Pokémon Legends Arceus: How to Catch Darkrai

Pokémon Legends: Arceus features a lot of Pokémon that can only be caught once the player has achieved special requirements. An example is Wyrdeer, which can only be caught by evolving a Stantler after using the move Psyshield Bash in Agile Style 20 times. Another is Kleavor, which can only be caught using a Black Augurite to evolve a Scyther.

Every Legendary and Mythical Pokémon in the game are the same, as they can only be caught under special circumstances. An example is Dialga and Palkia, which can only be encountered and caught as part of the game’s main story. Catching the Mythical Pokémon Darkrai, which can also be found in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is no exception.

This guide will teach us to catch Darkrai in Pokémon Legends: Arceus! Consider this your spoiler warning for a few main story details!

Darkrai

Darkrai, the 242nd Pokémon in the Hisuian Pokédex, is a Dark-type, Mythical, Pitch-Black Pokémon that has a black body that looks like a shadow with an hourglass figure, a small head, a white fog on top of its head in place of hair, a pair of blue eyes, a red, spiky growth around its neck, black floating tatters connected to its shoulders, a pair of skinny arms with black, sharp claws on each hand, and a bottom half that looks like the remains of a black, old, ripped, cloak.

This Mythical Pokémon has no legs but can extend its appendages to something that looks like stilts.

According to its Pokédex entry in the game, something strange occurred on a moonless night when every person in a village had nightmares. The villagers say that Darkrai appeared in their nightmares.

Darkrai is a Dark-type Pokémon which means it has:

Darkrai’s base stats are:

Catching Darkrai

As mentioned above, Darkrai, being a Mythical Pokémon, has special requirements for the player to encounter and catch it. The requirements to catch Darkrai in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the following:

1. Watch the End Credits

The first requirement to encounter and catch Darkrai is to complete the game’s main story. This can be done by completing “The Counterpart” mission, the game’s 18th and final main story mission, where the player must quell Palkia or Dialga in their Origin Form and catch either using the Origin Ball.

The duration of when the player can get to this part depends on the player, but most players whose main focus is the game’s main story can beat it at around the 20 to 30-hour mark. 

Because of this requirement, the player can only use Darkrai in post-game missions. Out of all the requirements to encounter and catch Darkrai, completing Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ main story is, understandably, the most tiresome.

2. Insert Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl

After finishing the game’s main credits and watching the credits roll, the next requirement to catch Darkrai is to have a save file for the franchise’s other entry in the Nintendo Switch console, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. 

This requirement is easy because the player does not have to finish or even play Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl; all it needs is a save file. To get save data for the game, all the player has to do is start the game and immediately save the game in the player’s room right after the initial cutscenes.

If you do not own the game, you can borrow a Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl game cartridge from a friend, start the game, save the game once it is available, then give the cartridge back, and, just like that, you have already completed this requirement.

3. Complete “The Darksome Nightmare” Request

Next, after completing the main story of Pokémon Legends: Arceus and creating save data for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl, the player should then complete Request 93, called “The Darksome Nightmare” Request in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Unlock

To unlock this request, head to the Galaxy Hall in the northern part of Jubilife Village and enter Professor Laventon’s office on the left side of Captain Cyllene’s office. There is a blackboard near Professor Laventon where the player can accept requests. Interact with the blackboard by pressing the A button. Then select “The Darksome Nightmare” request on the prompt to start it.

After accepting the request, a member of the Pearl Clan named Cael will talk to the player and say that there is an old tale told in the Hisui region about a dark nightmare that visits people on lonely paths during the nighttime and that he never believed this tale until he saw a terrifying black Pokémon similar to the one in the tale.

He will continue by saying that people trapped in the nightmares that this Pokémon creates never wake up. So, Cael will say they should not wait for someone to become a victim and act before anything can happen.

Cael will say he saw this Pokémon near Clamberclaw Cliffs in the Coronet Highlands while walking alone at night. He will also tell the player to be careful, as he does not want the player to die.

Request Begin

According to the request description, Cael saw a terrifying Pokémon. So the player must find the Pokémon’s location to survey it. To complete this request, this is what the player must do the following:

First, head out of the Galaxy Hall to the Front Gate in the northeastern corner of Jubilife Village and the Mountain Camp of the Coronet Highlands.

Next, interact with the tent on the camp by pressing the A button. Select “Until nightfall” on the prompt to rest until nighttime. After this will be an excellent time to save your progress before finally meeting Darkrai.

Afterward, go to the open area in Clamberclaw Cliffs, which is in the eastern part of the map of the Coronet Highlands. To navigate better, turn on the guidance for the request by pressing the – button to open the map, press the Y button to open the Missions & Requests menu, press the R button to go to the Requests tab, select “The Darksome Nightmare” Request, then press the A button to turn on guidance for the request. This will help the player by placing a pin on the map and the overworld.

Finally, Darkrai

Then, upon arriving in the area, a cutscene will play, where the player will walk into the area, and a Darkrai will appear. The player must now throw a Pokémon at Darkrai to start a battle against it. It is worth noting that Darkrai will teleport around the area and attack the player once the player tries to throw anything at it.

The player can tell where Darkrai will appear next by looking for the black and purple vortexes that show up before Darkrai pops up. To successfully hit it with a Pokémon, use the large rocks around the area to hide from Darkrai. Then, once Darkrai has ignored the player, slowly sneak on Darkrai and throw a Pokémon at it to face it in a battle. 

Next, once the player successfully hits it with a Pokémon, this is the chance to catch Darkrai! A reliable way to catch Darkrai or even other Pokémon, is to weaken it and inflict status conditions before throwing a Poké Ball.

It is important to mention that the player will face a Level 70 Darkrai, which means that, again, Bug-type, Fairy-type, and Fighting-type moves can effectively damage it and that Psychic-type moves do not affect it. Darkrai will use Dark-type, Ghost-type, and Psychic-type moves, so it is recommended that the player use Pokémon that are resistant to these types, like Snorlax or even the legendary Dialga. 

Do not worry if the player accidentally defeats Darkrai, as the player can make it respawn by returning to Jubilife Village and then heading back to Clamberclaw Cliffs in the Coronet Highlands. The request will also not be completed until the player catches Darkrai.

Conclusion

After catching Darkrai, Cael will appear, compliment the player, and say that everyone can rest easy as no one else will become a victim of Darkrai’s dark nightmares.

Finally, the player has completed “The Darksome Nightmare” Request, and Cael will reward the player with one Exp Candy XL for your efforts!

Now that the player has caught the Mythical Pokémon Darkrai in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, they can use it to complete post-game missions, accomplish requests, or even face other Pokémon to catch ‘em all!