Best moveset for Shadow Primeape in Pokémon Go

Team Rocket is grabbing more Pokémon and turning them into Shadow Pokémon in every season of Pokémon Go, and it looks like Mankey has been added to their ranks. You now have the chance to rescue this Pokémon, and evolve it into a Shadow Primeape.

Like every new Pokémon you add to your collection, it’s time to consider what moves and attacks you want to teach Primeape. As one of the more powerful Fighting-type Pokémon that you can get in Pokémon Go, there are several choices you may want to consider. You’ll also want to think about where you can use Shadow Primeape and how to optimize it for the teams you’re building. Here’s what you need to know about the best moveset for Shadow Primeape in Pokémon Go.

Shadow Primeape’s best moveset in Pokémon Go

You do have several attacks that Shadow Primeape can learn in Pokémon Go. Some attacks are better than others, but Shadow Primeape can become a vital attacker on any team, and it can have a diverse moveset based on what you need. If you’re looking for the best moveset, you want to teach Shadow Primeape to use the fast move Karate Chop and the charged moves Ice Punch and Cross Chop. But before you worry about teaching Shadow Primeape, you do need to catch a Shadow Mankey by battling Team Rocket grunts.

When it comes to giving Shadow Primeape a fast move, Karate Chop is easily the strongest choice. It’s an attack that only takes two turns to use, does five damage, and gives 4.5 energy per turn. The energy you can get while using this attack is fantastic, meaning Primeape can use its charged attacks regularly. You can compare that with other fast moves it can learn, Counter and Low Kick, which fall short. These are all Fighting-type moves, but Counter does eight damage and gives three energy while Low Kick does four damage and gives you 2.5 energy. Karate Chop will always be the best option in Pokémon Go.

The next part is to pick out two of Shadow Primeape’s strongest charged moves. These are crucial to every battle and need to match the type of fast move it uses during a battle. These are all the charged moves Primeape can learn in Pokémon Go.

• Close Combat (Fighting-type)
• Cross Chop (Fighting-type)
• Frustration (Normal-type)
• Ice Punch (Ice-type)
• Low Sweep (Fighting-type)
• Night Slash (Dark-type)

Of the six options you can give Shadow Primeape, the best attacks you want to teach will be Cross Chop and Ice Punch. Cross Chop is a powerful Fighting-type attack that causes 55 damage and only requires 35 energy. You can expect to use Cross Chop often during a fight, likely baiting out a shield against an opponent. Ice Punch nearly works the same way: It does 55 damage and requires 40 energy. It needs slightly more energy than Cross Chop, but not too much. These are a great combo for Shadow Primeape in Pokémon Go, making it a powerhouse of damage.

You can compare these two attacks to the other choices available to Primeape. You want to avoid Frustration, as it does minor damage and is primarily detrimental to any Shadow Pokémon when you initially get them. Close Combat is a favorite for many Fighting-type Pokémon, as it does 100 damage for 45 energy, but it does have a debuff of lowering the user’s defense by two ranks. Primeape’s lower defenses mean you want to avoid this attack as much as possible despite the high damage. Low Sweep is a terrible Fighting-type move in Pokémon Go, as it causes 40 damage for 40 energy.

The last charged move, Night Slash, could be argued as a good attack to teach Primeape. It all depends on whether you plan to use this Shadow Primeape to counter Ghost and Psychic-type Pokémon. If you’re not worried about this niche in Pokémon Go battles, you’re better off not using it. However, if you want Primeape to fight against these Pokémon directly, you can swap out Ice Punch with Night Slash and try that combination instead.

Is Shadow Primeape good in Pokémon Go?

Shadow Primeape is a solid choice as a Pokémon you can add to your team in Pokémon Go. You primarily want to use it in the Great League. There’s a chance you might find use for it in the Ultra League, but we doubt you’ll get too much use from it there while playing the mobile game. You’re better off sticking to the Great League, or other specialized cups.

Because Primeape has a lower overall CP, even if you were to power it up fully, we recommend sticking Shadow Primeape in the Great League. You can use them in one-star or three-star raids while playing Pokémon Go, but don’t put them on a team that could be used during a five-star raid. You want to reserve that choice for Primeape’s evolved form, Annihilape.