Darkrai

Darkrai
A Darkrai, the Pitch-Black Pokémon
Species	Pitch-Black Pokémon
Original Location	Various
Current Location	Various
Faction	Team Rocket The Searchers John Ford Team Liberty
Status	One recruited by Team Liberty; alive One recruited by Team Rocket; alive One recruited by the Searchers; alive One recruited by John Ford; alive Eight under the control of Sombra; all alive
Type	Dark
Height	4'11"
Weight	111.3 lbs.
Created by	Characterization courtesy of Detranix, Parugi, Alku, Kinali, Umbra of Doom, Nuju Nui and Promised Land. Overall Ancient Darkrai background created by Detranix, Alku and Kinali.

Darkrai' is the Pitch-Black' Pokémon, and a Legendary Pokémon native to the Sinnoh region.

History

Two Darkrai were seen by Ash and his friends. The first was seen in Alamos Town, where it lived. The Darkrai there had been hurt at the town, and it was saved by a young girl named Alicia. The Darkrai became attached to the city, and stayed there to live. When Palkia and Dialga fought above Alamos Town, the Darkrai tried to stop the two Dieties from fighting. It eventually sacrificed itself to save the town, though it was shown to have been revived.

The second was seen at Canalave City, where it and a Cresselia appeared annually. The Darkrai, however, arrived early and made the people of the city have terrible nightmares. Ash and his friends went to Full Moon Island to try and find the Cresselia, who appeared to stop the Darkrai. The two opposites had a brief battle before the Darkrai retreated.

Team Rocket's Darkrai

Following Team Rocket's gathering order, a Team Rocket elite named Jessica Ortrune led a small group of Rocket Elites in search of a Darkrai to recruit to Team Rocket's cause. Arriving on Newmoon Island, the group was able to locate the Darkrai and attempted to convince it to join them, though he stated he would only go along with the Rocket agents if they could defeat him in battle. The squad fought and defeated Darkrai, using his weakness to light against him, and were finally able to recruit him to their cause.

The same Dakrai has been used multiple times by Jessica since then, both in the recruitment of other Legendary Pokémon and in the defense of several bases. Darkrai acted as a translator when the group went to speak to Rayquaza, and with his help the group was able to get the Sky Dragon to ally itself with Team Rocket. Darkrai later assisted in both of the battles at Paradise. In the first fight, an attempted invasion by Tema Liberty, he fought and defeated many of Team Liberty's Pokémon, and then transported a group of Liberty agents back to Four Island.

Shadow Admin Buzz attempted to have Darkrai teleport Liberty Leader Silvermind to another of Team Rocket's mainbases after managing to capture her, though by the time he was ordered to do so a teleportation block had been set around Southern Island, preventing an escape. Darkrai was then sent to intercept the Liberty squad attempting to rescue Silvermind and herd them to one of the training facilities in the base, as part of Buzz's plan to ambush them. While successful in this course of action, Buzz's plans were foiled when Carl Sandrock got a hold of Silvermind and dropped the teleportation block, betraying Team Liberty as he made off with their leader.

The Searchers' Darkrai

Another, female Darkrai was mentioned to have been captured by a group called The Searchers, along with a Lugia, a Mew and a Cresselia.

The Searchers' Darkrai has been used primarily as a way to track the actions of the Ten Ancients following their return to power, and their subsequent invasion of Sinnoh.

Team Liberty's Darkrai

Cyan Vero sought out a Darkrai near Lavender Town, and after an intense battle, he caught it for Team Liberty. This Darkrai later informed Cyan and Jayron Aaron of the newly returned Darkrai in Sinnoh.

The Ancient Darkrai

John Ford, also known as The Shadowed Man, owns a Darkrai, which he used in his attack on the Alamo. It has been revealed that, including Ford's Darkrai, there are ten other Darkrai who were sealed away by Arceus, of which Ford's is the ninth that was not sealed. They are led by SombraD, the most powerful of the group, who is currently sealed away.

Long ago, they were granted the power of Time and Space, to keep balance while Dialga and Palkia healed from a recent battle. The leader, Sombra, convinced his brethren to fight back and conquer the world. Covering many regions in darkness and nightmares, they nearly succeeded. Creating a massive tower in the four regions known as Void Towers, they were able to amplify the effects of Dark Void, and drained the power of the sleeping beings, using it to become much stronger. The Void Tower of Hoenn was destroyed by the forces of the Weather Trio, while the Void Tower of Sinnoh was brought down by Regigigas and the Regis. Kanto's Void Tower was toppled by Lugia and the Legendary Birds, and the Void Tower in Johto was destroyed by Ho-Oh and the Legendary Beasts.

With their powers weakened, the Ten were finally stopped at Sinjoh Ruins by the combined forces of Humans and Pokemon. The battle was long and strenuous, but finally, Sombra was subdued. Arceus sealed the Darkrai in different places throughout the region, with the exception of Sombra, who was sealed between Time and Space, and Nine, who was not present for the battle. While the other Darkrai kept their powers, in order to prevent Time and Space from running rampant, Sombra and Nine were stripped of the power of Time and Space, due to their high power levels.

Afterwards, Arceus wiped clean the memories of the events from people's minds, in order to keep them from seeking out the Ten and setting them free. Until recently, the only beings aware of their existence were Arceus, the Dragon Trio of Sinnoh, John Ford, a group of people sworn to oppose the Ten, most Darkrai, all Legendary Pokemon involved in the final battle at Sinjoh Ruins, Evan Tierra, Seth Vicens, Klim Prizak, Bria Gallant and Shade. Since the Ancient Darkrais' return, the Shadow Admins of Team Rocket and the leaders of Team Liberty, along with various members of both teams, have also learned about them; the Searchers and Team Energon have also had encounters with the Darkrai, though whether they are aware of their identities is unknown.

The ten Darkrai are named, in descending order, for their power level. Each also has a difference in appearance to a normal Darkrai. These Darkrai are also despised by most Darkrai, as their actions have brought malice upon the Darkrai species.

• Sombra, also known as Master or Ten, is the most powerful Darkrai, and leader of the group. Sombra was the one who convinced the others to rebel against the world and cover it in a cloak of shadows. Sombra is extremely powerful, easily able to hold his own against the combined might of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. Sombra is much larger than normal Darkrai, being over six feet tall, as opposed to the usual close to five feet height of regular Darkrai. Sombra is also a darker color than most Darkrai, being jet black. The reason for his increased size is that he absorbed the energy of sleeping humans and Pokemon. Sombra is very manipulative, having planned the events of Spear Pillar and Shade's involvement. Sombra's current link to the world is through Adam Sombra, an illusion human with the power of Darkrai. Adam is an extension of Sombra's mind, but refers to himself as a separate being. Sombra, thanks to the weakening of his seal, is able to appear in a mist form, but he needs the other nine Darkrai to completely release him from his prison. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Shadow Ball
• Nine is the second strongest Darkrai in the group, overshadowed only by Sombra. Nine is unique in that he was the only one who was not imprisoned, due to having left the group shortly before they were defeated; however, Arceus took away his power over Time and Space despite this. At some point, he allied with Ford, and through their combined efforts Nine has regained these abilities. Calm and intelligent, he seems to want to stop the Liberty-Rocket War. His eyes are green as opposed to the usual blue of other Darkrai. Nine is the only Darkrai capable of holding his own against Sombra. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Shadow Ball, Dark Void
• Eight is an extremely violent female Darkrai. Her necklace is purple. Sealed in Mirage Tower. Eight is ruthless in battle, but when she gets angry, she lets down her guard to focus more on attacks, leaving her open. Eight is fully supportive of Sombra's plan, never questioning anything that he does. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt
• Seven is an insane, male Darkrai with longer than usual hair. Sealed in Shoal Cave. Despite his insanity, Seven is very powerful, only held back by his habit of toying with an opponent, instead of finishing them off quickly. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void
• Six is a quiet female Darkrai with longer shoulders than the others. Sealed in Mt. Moon. Six rarely talks, only listening. Six will never question any orders she is given. As such, it is difficult to know exactly what she is thinking. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void
• Five is a quick-tongued male Darkrai with a larger than normal necklace. Sealed in Rock Tunnel. Five has a bad attitude, in addition to his arrogance. Five does not doubt Sombra's plan, but feels that he could do some things differently. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void
• Four is an intimidating male Darkrai that is much bulkier than the others. Sealed in Lake of Rage. Four is a brute, to say the least. While he relies mostly on pure strength, he is smart as well, making for a dangerous combination. Four believes that Sombra is too subtle in his plans, but doesn't doubt his Master. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void
• Three is an intelligent, female Darkrai with a longer "skirt" than normal. Sealed in Sprout Tower. Three is the brains of the Ten, smarter than most. She was the one who designed the Void Towers. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void
• Two is a rude male Darkrai with longer arms than others. Sealed in Wayward Cave. Two despises humans, even those who are pretending to be humans, such as Sombra's human illusion. Two believes that Sombra's plan will succeed, as he believes humans are ignorant to things around them. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void
• One is the weakest of the group, though she is still quite powerful when compared to other Darkrai. She has darker hair. Sealed in Lost Tower. One is often very calm, and is usually the one who has to calm Eight down when she becomes very angry. One fully believes that Sombra is right, but feels that too much violence is unneccessary. Moves: Spacial Rend, Roar of Time, Dark Void
• There were also many other Darkrai who served under the Ten, but their whereabouts are currently unknown. Some rebelled and joined the resistance, while others merely vanished.

Powers and Abilities

Darkrai's most notable power is that to cause horrible nightmares in surrounding humans. Because of this, some Darkrai have clashed with individual Cresselia, for they are polar opposites.

Darkrai is a powerful Pokémon, and, as seen in The Rise of Darkrai!, was powerful enough to stop Dialga and Palkia's fight long enough for Ash and Dawn to calm the two dieties. Unfortunately, even this was not able to stop that particular Darkrai from being killed due to the strain of the battle.

Other Darkrai have proved to be much more powerful than the average specimen. The ten Ancient Darkrai, for instance, once managed to weaken Dialga, Palkia and Giratina to such a point that Arceus was forced to intervene so as to stop the destruction of the world. Despite this, they have managed to make a return, though with their second strongest member secreting working against them.

While not an actual move, Nine also possesses the ability to utilize some sort of green fire -- the same color as his eyes -- in whatever way he pleases. An example of this was when he burned Adam Sombra during their first reunion, after being marked for later tracking. It is not currently known if this is an ability exclusive to him, or if other Darkrai are able to utilize this as well.

Trivia

• Darkrai is Cresselia's polar opposite.
• Though Darkrai is the opposite of Cresselia, a member of both species are fighting for Team Rocket.
• Darkrai is the legendary with the most appearances in RotR, with a total of 13 individuals accounted for -- three of the major factions all have one, and the ten Ancient Darkrai account for the rest. Of all of these, the members of the Ten are the most powerful.
  • Arguably, the Ten could be called some of the strongest Pokémon in the game. Before the events of the RPG, they managed to nearly kill the Dragons of Sinnoh, and almost succeeded in overthrowing Arceus itself. Even after being locked away, they have returned, and have once again begun to pursue that goal.