Team Rocket Takeover: Which Rockets to Prioritize

You can largely disregard this entire article. Niantic has trolled us by releasing Shadow Wooper/Quagsire as the exclusive Shadow Pokemon for this event. 

We're on the brink of a surprise Team Rocket Takeover, and most players are excitedly preparing their Shadow Pokemon stash for this much anticipated day. Knowing what to TM is crucial, especially on a player-by-player basis, as this type of event comes so very infrequently.

But here's a question: do you intend to go out and actually hunt down additional Shadow Pokemon for this event as well?

Team Rocket will likely be everywhere, taking over stops and hovering around in their balloons. So which ones are actually worth the time to take down, and what ones should you just skip? Let's take a look and get an idea as to tomorrow's offerings!

Grass Type Rockets

"Don't tangle with us!"

Grass Type rockets have a few nice offerings, in particular Bulbasaur/Ivysaur and Weepinbell. 

Shadow Weepinbell can evolve into Shadow Victreebel, which is a well known Pokemon in the Great League for its tremendous fast move damage. And if you happen to get one with high IVs not suitable for PvP, it's actually a very high ranked Poison and Grass Type attacker.

Bulbasaur and its evolved forme, Ivysaur, are arguably the jackpot for this rocket type. Not only is a Shadow Venusaur with Frenzy Plant one of the top attackers, a near-perfect individual (especially one with 13 Attack IVs) can be purified in order to grant the player a blank-slate for a future Mega Venusaur with a reduced stardust/candy/XL candy cost.

Hoppipp and Gloom provide some PvP niche play, but they're not exactly high priority.

Water Type Rockets

"These waters are treacherous!"

Note that we have two different Water Type Rockets: the female Rocket will drop Psyduck and Shellder, while the male Rocket will drop Magikarp.

Among these, the male trainer is the winner hands-down. While Shadow Gyarados isn't as outstanding as it sounds on paper, it's far more useful all-around by comparison. And, much like Bulbasaur/Ivysaur before, a powerful yet imperfect individual can be purified for use as Mega Gyarados someday at a discount.

Shadow Golduck and Shadow Cloyster are niche at absolute best, and not really worth trying for. On top of this, Shadow Cloyster won't give the boosted stardust that its normal counterpart will due to the season of celebration. For these reasons, it's probably best to skip female Water Rockets entirely.

Fire Type Rockets

"Do you know how hot Pokemon fire breath can get?"

Fire Type Rockets don't have extremely strong offerings, but they are niche and may be appealing for some individuals, depending on your needs.

Like before, purifying an imperfect Shadow Houndour or Shadow Houndoom can lead to a very powerful and inexpensive Mega Houndoom, which is very nice to have for Dark Type and, to a lesser extent, Fire Type damage in raids. Shadow Vulpix actually has some interesting utility as well. Not only is Shadow Ninetales a niche pick for the Great League that may have use in future cups, Shadow Vulpix itself was a great pick for the Little Cup, and securing one in case that format returns may not be a bad idea overall.

Flying Type Rockets

"Battle against my Flying-type Pokemon!"

Flying Type isn't exactly a strong choice for this event. Shadow Zubat and Shadow Golbat can provide PvP niches and may have utility in the future, while Shadow Skarmory is a potentially strong force in the Great League, but it's also a rare encounter for Flying Type Rockets.

Worth noting is the fact that Shadow Zubat and Shadow Golbat are among the cheapest Shadow Pokemon to purify, so having a few handy for when we need to purify them for Giovanni's return may not be a bad idea.

Normal Type Rockets

"Normal does not mean weak"

...yes it does, in this case. Shadow Ursaring has very limited utility, and generally isn't worth much long-term viability. Normal Type Rockets are generally safe to skip,

Poison Type Rockets

"Coiled and ready to strike!"

Shadow Nidoqueen and Shadow Nidoking... aren't great. This is another Rocket that is probably safe to skip.

Bug Type Rockets

"Go, my super bug Pokemon!"

Among the available options, Shadow Weedle is the strongest. This is because Shadow Beedrill has a presence in the Great League, and because, once again, it can be purified for a cheap Mega Beedrill candidate. Shadow Venonat isn't really worth anything, sadly.

Shadow Shuckle, however, is the single funniest Shadow Pokemon in the game. It loses a huge chunk of what is the highest defense stat in the game, and in return it only gets a TINY bit of extra damage. Flawless conversion.

Psychic Type Rockets

"Are you scared of psychics that use unseen power?"

...no, no we are not. Shadow Abra becomes Shadow Alakazam and looks really great on paper. However, it will always be in the shadow of Mewtwo. It's still viable to try for a future Purified Mega Alakazam, though!

Shadow Slowpoke and its two evolutions, Shadow Slowbro and Shadow Slowking are niche Pokemon in PvP. We do have Mega Slowbro on the horizon that might be worth hunting, but it's not exactly shaping up to be a top-tier choice so far.

Shadow Wobbuffet..... no comment.

Ground Type Rockets

"You'll be defeated into the ground!"

Shadow Diglett, and by extension Shadow Dugtrio, are basically worthless Pokemon. Shadow Gligar and Shadow Gliscor have some utility in PvP, but they're not exactly strong picks outside of limited cups. This is probably a safe Rocket to skip.

Rock Type Rockets

"Let's rock and roll!"

Pretty straight-forward: both have Mega Evolutions, and both have PvE presence as Shadows too. Rock is a solid choice if you encounter it!

Dark Type Rockets

"Wherever there is light, there is also shadow"

One Pokemon to choose from here. Shadow Stunky has utility in the Little Cup, and Shadow Stuntank has utility in the Great League. However, these niches generally don't make Dark a type worth hunting for most players.

Ice Type Rockets

"You're gonna be frozen in your tracks"

We've already covered Shadow Cloyster in the Water Rocket section, but Shadow Snover is another matter entirely. Shadow Abomasnow is a big name in the Great League and Ultra League, and a purified Mega Abomasnow is a fairly tempting prospect as well!

Electric Type Rockets

"Get ready to be shocked!"

Electric is one of the best types to hunt for shadow-wise, hands down. Shadow Electvire sports the highest Electric Type DPS in the game currently, Shadow Magnezone is not far behind in terms of DPS with a laundry list of resistances that makes it very viable where super effective, and Shadow Ampharos... can be purified and Mega Evolved some day?

Fighting Type Rockets

“This buff physique isn't just for show!”

See that Shadow Hitmonlee up there? No, no you don't. Because Shadow Machamp is so important that the risk of encountering a Shadow Hitmonlee is easily worth the time that it takes to check for a Shadow Machop. Fighting Type Rockets are your friends!

Ghost Type Rockets

“Ke...ke...ke...ke...ke...ke!”

Shadow Banette is an extreme glass-cannon of a Ghost that's unfortunately outclassed in that role. A purified Mega Banette is much the same story, but at least it may see a time when it's boosted but Mega Gengar is not? It's not a huge priority.

Shadow Duskull... is not very exciting. Shadow Dusclops has some PvP presence, but not much.

Shadow Sableye is great, on the other hand. Sableye is getting a new lease on life thanks to the ability to raise it to Lv.50, but it really wants to know Return. We also have yet another case of "If you get a good one, you can always make a purified Mega!".

Dragon Type Rockets

“ROAR! ...How'd that sound?”

If you encounter a Dragon Type Rocket, do not pass it up! Shadow Dragonite is outstanding as a Dragon Type attacker, and is also great in PvP. This is easily one of the most valuable encounters for the event!

Variable Type Rockets

“Don't bother - I've already won!"

"Get ready to be defeated!"

"Winning is for winners!”

Sadly, they don't drop Shadow Snorlax any longer, but Shadow Aerodactyl is... okay. As was mentioned in the Rock section, it has a solid PvE presence overall that can also translate into preparing a Mega Aerodactyl, but it's not exactly one of the best Rockets on this list.

Team GO Rocket Leaders

Arlo's Pokeon: Growlithe 

Sierra's Pokemon: Drowzee

Cliff's Pokemon: Omanyte

Among the bosses, Sierra's Shadow Drowzee is arguably the best. Shadow Hypno is a solid Pokemon in the Great League that tends to dominate cups when it's an option, giving it some real utility. Cliff's Shadow Omanyte is a decent pick for Fire Type raids if you don't mind using Elite TMs on a Shadow Omastar, and Arlo's Shadow Growlithe is... underwhelming.

Also keep in mind that these Shadow Pokemon can be shiny!

It will likely be at least a few months until we see another Team Rocket Takeover, so taking full advantage of all that it has to offer can be extremely important, and knowing what to prioritize and what to ignore can help greatly on that front. It is our hope that this list helps with focusing priorities for this event, and that we can all get that coveted high-IV shadow that we each have tugging at the back of our minds whenever we visit a Team GO Rocket grunt or leader!