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Team Rocket GO landed at the speed of light into Pokemon Go’s overworld yesterday, conquering Pokestops and defending themselves with Shadow Pokemon. This confirms the suspicions held when a hot air balloon branded with an ‘R’ floated above the Dortmund Pokemon Go Fest (via Eurogamer), and collides with the appearance of a legendary raid boss, Armoured Mewtwo.
Rocket Stops are identifiable on the map with a glitching cube that is tinged with a darker shade of blue. Walking towards the invaded Pokestop will cause the stop to turn black with a very unmistakable ‘R’ initial above it, and out pops a Team Rocket Grunt to give you what for.
The stops are camped by the Rocket Grunt for 30 minutes, but unconfirmed reports say that this may be less if the Grunt is defeated by another trainer nearby. It doesn’t matter hugely, though, the stop can still be spun for its bonus items. Tap the Rocket Grunt to initiate a battle, which is just like the Master League trainer battles between Team Leaders and friends, but with a twist.
Team Rocket use Shadow Pokemon, whose hearts are corrupted and become tools for conquest rather than peaceful companions. Once you’ve beaten the Grunt, there will be an opportunity to catch one of their Shadow Pokemon, hinted by what choice words the character has for you. For example, if they say you’re meddling in ‘treacherous waters’, it will be a Water-type, but if they tell you not to ‘tangle’ with them, it will be a Grass-type. Just like raids, Premier Balls are used to catch the corrupted Pokemon. The number in your arsenal is determined by your Defeat Team Rocket and Purify Pokemon stats, which all depends on how many Rocket Grunt battles you win, how many Pokemon in your team you had left, and how many Pokemon you absolve of Shadow status. Self-explanatory. Succeeding in the battle also means that you can’t engage a second time with that same Pokestop if it’s taken over again.
Each battle will give you 500 Stardust and a Shadow Pokemon if you’re lucky. Your new Shadow Pokemon look ghostly and know the charged move Frustration, but share all the same features of normal Pokemon. They can be left in gyms, traded, or transferred.
However, the Shadow Pokemon can have their time in the sun if you’re willing to Purify them of their status. This does come with a fair few benefits: they’ll learn the move Return which stays with them even when evolved, they’ll receive a +2 to all IVs, and take less Stardust and Candies to power up.
So prepare for trouble, make it double, can’t remember the rest, because this event offers lots of new content for players to enjoy.
