Pokemon GO: How to Cure & Purify Shadow Pokemon

Shadow Pokemon are the latest feature in Pokemon GO that entered the game alongside Team GO Rocket battles. Members of the infamous team occupy Pokestops and force you into a battle. After defeating them, you’ll get the chance to capture the corrupt creatures you battled, much like a raid. Here’s how to cure and purify Shadow Pokemon in Pokemon GO.

How to Cure & Purify Shadow Pokemon in Pokemon GO

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen the Shadow Pokemon mechanic as the GameCube titles originally introduced the concept. There were numerous ways to purify these corrupt creatures in those games, but Pokemon Go boils it all down to a much more simple procedure.

Of course, just like any Pokemon, these Shadow creatures need to be captured first following a PvP-style battle with a member of Team Go Rocket. The idea is similar to a raid, but the way the battles are conducted is more similar to trainer battles. Once victory is achieved, then you’ll get your opportunity to capture a Pokemon surrounded in a dark aura.

Capturing one of these Shadow Pokemon will give you the opportunity to purify the darkness that ails them. This can be done by using enough candies of the specified Pokemon and a handful of stardust. That’s all there is to it. There aren’t any crazy purifying chambers or new items, just the standard bits and pieces you need to evolve your Pokemon.

Once the Pokemon is cured, then it will receive the Normal-type move Return which will stay with the Pokemon even after evolution. Purified Pokemon also get a two-point IV boost (per stat), a discount on required candies for evolution and adding new moves, and a stardust and candy discount for leveling up the little ‘mons.

That’s all we know about purifying and curing Shadow Pokemon in Pokemon GO. If you would like to know more about this update, then check out our Shadow Pokemon Explained guide, and for more on the game, check out our guide wiki.