Is Darkrai with Sludge Bomb good in Pokemon GO PvP and PvE?

Darkrai with Sludge Bomb first became available in Pokemon GO in 2021. It is an exclusive move that Darkrai can learn on its own during specific events or by using an Elite Charged TM. Upon adding the critter to your squad, you might wonder about the viability of this exclusive attack in PvP and PvE scenarios in Niantic's mobile game.

This article compares Darkrai with Sludge Bomb against the version without the Legacy Move to help you determine its worth.

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Is Darkrai with Sludge Bomb worth using in Pokemon GO Battle League?

Darkrai in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Before getting into the viability of Darkrai's exclusive move, it is important to take note of its elemental typing, stats, and move pool.

• Type: Dark
• Attack: 285
• Defense: 198
• Stamina: 172
• Fast Attacks: Snarl and Feint Attack
• Charged Attacks: Dark Pulse, Sludge Bomb*, Focuse Blast, and Shadow Ball

Darkrai's best moveset in Pokemon GO consists of Snarl in combination with Dark Pulse and Focus Blast. Dark Pulse is the critter's best STAB Charged Attack, so that spot is fixed. However, you might be wondering about running the Legacy Attack instead of Focus Blast. That would be an erroneous way of thinking.

Despite doing super-effective damage to Fairy-type Pocket Monsters that threaten Darkrai, having Sludge Bomb instead of Focus Blast means the critter loses to 31 rather than 24 of the Master League's 38 meta picks, according to PvPoke in 1-shield matchups. In zero-shield situations, Darkrai suffers 28 losses with Sludge Bomb, while it loses 23 matchups with Focus Blast.

Overall, while Sludge Bomb can have its niche uses on some teams, it is far from a move you should grind for.

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Is Darkrai with Sludge Bomb worth using in Pokemon GO Gym and Raid battles?

Darkrai, being a Mythical Pocket Monster, cannot defend Gyms for you. However, it can be a fairly potent attacker for Gyms in Pokemon GO. That said, even in this case, Darkrai with Sludge Bomb is fairly useless, as the combination of Snarl and Dark Pulse or even Shadow Ball with either Snarl or Feint Attack deals more average and overall damage.

Darkrai with Sludge Bomb and Snarl deal 16.76 damage per second, while Snarl and Dark Pulse inflict 16.81 DPS without accounting for STAB. Therefore, the exclusive move is not important when it comes to having Darkrai as a PvE attacker.

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How to get a Darkrai with Sludge Bomb in Pokemon GO

Regular and shiny Darkrai (Image via The Pokemon Company)

As of writing, to get a Darkrai with Sludge Bomb in Pokemon GO, you must capture it from raids during the Raid Hour on February 19, 2024, or receive it from the Road To Sinnoh: Raid Challenge.

Alternatively, you can teach a captured Darkrai the Poison-type Charged Attack using an Elite Charged TM. However, since the move is mediocre at best in both PvP and PvE settings, you would be better off using this resource on some other critter.

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