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.

It is known that Caitlin departed from the Battle Frontier after she controlled her powers and went on to join Unova's Elite Four by Pokémon: Black and White Versions, but it is never mentioned whether or not Darach still maintains the Battle Castle. The Battle Castle does still seem to be open, as Caitlin recommends both of the Battle Castles to trainers at one point. In Black and White 2, he was mentioned directly by Caitlin, who had that he visited recently and cleaned her villa before returning home.

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. Prior to being made available as a playable character, he had been making non-playable appearances as early as April 2020, when he appeared as an opponent at the Battle Villa. He was also shown with a Gallade as his partner. Darach also appeared as an opponent in Chapter 27 of the Main Story, 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. In the Story Event "Midnight Spookfest", 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.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Darach appeared in the Platinum arc as Platina's first opponent in her challenge of the Battle Frontier. He specified that he was only Frontier Brain because of Caitlin being prohibited from battling (but 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 Platina whatever little information about Team Galactic they knew.

Trivia

• His name is Gaelic for 'oak'.
• According to a female character in the Battle Castle's lobby, Darach secretly had a crush on Caitlin, and that particular female 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.