Darkrai
 
Type: Dark

Traits:
Bad Dreams: While foe is asleep, that pokemon loses 1/16 of its health per turn.

Weakness: Bug, Fighting
Resistance: Dark, Ghost
Immunities: Psychic

Base Stats

HP: 70
Attack: 90
Defense: 90
Speed: 125
Special Attack: 135
Special Defense: 90

Movesets:

Taunting

Darkrai@ Leftovers
Trait: Bad Dreams
Nature: Timid (+Speed, - Atk)
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk/6 Sp. Def/252 Speed
- Dark Void
- Calm Mind
- Taunt
- Dark Pulse

Your best bet against those pesky Sleeptalkers (it should actually should be sleep takers). You put them to sleep and when they want to do Sleep Talk, you Taunt them disabling the move. You’ve gotten rid of the first menace to your Darkrai, however this set gets walled easily by one “sleep taker” and then Blissey or even better a Dialga that just launches attacks at you.

Sub + Calm Mind

Darkrai@ Leftovers
Trait: Bad Dreams
Nature: Timid (+Speed, - Atk)
EVs: 252 Speed/252 Sp.Atk/6 Sp. Def
- Dark Void
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Dark Pulse

The first set that was popularized for Darkrai. This in paper is very effective as you sub to resist those Toxic acids, or little Will-o-Wisp flames, but then it runs into a severe problem when things like Bug or Fighting Arceus that Restalk appear. Still, the appearance of this thing is the only reason Mewtwo changed to Timid in this generation. A fast sleep is always handy and is a popular lead. It has this Gengar feel…

Jibaku's (Freakshow) Focus Punching Sweeper

Darkrai@ Life Orb
Trait: Bad Dreams
Nature: Hasty (+Speed, - Def) or Naïve (+Speed/-Sp. Def)
EVs: 156 Atk/176 Speed/ 176 Sp. Atk
- Focus Punch
- Dark Void
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam/Thunder/Spacial Rend/Thunderbolt

This is a mix set that can catch things off guard easily. Dark Void and Dark Pulse are common knowledge. Focus Punch is an effective way of dealing with Blissey who can absorb special attacks in her blubber. The problem is that, if we do not count the sleep, pokemon like Ho-oh, Palkia, Rayquaza and Kyogre absorb your special attacks. That is why the last slot is an open choice. Ice Beam for Rayquaza, Thunder for Kyogre, and Ho-oh, to an extent, as the phoenix tends to go with his friend the giant red behemoth that sings to Mr. Golden Sun. In that case you can go for Thunderbolt. Spacial Rend is an exclusive 10th pokemon movie give away and it is useful for things like Palkia, as you’ll blow it to pieces with it.

Choice Specs

Darkrai@ Choice Specs
Trait: Bad Dreams
Nature: Timid (+Speed, - Atk)
EVs: 252 Speed/252 Sp. Atk/6 Sp. Def
- Dark Pulse
- Spacial Rend
- Ice Beam
- Thunder

A typical Choice Specs set, but as Darkrai is a sweeper you can use it. I think you can use Life Orb as a replacement of Choice Specs for greater versatility, and maybe you could Timid to Modest in those type of scenarios, as the point of Timid is outspeeding Modest Mewtwos, and I think most Mewtwos now a days will be Timid. Dark Pulse for the psychics and ghosts, Spacial Rend for the dragons, Ice Beam for Groudon and Rayquaza, and Thunder for Kyogre, Ho-oh.

Double Status Darkrai

Darkrai@Leftovers
Trait : Bad Dreams
Nature: Timid (+Speed, - Atk)
EVs: 92 HP/252 Speed/166 Sp. Atk
- Dark Void
- Will-o-wisp
- Calm Mind/Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse

Where have I seen this before? Double status Gengar in its uber form. Well, Darkrai can have a similar set although the Evs are the thing that I still am unsure. It needs some more HP to do a better job at double status, but you can’t take too many of them from your special attack. You’ll never OHKO Mewtwo with a Timid nature and no stat boost. Your fine with that attack and a Calm Mind to OHKO Mewtwo and OHKO Rayquaza with Ice Beam if you do not want Calm Mind. There is no point in investing a lot on its HP as Darkrai is pretty fragile, but those HP will be ok.

Other Options:
Darkrai can use other stuff like Swords Dance with Brick Break and Pursuit. That can grab people off guard, but it isn’t as effective as the other sets.

General EV's:
The Effort Values change according to which set it is, but the main idea is to be a sweeper which sleeps. The only exceptions are the Focus Punch set where you need attack evs and the Double Status set where you need some more in HP.

Opinion:
“Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” was what Michael Keaton, as Batman, asked Jack Nicholson, as the Joker, in the final confrontation. Well, Darkrai is like a devil, and one that must be feared. Even though some of its stats are fragile, it has an immense movepool and great versatility. Its ability to be the fastest sleep in ubers is the sole reason Mewtwo became Timid instead of Modest. Every good uber team must take into account a way of taking sleep from this guy or suffer the consequences.

Counters:
There is no sole counter to Darkrai. It is very versatile to counter effectively, but just as any other versatile uber, it depends primarily on the set. The closest to a counter is something like Fighting or Bug Arceus that can take the sleep and Sleep Talk back with powerful attacks like Judgement. However, the Taunt version has fun with that Arceus attacking it or Calm Minding in the meantime. The greatest threat to Darkrai is sleep clause, as in that moment, things that can take special hits and attack with fore are going to switch. Blissey, Kyogre, Ho-oh are some examples. The Focus Punch version tends to work against these pokemon and with Dialga which is probably another of its greatest threats. Watch out as Dialga tends to resist, or be neutral to every attack, except Focus Punch.

Discuss Darkrai and its analysis here:

http://z6.invisionfree.com/CB_Colosseum/index.php?showtopic=913