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Pokémon GO – How to Beat Darkrai with the Best Counters

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

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After months of anticipation among fans, Darkrai is finally coming back to Pokémon GO. Arriving tomorrow, March 6th at 8am the Dark type Mythical Pokémon will only be around for a few days as part of a special weekend event. You only have until Monday, March 9th at 10pm local time to take him on. With such a limited window, you’ll need to hit the ground running. So here’s how to beat Darkrai with the best counters in Pokémon GO.

How to Beat Darkrai

Let’s start off with some of the basic info you’ll need to beat Darkrai in Pokémon GO. As I said, he’s Dark type, leaving a few easy counters open to you. Bug, Fairy, and Fighting characters should take him down much easier, offering extra damage with each attack. However, if the weather is fog you may want to watch out as Darkrai will be boosted from his usual CP range of 2048-2136 to 2560-2671 CP.

Many wonder how many trainers it takes to beat Darkrai, so they know how to compose the proper team. With his high defense stats the answer might not be what you want to hear. With cloudy weather boosting most of the best counters it can still take three trainers at high levels. Most casual players will want to have five or six high level trainers in a team at a minimum, and that’s even if you have solid counters spread across the team. So let’s break those down now. Here’s the best Darkrai counters in Pokémon GO.

The Best Darkrai Counters

Below are the six best attackers to use against Darkrai in most situations, along with the best moveset for them to have. If you have other moves you might want to use some of those precious TMs you’ve surely been saving up. Otherwise just make sure the attack type matches to maximize your super effective attacks.

Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch
Togekiss with Charm and Dazzling Gleam
Hariyama with Counter and Dynamic Punch
Toxicroak with Counter and Dynamic Punch
Heracross with Counter and Close Combat
Breloom with Counter and Dynamic Punch

Lot’s of Fighting type Pokémon and attacks in there, of course. If you lack these ideal counters you can sub in others from the Bug, Fairy, and Fighting type set such as Blaziken, Granbull, and Gardevoir. Once you defeat him you may want some tips on how to catch Darkrai since you may only have a few chances.

How to Catch Darkrai

Catching raid boss Pokémon can be one of the toughest challenges in Pokémon GO. Players will want to conserve their Poké Ball throws since running out is the only way to miss out on a catch. Be patient, don’t worry if you take too much time, there is no limit there. I like the circle-set move where you hold the ball until the circle reaches a level you are comfortable hitting. You always want to get Great or Excellent curveballs, so try to get it as small as is possible for you to hit every time. Once it is there just let go without throwing and wait for Darkrai to attack. When he does, grab the ball, curve it and throw so that it hits him right when the animation is done. This will hopefully guarantee every throw is a Great or Excellent curveball which will increase your chances quite a bit. And be sure to feed him a Golden Razz if you have spares.

And that’s how to beat Darkrai with the best counters in Pokémon GO.


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