How to get Darkrai in Legends: Arceus

Q: Do you need to catch Darkrai to get Arceus?

What that means, if you dont know, is that you first need to catch every other Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, including ultra powerful ones like Palika, Dialga, Regigigas, and more. The only ones that dont count are the Mythical Darkrai and Shaymin. This will total 242 Pokémon you need to add to your collection.

Q: Do you need Shaymin and Darkrai to catch Arceus?

You dont need to capture Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai or Shaymin. You can do these quests whenever you want (if you capture them you will have 241, Arceus as final Pokémon, 242 out of 242).

Image: Nintendo Life / The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the latest adventure in the Pokémon franchise, this time bringing with it a whole new open world, new catching mechanics and more.

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How to catch Darkrai in Pokémon Legends Arceus
Where to find Darkrai in Pokemon Legends Arceus
How to catch Darkrai in Pokemon Legends Arceus
Do you need to catch Darkrai to get Arceus?
Do you need Shaymin and Darkrai to catch Arceus?
Does Darkrai Respawn in Legends: Arceus?

While the deep mysteries of Hisui, and which Pokémon you’re going to encounter, are left for you to solve, there are a few quests that you might need a bit of help with, including how to catch certain Pokémon — Darkrai is one of them.

How to catch Darkrai in Pokémon Legends Arceus

In order to catch Darkrai, you’ll actually need an entirely different game.

If you have save data from Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on your Switch, after you’ve finished the game, you can consult the message board in the Galaxy building, and you’ll be offered a quest to catch Darkrai.

Head to the area on the map, and you’ll get a spooky cutscene after which Darkrai will appear. Darkrai is extremely annoying to catch. He runs away from you, and he’ll disappear if you throw Poké Balls at him.

For this quest, you’ll need to use the large rocks around the area in order to sneak round Darkrai and get him to ignore you. Once he’s close enough, throw a Pokémon at his back, and it’ll hopefully stun him. After that, it’s a normal fight against a level 70 Pokémon.

Don’t worry if you knock it out, you get infinite chances to catch this legendary. Also, it’s worth noting that Darkrai doesn’t count towards Pokédex completion, so if you don’t have Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, you can still complete the final quest in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

This article is part of our Pokémon Legends: Arceus walkthrough and guide series. You can find every Pokémon in the game using our Complete Hisui Pokédex List And Pokémon Locations guide, or hunt for specific hard-to-catch Pokémon with our individual guides, including Every Alpha Pokémon (with Maps), Every Rare Space-Time Distortion Pokémon, Where To Find Every Unown, Where To Find The Other Starters, Where To Find The Sinnoh Starters, How To Catch Darkrai, How To Catch Shaymin, Where To Find Hisuian Zorua, Where To Find Hisuian Growlithe, Where To Find Hisuian Electrode, How To Get Sneasler, How To Get Wyrdeer, How To Get Alolan Vulpix, How To Get Kleavor, How To Catch Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus, How To Get Every Eeveelution, How To Catch The New 'Secret' Legendary, and (of course) How To Catch Arceus.

Elsewhere we've got starter guides with answers to simple questions like "How Do You Break Cracked Rocks?" and "How Long Is Pokémon Legends: Arceus?", plus tips on How To Swap Pokémon, How To Turn On Gyro Controls, or where to find specific items and make the most of your resources, including How To Increase Your Bag Size And Carry More Items and Where To Buy Every Evolution Item, Plus A Complete Price List. We also have our Ginkgo Guild Item List And Prices guide and cover How To Get Shiny Pokémon and how to access and complete various side quests and missions, such as The Sea Legend, the Eerie Apparitions In The Night Mission Guide - Maps With Every Wisp Location, and How To Defeat Volo, as well as a 'Snow-White Vulpix In The Snow' Map.

We also have a Ginkgo Guild Item List With Prices and explain How To Change Pokémon Forms, Every New Evolution Method, How To Unlock The Mystery Gift Function, in addition to a regularly updated Full List Of Mystery Gift Codes.

And finally, Where to Buy Pokémon Legends: Arceus on Nintendo Switch, if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game!

❘ Published: 2022-01-29T23:13:06

❘ Updated: 2022-06-15T11:40:24

Game Freak is celebrating the Hisui region by giving away the Dark-type Sinnoh Mythical Pokemon for free. Here is how to catch Darkrai in Pokemon Legends Arceus.

Similar to Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Game Freak is enticing players to jump into Pokemon Legends Arceus by giving away rare Pokemon.

In Pokemon Legends Arceus, Trainers will be able to catch Gen IV Mythical Darkrai in a special storyline. This guide will break down where it is located and how to catch it.

Game Freak / The Pokemon Company

Players can catch the Sinnoh Mythical in Pokemon Legends Arceus.

Where to find Darkrai in Pokemon Legends Arceus

The Dark-type becomes available in the post-game. In order to get its special DLC mission, however, players will need to have a Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl save file on their Nintendo Switch.

Those eligible for the Legendary will then need to follow the steps below to find the ‘mon:

After beating Mission 19: A New Day Dawns, head to the Galaxy Team Building in Jubilife Village.
Once inside, head to Professor Laventon’s office and look at the board in the room to obtain Request 93: The Darksome Nightmare.
With the quest accepted, go to Coronet Highlands. After arriving, immediately travel north. Darkrai can be found in the ravine in the middle of Clamberclaw Cliffs and Lonely Springs.
Simply walk into the ravine and a cutscene featuring the Mythical will automatically trigger.

Game Freak / The Pokemon Company

Darkrai is found in the Coronet Highlands.

How to catch Darkrai in Pokemon Legends Arceus

Unlike previous games, Mythical Pokemon can no longer be caught right away. Similar to Noble’s, Trainers will need to stun Darkai in a special fight. After the cutscene with the ‘mon ends, it will throw a psychic blast that will leave your character unable to move.

Below we explain how to defeat the Dark-type so that you can catch it:

In the first phase of the fight, Darkrai will throw shockwaves out that will leave you paralyzed. Use the dodge button to roll through these attacks.
As soon as you get an opening, throw either an item or a Poke Ball to break its shield and stun it. Repeat this a few times to trigger the second phase of the battle.
Purple rings will now form on the floor and the ‘mon will warp through the floor and disappear. Run up to the next purple ring you see and aim your Pokemon at it.
The exact second the Legendary appears, throw your Poke Ball at the ‘mon to trigger a battle.
Your Pokemon can now be used to lower its health. Once you get its HP to yellow or red, throw an Ultra Ball at it.
If it breaks out, don’t sweat it. Keep your ‘mon healed and keep throwing Balls at it until it is caught.

Game Freak / The Pokemon Company

Players have to face down the Mythical in a special battle.

After catching the Dark-type, the quest giver Cael will appear and thank you for ending the Diamond Clan’s nightmare with the Legendary.

Read More: Pokemon Legends Arceus will have improved catch XP

Let the cutscene play out and then Request 93 will automatically be completed. You will now get to keep Darkrai as a part of your team.

And that’s it! You have now tamed the nightmare-inducing Darkrai in Pokemon Legends Arceus.

For more help on your Hiusi adventures, make sure to check out our other guides below:

Do you need to catch Darkrai to get Arceus?

What that means, if you don't know, is that you first need to catch every other Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, including ultra powerful ones like Palika, Dialga, Regigigas, and more. The only ones that don't count are the Mythical Darkrai and Shaymin. This will total 242 Pokémon you need to add to your collection.

Do you need Shaymin and Darkrai to catch Arceus?

You don't need to capture Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai or Shaymin. You can do these quests whenever you want (if you capture them you will have 241, Arceus as final Pokémon, 242 out of 242).

Does Darkrai Respawn in Legends: Arceus?

Fortunately, since capturing Darkrai is required to complete the Request, the Mythical Pokémon will respawn after trainers return to Jubilife Village if they accidentally knock it out in battle.