Darkrai Report

Darkrai (the Pitch-Black Pokémon) is a legendary Dark-type Pokémon found among deserted forests, islands and caverns across the planet, though only in exceptionally small numbers. Renowned and feared for their ability to cause seemingly endless nightmares, Darkrai are powerful creatures that can easily dominate any battlefield if they can put the opposition to Sleep or otherwise render them unconscious. They might not be as large or imposing as some other legendaries, but if you ever manage to spot one of these shadowy creatures on a dark night, you had best say your prayers and hope that dawn is just on the horizon; otherwise, you'll find out exactly what it means to be stuck in a living nightmare!

Darkrai are a pristine example of what can happen when an otherwise logical defensive technique is exemplified as something more than it really is by human society. Although Darkrai are powerful creatures, a limited selection of offensive moves leaves them vulnerable to attack from many organisms; not surprisingly, this has led the creatures to become nocturnal most of the time, preferring only to openly reveal themselves when there is almost no visible light (such as during a new moon). In the daytime or when trying to escape predators, Darkrai will use their limited psychic power to cloak themselves in darkness, bending the light around them to give them the appearance of a shadow; unfortunately, this tactic only works to a certain extent, as special attacks can still disrupt the cloak and make Darkrai vulnerable. That is where their real power steps in: the ability to generate nightmares at will. In order to preserve their safety at night, Darkrai have developed the ability to emit an intense field of psychic energy around them that induces a state of panic and fear in sleeping creatures, in turn generating nightmares. Normally, this wouldn't be much of an issue, as a nightmare will eventually end…in most cases. With Darkrai, however, the energy field emitted is intense enough to not only lock a sleeping subject's brain into a deep-sleep state (therefore extending the amount of time they remain asleep) but also cause them physical pain. This unique Ability, known as Bad Dreams, is strong enough to deplete about 12.5% of the opposition's health every 'turn' in battle, ensuring that every minute spent asleep in a Darkrai's presence is both painful and difficult to break. Unfortunately, because humans tend to analyze the mysteries of the mind much more closely than most other creatures and have come to fear the potential harm of nightmares as a whole, Darkrai are often considered to be evil monsters that enjoy nothing more than causing pain in others. This could be no farther from the truth, as Darkrai are more than aware of their devastating powers and often isolate themselves from the eyes of others in order to protect the rest of the world. The few that do manage to find a home are often quite grateful and will willingly protect their home and those they care for with their life, even if it means certain death. It is lastly interesting to note that, despite their isolation from the human world, Darkrai are able to speak some human language and often show a great degree of intelligence in combat, making them worthy foes and companions in any battle.

The only obvious flaw in a Darkrai's power is the fact that it's Ability and primary attacks are only good if the opposition is asleep, seemingly making daytime battles more difficult. Although Darkrai do manage to learn a weak variety of the Hypnosis technique relatively early on, the one move they are particularly noted for (and which is only seen among relatively middle-aged subjects) is the utterly devastating Dark Void technique. While most Sleep-inducing techniques utilize either psychic energy or plant spores to do the job, the Dark Void technique is unique in that it actually utilizes negative energy. Due to their unique brain structure, Darkrai can focus the same intense negative energy they use primarily for offense into their bodies at concentrated points (generally their hands) to create highly-energized balls of energy; since this energy construct only appears to be possible with their particular brain structure, the technique is also considered to be Dark-type in nature. When fired at the opposition either as a single shot or multiple shots (which takes a little bit more time to charge up), the balls cloak the target(s) in a sphere of negative energy that forces their brains into a state of deep-sleep. While the technique’s effectiveness is not perfect (unlike the infamous Spore technique, which always hits the opposition under normal circumstances), the chance of striking multiple opponents in a Multi-Pokémon battle makes the technique a literal nightmare to deal with in combat. It is lastly interesting to note that the technique's name is actually derived from the fact that people who have been struck with the technique often report that they felt like they were being dragged into a well of pure darkness before losing consciousness; this is likely the typical response that would be felt from an almost immediate shutdown of brain functions, but the description is nonetheless frightening to think about. Unfortunately for humans, the effects of a Dark Void technique can be disastrous and have been known to permanently lock individuals in a state of sleep until they die of fear; in such cases, the only thing capable of disturbing the sleep cycle is a Lunar Wing. Such deaths are generally attributed to malevolent Darkrai and present a unique case where it seems that malice is an attribute of their personality. This could not be farther from the truth, for as seen in the myth of Veilstone City, Darkrai only attack humans because of times in the past when humans slaughtered Pokémon without care, making these shadowy fiends essential protectors of peace and the value of life in the Pokémon world and in turn living proof that there truly is no such thing as an evil Pokémon.

Although Darkrai are rarely ever talked about in global news, there is one recent incident involving a Darkrai that should be mentioned: the Alamos Town Incident. Although Dialga and Palkia normally stay within their own realms without ever interacting, the Alamos Town Incident stemmed from a chance encounter 15 years ago in which Dialga managed to find its way into the Spatial realm. Even though time and space exist together as one within the confines of the normal world, Dialga and Palkia are so intensely oriented towards one side of the equation that they absolutely can't stand each other. When Dialga invaded the Spatial realm, it attacked Palkia viciously and managed to damage it considerably, forcing the beast to travel into the normal world in order to heal itself. Unfortunately, due to its wounds, Palkia could not fully control its powers and its presence began to slowly warp the space in and around Alamos Town. The resulting disturbances were blamed on a local Darkrai, who was dutifully hunted by the town's inhabitants until Palkia revealed itself in conjunction with Dialga's appearance in the normal world. Because the normal world was never designed to take the temporal and spatial punishment their powers inherently cause, the fabric of space-time within Alamos Town became warped and eventually cut off from the rest of the world. Alamos Town itself possessed a pair of towers that were long ago built to honor Dialga and Palkia with a special 'music box' of sorts installed within as a way of playing music that everyone in the town could hear. The true purpose of the device, however, was to play a powerful melody that could calm even the most vicious of beasts in times of crisis; it is likely that the original designers feared what would happen if Dialga and Palkia were ever to meet one another and chose to plan accordingly. While the Darkrai involved in the incident used its Dark Void technique to hold back the two beasts before their attacks could fully destabilize the pocket of spacetime the town was now engulfed in, a small group of young trainers managed to make it to the top of the towers and play the required music. Although they were too late to save the Darkrai from being destroyed, the music did in fact calm the two deities, allowing them to go their separate ways in relative peace. It was later discovered that despite how intense the temporal distortion had been in the area, the actual structure and inhabitants of Alamos Town were effectively restored to how they were before the incident began at its conclusion with all of their memories retained, including the Darkrai that had sacrificed its life to protect its home. The events of the Alamos Town unfortunately did not do much to help the overall balance of the world, as the disturbance in spacetime apparently had the effect of filling the Distortion World with toxic smog and infuriating Giratina, leading to the events of the Zero Incident.

While they may be generally regarded as evil monsters, Darkrai are loyal creatures that will gladly fight to the bitter end to protect themselves and whatever they may care for. With the highest base Speed stat out of all Dark-type Pokémon (tied with Weavile) and the power needed to literally place the opposition into a never-ending nightmare, it can certainly be understood why so many humans fear and loathe what these beasts are capable of in the right circumstances. If you ever hear rumors of such creatures roaming nearby land or perhaps even living amongst locals, make sure that you don't go to sleep without taking proper precautions or at least getting out of town as quickly as possible; they might not intend to harm others, but that doesn't mean that you should ever breathe a sigh of relief whenever one of these living nightmares decides to take a stroll near your window at night!

Professor Wormwood