Should You Purify That Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO?

Have you caught a mysterious Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO recently? That dark and sinister aura sure looks cool, but you‘re probably wondering if you should keep it as a Shadow or purify it. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the pros and cons so you can decide whether to purify or not purify your Shadow Pokémon!

What Makes Shadow Pokémon Unique?

Shadow Pokémon are special versions of Pokémon with some key differences from their normal counterparts:

• 20% Attack Boost – The main benefit of keeping a Pokémon as a Shadow is the +20% damage bonus to attacks. This can make a huge difference in their performance!

• 20% Defense Reduction – The tradeoff is that Shadow Pokémon also take 20% more damage from attacks.

• More Expensive Power Ups – It costs significantly more Stardust and Candy to power up a Shadow Pokémon to max level.

• Can‘t be Mega Evolved – Shadow Pokémon are not eligible for Mega Evolution. Only Purified or normal Pokémon can Mega Evolve.

• Can‘t be Shiny – Shadow Pokémon cannot be Shiny. You have to purify them first to get a Shiny version.

So in summary, Shadow Pokémon deal more damage but are glassier, harder to power up, and lack some other special features. You have to decide if the attack bonus is worth it!

Reasons to Keep Your Pokémon as a Shadow

Here are the main benefits to keeping your Pokémon in its Shadow form:

1. Bonus Attack Damage

That 20% attack bonus is the biggest reason to use Shadow Pokémon. Here‘s an example:

• A normal 100 damage Fast Attack would deal 100 damage
• With the Shadow bonus, that same attack would deal 120 damage

That‘s a very significant damage increase! It allows Shadow Pokémon to dish out charge moves more quickly too.

This makes Shadow Pokémon some of the strongest raid attackers and PVP fighters in the game. Pretty much any Pokémon with high attack stats appreciates the extra Shadow damage.

2. Rare and Unique for Your Collection

Not all Pokémon are available to catch as Shadow Pokémon. Having a Shadow version of a Pokémon is much rarer than the normal version. It‘s like having a special limited edition Pokémon in your collection!

3. They Look Super Cool

Opinions may vary on this, but many trainers love the dark, edgy aesthetic of the Shadow aura effect. It makes your Pokémon look like a sinister anti-hero!

Reasons to Purify Your Shadow Pokémon

While Shadow Pokémon are excellent attackers, here are some reasons you may want to purify them:

1. Costs Less Stardust/Candy to Power Up

Purified Pokémon cost significantly less resources to power up to max level compared to Shadow Pokémon.

To illustrate, powering up a Shadow Tyranitar to level 40 takes:

• 296,000 Stardust and 248 Candy

If you purify it first, powering up to level 40 only takes:

• 124,000 Stardust and 144 Candy

So purifying saves over 170,000 Stardust and 100 Candy – very useful savings!

2. Gains 2 Extra IV Points in Each Stat

When you purify, the Pokémon‘s IVs (or Individual Values) will gain +2 in each of its Attack, Defense, and Stamina values.

For example, purifying could make a 2-star Shadow Pokémon jump up to 100% perfect IVs if the stats are in the right range.

3. Learns the Special Move "Return"

When purified, the Pokémon will forget Frustration and learn Return – a strong Normal-type charge move.

Return gets more powerful the higher level of friendship you have with that Pokémon. This makes it a very good charge move option for most purified Pokémon.

Which Pokémon Benefit Most From Remaining as Shadows?

Let‘s go through some examples of elite Pokémon that gain a lot from that Shadow attack bonus:

Mewtwo

As the #1 overall attacker in Pokémon GO, the glass cannon Mewtwo appreciates the Shadow damage perk more than any other Pokémon.

Stat	Normal Mewtwo	Shadow Mewtwo
Attack	330	330 (+20% = 396)
Defense	200	160 (-20%)

With maxed out attack reaching nearly 400, Shadow Mewtwo‘s pure power is unmatched. It far exceeds any other Pokémon as the king of raid DPS.

Metagross

The Steely juggernaut Metagross establishes itself as arguably the #1 Steel-type attacker when in Shadow form:

Stat	Normal Metagross	Shadow Metagross
Attack	257	257 (+20% = 308)
Defense	228	182 (-20%)

That immense 308 attack stat combined with STAB Meteor Mash is absolutely deadly against common raid bosses like Regirock, Regice, and Dialga.

Moltres

The fiery legendary bird hits dramatically harder after being Shadowized:

Stat	Normal Moltres	Shadow Moltres
Attack	251	251 (+20% = 301)
Defense	184	147 (-20%)

Moltres already had good DPS, but the 301 attack makes it one of the top Fire and Flying attackers in the game.

Tyranitar

Tyranitar is already well established as a dominant Dark type attacker, with its Shadow version taking it to new heights:

Stat	Normal Tyranitar	Shadow Tyranitar
Attack	251	251 (+20% = 301)
Defense	212	170 (-20%)

That 301 attack stat lines up nicely with STAB from Bite/Crunch to deliver menacing Dark-type damage.

Dragonite

The mighty dragon improves as a raid attacker and Master League threat with its Shadow boost:

Stat	Normal Dragonite	Shadow Dragonite
Attack	263	263 (+20% = 315)
Defense	198	158 (-20%)

The 315 attack backed up by Dragon Tail/Outrage is sure to take down opposing Gyms and raid bosses faster. Glassier, but hits much harder.

Which Pokémon Benefit More from Purification?

Now let‘s look at some examples where purification may prove more beneficial overall:

Low IV Shadows

The IV boost upon purification is more impactful the lower the IVs are before purification.

For example, purifying a 0/0/0 Shadow Charmander would make it a perfect 15/15/15 since each IV stat goes up by 2.

Purification IV Boost Examples:

IVs Before	IVs After
0/0/0	15/15/15
5/5/5	15/15/15
10/10/10	15/15/15

As you can see, any Shadow Pokemon with IVs of 10 or lower in each stat can reach perfect IVs when purified. That‘s a very useful improvement!

Umbreon

Since Umbreon is more of a tanky defensive Pokemon, the attack boost from being a Shadow isn‘t as necessary:

Stat	Normal Umbreon	Shadow Umbreon
Attack	126	126 (+20% = 151)
Defense	226	181 (-20%)

You sacrifice a lot of bulk to gain relatively little attack power. So for Pokemon like Umbreon, purification is likely the better choice.

Pokémon With Frustration as Charge Move

The move Frustration can only be removed during special Team Rocket events. So for Shadow Pokemon stuck with Frustration, purification lets you freely change charge moves.

Once purified, you can replace Frustration with the charge move you actually want on that Pokemon. This gives you full control over movesets.

Purification Analysis for Legendary Shadow Pokémon

Team Rocket leader Giovanni will occasionally reward Shadow versions of legendary Pokemon like Moltres, Articuno, and Suicune after defeating him.

Should you purify these rare Shadow legendaries or keep them Shadow? Here‘s a quick analysis:

Shadow Moltres

Verdict: Keep Shadow

Moltres benefits tremendously from the attack perk as one of the top fire attackers. The IV boost from purification isn‘t significant enough to outweigh the DPS gains.

Shadow Articuno

Verdict: Purify

Articuno is already a bit of a glass cannon, so the defense reduction hurts more than the attack boost helps. The IV improvement makes a bigger difference.

Shadow Suicune

Verdict: Toss Up

Suicune doesn‘t gain a huge advantage either way. The attack boost is minor for it, but the IVs also won‘t improve much. Personal preference on this one!

Making Your Purification Decision

So should you purify that Shadow or not? Here are some tips:

• Check if the IVs are low – big IV boosts from purification are appealing

• Consider how useful the attack boost is for that particular Pokémon

• Weigh the stardust savings from powering up a purified Pokémon

• Check if it has Frustration as the charge move – being able to change charge moves is nice

• Think about whether you value rarity or competitive strength more

For the very best raid attackers like Mewtwo, you almost always want to keep them Shadow. But for others, it really comes down to personal preference and your priorities as a trainer!

I lean towards keeping Pokémon Shadow whenever it significantly boosts their performance in battle. But going the purification route is very reasonable too, especially for low IV Shadows.

How do you all decide on purifying your Shadow Pokémon or not? Let me know in the comments – I‘d love to hear your thoughts and strategies!