Pokemon Go Team Rocket Takeover Comes This Sunday

Published: July 10, 2020 10:43 AM /

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The main image for the Pokemon Go Fest event

Week two of the Pokemon Go Fest Weekly Challenges has begun. Although Niantic originally planned this week to be battle-themed, the devs say that Team Rocket, dastardly thieves that they are, have changed the plan (uh huh, sure). This week's challenges are still battle-focused, but they'll revolve entirely around taking down Team GO Rocket's nefarious schemes. On Sunday, the Team GO Rocket Takeover will begin and will allow your Pokemon to forget the Frustration move, as well as spawning more Team GO Rocket-related content within the game.

What's happening in this week's Pokemon Go Timed Research challenge?

This week, you'll be able to spot plenty of Team GO Rocket-themed changes to Pokemon Go. Lots more Poison-type and Dark-type Pokemon are appearing in Eggs, in raids, and in the wild. You'll notice a higher Team GO Rocket balloon spawn rate, with the Meowth balloon (starring the recently added Jesse and James)  in particular appearing more often. Suicune has been turned into a Shadow Pokemon, and you'll need to defeat Giovanni to free it. As well as Suicune, Giovanni also has a shadow Nidoking to contend with, along with other fearsome 'mon to battle. 

There are also plenty of Shadow Pokemon to take down including Nidoran, Machop, and Gligar, among other species. Shadow Pokemon are essentially the same as the regular species, but with a slightly different appearance and different stats. They'll have 20% more attack, but 20% less defense to contend with. The full list of Shadow Pokemon species appearing in this Timed Research challenge is as follows:

  • Nidoran (male and female), Nidorino, and Nidorina
  • Machop and Machoke
  • Gligar
  • Shuckle
  • Stunky and Skuntank

When does Pokemon Go's Team Rocket Takeover start?

This Sunday, you can expect a marked increase in Team GO Rocket activity. Lots more balloons - both GO Rocket and Meowth balloons - will appear in the skies, and you'll notice Team GO Rocket grunts taking over PokeStops on a regular basis. Defeating these balloons and grunts will net you 2x Stardust. You'll also have the opportunity to use a Charged TM to let your Pokemon forget Frustration and learn a new move instead. This will be the second time Pokemon Go has featured an event allowing you to remove Frustration, with the first occurring back in March.  

As ever, the Pokemon Go team is asking you to share your victories and experiences with the new Timed Research challenges - and the Team GO Rocket takeover - by using the hashtag #TeamGORocket on social media. It's a busy week for Niantic's augmented-reality critter-catching game; the Team GO Rocket Jessie and James event began yesterday, bringing iconic villains Jessie and James into the fold. Battling them is as simple as tapping a Meowth balloon, so go check that update out if you're looking for trouble and want to make it double.

The Timed Research challenge for this week has already begun in Pokemon Go, and the Team GO Rocket Takeover begins on Sunday at 11 am local time, ending at 2 pm local time. You can download Pokemon Go for free right now on both iOS and Android.

Are you looking forward to checking out the new Timed Research challenges and the Team GO Rocket Takeover? Let us know in the comments below! 

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


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More Info About This Game
Learn more about Pokemon Go
Game Page Pokemon Go
Developer
Niantic
Publisher
Niantic
Platforms
Android, IOS
Release Date
July 6, 2016 (Calendar)
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