Dusknoir (Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky)

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Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
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Dusknoir
ヨノワール Yonoir
477Dusknoir PMD Explorers.png
Dusknoir in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Debuts in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness
Gender Male
Ability Pressure
Current location In the future
HOME477.png
This Pokémon is fully evolved.
Voice actor Japanese English
As Dusknoir Kenta Miyake David Brimmer

Dusknoir (Japanese: ヨノワール Yonoir) is a non-player character from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness. He is a supporting character that plays a significant role in the game. He was first introduced to the player as a famous and wise Pokémon, exploring the world and solving mysteries, but later turns out to be the secondary antagonist. At the end of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, he is reformed with help from Grovyle.

In the games

History

Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky

Primal Dialga sends Dusknoir, his henchman, back in time to pursue Grovyle and the human main character when they themselves head back in time to stop the planet from becoming paralyzed. In the present time, he successfully pretends to be an explorer who is famous for his exceptional wisdom and solo explorations. When he first arrives at Wigglytuff's Guild looking for any leads, when he meets the player, he does not know the player's name, and actually rescues the player and the partner from the Luxray clan (Manectric clan in Explorers of Sky). However, when the player and partner approach Dusknoir with questions about the player's Dimensional Scream ability and ask if he knows anything about where the player came from, he realizes the Pokémon standing before him is the very same human he was tasked with capturing.

 
Encountering Dusknoir

After realizing that the player has lost the majority of their memory and knowing Grovyle's presence in this time will become public knowledge when his Time Gear 'thefts' cause him to be spotted by a Pokémon guarding one of them, Dusknoir devises a plan to trick the player and Grovyle into unknowingly betraying each other. While partially successful as he manages to stop Grovyle from acquiring the Time Gear at Crystal Cave, Dusknoir is unable to apprehend him. Nevertheless, he quickly devises a fall-back plan: he reveals that both he and Grovyle are from the future, but portrays Grovyle as a criminal intending to cause the planet's paralysis to shake off any pursuers and says that he is there to bring Grovyle to justice. All in attendance fall for Dusknoir's lie and help with his and the Lake guardians' plan to prevent him from stealing any more Time Gears. After Grovyle is caught and sent back to the future, Dusknoir calls the duo up to him just before he leaves, and says hastily that it is too soon for good-byes, grabbing them both and taking them to the future before the rest of the crowd even realizes what has just happened.

Having securing his two time-travelling prisoners alongside the partner, Dusknoir is ordered by Primal Dialga to execute them. However, due to some quick thinking by Grovyle, the trio manage to escape. Though initially furious over what happened, Dusknoir realizes he can use this to his advantage by also catching the Celebi that had willingly provided Grovyle and the player the means to travel back in time. He sends his Sableye minions to covertly track the progress of the three escapees while he informs Primal Dialga of the recent development and secures its assistance should they get too close to escaping. The trap works and all four fugitives are cornered, and after the arrival of Primal Dialga cows Grovyle into surrender, Dusknoir uses the time to reveal the player's true identity as Grovyle's lost partner and how he misled them. This moment of gloating quickly blows up in his face when the player's partner, now finally accepting Dusknoir's true nature after being stuck in denial throughout their time in the future, refused to give up and made a spontaneous plan with Celebi. This plan succeeds even despite Dialga's attempt to stop it, allowing the player, partner, and Grovyle to escape from the future for good while Celebi also narrowly avoids capture.

Knowing that Grovyle and the player will have to go to the Hidden Land eventually, Dusknoir has himself and his Sableye minions transported there to await them instead of searching for them again. After a rough fight, Dusknoir prepares to defeat the party by launching a massive finishing move at them, but Grovyle and the main characters manage to deflect it back into the 'mouth' on his stomach, severely injuring him and sending his Sableye running back to the future in disbelief that Dusknoir had lost. Unwilling to let himself be defeated, he resorts to one last trump card: he reveals that, should their plan actually succeed, every Pokémon from the future, including the three of them, will be erased from existence due to being from a future that will no longer exist. Though it fails to discourage them, this distraction allows him to get back up and unleash an attack on the player with the intent of finishing things, but Grovyle steps in. Grovyle then restrains Dusknoir and takes him back to the future with him to prevent him from stopping the player and partner from changing the future. Ultimately, Dusknoir, Grovyle, Celebi, Primal Dialga, the Sableye, and the player are all erased from time when the player and their partner stop Temporal Tower's collapse.

In the Future of Darkness

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky exclusive special episode In The Future of Darkness, Dusknoir and Grovyle have just arrived back in the dark future after Grovyle's sacrifice in the past. Dusknoir manages to come to minutes before Grovyle and, upon being informed by a nearby Sableye that Primal Dialga has managed to capture Celebi during Dusknoir's return to the past, quickly devises a new plan. He instructs the Sableye to 'betray' him under the appearance of Primal Dialga having ordered his replacement after his defeat at the Hidden Land, then manipulate events so that Grovyle will be caught in an electric field at the end of the Icicle Forest with the help of the same Spiritomb that attacked Grovyle before, causing Grovyle's spirit to melt away and allow Dusknoir to possess his empty body, travel to the past 'again', and ruin things there. The ruse goes off without a hitch and the two of them, despite being sworn enemies up to this point, team up together at the end of Barren Valley to 'find' Primal Dialga.

 
Dusknoir and Grovyle

As they travel through the now-collapsed Temporal Tower and Dark Ice Mountain, Grovyle and Dusknoir begin to develop a sort of kinship with each other. After surviving an encounter with a rabid Mamoswine, which leaves him injured from shielding Grovyle just before the encounter, Dusknoir eventually asks Grovyle why he is willing to sacrifice his life to change the past (hence eliminating the dark future from existence). Grovyle explains that he believes it better to live a short life with glory and accomplishment than a long, empty life, noting that he would one day depart from life even if the past isn't changed and thus the length of his life should be less important than the deeds done in his life. He also adds that if he were to do something big (like stopping the planet's paralysis), even if he were to disappear, his actions would be remembered – and so he wouldn't 'truly' disappear. These ideas and concepts do strike a chord with Dusknoir, although he shows no outward sign of it.

At the end of Icicle Forest, Dusknoir's trap is successfully sprung with Celebi as bait held by Spiritomb, and after again detailing how Grovyle was fooled, he indeed intends to follow through with his plan. However, Grovyle, speaking of his newly formed trust in Dusknoir, believes that not everything he did was a total lie and that Dusknoir did identify with him at some point during the journey. Grovyle is correct – Dusknoir begins to question whether self-preservation in a bleak future is a good idea, violently writhing from this internal struggle. Just before the icicles' electricity wholly melts away Grovyle's spirit, Dusknoir saves him by knocking him out of range, much to everyone's surprise.

At this point, Primal Dialga appears and viciously attacks Dusknoir for his betrayal. The Sableye, having witnessed these events and also been swayed by Grovyle's words, work up their courage and strike at Dialga to protect Dusknoir but are effortlessly blasted away, all while Grovyle is too hurt to do anything but watch. This violent display of infighting terrifies Spiritomb, causing it to release Celebi and flee for its life. Now free, Celebi tries to attack Dialga as well, but stops when she sees something unusual: an aurora appears in the sky, and winds start to blow. The effects of Dialga's defeat in the past (the final battle in the main storyline) begin to take effect; time is slowly starting to flow again, and as a result, Primal Dialga goes completely berserk, senselessly blasting everyone aside before charging toward Vast Ice Mountain. Dusknoir, now sincerely sharing Grovyle's goal, teams up with him and Celebi in an effort to find and take down Primal Dialga for good. After cornering Primal Dialga at a Passage of Time, they defeat him, and the effects of the past finally take effect in full force; the Pokémon of the future start to vanish as the flow of time is fully restored. After Primal Dialga vanishes, Dusknoir asks Grovyle one final question: whether this sacrifice is worth his life. With Grovyle's assurance that it is, he finally feels content and vanishes with no regrets; Grovyle and Celebi follow soon after. Soon, everything in the future is erased from time.

However, the Pokémon of the future eventually find themselves in a newly restored future, appearing at the Passage of Time, utterly surprised they have not vanished. Dialga, now restored to his normal state, remarks that their resurrection is due to the actions of "a more powerful being than itself", and promises that he will take care of this new future as he sees right. With joy and hope restored to the future world, each of them is free to live their life as they truly wish.

  Spoilers end here.  

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon

Dusknoir later appears as a recruitable character in Super Mystery Dungeon and is linked to Grovyle, Sableye, and Dialga. His connection request tricks the player into a Monster House ambush; upon his defeat, Dusknoir admits his intent was to test the player, and freely joins them afterward.

Personality and characteristics

As it was first observed once he arrived into the player's present, Dusknoir appears to be very knowledgeable and warm with everyone he interacted with in Treasure Town and extended his knowledge and warmth to Wigglytuff's Guild; however, this is only a facade. Dusknoir's true personality is that he is a Pokémon bent on making sure the future stays as dark as twisted and will go to no ends to make sure this goal is achieved. Dusknoir's true nature is foreshadowed as he appeared to faintly smile (only observed by the player) when the player revealed their name to him at the beach when the player and their partner show Dusknoir where the player was found.

Dusknoir's nature is expanded in the Special Episode In the Future of Darkness where he revealed to Grovyle that all he wants is to exist without disappearing prematurely (via restoring the Time Gears and time in the past). Dusknoir revealed to have an intense hatred for Grovyle, evidenced by when he was about to advance upon him after returning to the future, but that changed after Dusknoir saved Grovyle from a falling chunk of ice suspended in midair, albeit part of a secret plan, and Grovyle had a heart-to-heart with Dusknoir. Dusknoir's twisted personality dissipated once Grovyle was about to lose his life and came to his rescue and changed his ways to help Grovyle and Celebi stop Primal Dialga from causing unthinkable calamities by crossing through a Passage of Time.

Regardless of his being an antagonist or a partner to Grovyle, Dusknoir is shown to have a great amount of loyalty to one he chooses to be aligned with, indicating him to be something of a follower than a leader, but after he changes his heart, he shows a great deal of dedication to helping Grovyle and Celebi restore the future.

Moves used

  This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Moveset(s?) in SMD
Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky
Storyline Special Episode
 
Type:
Ghost Unknown
Ability:
Pressure
Held item:
None
Dusknoir Lv.45
Shadow Sneak
Ghost Physical
Mean Look
Normal Status
Confuse Ray
Ghost Status
Shadow Punch
Ghost Physical
 
Type:
Ghost Unknown
Ability:
Pressure
Held item:
None
Dusknoir Lv.45+
Ice Punch
Ice Physical
Shadow Sneak
Ghost Physical
Shadow Punch
Ghost Physical
Will-O-Wisp
Fire Status

In the anime

 
Dusknoir in the anime

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness, Dusknoir was trying to stop Grovyle and Team Poképals from taking the Relic Fragment and going to Temporal Tower on Primal Dialga's orders. He ambushed them at the top of the tower along with several Sableye, and attempted to escape via portal. However, his army of Sableye were no match for Team Poképals, and Dusknoir was ultimately defeated by a combination of Grovyle's Energy Ball, Chimchar's Fire Spin, and Piplup's Whirlpool.

Moves used

 
Using Dark Pulse
Move First Used In
Dark Pulse Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness
Rapid Spin × Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness
Shadow Ball Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness
An × shows that the move cannot be legitimately known by this Pokémon in the games.
A shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves.

Voice actors

Language Voice actor
Japanese Kenta Miyake
English David Brimmer


In the manga

Pocket Monsters DP

 
Dusknoir in Pocket Monsters DP

Dusknoir appears in PMDP18.


Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team

 
Dusknoir in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team

Dusknoir appears as a major character in this manga, serving the same role he does in the games.

Dusknoir first appears after Honō and Totodile defeat some thieves that stole a treasure from them. He asks if the two are an Exploration Team, to which Honō confirms.

Later, Dusknoir appears with an injured Mesprit and Uxie. He reveals that the cause of their injuries was the Time Gear thief, Grovyle. After Honō has a vision of another Pokémon, Azelf, being attacked by Grovyle, Dusknoir confirms it as the Dimensional Scream ability. Falsely fearing Azelf's safety, Dusknoir takes Honō and Totodile to the Crystal Crossing to protect it from the thief, Grovyle.

After Grovyle nearly defeats Honō and Totodile, Dusknoir arrives to save them. Seeing Dusknoir distracts Grovyle long enough for Honō and Dusknoir long enough to defeat and capture him. Afterward, they take Grovyle back to the Guild, where Dusknoir reveals that Grovyle is actually a thief from the future. Dusknoir explains that he is from the future as well, and went back in time to take Grovyle back to his time to be executed. After sending Grovyle into the future, Dusknoir reveals his true nature by suddenly grabbing Honō and Totodile and throwing them forward in time.

Later, Dusknoir and his Sableye minions prepare to execute Grovyle, Honō, and Totodile. However, Honō and Grovyle use their quick thinking to escape unharmed. Later, Dusknoir, the Sableye, and their leader, Primal Dialga intercepts Grovyle's group at the Passage of Time to prevent them from going back into the past and change history with the help of Celebi. As they battle their opponents, Dusknoir reveals that Honō is actually the human partner of Grovyle's that went missing some time ago. This confuses Grovyle, who remembers Honō as a human instead of a Pokémon.

When Honō tries to escape using Celebi's power, Dusknoir has Primal Dialga stop them with its time controlling abilities. Dusknoir tries attacking them once more, but Celebi sacrifices herself by blocking the attack and sends the heroes back in time to change the past.

Dusknoir appears one last time at the Hidden Land, to stop Honō and Totodile from fixing the Temporal Tower and fixing the future. Despite their best efforts, Dusknoir easily shrugs off their attacks and nearly defeats them. Before he can finish Honō and Totodile off, Grovyle returns with the Time Gears and saves them. Together, the three manages to counter Dusknoir's strongest attack, defeating the villain in the process.

Defeated, Dusknoir reveals that if they stop the dark future from happening, all of the Pokémon in the future will disappear, Grovyle and Honō included. Grovyle reveals that he, Honō, and Celebi all knew this was going to happen but decided to change the past anyway. Soon after, Grovyle sacrifices himself by pushing Dusknoir back to the future along with himself.

Moves used

 
Using Thunder Punch
Move First Used In
Shadow Ball Take Back the Time Gears!
Confuse Ray Take Back the Time Gears!
Thunder Punch Aim for the Hidden Land!
A shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves.

Trivia

  • If the player loses to Dusknoir's boss fight, Dusknoir will have dialogue that the player, partner, and Grovyle managed to retreat, and that they'll be back.

See also

For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Dusknoir.



Characters in the Mystery Dungeon series
Red PartnerCaterpieMetapodWhiscashLombre
GranbullXatuGardevoirShiftryPelipperCelebi
Team A.C.T.Team MeaniesFull list
Blue
DX
Time PartnerWigglytuffChatotLoudredSunfloraBidoofTorkoalLapras
GrovyleCelebiDusknoirDarkraiPrimal DialgaPalkiaDrowzeeUxieArmaldo
Wigglytuff GuildTeam SkullTeam CharmTeam AWDAmp Plains tribesFull list
Darkness
Sky
WiiWare See here
Gates PartnerAzumarillDunsparceEmolgaHydreigonKeldeoKyuremMunnaGurdurrTimburr
MeloettaUmbreon and EspeonVictiniVirizionQuagsireScraggy
PawniardSwannaBittercoldFull list
Super PartnerAmpharosArchenCarracostaKrokorokKrookodileLegendary beasts
BeheeyemNuzleafXerneasYveltalVoid ShadowsDark Matter
ArmaldoBidoofCelebiChatotDunsparceDusknoirEmolgaGrovyleHydreigon
LoudredMunnaQuagsireShiftrySunfloraVictiniVirizionWhiscashWigglytuff
Expedition SocietyStudentsTeam A.C.T.Team SkullTeam CharmTeam AWDFull list


  This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.