The Shadow Pokémon have returned in Pokémon Go. These powerful and mysterious variants offer unique rewards and powers for catching them, but it will take some effort. The path to catching them involves taking on the infamous Team Rocket. You will need to hunt down the troublemakers and duel them to beat them. Each grunt has their own teams, but that’s not all. After defeating one of these grunts, you’ll get to take on the Shadow monsters as well. For this guide, we’re going to cover everyone’s favorite rotund boy, Shadow Snorlax.
How to catch Shadow Snorlax
You will need to find a certain Rocket Grunt, just like all of the other Shadow Pokémon. The one you want is the generic trainer. There are a few ways to know you’ve found the right one. Team Rocket members can be found all over, and each one has their own set roster and winning Shadow encounter. Here’s what you need to know about this one.
To encounter a grunt, the Trainer has to get within range of a taken-over PokéStop. As a Trainer approaches, it becomes black, the Team GO Rocket logo will appear over the scene and the battle will begin.
This trainer is referred to by some as the Ace trainer. It will have a set of dialogue that it will say at the beginning of the battle. Look for one of the three dialogue options below to know which trainer you have. For other Trainers, you will often get a message about a certain type, like Bug-Type.
Ace trainer dialogue in Pokémon Go:
- Winning is for winners.
- Don’t bother. I’ve already won.
- Get ready to be defeated!
As for beating the Grunt, you need to know what to expect. The battle will open with either a Snorlax or an Aerodactyl. Once you defeat that monster, Snorlax, Gardevoir or Poliwrath will come out next. The weighting seems to be that they’re less likely to use multiple Snorlax. The final phase of the Trainer fight involves either a Gyarados, Dragonite or Snorlax.
Once you capture this Pokémon, it will count towards your collection.
