Darkrai (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky)

Who would know that this mythical Pokémon was all behind the entire game's story?

Darkrai is the final boss and main antagonist of the post-story of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky. He's a dangerous foe that uses mind games and deception with nightmares to trick his enemies.

Why He Sucks

Darkrai has done enough actions, that while doesn't make him as hateful as the likes of Lucien and Makarov, it makes him nastier, just like Lord Brevon, Vay Hek and Herex.
1. Remember when Temporal Tower was destroyed in the Dark Future, and Grovyle, the Player and his partner decided to go fix it, while Dusknoir was hunting them because he was ordered by Primal Dialga to prevent the planet's paralysis? Well, it turns out that Darkrai was behind all of this, as he sabotaged the tower, thus making Dialga become Primal Dialga after said tower collapsed.
2. Also, you do remember how the player became an human and lost all of its memory? The reason is, Darkrai attacked both the player and Grovyle when they're was travelling in time, to prevent them to stop Temporal Tower to be destroyed. However, it didn't work much well, as Grovyle was protected by the player, which then became a Pokémon and lost its memory.
3. Darkrai also disguised as Cresselia, so that he could trick Palkia into thinking that both the player and his partner are the reason the space distortion is increasing. He also tricks the player's partner by saying that if the player and him/her are killed, the space distortion will be removed, so that his/her will is weakened, which is obvoiously inappropriate for a kid's game.
  - Also, this makes the player confused, making him/her think that Cresselia is the villain of the post-main story.
4. He blocks Azurill into a nightmare, forcing the player's team to go to Drowzee on Mt. Travail, so that they can enter The Nightmare.
5. He's the reason why space is distorting. However, as said in the third point, Darkrai blamed the main protagonist's team for that.
6. He attempts to trick the player into joining him (and presumibly drop his guard), even by making his/her partner join him and act uncharacteristic.
  - Speaking of that, no matter what answer you choice when Darkrai asks you to join him, you can't join him, as it's all a nightmare (in fact,choicing the first answer will result on a voice that tells you that is a trap, while the second choice is the player realizing that it was all a nightmare)
Darkrai appears to be cowardly, as he normally flees if confronted. However, during Palkia's nightmare, he blows his cover by acting more differently, even by challenging the player to go on Dark Crater. Even Cresselia points that Darkrai was acting differently, as he usually operates on the darkness.
- Also, rather than fighting alone, he summons his minions.
Darkrai is helped by Magcargo, Mismagius, Aggron, Rhyperior, Arbok and Magmortar, which makes the battle more difficult, depending of which starter and partner you got.
1. Torchic, Cyndaquil, Vulpix, Chimchar and Charmander are weaker against Rhyperior, Magcargo and Aggron's rock-type.
2. Totodile, Squirtle, Mudkip and Piplup can easily wreck Rhyperior and Magcargo.
3. Shinx and Pikachu can use Discharge to make an easy fight... Except the fact that RHYPERIOR HAS LIGHTING ROD AS AN ABILITY.
4. Phanpy can learn Earthquake, but other than wrecking Aggron and Magcargo, it will not harm both Mismagius and Cresselia (as they both have Levitate as an ability)... Except your starter/partner won't have the same luck as they have, especially if said starter/partner was Pikachu, Shinx, Charmander, Torchic, Vulpix, Cyndaquil or Chimchar.
5. Bulbasaur, Treeko, Chikorita and Turtwig can easily wreck Rhyperior, but Magcargo, Magmortar and Arbok can do the same with them.
6. Riolu, with the IQ abilities Intimidator and Nonsleeper, can totally wreck Darkrai, without even being affected to Hypnosis and Nightmare.
7. Munchlax, Eevee and Meowth, without a good move, won't do much damage.
8. Cresselia is weak against Mismagius's attacks, and she's also fragil.
Speaking of Cresselia, by the time you approach Darkrai, you might have wasted reviver seeds because of her fragility.
Despite being the final boss, Darkrai does not much in a way of attacks, as he has only Hypnosis, Nightmare, Quick Attack and Double Team. Not only when you fight him in various location has Ominous Wind replacing Hypnosis (Nightmare is also more reliable than Hypnosis, because not only causes the enemy to sleep, but also inflicts damage at the end of the sleep duration), but Double Team will make sure that you won't hit Darkrai frequently.
1. The explorers of Sky version has Ominous Wind as one of his moves, so you have to be more careful.
2. The move set that Darkrai has is a bit underwhelming as well, Darkrai's only real means of attack is Quick Attack. the other three are just status attacks.
  - Question: Why give a legendary Pokemon like Darkrai, which is also the final boss of the game, only ONE attack that is a basic normal type attack, which is not super-effective to any other types?
To recruit Darkrai, you have to wait until Manaphy finds Marine Resort, then you have to go on Mystifying Forest, Crevice Cave (the lower part), Miracle Sea, Spacial Rift or Mt. Travail, and have the Mystery Part or the Secret Slab in your bag. By the way, Darkrai has a recruitment rate of -22%, so good luck trying to recruit him.
Bad Dreams, Darkrai's Ability, makes going through dungeons more difficult, as it awakens pokemon that are sleeping. This includes pokemons that spawns sleeping.
Underwheming final boss music. Rather than its own theme, the game plays Dusknoir's theme, which is pretty lazy.
Dark Void is overpowered (as it can put to sleep all pokemons in a floor's room). Also, Darkrai learns it at level 64-66, and because it's at level 53, it takes only 11-13 levels to learn it.
- Also, Pokemons that has an ability that prevents them to sleep or with the IQ ability Nonsleeper, are totally immune to Dark Void.
Darkrai can go through walls. However, if doing so as leader, you lose belly more faster. And no, the Tight Belt won't help you with that either.
Defeating Darkrai isn't much satysfying, because as soon as you defeat him, he opens a Dimensional Hole at the end of his boss fight and escapes, only for Palkia to attack him while he was inside the portal, making him lose the memory.

Redeeming Qualities

Despite his actions, Darkrai is a good villain, being a terrifying and intimidating foe that can trick everyone with mind games and nightmare deceptions.
Despite being a coward, Darkrai did challenge the player to go on Dark Crater, and actually put a fight there (unlike a certain boss), even if he was aided by his minions.
Darkrai explains the reasons why he did sabotage Temporal Tower and distort the space, as well as explaining why the player turned into an human in the first place, which gives more clues how did Temporal Tower was crumbling in the first place.
Darkrai, along Dialga, is one of the pokemons that has the IQ Group I, with its last and peculiar ability, Time Tripper, which increases the pokemon's initial speed by 1.
Dark Void is useful, if facing a Monster House.
- Also, Bad Dreams can weaken all the enemies, and if possible, dispose the weak enemies.
All-Terrain Hiker, an IQ ability that Darkrai can learn, can actually prevent Darkrai to go on the walls, thus preventing his belly to deplete.
Darkrai can learn Psychic and Aerial Ace, which can be useful to deal with fighting-type and bug-type pokemon, which are his weakness.
1. He can also learn Thunderbolt, Blizzard, Ice Beam, Sludge Bomb, Shadow Ball and Focus Blast, which actually fits with his high special attack, so that he can cover more pokemon with different types.
2. Also, he can learn/remember Double Team and Ominous Wind, which respectively gives him less ways to be hit, and an all-room attack.