Pokemon Go Adds New Kinds Of Shadow Pokemon

Pokemon Go brought Team Rocket trouble in its latest update, and you can take them on in battle. By defeating them, players catch newly added Shadow Pokemon in the augmented reality (AR) mobile app game. You can battle grunts at some PokeStops, which will appear on your map as black and warped instead of light blue.

Shadow Pokemon also have a dark aura, use the attack Frustration and look different and unique to any other Pokemon available. Once you beat a Team Rocket grunt — using the unique, new trainer battle mechanics and gameplay — and capture the abandoned Pokemon, you can use Stardust and Candy to purify it of course, which brings it back from the dark side and raises its stats.

The first thing you need to know is how to find Team Rocket in Pokemon Go. Essentially, they’re invading Poke stops all around the world, but they’re not particularly easy to find. On the map, look for any Poke stop that appears to be shaking or trembling, with a slightly darker shade of blue. You can spot them from afar, and when you get close enough to spin the stop, a Team Rocket Grunt will appear and confront you. Battle and defeat the Grunt, and you’ll be given some Premier Balls – similar to how a raid works – in order to catch a Shadow Pokemon they’ve left behind.

The mechanics for Shadow Pokémon seem to be inspired by Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness for the GameCube. Both the games focused on taking Shadow Pokémon away from trainers who received them from a suspicious organisation. In those games, you would purify the Pokémon through battling with them or using a special chamber.

So how exactly do you purify a Shadow Pokemon? First, you’ll want to find your chosen Shadow Pokémon in your Pokémon storage. Shadow Pokémon have a purple flame next to their picture, like how Shiny Pokémon have a set of silver stars. Purifying a Shadow Pokémon will cost a specific amount of Stardust and Candy depending on which Pokémon you want to Purify and how strong it is. A Squirtle, for example, will need 2,000 Stardust and 2 Squirtle Candy to be purified, while a Blastoise will require 5,000 Stardust and 5 Squirtle Candy.

Select ‘Purify’ and then ‘Yes’ on the confirmation window to watch a cutscene of your Pokémon being cleansed of the evil that has invaded its heart, leaving you with a newly purified Pokémon.

It also replaces the Frustration charged attack with Return, a move exclusive to purified Pokemon. You’ll be able to spot the Shadow and purified ones in your storage because of the dark and bright icons next to them. You also can’t trade Shadow Pokemon with your friends.

“Purified Pokemon have been found to be stronger than their normal counterparts due to the gratitude they feel toward the Trainer who saved them,” an in-game announcement said.

a list of all the brand new shadow Pokemon that just got added include:

Poliwag
Grimer
Muk
Drowzee
Hypno
Cubone
Scyther
Magikarp
Houndor
Houndoom
Ralts

The update also brings Team Rocket-themed “A Troubling Situation” Special Research, which rewards you for completing various tasks. It seems pretty straightforward: Most of the objectives involve beating Rocket Grunts, then catching and purifying the Shadow Pokemon. Completing them nets you XP, Stardust and some rare items.

Start the discussion

to comment