Team GO Rocket is up to no good in Pokémon Go. Not only do they continue to steal more shadow Pokémon, but for a weekend in March, they’re planning an upcoming takeover for a weekend. You can expect to see increased Team GO Rocket activity starting from March 6 at 8am to March 9 at 10pm in your local area, and if you battle against them during this time, you will receive several rewards for your effort.
Here’s what you can expect during the Team GO Rocket take-over event:
- Poison and Dark-type Pokémon will show up more frequently in the wild, among other commonly used Team GO Rocket Pokémon types
- Absol will appear in the wild during the event
- You have a chance any Skorupi you encounter during the event to be a shiny version
- You can use Charged TM to change a Shadow Pokémon’s exclusive attack, Frustration, to other Charged Moves it normally would learn. However, if you purify the Pokémon, the move becomes Return, like it traditionally does
- The Team GO Rocket leaders will rotate out what Shadow Pokémon they have out for previous choices. All of them have the potential of being a shiny version of the Pokémon
- Cliff will have Stantler or Pinsir
- Arlo will have Bagon or Mawile
- Sierra will have Absol or Beldum
- Defeating Team GO Rocket Grunts and Leaders nets you twice the usual Stardust
- The in-game music will be playing the Team GO Rocket music throughout the event
The main event truly happens on March 7 from 2pm to 5pm in your local time. During this brief window, many more PokéStops will be taken over by Team GO Rocket grunts, making them easier to battle. Sierra, Arlo, Cliff, and even Giovanni are significantly easier to find during this time, too. If you want to fight it out against the powerful leaders, make sure to have a Rocket Radar or Super Rocket Radar ready to go.
The Team GO Rocket take-over starts on March 6 at 8am and ends March 9 at 10pm in your local time. Make sure to participate in saving those Shadow Pokémon, and do your best to encounter Giovanni for your chance to capture the latest legendary he has in his possession: Entei. You don’t want to be too busy, though, with the potential to encounter exclusive Darkrai five-star raids happening over the same weekend and Thundurus, who is making its debut this March in month-long five-star raids.
