Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows guide: Research tasks and rewards explained

Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows
(Image credit: Niantic)

Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows was the second special research quest related to Team Rocket and this one is all about finding the big bad boss. Giovanni is one of the toughest fights in Pokemon Go but this set of tasks will help you prepare, in order to take him down. Here are all the details on Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows including the individual steps and rewards.

Pokemon Go Team Rocket | Pokemon Go Mysterious Components | How to purify shadow Pokemon in Pokemon Go | Pokemon Go Cliff, Sierra, and Arlo counters | Pokemon Go Giovanni counters | Pokemon Go A Troubling Situation | Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows | Pokemon Go Rocket Straight to Victory

How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go

(Image credit: Niantic)

Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows (1/6)

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TaskReward
Spin 10 Pokestops500 XP
Defeat 3 Team GO Rocket Grunts500 XP
Catch 1 Shadow Pokemon500 XP

Set Rewards: 500 Stardust, 10x Poke Balls, 10x Razz Berries

Easy stuff for the first set of challenges; just spin 10 stops, take down three grunts, then make sure you catch at least one of the shadow Pokemon they leave behind.

Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows (2/6)

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TaskReward
Spin a Pokestop 5 days in a row750 XP
Purify 15 Shadow Pokemon750 XP
Win 5 raids750 XP

Set Rewards: 1,000 Stardust, 3x Hyper Potions, 3x Revives

Slightly trickier and more cumbersome now, as you need to make sure you get out and about for five consecutive days to hit stops. You also need to catch 15 shadow Pokemon and purify them, so that means you need to defeat 14 more Rocket Grunts. You also need to win five raids, so enlist some pals to help if you're struggling.

Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows (3/6)

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TaskReward
Use 6 supereffective Charged Attacks in Gym Battles1,000 XP
Win 3 Great League Trainer Battles against another Trainer1,000 XP
Defeat 6 Team GO Rocket Grunts1,000 XP

Set Rewards: 1,500 Stardust, 15x Great Balls, 5x Pinap Berries

Make sure you understand your type matchups and you'll be sorted for the first challenge (don't always rely on the game auto-selecting Pokemon for you!) then find another trainer to beat in three Great League battles for the second. Finally, you need to keep beating Rocket Grunts as there are six more to take out here.

Pokemon Go Jump Start | Pokemon Go A Thousand Year Slumber | Pokemon Go A Troubling Situation | Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows | Pokemon Go Rocket Straight to Victory | Pokemon Go A Colossal Discovery | Pokemon Go A Drive to Investigate | Pokemon Go A Mega Discovery

Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows (4/6)

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TaskReward
Defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo1,250 XP
Defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff1,250 XP
Defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra1,250 XP

Set Rewards: 2,000 Stardust, 1x Super Rocket Radar, 3x Golden Razz Berries

Now things get interesting. Use the Rocket Radar you've assembled with all of the Pokemon Go Mysterious Components to seek out the three Team GO Rocket Leaders; Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra. Defeat each of them in turn and you'll move onto the next stage.

Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows (5/6)

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TaskReward
Find the Team GO Rocket Boss2,500 Stardust
Battle the Team GO Rocket Boss1,500 XP
Defeat the Team GO Rocket Boss3 Silver Pinap Berries

Set Rewards: 3,000 Stardust, 1x Charged TM, 1x Fast TM

Now you need to find Giovanni, the Team GO Rocket Leader. Once you defeat him, all three tasks will be complete, and we've got a very handy guide to help you out here: How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go.

Pokemon Go Looming in the Shadows (6/6)

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TaskReward
[Completed]2,000 XP
[Completed]2,000 XP
[Completed]2,000 XP

Set Rewards: 20x Ultra Balls, 3x Max Revives, 3x Rare Candies

This final set will already be completed, so reap the rewards and congratulations!

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Ford James

Give me a game and I will write every "how to" I possibly can or die trying. When I'm not knee-deep in a game to write guides on, you'll find me hurtling round the track in F1, flinging balls on my phone in Pokemon Go, pretending to know what I'm doing in Football Manager, or clicking on heads in Valorant.