Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai

Darkrai is not attacking out of malice but trying to protect the town from the greater threat of Dialga and Palkia. Its nightmare attacks are warnings meant to push people away from danger. Darkrai's nightmare projections were specifically targeting Palkia, warning it to leave, because Darkrai knew their clash would destroy Alamos Town. The townspeople misinterpret its actions as aggression because they don't understand its true intent.

Godey's diary from 100 years ago warned of two powerful beings whose meeting would destroy the town, which is exactly what Darkrai has been trying to prevent.

The Oración disc is a music disc created by Godey a hundred years ago based on his nightmare prophecy. The song was specifically composed to have the power to calm the fiercest rage. When Pikachu and Dawn's Pachirisu use their electricity to power the Space-Time Towers while the disc plays, the music's calming energy reaches both Dialga and Palkia, soothing their rage and causing them to stop fighting. This allows Dialga to depart and Palkia's wound to heal.

Godey created the disc after his nightmare foretold a future where music would be needed to calm an epic rage.

Years before the main story, Alice (Alicia's granddaughter) tripped and fell from a cliff near Alamos Town. Darkrai, who had been invited to stay in Godey's garden a hundred years prior, saved her from the fall. This act of protection connects the present-day crisis to Darkrai's longstanding bond with Alicia's family and establishes that Darkrai has been watching over the town for generations.

A hundred years ago, Darkrai opened its heart to Alicia in Godey's garden and was invited to stay, creating a lasting bond with the family.

Godey, the architect who built the Space-Time Towers a hundred years ago, recorded a nightmare in his diary about two powerful beings that should never meet crossing paths in a space-time rift. Their fury would envelope Alamos Town and cause its collapse. The diary, later found by his great-grandson Tonio, also mentioned that a music disc would be needed to calm this rage, leading Godey to create the Oración disc.

The prophecy directly describes the clash between Dialga and Palkia that occurs in the present day.

Dialga (master of time) and Palkia (controller of space) are two legendary Pokémon who exist in the space between dimensions. Their natural presence near Alamos Town, which sits on a space-time rift, causes them to cross paths. When they encounter each other, their territorial conflict escalates into a violent clash that threatens to destroy the entire dimension. The movie doesn't specify what triggered their initial confrontation, but their mere meeting is catastrophic.

Godey's prophecy specifically warned that these two beings 'should never meet' and would cause the town's collapse.

When Dialga and Palkia's clash threatens to destroy the dimension entirely, Darkrai crosses the line between their attacks and creates a protective sphere around itself. This move freezes both Dialga and Palkia in place, immobilizing them and preventing further destruction. However, the two legendary Pokémon combine their might to strike Darkrai, causing it to disintegrate. The heroes mourn its sacrifice, believing it has died.

Darkrai's earlier actions throughout the film were all attempts to protect the town and push the legendary Pokémon apart.

Baron Alberto suspects Darkrai because it appears during the chaos caused by Dialga and Palkia's clash. Without knowledge of the prophecy or Darkrai's true nature, Alberto mistakes the nightmare Pokémon for the source of the disturbances. His Lickilicky battles Darkrai in the town square, and he rallies other trainers to fight against what he believes is the villain threatening Alamos Town.

Darkrai's mysterious appearance and nightmare abilities make it an easy scapegoat for events the townspeople don't understand.

No, Darkrai survives. After the heroes mourn its apparent sacrifice and the town is restored, they see Darkrai standing atop the Space Tower as if watching over the town one last time. This confirms that Darkrai did not perish from the combined attack of Dialga and Palkia, likely due to its own powerful abilities, and continues to protect Alamos Town.

Darkrai is a legendary Pokémon with immense power, and the movie never explicitly shows its death, only its disintegration.

A hundred years ago, Darkrai opened its heart to a girl named Alicia in Godey's garden and was invited to stay there. This created a bond between Darkrai and Alicia's family line that extends into the present day, Darkrai saved Alicia's granddaughter Alice from falling off a cliff years before the main events. Darkrai's protective nature toward the town stems from this ancient friendship with Alicia's family.

This bond explains why Darkrai feels responsible for protecting Alamos Town and why it intervened when the prophecy began to unfold.

After Pikachu and Dawn's Pachirisu use their electric attacks to charge the Space-Time Towers, the Oración disc is played on the skybridge. The music's calming power reaches both Dialga and Palkia, soothing their rage and stopping their battle. Dialga then pulls away while Palkia's wound heals. Ash and Dawn plead with Palkia to restore what was lost, and the entire town, including the people and their Pokémon, is returned to its former state as if the destruction never happened.

Godey created the Oración disc specifically to calm the fury of the two legendary Pokémon when they would eventually meet.

During Darkrai's nightmare attack, a hole appears and drags both Ash and Pikachu into it. They end up in the space between dimensions, a void where there is no obvious way back. This literal plunge into the multiverse's instability places them in the heart of the conflict between Dialga and Palkia, setting up their later role in helping resolve the crisis.

The hole appears as part of Darkrai's attempt to warn Ash about Palkia through the nightmare.

Ash realizes that Darkrai's nightmare warnings were specifically aimed at Palkia, telling it to leave. Darkrai understood from Godey's prophecy that Palkia's presence alongside Dialga would destroy Alamos Town. By projecting nightmares and trying to scare Palkia away, Darkrai was attempting to prevent the very collision that would devastate the town. The nightmare of Palkia attacking Ash was meant as a warning of the danger Palkia itself posed.

Darkrai's earlier behavior of creating nightmares was always protective rather than aggressive, meant to drive people away from harm.