid Pass simultaneously—consider saving your free pass from previous days to maximize raid attempts during limited windows.

Before attempting to capture Darkrai, you must first overcome it in combat, where it presents a significant challenge as a five-star raid boss. As a pure Dark-type Pokemon, Darkrai demonstrates particular vulnerability to Fighting, Bug, and Fairy-type attacks, making Pokemon of these types essential for your raid team composition.

Among Fighting-type options, Machamp stands out as the premier choice, especially when equipped with Counter and Dynamic Punch moves. However, several other formidable fighters deliver exceptional performance, including Conkeldurr, Terrakion, and the versatile Lucario. Each brings unique advantages: Conkeldurr offers raw power, Terrakion provides Rock-type coverage, and Lucario’s Steel typing grants additional resistances.

For Bug-type specialists, Heracross and Scizor both excel against Darkrai, with Scizor proving particularly devastating when utilizing X-Scissor. Fairy-types present greater acquisition challenges due to their rarity in Pokemon Go, but Granbull, Togekiss, and Gardevoir equipped with Dazzling Gleam all deliver super-effective damage against the Mythical Pokemon.

Darkrai

Advanced trainers should prioritize Pokemon with optimal movesets and consider weather boosts for additional damage amplification. Cloudy weather enhances Fairy and Fighting-type moves, while Rain boosts Bug-type attacks—monitoring local weather conditions can provide that critical edge in difficult raids.

When assembling your raid team against Darkrai, deliberately exclude Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon since the Mythical creature naturally resists both elements, rendering such attackers ineffective. Understanding type immunities and resistances separates successful trainers from those who repeatedly fail against powerful raid bosses.

Note that Gardevoir, despite its Psychic typing, sustains only neutral damage from Darkrai thanks to its secondary Fairy type. More importantly, it can retaliate with super-effective Fairy-type attacks like Dazzling Gleam, making it a valuable hybrid counter despite the type disadvantage.

Common mistakes include using favored Pokemon regardless of type effectiveness and underestimating Darkrai’s damage output. Ensure your team consists of at least 4-6 high-level counters with optimal movesets, and always revive/heal between raid attempts to maintain battle readiness.

For optimal performance, power up your key counters to level 30-35 and consider using Mega Evolutions like Mega Beedrill or Mega Altaria for additional team damage boosts. Coordinate with 4-6 other trainers for comfortable victories, though highly optimized teams of 3 experienced players can potentially succeed with proper coordination and timing.

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