What are Shadow Pokemon? Why or why not Purify them?

Shadow Pokemon are surrounded by a dark aura, such as the Rhyhorn above. They are obtained from defeating Team GO Rocket in battles and in raids, but what are they exactly?

The Moves of Shadow Pokemon

Shadow Pokemon have different moves from other mons. Their Charged Move is Frustration, which can't be changed, apart from special occasions. Frustration is not a very powerful move, so when that occasion comes, use a TM to change it into another move!

The main benefits of Shadow Pokemon are its increased damage. Shadow Pokemon deals and receives extra damage.

How to Purify a Shadow Pokemon

On that mon's page, there will be a choice to purify the Pokemon. This costs Stardust and that Pokemon's candy. When purified, the mon gains extra IVs, cheaper cost, and learns the charged move Return!

If you choose to purify, this decision can't be reversed, so choose wisely!

Why not purify?

Hold on. If purifying a Pokemon grants many benefits, why would you need to "choose wisely"? Isn't it always better to purify them?

The answer is the aforementioned Shadow Bonus. While Shadow mons takes extra damage from enemy attacks, they also deal extra damage. With Frustration replaced, Shadow mons are extremely powerful attackers, and out-damages their non-shadow versions!

In raids, especially Legendary ones, the deciding factor is usually the timer. Therefore, Shadow Pokemon are extremely useful here to deal as much damage in as little time. So if you have the resources to invest in a powerful Shadow raid attacker (maybe not this unevolved Rhyhorn) then you'll have a massive advantage in raids!

Keep in mind that Shadow Pokemon are more expensive, so prepare lots and lots of Stardust and candy!

Why Purify?

Then with the damage bonus from Shadow mons, why purify them? The answer is that it is not always the optimal choice to purify actually, but there are great benefits to purifying a mon.

A purified mon gets extra IVs, replaces its charged move with the more powerful Return, and is cheaper! Unlike Frustration, Return can always be replaced. In this example, a purified Shuckle requires less resources to power up, as well as to learn the second charged move. That's 10,000 Stardust and 10 candy saved just for the extra move! This is the opposite of Shadow mons. In the picture earlier, 60,000 Stardust and 60 candy is required to unlock Rhyhorn's charged move!

Not all mons have the same cost in unlocking the second charged move, but in this case, both Rhyhorn and Shuckle requires the same 50,000 Stardust and 50 Candy.

Another benefit to purifying a mon is that it can Mega Evolve! Shadow mons are locked from Mega Evolving even if you have the required resources.

Purified Pokemon

This Shuckle is an example of a Purified mon.

Conclusion

In this post, you learned what Shadow and Purified pokemon are, as well as the benefits of each. Now it is up to you to decide!