Darkrai Guide: Best Subskills, Eureka Seeds & Whether It's Worth It

Darkrai is one of the most controversial Pokémon in Pokémon Sleep—and one of the most misunderstood. It's unlike anything else in the game: an all-specialist with two berries, two ingredients in slot one, and a unique main skill. Built right, it's one of the top Pokémon in the game. But there's a cost. This guide breaks down the best subskills, when to use eureka seeds and silver seeds, what ingredients matter, and whether Darkrai is worth chasing for your account.

What makes Darkrai unique

Darkrai is unlike any other Pokémon in the game. It's an all-specialist: it carries two berries, two ingredients in its first slot, and a unique, strong main skill.

Because of this, Darkrai doesn't fit neatly into one role. It contributes across berries, ingredients, and skill procs—which makes building it both powerful and complicated. If built right, it is one of the top Pokémon in the game.

But that potential comes with a price. And the price is why most of us should think carefully before going all-in.

The cost of Darkrai

Darkrai needs 25 friendship points to be befriended. That's 5 Ultra Biscuits, or 9 Great Biscuits, or 25 Poké Biscuits.

Those same biscuits could get you at least 5 other Pokémon—and more shots at Pokémon is what gives you the chance to progress in the game.

If you're a player who has more biscuits than you know what to do with, or who's willing to buy biscuits on demand—go for Darkrai. For players on a biscuit budget, your biscuits will be better spent on other Pokémon.

If it's your first time seeing Darkrai, know that it will come back. It shows up during New Moon events, which happen roughly once a month. And we'd suggest not using a Master Biscuit on it. You'll recruit it eventually, and when you do, it's probably not your best move to use it right away.

How eureka seeds work

Every time you fill up Darkrai's friendship bar, you receive a eureka seed. You don't ever recruit an additional Darkrai—the one you caught is the one you have. Darkrai “climbs out of your box,” which is… odd, to say the least.

A eureka seed lets you unlock or re-roll a subskill or an ingredient slot. At the time of writing, eureka seeds exist only for Darkrai. It's DIY Darkrai.

When you re-try a specific subskill or ingredient slot, you'll have the option to accept the new roll or keep what you already have. You're never forced into a downgrade.

You can also convert a eureka seed into Darkrai candy. Don't do that. Eureka seeds are far too valuable to spend on candy.

Free friendship points

Pokémon Sleep made a change: every time Darkrai appears during a New Moon event, you receive 3 friendship points for free—no biscuit required.

This means even if you never offer Darkrai a single biscuit, you will eventually get eureka seeds just by playing the game during New Moon events.

This doesn't change the personal strategy for most players. You can still drop a Poké Biscuit on a Hungry Darkrai in case it “mega hits.” But since eureka seeds will come over time simply by playing, there's less pressure to rush the biscuit investment.

Candy and leveling costs

Darkrai requires more candy and dream shards to level up than any other Pokémon in the game. Leveling it is a serious commitment.

The good news: Darkrai candy isn't as scarce as you might think. You'll receive it from friends during each New Moon event, and Darkrai gives 11 candy minimum when it spawns. You can also use Handy Candy.

Generally speaking, treat Darkrai like any other Pokémon: if you catch one that's good at its job, it's worth investing in. In Darkrai's case, it starts out as a bad investment and depending on what subskills you unlock, it either stays that way or gets much better. We'd suggest not putting it on your team until it's “good.”

Here's what “good” means.

Best subskills: favorite berry

All of the builds below assume zero Helping Bonus stacks. We're looking at Darkrai as an individual performer. How good Helping Bonus is compared to other subskills depends on how good the rest of your team is, which we can't assess here. That said, if you get Helping Bonus, probably don't re-roll it.

Below are the best subskill builds at each breakpoint level when Darkrai is running a favorite berry. “Gold seeds” refers to Main Skill Seeds used.

No gold seeds

1 gold seed

2 gold seeds

3–4 gold seeds

5 gold seeds

6 gold seeds

Notice the pattern: at low gold seed counts, Berry Finding S and Skill Level Up M dominate. As you stack more gold seeds, Skill Trigger M overtakes Skill Level Up because the main skill is already high enough that triggering it more often matters more than boosting its level further.

Best subskills: non-favorite berry

When Darkrai isn't running a favorite berry, the best subskill at level 10 is Skill Level Up M for the most total strength, regardless of gold seeds—until you hit 5 gold seeds, where Skill Trigger M pulls ahead.

No gold seeds (non-favorite berry)

If you've used two main skill seeds, you'll still benefit most from both Skill Level Up subskills. But once you hit 3 gold seeds, Skill Trigger M becomes better than Skill Level Up S.

At 5 gold seeds, Skill Trigger M is better than Skill Level Up M at level 10.

5+ gold seeds (non-favorite berry)

While Skill Trigger S is technically stronger than Berry Finding S in the level-50 slot, you wouldn't want to re-roll Berry Finding S if you get it—it's still excellent.

At level 75, Helping Speed S becomes the next best subskill. At level 100, Helping Bonus is the next best for Darkrai's individual performance.

Should you use silver seeds?

You may have heard the advice to never use silver seeds (Sub Skill Seeds) on Darkrai. The argument is: “What if you re-roll and could have gotten the subskill with a eureka seed instead?”

We disagree. If you roll Helping Speed S or Skill Trigger S, silver-seed them. You're better off locking those in. Helping Speed S is great and it's part of the ultimate Darkrai build.

That said, hold off on silver seeds if Darkrai is sitting in your box unused. Only silver-seed when you're actively building toward a usable Darkrai, and only when you can guarantee the seed will hit Helping Speed S or Skill Trigger S—don't risk it hitting something you don't plan to keep long-term.

For more on silver seeds generally, see Best use of Sub Skill Seed.

Ingredients

Can Darkrai be used as a mono-ingredient specialist? Technically yes, but it's not where Darkrai shines. Here's how it compares to actual ingredient specialists at level 60:

Keep in mind that getting Darkrai to level 60 is not easy, and for most of the Pokémon listed above, you would evolve the unevolved forms long before level 60.

Best ingredient spread

Darkrai's best ingredient list objectively is Coffee ×2, Coffee ×3, Fiery Herb ×5—these provide the most strength as filler outside of a meal.

But realistically, the best ingredient spread for Darkrai is the one that best complements the meals you're making based on the other Pokémon you're running it with. Context matters.

No amount of Ingredient Finder M, Ingredient Finder S, and Helping Speed will make Darkrai a stellar ingredient specialist. Its strength is in being an all-rounder—not an ingredient machine.

When to roll ingredients

Focus on rolling and re-rolling subskills first. Come back to ingredients once you've locked in your subskills through level 50.

If you're tuning a Darkrai at or above level 30, you might as well unlock the second ingredient slot—unless you really need the first-slot ingredient. Same goes for the third ingredient slot at level 60.

Roll and re-roll order

Here's a practical order for spending eureka seeds on subskills:

1. Unlock levels 10, 25, and 50 first. Your first three eureka seeds should go to opening these three subskill slots.
2. Re-roll level 10 until you get one of: Skill Level Up M, Berry Finding S, Skill Level Up S, Skill Trigger M, or Helping Speed M.
3. Re-roll level 25 for those same subskills.
4. Re-roll level 50 for those same subskills.

If you've got Skill Level Up M or Skill Level Up S, don't re-roll those until you have the gold seeds to make Skill Trigger M more valuable. They're strong subskills to hold in the meantime.

Putting it all together

Treat Darkrai like any other Pokémon. If you get two good subskills on it, you might consider using it. If those subskills are Berry Finding S and Helping Speed M, maybe hold on the gold seeds for a bit and see what else rolls.

It takes a minimum of 3 eureka seeds to make Darkrai useful—and that's if you hit on those subskill rolls. Gathering 3 eureka seeds will likely take more than 3 months.

You may get a perfect Darkrai one day, or you may never. Either way, you have years to build it. There's no rush.

The opportunity cost is real: 75 Poké Biscuits to max-befriend Darkrai is 15+ other Pokémon you could have caught. And every missed subskill roll or re-roll is 5 more Pokémon minimum you could have caught with those biscuits.

Follow your heart, play how you want. But go in with open eyes about the cost.

Professor NewRolly says: Darkrai's potential is real. Its price tag is also real. The right move for most players is to let the eureka seeds come naturally, spend them wisely, and build Darkrai over time—not at the expense of everything else.

Related: Best use of Main Skill Seed · Best use of Sub Skill Seed · How stats are determined · How to catch and befriend · Glossary

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