Look out! Team GO Rocket has invaded Pokémon GO—and they’re not the pushovers you might remember from the classic anime and games.
These troublemaking trainers show up at PokéStops and surround the area with their favorite Pokémon—Meowth, Ekans, and Koffing. Worse, they’ll limit the items you might collect.
See a PokéStop flickering with an ominous animation? That signals a Team GO Rocket takeover. You’ll need to take these scoundrels down. Here’s how:
Use your type advantage
You can’t just steamroll through these brutes. Team GO Rocket can battle using critters with roughly 4,000 Combat Power (CP), and they deploy tenacious Shadow Pokémon to hold down PokéStops.
Thankfully, type advantage works wonders: Grass beats water types, water dowses fire, and so on. Having a well-balanced trio with high CP stats will give you a fighting chance. Just remember that Team GO Rocket packs a wide range of Pokémon too.
Stock up on health
If you’ve been hoarding Potions and Revives, now’s the time to start doling them out. A battle with Team GO Rocket can have you limping away, so make sure you’ve got a healthy inventory. Running low on items? Hit up all the PokéStops you can! Make sure you also send gifts to friends, battle with other trainers, and complete as much field research as possible. Even a long walk will fill your pockets—Pokémon GO rewards you handsomely for those steps.
Purify Shadow Pokémon
When you beat a Team GO Rocket grunt, they’ll leave the PokéStop behind—as well as a Shadow Pokémon. You can’t catch them using your own gear, but you will get a limited number of special Poké Balls to try. Time your throws carefully and you’ll get the option to “purify” your Shadow Pokémon once you’ve caught ’em. This’ll give them a major stat boost—and a shiny aura to boot.