Darkness

If you were looking for the TCG type, see Darkness (TCG).

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Reason: missing BDSP info

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Darkness is an obstacle appearing in both the core series and Mystery Dungeon series games, typically found in caves. It limits the player's vision, thereby making it more difficult for them to navigate through areas, but it does not physically block progress like other obstacles. Darkness has no effect on battles.

In the core series

In the core series, darkness appears in Generations I to V and in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, in which it can usually be illuminated using the field move Flash, and in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, in which it can be illuminated using the Secret Technique Light Up.

Effects

In Generation I, the floor, the player, and all NPCs become black silhouettes, making them invisible against the background. Most other tiles, such as walls and ladders, are dimmed. The menu and text boxes also get a blue tint.
- In Pokémon Yellow, the player's Pikachu's shock interaction, which plays when interacting with Pikachu shortly after it learns Thunder or Thunderbolt, illuminates darkness for the brief duration of the animation.
In Generation II, everything becomes black except for cave exits and item balls.
In Generations III to V, everything becomes black except for within a small circle around the player (apart from inside Gyms). Using Flash will expand the circle.
- In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, the circle will expand to illuminate about 40% of the screen.
- In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen and Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the circle will expand to illuminate the entire screen.
- In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the circle has a gradient around its rim and will expand to illuminate all but the corners of the screen.
- In Generation V, the circle fits to the overworld grid, causing it to appear elliptical and conform to the shapes of slopes and rocks.
In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, everything becomes merely dimly lit instead of fully dark in any capacity.
In Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the ground becomes a flat light gray, while faraway and nearby entities become silhouettes in increasingly darker shades of gray.

Areas covered in darkness

Kanto

Location	Games
Rock Tunnel	RB YGS CFRLGHGSSPE
Cerulean Cave	HGSS

Johto

Location		Games
Dark Cave		GS CHGSS
Ecruteak Gym^[a]		HGSS
Whirl Islands	1F–B1F	GS CHGSS
Whirl Islands	B2F	GS C
Mt. Mortar		GS
Mt. Silver Cave	1F	GS C

↑ Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area; instead, candles—located by the entrance, near Morty, and on the headdresses of the Gym Trainers—provide small circles of illumination.

Hoenn

Location		Games
Dewford Gym^[a]		RS EORAS
Granite Cave	B1F–B2F	RS EORAS
Trick House	Puzzle 3	ORAS
Scorched Slab	B1F–B2F	ORAS
Cave of Origin	1F–B3F	RS
Victory Road	B1F–B2F	RS E
Victory Road	B1F	ORAS
Battle Pyramid^[b]		E

↑ Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area. In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, instead, each time the player defeats a Trainer, their field of view increases slightly. In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, instead, the player must stand on switches to illuminate certain areas. In all games, after Brawly is defeated, the entire Gym lights up completely.
↑ Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area; instead, each time the player defeats a Trainer, their field of view increases slightly.

Sinnoh

Location		Games
Wayward Cave	1F	DP PtBDSP
Hearthome Gym^[a]		Pt

↑ Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area; instead, the player and all Gym Trainers have lanterns that illuminate the area directly in front of them.

Unova

Location		Games
Mistralton Cave	1F–2F	BW B2W2
Wellspring Cave	B1F	BW B2W2
Challenger's Cave		BW
Driftveil Gym^[a]		B2W2
Victory Road	2F (back)
Black Tower	Random rooms

↑ Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area.

In spin-off games

Mystery Dungeon series

This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: other Mystery Dungeon games

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, as well as Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, darkness limits the field of vision to 1–2 tiles in hallways. While Luminous Orb removes the darkness and allows player to see things from further away, it does not change field of vision for purpose of moves.

Red and Blue Rescue Team

Location		Tiles
Sinister Woods	5F–7F	2
Sinister Woods	11F–12F	2
Lapis Cave	1F–4F	2
Lapis Cave	9F–14F	2
Magma Cavern	1F–23F	2
Magma Cavern	Pit 1F	2
Uproar Forest	1F–9F	2
Howling Forest		2
Stormy Sea	21F–39F	2
Silver Trench	31F–70F	2
Silver Trench	71F–98F	1
Meteor Cave	1F–5F	2
Meteor Cave	6F–19F	1
Fiery Field	1F–29F	2
Northwind Field	1F–29F	2
Mt. Faraway	14F–39F	2
Western Cave		1
Buried Relic	14F–19F	2
	21F–49F
	51F–63F
	64F–98F	1
Wish Cave	25F–62F	2
Wish Cave	63F–98F	1
Murky Cave	2F–19F	2
Southern Cavern		2
Wyvern Hill		1
Darknight Relic		1
Grand Sea		2
Unown Relic		2
Joyous Tower	14F–63F	2
Joyous Tower	64F–99F	1
Far-off Sea	14F–63F	2
Far-off Sea	64F–75F	1
Purity Forest		1
Oddity Cave	6F–10F	2

Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky

Boss fights never occur in darkness, unlike the previous games. The special rooms with Treasure Boxes at the end will also never have darkness.

Location		Games	Tiles
Beach Cave		MDTD S	2
Waterfall Cave		MDTD S	2
Side Path		MDTD S	2
Rock Path		MDTD S	2
Steam Cave		MDTD S	2
Quicksand Cave		MDTD S	2
Crystal Cave		MDTD S	2
Dusk Forest	6-8F	MDTD S	2
Dusk Forest (Special Episode)	6-7F	MDS	2
Treeshroud Forest		MDTD S	2
Brine Cave		MDTD S	2
Hidden Land		MDTD S	2
Temporal Tower		MDTD S	2
Marowak Dojo		MDTD S	2
Mystifying Forest	6-13F	MDTD S	2
Blizzard Island		MDTD S	2
Crevice Cave	6-10F	MDTD S	2
Crevice Cave	Lower 1-5F	MDTD S	2
Surrounded Sea	14-19F	MDTD S	2
Miracle Sea	6-18F	MDTD S	2
Miracle Sea	Deep 1-14F	MDTD S	2
Aegis Cave		MDTD S	2
The Nightmare		MDTD S	2
Spacial Rift	14-15F	MDTD S	2
Spacial Rift	Deep 1-9F	MDTD S	2
Dark Crater		MDTD S	2
Concealed Ruins	1-29F	MDTD S	2
Bottomless Sea	8-49F	MDTD S	2
World Abyss		MDTD S	2
Sky Stairway		MDTD S	2
Mystery Jungle	1-14F	MDTD S	2
Mystery Jungle	15-29F	MDTD S	1
Landslide Cave		MDTD S	2
Labyrinth Cave		MDS	2
Lake Afar	8-24F	MDTD S	2
Happy Outlook		MDTD S	1
Midnight Forest	6-24F	MDTD S	2
Zero Isle North	14-60F	MDTD S	2
Zero Isle North	61-74F	MDTD S	1
Zero Isle East		MDTD S	2
Zero Isle West	14-39F	MDTD S	2
Zero Isle South		MDTD S	1
Final Maze		MDTD S	2
Zero Isle Center		MDS	1
Destiny Tower	1-98F	MDS	1
Oblivion Forest		MDS	1
Treacherous Waters		MDS	1
Southeastern Islands		MDS	1
Inferno Cave		MDS	1
Star Cave		MDS	2
Sky Peak Mountain Path	7th Station Pass	MDS	1
	8th Station Pass
	9th Station Pass
	Summit Pass
Eastern Cave		MDS	2
Spring Cave		MDS	1
Southern Jungle	4-10F	MDS	2
Boulder Quarry	4-5F	MDS	2
Boulder Quarry	Deep 1-5F	MDS	2
Right Cave Path		MDS	1
Left Cave Path		MDS	1
Limestone Cavern		MDS	2
Spacial Cliffs		MDS	2
Dark Ice Mountain		MDS	2
Icicle Forest		MDS	2

Gallery

This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Missing pre-light Let's Go with the shades of gray silhouettes

Generation I	RB Y	Generation I (Japanese)	Generation I (international)	Generation II	Generation II (Japanese)	Generation II (international)	Crystal	RS E	Generation III (Japanese)	Generation III (international)	RS	FRLG	FRLG E	Generation IV	Generation IV (Japanese)	Generation IV (international)	Pt HGSS	HGSS	Generation V	BW	B2W2	Generation V (Japanese)	Generation V (international)	Generation VI	XY	ORAS	Generation VII	SM USUM	LGPE	Generation VIII	SwSh	BDSP	Legends: Arceus	Generation IX	Stadium (JP)	Stadium	Stadium 2	Colosseum	XD	Battle Revolution	Battrio	MD: Red and Blue	MD: Time, Darkness, and Sky	MD: Blazing, Stormy, & Light Adventure Squad	MD: GTI	SMD	MD: RTDX	Rumble	Rumble Blast	Masters EX

Generation I	RB Y	Generation I (Japanese)	Generation I (international)	Generation II	Generation II (Japanese)	Generation II (international)	Crystal	Generation III	Generation III (Japanese)	Generation III (international)	RS	FRLG	FRLG E	DP Pt	Generation IV (Japanese)	Generation IV (international)	Pt HGSS	HGSS	Generation V	BW	B2W2	Generation V (Japanese)	Generation V (international)	Generation VI	XY	ORAS	Generation VII	SM USUM	LGPE	Generation VIII	SwSh	BDSP	Legends: Arceus	Generation IX	Stadium (JP)	Stadium	Stadium 2	Colosseum	XD	Battle Revolution	Battrio	MD: Red and Blue	MD: Time, Darkness, and Sky	MD: Blazing, Stormy, & Light Adventure Squad	MD: GTI	SMD	MD: RTDX	Rumble	Rumble Blast	Masters EX

ORAS	LGPE

Trivia

While darkness does not appear in Kalos, Flash can still be used as a field move in Pokémon X and Y to zoom out the player's perspective in certain caves.

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.

[1] Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area; instead, candles—located by the entrance, near Morty, and on the headdresses of the Gym Trainers—provide small circles of illumination.

[0-2] Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area. In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, instead, each time the player defeats a Trainer, their field of view increases slightly. In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, instead, the player must stand on switches to illuminate certain areas. In all games, after Brawly is defeated, the entire Gym lights up completely.

[1-3] Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area; instead, each time the player defeats a Trainer, their field of view increases slightly.

[4] Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area; instead, the player and all Gym Trainers have lanterns that illuminate the area directly in front of them.

[5] Flash cannot be used to illuminate the darkness in this area.

[a]

[a]

[a]

[a]