Pokémon Go Shadowy Skirmishes quest steps

Shadowy Skirmishes quest steps in Pokémon Go

Below you’ll find all five of the quest steps, including the individual challenges and rewards, for the Shadowy Skirmishes special research quest in Pokémon Go.

Remember - you need to have completed your previous Team Go Rocket research quest, which began with A Troubling Situation way back in 2019, to access this quest. This special research quest may be Ultra Beast Protection, which was released in November 2022.

Thank you to redwineandbeer from reddit for the help with this information!

'Shadow Skirmishes' Step 1 of 5

• Defeat 6 Team Go Rocket Grunts - Helioptile
• Make 3 Nice Curveball Throws in a row - Helioptile
• Earn 2 Candies exploring with your buddy - Helioptile

Rewards: 2000 XP, 15 Poké Balls and 10 Revives

'Shadow Skirmishes' Step 2 of 5

• Defeat 6 Team Go Rocket Grunts - 10 Hyper Potions
• Catch 4 Shadow Pokémon - 10 Poké Balls
• Purify 2 Shadow Pokémon - 10 Pinap Berries

Rewards: 2000 XP, 15 Great Balls and 1 Rocket Radar

'Shadow Skirmishes' Step 3 of 5

• Defeat the Team Go Rocket Leader Arlo - 1500 XP
• Defeat the Team Go Rocket Leader Cliff - 1500 XP
• Defeat the Team Go Rocket Leader Sierra - 1500 XP

Rewards: 2500 XP, 1000 Stardust and 1 Super Rocket Radar

'Shadow Skirmishes' Step 4 of 5

• Find the Team Go Rocket Boss - 5 Max Potions
• Battle the Team Go Rocket Boss - 20 Ultra Balls
• Defeat the Team Go Rocket Boss - 5 Max Revives

Rewards: 3000 XP, 1 Lucky Egg and 2 Golden Razz Berries

'Shadow Skirmishes' Step 5 of 5

• Claim reward - 2500 XP
• Claim reward - 2500 XP
• Claim reward - 2500 XP

Rewards: 5000 XP, 2500 Stardust and 2 Silver Pinap Berries

Shadowy Skirmishes, which was released in February 2023 during the Crackling Voltage event, is the latest in the line of Team Go Rocket quests.

To access this research quest, you must first complete the 'tutorial' quest, A Troubling Situation, and complete any previous Team Go Rocket quest you might have already started, such as An Inter-egg-sting Development and The Shadowy Threat Grows.

Don't worry if you're far behind in the Team Go Rocket lineup, because, once you've completed your current Rocket quest, you'll automatically jump to the latest quest.

Each Team Go Rocket quest is based around defeating the crime organisation grunts and purifying Shadow Pokémon, which can be found at invaded PokéStops around the world.

You'll also need to battle the Leaders Arlo, Cliff and Sierra and, eventually, Giovanni.

Don’t forget, the highlighted Shadow Legendary released alongside this quest’s debut - Shadow Registeel in the case of Shadowy Skirmishes - is technically not part of the quest itself, but, rather, is the reward for battling Giovanni. Due to this, you can catch the current Shadow Legendary multiple times if you’ve got multiple Super Rocket Radars.

Aside from these specific tasks, Team Go Rocket works exactly the same as the other research quests, which challenge you to complete a number of objectives in a specific order.

Since the Team Go Rocket quests don’t expire, you’ll have a good amount of time to complete Shadow Skirmishes. We do recommend ensuring you complete it though, because you won’t be able to access the new quest in the series - which are usually released every three months - until you do.

The Shared Skies Season is here! The Strength of Steel event is currently running in Pokémon Go. Go Fest 2024 may have been and gone, but you can still play around with the Fusion mechanic. Meanwhile, ticket holders can finish Go Fest 2024: A Shadowy Caper and The Dusk Settles. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

Tips for completing Shadowy Skirmishes

Below you’ll find some tips which helps you complete the Shadowy Skirmishes special research quest in Pokémon Go:

• Don't forget to use Pinap Berries when catching Shadow Pokémon to ensure you gather enough Candy to purify the Pokémon once it's yours.
• Before battling the three Team Go Rocket Leaders and Giovanni, make sure you check the possibilities for their lineups, so that you can plan an effective team of counters.
• Since both the Leaders and Giovanni have a selection of Pokémon they can use, it's a good idea to investigate their team before properly defeating them - provided you have some healing items on standby for this first 'trial' encounter. You can do this by using a Pokémon which is guaranteed to defeat their first Pokémon, which will always be the same, and, once you know what they're second choice is, you can plan accordingly. Just remember that their lineup may change if you move to a different PokéStop.

Good luck completing the latest Team Go Rocket research quest!