Team GO Rocket
Team GO Rocket is the latest version of the evil crime syndicate that uses Pokemon to further their evil plans. In Pokemon GO, Team GO Rocket Grunts and Leaders can be found floating around in Team Rocket hot-air balloons or at captured PokeStops.
The Team Rocket balloon will float around shortly after opening the Pokemon GO app for you only. A captured PokeStop can be found by everyone in the area. Captured PokeStops are dark blue and shake from a distance. As you get closer, the PokeStop will turn into the PokeBall shape but will be black. A Team Go Rocket member will appear.
Tap the PokeStop and spin the photo disc to receive a few items like usual. The Team GO Rocket member will come out saying they have been stealing items from the PokeStops. You must defeat them in a Pokemon Battle to reclaim the PokeStop and gain a special item.
Team GO Rocket Battle
Three Pokemon are selected for your team at the start of battle, but you won’t know what Pokemon your opponent has until the battle begins. Pay attention to what a Team GO Rocket Grunt says before selecting your team. Their quote will give you a hint as to what type they use in their Pokemon team. Their three Pokemon will be shadow Pokemon, which makes them much stronger than normal Pokemon.
No items can be used to heal or revive Pokemon during battle. Pokemon can be switched out at any time, but they will be attacked while switching out. See the previous page on Pokemon battles for tips and tricks.
Knock out all three opposing Pokemon to win a battle. If your Pokemon get knocked out, you can retry as many times as possible. You will need to use items to revive and heal the fainted Pokemon, however.
At the end of the battle, you will get the chance to capture one of the three shadow Pokemon that were used in battle. However, these Pokemon can only be captured with the special Premier Balls that are awarded at the end of the battle.
After capturing the shadow Pokemon, you will receive a special item called a mysterious component. Collect six mysterious components to create a Rocket Radar. You can also purchase a Rocket Radar from the in-game shop for 200 Gold Coins. These are used to find and battle Team GO Rocket Leaders.
Shadow Pokemon and Purification
Shadow Pokemon will move around a lot more than normal wild Pokemon. Use a Nanab Berry to slow down their movements and make them easier to capture. Razz Berries also help if the shadow Pokemon continues to break free.
Once you capture a Shadow Pokemon, you can purify it using a set amount of candies and stardust. Purifying the Pokemon will increase its stats a small amount and change its charged attack from Frustration to Return. These two attacks will not change when the Pokemon evolves, but Return can be overwritten with a Charged TM.
Additionally, all Purified Pokemon will require less candies to power-up, evolve, and unlock their second charged attack. When it comes to evolution, candies will be reduced from the standard 100 to 90 candies, 25 to 22, and 50 to 45.
New charged attacks are usually reduced by 5-20 candies and 3,000-20,000 stardust depending on the purified Pokemon.