Why can‘t my Pokémon forget Frustration?

Frustration is a Charged Attack that all Shadow Pokémon know when they‘re caught. Frustration cannot be unlearned with a TM until you‘ve purified the Shadow Pokémon, except during special events.

What is Frustration and why do Shadow Pokémon have it?

When you catch a Shadow Pokémon from defeating a Team GO Rocket Grunt, it will only know the move Frustration as its Charged Attack. Frustration is a weak move, with a max power of only 102.

Shadow Pokemon have Frustration by default. It fits their lore of being corrupted and unable to reach their full potential.

How can you make a Shadow Pokémon forget Frustration?

The only way to forget Frustration is to use a Charged TM on a Shadow Pokémon during special Team GO Rocket takeover events.

During these events, Charged TMs will function differently and allow Shadow Pokemon to learn a different Charged Attack, forgetting Frustration in the process.

The next Rocket takeover event will be in March 2023. Niantic announced Charged TMs will be able to remove Frustration during this time.

Which Shadow Pokémon should forget Frustration?

For raid attacking and PvP, you‘ll want your best Shadow Pokémon to forget Frustration. Here are some top picks:

• Nidoqueen
• Machamp
• Swampert
• Abomasnow
• Venusaur
• Beedrill
• Lapras
• Flygon

Prioritize your strongest Shadow Pokémon that you use in battles. High-meta PvP picks like Swampert or Venusaur are great choices.

What about Elite TMs? Can they remove Frustration?

Elite TMs are rare items that can teach a Pokemon any move it has previously been able to learn. So yes, Elite TMs can remove Frustration at any time.

However, Elite TMs are extremely scarce. They are only given out during limited events or as end-of-season PvP rewards. So for most players, waiting for a Rocket event is the only realistic way.

Should you purify Shadow Pokémon first?

Purifying a Shadow Pokemon will permanently cause it to forget Frustration and learn Return. Return‘s power scales with friendship, so purified Pokemon have a strong Charged Move.

Purifying also boosts IVs by 2 points each and significantly increases CP. However, Shadow Pokemon deal 20% more damage. It‘s a trade-off.

For example, many suggest keeping Shadow Lugia rather than purifying it for the damage boost. But purified Lugia still performs well with high IVs.

What if you evolve a Shadow Pokémon that knows Frustration?

If you evolve a Shadow Pokemon that still knows the move Frustration, the evolved form will also know Frustration.

This is problematic if you wanted to evolve it during a Community Day to learn an exclusive move. You would need an Elite TM to then learn that move.

So it‘s advised to TM away Frustration first before evolving a Shadow Pokemon you care about.

How can you prepare for Frustration events?

• Keep an eye out for announcements from Niantic about upcoming Team GO Rocket takeovers. These will be your chance to TM Frustration.

• Stock up on Charged TMs beforehand to use on your best Shadow Pokémon. You may want to save normal Charged TMs until the event.

• Tag your strongest Shadow Pokémon you want to TM in advance so they are easy to find.

• Build up candy for Shadow Pokémon you intend to evolve during events after removing Frustration.

With a bit of planning and patience for the right events, you can transform your Shadow Pokémon into purified fighters or dangerous raiders. Removing Frustration is a crucial step in unlocking their potential.