Should you purify Shadow Groudon in Pokémon Go?

When you catch a Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon Go, you might wonder whether you should purify it. Purifying a Shadow Pokémon transforms it into its standard, but should you do this for Shadow Groudon?

It’s a big question to ask yourself after you catch a Shadow Groudon. There are not too many Shadow legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Go, and you might be wondering if you should keep a Shadow Groudon or swap it to the standard one. The choice is up to you, but there is a better choice.

Is it better to purify Shadow Groudon in Pokémon Go?

I can confirm that you should always keep a Shadow legendary Pokémon in this form in Pokémon Go. Legendary Shadow Pokémon don’t appear too often because they are typically captured by Giovanni or appear in Shadow Raids for a short period. I know it’s better to keep Shadow Groudon in this form rather than purifying it.

But it’s important to note that a Shadow Groudon is not better than a standard Groudon. The difference between these two is that Shadow Groudon has a 20 percent increase in its attack and a 20 percent decrease in its defense stat. Groudon already has a higher attack stat than its defense, and it needs that defense to withstand the heavy hits from any Master League Pokémon that an opponent uses against you in Pokémon Go. The defense decrease for Shadow Groudon is a heavy hit, and I know you should be using the standard Groudon because of these differences.

Thankfully, the Shadow Groudon and standard Groudon have the same movesets. You might be able to use them side-by-side against Pokémon Go raids or when battling against Team Rocket.

If you ever consider purifying a Shadow Groudon, wait until it begins to appear in Shadow Raids. These are the only other ways to catch Shadow’s legendary Pokémon outside of Giovanni’s catching them. But he only appears every three months in Pokémon Go. You also need a Super Rocket Radar to encounter him, and they’re only available in Special Research tasks when he appears. Again, hold off on purifying Shadow Groudon. Catching a standard Groudon from five-star raids is much easier than hunting down a Shadow Groudon.