Darach

Darach as seen in Platinum.
Darach
Species	Human
Affiliation	Battle Frontier
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Purple
Voiced by	Brian Anderson (2020)
Debut	Pokémon: Platinum Version

Darach was the Castle Valet of the Battle Castle, acting as one of the five Frontier Brains of the Battle Frontier that is located in both Sinnoh (Pokémon: Platinum Version) and Johto (Pokémon: HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions). He actually fought in the place of his employer, Caitlin.

Background

Darach was a butler who served under the rich Lady Caitlin, who hailed from a family of prestigious Pokémon trainers. He was known for being humble, polite and intellectual. At the Battle Castle, Darach maintained the area and guided challengers to battles. He also awarded Castle Points to the winners. Caitlin was technically in charge and was referred to as the princess of the castle, but she had been forbidden from battling due to being unable to control her own psychic powers, a reason which was not disclosed to challengers. Darach therefore had to fight challengers in her place when they advanced well enough.

Challengers would battle Darach after 21 and 49 successive wins. During the second challenge, he would notice what appeared to be an weakness in the opponent, but after his defeat he would admit that it must have either been an illusion or the trainer had done away with the weakness. Caitlin only spoke up to declare how many Castle Points the victorious trainer should receive as their prize, which Darach dutifully dispensed. Darach awarded the player character (Lucas/Dawn in Platinum or Gold/Lyra in HeartGold/SoulSilver) with a silver print after the first battle and a gold print after the rematch.

Prior to the events of the fifth generation games, Caitlin gained control of her powers and departed from the Battle Frontier to join Unova's Elite Four. Darach's status has been unclear. It was mentioned in Black and White 2 that he visited her recently and cleaned her villa before returning home. Caitlin's dialogue indicated that the Battle Castle was still open (both in Johto and Sinnoh), but it was not made clear whether or not it was still maintained by Darach.

Pokémon Roster

He uses the following Pokémon in the first battle:

• Staraptor
• Empoleon
• Houndoom

In the second battle, he uses the following roster:

• Entei
• Empoleon
• Gallade

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Darach and his Staraptor were made available as a playable sync pair that could be recruited at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature after being added to the game in October 2021. He also also been shown using Gallade and Houndoom as alternate partners. Prior to being made available as a playable character, he had been appearing in the game as early as April 2020, when he appeared as an opponent at the Battle Villa. Darach also appeared as an opponent in Chapter 27 of the Main Story's PML Arc, where he was on a team with Caitlin and Cynthia. The three of them made it to the quarterfinals of the Pokémon Masters League, where they were defeated by Scottie/Bettie's team. He made additional appearance in some of the game's events. He commended Lillie's progress in her training during the Story Event "Family Ties", and he was defeated by Emmet and Ingo at the Battle Villa in the Story Event "All Aboard the Victory Train". In the Story Event "Midnight Battle Ball", he served beverages at the eponymous event and also was able to interpret Caitlin's mood through subtle variations in her expression, which led to him encouraging Scottie/Bettie to let Caitlin join their team for the event. During the "Curious Tea Party" Costume Event, Darach helped with one of the tea party's challenges by offering to provide the challengers with one of several Pokémon (or a Swimmer) to help navigate a dark cave. He also played a role in the Ingo's Party Prep scenes, in which he helped Ingo prepare for his role as a butler by enlisting his help with his tasks, but he ultimately felt that Ingo already possessed the most important attribute of a butler: a heart filled with hospitality.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Darach appeared in the Platinum arc as Platinum's first opponent in her challenge of the Battle Frontier. He specified that he was only a Frontier Brain due to Caitlin being prohibited from battling, but he did not elaborate on the reasons). Darach was very fervent in battle, but he ultimately lost to Platina because, as Caitlin observed, he underestimated Platina's ability to manage her CP. He and Caitlin then told Looker and Platinum what little information about Team Galactic they knew.

Trivia

• His name is Gaelic for 'oak'. His Japanese name is Kokuran, named after the Japanese name for the pantropical widelip orchid.
• According to a female character in the Battle Castle's lobby, Darach secretly had a crush on Caitlin, and that particular character also pined for him.
• At the beginning of battles with Darach, Caitlin's battle sprite is displayed next to his, despite the fact that Caitlin does not participate in the battle.
• A character designer for Black and White, while talking about Caitlin, has mentioned that Darach is keeping a close eye on her during the Black/White era.