Team Go Rocket has invaded Pokémon Go Fest 2020, bringing new Shadow Pokémon along for the ride that players can try to capture after meeting certain conditions.
This includes new Pokémon for each of the Go Rocket leaders and the return of Shadow Mewtwo to Giovanni’s party and the arrival of Victini.
Some of this information leaked before Go Fest even began, but all day on July 26, players can battle Go Rocket Grunts and the team leaders to earn new rewards and capture Shadow Pokémon. This does tie into the various balloon–related events, though each of the Grunts have been weakened slightly for the sake of saving time during Go Fest.
Here is each of the event-specific Team Go Rocket encounters and all of the rewards you can get from beating each of your opponents.
Leader Cliff
- Pinsir
- Tyranitar
- Shadow Articuno
Defeating Cliff will give you a chance at capturing a Shadow Pinsir that can also be Shiny. You can also encounter Shadow Articuno as part of the “Rocket Straight to Victory” Special Research.
Leader Sierra
- Beldum
- Houndoom
- Shadow Zapdos
Defeating Sierra will give you a chance at capturing a Shadow Beldum that can also be Shiny. You can also encounter Shadow Zapdos as part of the “Rocket Straight to Victory” Special Research.
Leader Arlo
- Mawile
- Scizor
- Shadow Moltres
Defeating Arlo will give you a chance at capturing a Shadow Mawile that can also be Shiny. You can also encounter Shadow Moltres as part of the “Rocket Straight to Victory” Special Research.
Boss Giovanni
- Persian
- Sandslash
- Mewtwo
Defeating Giovanni will give you a chance at capturing a Shadow Persian that can also be Shiny. Although, this only applies for a portion of Giovanni’s encounters since the Shadow Suicune event is still running too.
If you encounter Giovanni at a PokéStop at any point during July 26, he will always have a Shadow Persian. If you encounter him through a balloon however, it depends on the time of day that you battle him.
- 12 to 10am local time – Suicune
- 10am to 8pm local time – Persian
- 8pm to 12am local time – Suicune
You can also complete the “Rocket Straight to Victory” Special Research to get even more rewards, which requires defeating Rocket Grunts and the team leaders to finish. You only have until the end of Go Fest on July 26 to get it all done though.
