Team GO Rocket isn’t waiting too long to crash an event during the Season of Hidden Gems. During the Solstice Horizons event, Giovanni and his crew will appear with new Shadow Pokémon. Trainers can also add Shadow Regirock to their collection, provided that they can defeat Giovanni in battle. (For more details about the Season of Hidden Gems, you can check out our overall Season of Hidden Gems guide hub.)
Note: For more details about the Solstice Horizons event, you can check out our full Solstice Horizons guide.
Now, check out what’s happening during the Team GO Rocket Takeover event with our guide below:
Pokémon GO’s Season of Hidden Gems – Team GO Rocket Takeover
Begins: Wednesday, June 21st, 2023 at 12 a.m. your local time.
Ends: Sunday, June 25th, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. your local time.
Pokémon debuts – Shadow Regirock, Shiny Pancham, and more Shadow Pokémon
According to the official Pokémon GO blog post, the following Pokémon will debut during this event:
- Shadow Regirock: Another member of the Legendary titans has been captured by Giovanni and transformed into a Shadow Pokémon. Trainers who want to add Shadow Regirock to their team, you’ll need a Super Rocket Radar to track down Team GO Rocket Boss Giovanni, find him, and defeat him in battle.
- Shiny Pancham: Pancham, which can be hatched from 12 km Eggs (which can only be obtained from defeating a Team GO Rocket Leader), now has a chance of being shiny! This also means that if Trainers hatch a Shiny Pancham, they can evolve ’em into a Shiny Pangoro.
- New Shadow Pokémon
- Shadow Alolan Geodude: Available to catch when defeating a specific Team GO Rocket Grunt. Please stay tuned for more details.
- Shadow Ledyba and Shadow Ledian: Available to catch when defeating a specific Team GO Rocket Grunt. Please stay tuned for more details. A datamine also hints that Shadow Ledian will be added to the game (but via evolving a Shadow Ledyba into a Shadow Ledian via the required number of Ledyba Candies).
- Shadow Hitmontop: Available to catch when defeating a specific Team GO Rocket Grunt. Please stay tuned for more details.
- Shadow Glameow and Shadow Purugly: Available to catch when defeating a specific Team GO Rocket Grunt. Please stay tuned for more details. A datamine also hints that Shadow Purugly will be added to the game (but via evolving a Shadow Glameow into a Shadow Purugly via the required number of Glameow Candies).
- Shadow Gible: Available to catch when defeating a specific Team GO Rocket Grunt. Please stay tuned for more details.
- and more!: The official Pokémon GO blog post mentions that Team GO Rocket Leaders’ Shadow Pokémon will be new and that some Shadow Pokémon might be Shiny when rescued. Please stay tuned for more details.
Event Bonuses
- Team GO Rocket will appear more frequently at PokéStops and in balloons.
- You can use a Charged TM to help a Shadow Pokémon forget the Charged Attack Frustration.
- Shadow Raids will appear more often.
This event overlaps with the Solstice Horizons event, so the following bonuses will also be active:
- 2× Stardust for catching Pokémon
- Lunatone and Solrock will both appear in the wild during the event, regardless of your location.
Event Boxes
If any special event boxes or bundles are released during the event, they’ll be listed here once the event is live.
This event overlaps with the Solstice Horizons event, so the following event boxes may also be available:
- Trainee Box (350 PokéCoins, no purchase limit): 5 Premium Battle Passes and 1 Lucky Egg.
- Explorer Box (999 PokéCoins, no purchase limit): 5 Super Incubators, 4 Egg Incubators, and 2 Poffins.
- Solstice Box (1,500 PokéCoins, no purchase limit): 9 Golden Razz Berries, 9 Super Incubators, and 3 Remote Raid Passes.
Shadow Pokémon
Team GO Rocket will have some new Shadow Pokémon. We know of Shadow Alolan Geodude, Shadow Ledyba, Shadow Hitmontop, Shadow Glameow, Shadow Gible, and Shadow Regirock. Niantic teases that more might be released during the event, including possible shiny versions of other Shadow Pokémon. Where to find these new Shadow Pokémon will be sorted below after the event has started.
- Team GO Rocket Grunts: Alolan Geodude, Shadow Ledyba, Shadow Hitmontop, Shadow Glameow, Shadow Gible, and more?
- Team GO Rocket Leaders:
- Cliff: Shadow Aerodactyl*.
- Sierra: Shadow Geodude*.
- Arlo: Shadow Aipom*.
- Team GO Rocket Boss Giovanni: Shadow Regirock.
Eggs
The following Pokémon will be hatching from Eggs that are obtained from Team GO Rocket Leaders:
- 12 km Eggs:
- 1-Egg Rarity: Larvitar*, Scraggy, Pawniard*, and Vullaby*.
- 2-Egg Rarity: Sandile and Pancham*.
- 3-Egg Rarity: Absol*, Skorupi*, Deino*, Skrelp, and Salandit.
Note: Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might hatch a Shiny one!”
Raids
Standard and Shadow Raids will be active during the event.
Standard Raids
The following Pokémon will be appearing in Raids:
- One-Star Raids: Sneasel*, Hisuian Sneasel, Rockruff*, and Fomantis*.
- Three-Star Raids: Noctowl, Espeon, Umbreon, and Staraptor.
- Five-Star Raids: Nihilego* (See Additional Notes).
- Mega Raids: Mega Sceptile* (See Additional Notes).
Shadow Raids
The following Pokémon will be appearing in Raids:
- One-Star Shadow Raids: Growlithe*, Abra, Mareep, and Starly.
- Three-Star Shadow Raids: Gligar*, Sneasel*, Throh (See Additional Notes), and Swak (See Additional Notes).
- Five-Star Shadow Raids: Shadow Articuno* (See Additional Notes).
Additional Notes:
- Pokémon marked with an * means that “If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!”
- Standard Raids:
- Nihilego* will be available after the event (in Five-Star Raids), until Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Nihilego* will also debut prior to the start of this event on Thursday, June 15th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Mega Sceptile* will be available after the event (in Mega Raids), until Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Mega Sceptile* will also debut prior to the start of this event on Thursday, June 15th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Nihilego* will be available after the event (in Five-Star Raids), until Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time.
- Shadow Raids:
- Throh will be available in the Americas and Africa.
- Swak will be available in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
- Shadow Articuno* will only be available in Five-Star Shadow Raids on June 17th (Saturday), June 18th (Sunday), June 24th (Saturday), and June 25th (Sunday).
- One- and Three-Star Shadow Raids will be available daily.
- Five-Star Shadow Raids will be available on weekends (Saturday and Sunday), unless otherwise stated by Niantic.
Field Research Tasks
In the past, there has been a Field Research Task that would focus on defeating Team GO Rocket Grunts and reward Trainers with a Mysterious Component (during Team GO Rocket-themed events). So far, the official Pokémon GO blog post for the event doesn’t mention that the Team GO Rocket Takeover event will have any dedicated Field Research Task(s). If so, this section will be updated when the event is live. If not, there are some Field Research Tasks that are available during the Solstice Horizons event, which overlaps with the Team GO Rocket Takeover event. Field Research Tasks can be found when spinning PokéStops (and acquired if you have an open slot in your Field Research menu) when the event is active.
- Task: Defeat 2 Team GO Rocket Grunts
- Reward: 1 Mysterious Component
Special Research – A Shadowy Disturbance
An event-exclusive Special Research Story will be available. Once again, a Team GO Rocket-focused Special Research Story will be issued during this season when Trainers log in between Wednesday, June 21st, 2023 at 12 a.m. and Friday, September 1st, 2023 at 10 a.m. your local time. It is unclear if Trainers will need to complete a previous season’s Team GO Rocket-focused Special Research Story in order to acquire the Season of Hidden Gems edition.
A complete list of tasks and rewards of this Special Research will be shared here once the event is live.
| A Shadowy Disturbance | |
|---|---|
| Step 1/5 | Reward |
| Catch 15 Pokémon | 5 Pinap Berries |
| Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms | 10 Poké Balls |
| Defeat 3 Team GO Rocket Grunts | 1 Mysterious Component |
| Completion Rewards | 1,000 XP, 1,000 Stardust, and Aron Encounter |
| Step 2/5 | Reward |
| Catch 15 Pokémon | 5 Pinap Berries |
| Transfer 10 Pokémon | 10 Great Balls |
| Defeat 6 Team GO Rocket Grunts | 3 Mysterious Components |
| Completion Rewards | 1,500 XP, 1,500 Stardust, and Graveler Encounter |
| Step 3/5 | Reward |
| Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader | 2,500 XP |
| Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader | 2,500 XP |
| Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader | 2,500 XP |
| Completion Rewards | 2,500 XP, 3,000 Stardust, and 1 Super Rocket Radar |
| Step 4/5 | Reward |
| Find the Team GO Rocket Boss | 10 Hyper Potions |
| Battle the Team GO Rocket Boss | 10 Ultra Balls |
| Defeat the Team GO Rocket Boss | 6 Max Revives |
| Completion Rewards | 3,000 XP, 3,000 Stardust, and Sableye Encounter |
| Step 5/5 | Reward |
| Claim Reward! | 2,500 Stardust |
| Claim Reward! | 2,500 Stardust |
| Claim Reward! | 2,500 Stardust |
| Completion Rewards | 5,000 XP, 2,500 Stardust, and 2 Silver Pinap Berries |
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Written by Jennifer Burch
Illustrator, designer, writer and big Nintendo geek, you can find Jennifer with an N3DS within reach 24/7. As the oldest of three, she has survived many Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart sessions intact in addition to getting her brothers hooked on some really weird games. (Cubivore anyone?)
