Pokemon Go: Team Rocket Event

Team Rocket’s Rockin’

So. How about that Team Rocket, huh?

The new feature in Pokemon GO has been completely rolled out for a little while, now. I’m here to give you the low-down on these low-down dirty crooks, Trainers!

But first… a little history.

Team Rocket has been around since the very first Pokemon Games. Shady characters running around Mt. Moon, many of us first encountered them as just a different type of Trainer to overcome. We’d soon know better, of course! But these baddies weren’t so tough in the early stages of the game. Primarily using Rattata, Zubat, Koffing, Ekans and other low tier ‘scary’ Pokemon, they were a pretty easily beaten bunch.

Giovanni’s organization, though, had its fingers in many pies. From the shady Game Corner in Celadon, to an attempted take over of Silph Co, they seemed to be everywhere we were. Though from start to finish, we mopped them up and forcibly stalled their negotiations.

Keep in mind, this is a ten year old and his magical pets basically taking on The Mob.

They created Mewtwo, Giovanni was the AWOL Viridian City Gym Leader… and once we beat him, he promised to amend his ways and leave his life of crime behind, never to be heard from again.

Too good to be true, though. And I always wondered why he was never bought to justice. You’re forced to just let him disappear, but I would rather have gotten Officer Jenny in on this and put him behind bars to he could make good on that ‘never hear from me again’ stuff.

Oh well.

Of course, these Grunts are concurrent with the Team Rocket of the anime. Jesse, James and Meowth, for whom the general public probably holds the greatest amount of fondness. These lovable doofusses are what most people think of immediately when the words Team Rocket come up in conversation. Despite their best of intentions, though, these guys are hardly real Villain material. Sure, they get a little dark every so often… but have you ever noticed that whenever they attempt something outside the realm of villainy, they succeed? In the current season, they are running a profitable, well thought out Malasada food truck. They’re doing super well. Jesse used to regularly compete in Pokemon Contests and did pretty well too. James is an announcer for specialized Pokemon battles in Alola. If they just applied themselves to actual work, they’d be a massive success.

…but that wouldn’t be nearly as fun to watch on TV.

We run into more Team Rocket goons in Gold and Silver, as they try to get their old Boss’ attention by hatching various nefarious schemes. But you get a Shiny Gyarados out of it, so not a total loss. Also? This guy.

Not going to spoil it for you in case you don’t know. But there’s a link, there.

After that, Team Rocket dies down a bit and we get to face Teams Aqua, Magma, Galactic, Plasma, Flare and Skull. (And Team Yell later this year!)And, you know, you try and get into it and treat them like they’re special but really, you know they’ll never be able to capture that same luster, that same menace. Team Rocket were, quite literally, the original gangsters that you just loved to hate. (Or loved to love; I know a lot of people who would have accepted the Grunt’s offer on Nugget Bridge.)

They made a return in Generation seven with Team Rainbow Rocket. Refitted and refueled and retooled to fit into Alolan life a little better… but that was just post game stuff and not quite the same.

And that brings us to the present.

Team Rocket is back on the scene, and bigger than ever. Random Pokestops throughout the day will be converted into Rocket hangouts. You’ll know them immediately as they’ll be black and wobbling. Go to it, tap on it, swipe it and you’ll get your items… and a little more. A Grunt will tell you that they’re going to beat you up and steal your lunch money. Will you let this stand!? That… kind of depends.

I have to admit to feeling sorry for some of these Grunts. Some of them get a team full of Rattata and Zubat and some of them get two Snorlax and a Dragonite. (You have to think there’s some kind of nepotism going on there. You want to ask them ‘OK, who’s nephew are you? Which Admin is your Mom. Spill it.’)

There are tells, though. After the initial banter, you get a little pre-battle phrase. These can help you determine what you’re going to face. I have a list here; of course, these details are ONLY accurate at the time of writing.

“Coiled and ready to strike!”

This grouping will be the Zubat line, Bulbasaur and Ivysaur, and Grimer. Poison Types, essentially, but made trickier by the introduction of the two Grass types, leaving Ground Types at a potential disadvantage. Use powerful Psychics with Fire Types for backup.

“Go, my super Bug Pokemon!”

Scyther line. Fire Types go forth and raze them to the ground.

“Roar! How’d that sound?”

Here be Dragons. Dratini line and Magikarp line. Bring in some Ice types and an Electric Type for Gyarados coverage and you’ll be golden.

“Do you know how hot Pokemon fire breath can get?”

Fire Types! Who’d have guessed? Charmander line and Houndour line. Bring in Water Types and Ground Types. Nuff Said.

“Are you scared of psychics that attack with unseen power?”

Drowzee Line. Get your Tyranitar with Crunch in there and let him have some lunch. Also, Ralts. You won’t need to prepare a type matchup for this as it’s a pretty weak Pokemon, but if you want to hedge your bets, use Metagross. Steel Type moves are super effective on Fairies and that Steel/Psychic typing means it’s resistant or neutral to any attacks these critters might have.

“These waters are treacherous!”

This is… Water Types. Squirtle line, Poliwag line and Mudkip line. Grass Types are the order of the day here so as to deal quickly with any Swampert that attack.

“Normal doesn’t mean weak!”

This is one of the more common groups. Rattata, Raticate and Snorlax are the possible normal types, so you’ll want a Machamp. However! Dragonite and Charizard are also options so don’t forget to counter those with a Water/Ice type with moves from each Type.

“Don’t tangle with us!”

This will be the Bulbasaur line. Strong Fire, Psychic and Flying Types are your best bet.

“My bird Pokemon wants to battle with you!”

….this person needs to go back to Prof. Oak’s Pokemonology 101. None of these are birds. Actually None. Zubat line, Scyther, Charizard, Gyarados and Dragonite. One of the more mixed bags. You’d do well to pick a powerful Rock type or three. Have an Electric type as backup for the Water moves Gyarados is sometimes packing.

“You’ll be defeated into the ground!”

Cubone line. Water, Grass, super easy.

“Don’t bother, I’ve already won.” “Winning is for winners.” “Get ready to be defeated.”

This is, without a doubt, the hardest one to do. There are actually several versions of this, all with different Pokemon so it’s super hard to prepare for. Remember, though, that you can rematch and there’s no shame in going through it once to see what this Grunt actually HAS on its team before running in a second time to clean house. They will have a range of Pokemon from the Generation one starters (Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle lines.) as well as Dragonite, Poliwrath and Snorlax.

The bonus is that this one rewards a Shadow Snorlax! So, it might be tough but it’s well worth the effort.

And that brings me to…

Rewards

You’ll notice that the Pokemon Team Rocket use are enveloped in a swirling purple aura, have red, angry eyes and are ridiculously powerful. Once you’ve beaten the Grunt, you have the opportunity to capture one of these Pokemon (Usually the first in their line-up, but not always.) and purify it.

You are given Premier Balls to do this and the number you receive depends on your badge levels for Hero and Purifier (More on these later.) and the number of Pokemon that it takes you to win. You get more balls the less Pokemon Team Rocket can knock out.

Once you’ve caught your rogue, ‘mon, you can spend Stardust and Candy to purify them. The higher the Pokemon’s evolutionary stage, the more it’s going to cost in both to get this Pokemon out of its Shadow state. This state apparently causes the Pokemon great pain so… I haven’t as yet skipped over purifying any.

In the Pokedex, you get an additional category under the Pokemon’s name. Where it used to just ben ‘Seen’ and ‘Caight’ now there’s a separate ‘Purified’ section.

Purifying the Pokemon will see a dramatic improvement in CP only – as if you had powered it up many times. It does NOT however improve Base Stats. Those are set the moment you encounter the Pokemon. And keep in mind that unlike Raids, Eggs, Lucky Trades and Research Rewards, at this time, there is no 60% floor on these Pokemon’s IVs. They can be, honestly, pretty bad. If you are running low on resources, you may want to hold on to purify your critter till you’re a little more Stardust rich.

Team Rocket Power Hour.

There was an event recently, backed up by a frankly amazing Social Media campaign, that saw ALL Pokestops switching into Team Rocket Pokestops. These could be challenged multiple times. There was also an unforseen side effect…

Will we see this happen again? You never know with Team Rocket. If there’s one thing they’ve proven over the last 20 years, it’s that they’re a resilient bunch.

There are two new Badges added to the mix with the introduction of Team Rocket: Hero and Purifier. Hero will require that you beat 1000 Team Rocket Grunts to obtain Gold. Purifier requires you to purify a total of 500 Shadow Pokemon. The higher level these badges, the more Premier Balls you are awarded after every Rocket Battle.

Giovanni

At Pokemon GO Fest in Yokohama, Giovanni was spotted in Photobombs. Could this mean he will soon be making his way into these Battles!? We can only hope. It would be nice to tackle the Pokemon Mob Boss again, just like those glory days of Red, Blue and Yellow.

So, let’s get out there and show these Mobsters who’s the real Boss around here! But most of all… have fun.

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