Dakim: the Cipher Admin who strikes before he battles

Dakim throws punches first and sends out his Pokémon second. Of Cipher's four Admins in Pokémon Colosseum, he's the one the organization trusts with the muscle rather than the test tubes. A Shadow Entei in reserve, an entire roster tuned around Earthquake, three encounters spread out from Mt. Battle to the Deep Colosseum: the character plays the wall you have to get past, not the mastermind you have to unmask.

Contents

• An Admin Who Doesn't Make Shadow Pokémon
• The Tattooed Giant Who Calls Himself "the Great Dakim"
• Mt. Battle: Seizing the Time Flute with His Fists
• Realgam Tower, Then the Deep Colosseum
• An Entire Roster Built Around Earthquake
• The Manga, and a Marshtomp One Level Ahead
• Dakim at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

An Admin Who Doesn't Make Shadow Pokémon

Dakim holds one of Cipher's four lieutenant posts in Pokémon Colosseum. His profile describes him as both an Admin of the organization and a Pokémon Trainer, tied to the Orre region; his hometown, however, is never specified.

Yet the Shadow Pokémon trade gets along without his services: he plays no part in putting them into circulation. What Cipher leaves him is command of the henchmen — the organization's muscle, not its science division.

His record as a Trainer is nearly spotless. Apart from the hero of the adventure, only one Trainer has ever beaten him in a Pokémon battle: his own head of operations, the "Master Nascour" he keeps calling Master even in the middle of his bragging.

The Tattooed Giant Who Calls Himself "the Great Dakim"

The man is massive and deliberately flashy. His red tattoos match the exact shade of his mop of hair, set against a skintight white suit topped off with a purple loincloth and a necklace of Poké Balls.

His temperament matches his build: violent, impulsive, but never portrayed as an idiot. He keeps his cool most of the time and loses it the moment someone stands up to him; when angry, he becomes downright dangerous, and physical force remains both his first reflex and his last resort.

He refers to himself in the third person — "the great Dakim" — and prepares for his battles by working on his opponent's morale with taunts and threats. Needless to say, defeat throws him off balance: he simply never planned for it.

Mt. Battle: Seizing the Time Flute with His Fists

The operation comes from above: Ein is the one who sends him to Mt. Battle to retrieve the Time Flute, guarded by Vander. Dakim sets up in the middle of Zone 10 and doesn't bother with lengthy negotiations.

The scene is settled without a Trainer battle: he knocks the Area Leader down with a single punch, just as the hero reaches the Zone 10 platform. The battle that follows goes no better for him — even with his Shadow Entei in tow, he goes the same way as the nine zones already cleared.

His exit comes down to three moves. He concludes that Skrub never stood a chance and sends the Cipher Peon back to Ein's lab, vanishes with a spectacular backward leap, and leaves behind the F-Disk that unlocks part of The Under.

🔥 Entei is one of the great Legendaries: check out our section of Legendary Pokémon.

Realgam Tower, Then the Deep Colosseum

Cipher has split four ID Badges among its top brass to lock down access to the Colosseum. Dakim guards his on the ground floor of Realgam Tower, in the southeast wing; with his team down, he hands over the Grn ID Badge and leaves.

That's when he tallies things up out loud: only two opponents have ever beaten him in battle, Master Nascour and the hero. Handing over the badge looks less like a surrender than a challenge for what comes next.

The arrest of Evice then leaves him a free hand at the Deep Colosseum, where he awaits the player as the final opponent of the second tournament: a reward of 20,936 and TM48, Skill Swap. His career ends there, since Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness doesn't bring him back.

An Entire Roster Built Around Earthquake

The pattern never changes: Earthquake sweeps the field, and his own Pokémon dodge it with Protect or the Levitate Ability. Claydol, Flygon and Solrock levitate; Golem, Camerupt, Forretress and Whiscash have Protect as their first move.

The second building block: the sun. Sunny Day sets up Solar Beam or a Fire-type attack, whose accuracy he shores up with the item made for the job. Explosion, meanwhile, serves as the last-resort button, first on Forretress and then on Solrock.

The three encounters scale up without changing their logic. On Mt. Battle, Metang, Marshtomp, Golem and Camerupt back up the Shadow Entei between levels 36 and 40; at Realgam Tower, Claydol, Flygon, Houndoom, Forretress and Whiscash hover around level 46; at the Deep Colosseum, Swampert and Solrock join the top trio beyond level 63. Houndoom's slot can go to the Shadow Entei in those last two teams.

The Manga, and a Marshtomp One Level Ahead

The manga adaptation of Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon Colosseum Snatcher Leo, gives him an appearance. He keeps his status as a member of Cipher there and his role as the hero's enemy, with no rewrite of the character.

His team isn't reinvented there either: it's his Realgam Tower team, unchanged — Whiscash, Claydol, Forretress, Flygon and Houndoom, at the same levels 45 to 47 as in the game.

That leaves one oddity spotted in his first team. His Marshtomp already knows Muddy Water at level 36, one notch before level 37, when this evolutionary line normally learns the move.

Dakim at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Which game does Dakim appear in?
  Only in Pokémon Colosseum, where he's one of Cipher's four Admins. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness doesn't bring him back.
• What is Dakim's signature Pokémon?
  A Shadow Entei, fought on Mt. Battle. It can later take Houndoom's place in his Realgam Tower and Deep Colosseum teams.
• Why does Dakim attack Mt. Battle?
  Ein sends him there to get the Time Flute, guarded by Vander. When talking doesn't get him the Flute, he knocks the Area Leader to the ground with a punch, without even starting a Pokémon battle.
• Who has ever beaten Dakim in battle?
  Only two Trainers: the hero of Pokémon Colosseum, and his own head of operations, whom he calls Master Nascour.
• Where can you find Dakim in the game?
  In the middle of Zone 10 on Mt. Battle, then on the ground floor of Realgam Tower in the southeast wing, and finally as the final opponent of the Deep Colosseum's second tournament.

In short

Dakim is Cipher's muscle, and Pokémon Colosseum asks nothing more of him. No direct role in putting Shadow Pokémon into circulation, but command of the henchmen, a punch by way of argument and a Shadow Entei for the tough cases. Three encounters, three defeats, an item handed over each time: the character serves as a progression checkpoint far more than as a plot twist.