Pokémon Go: How To Find Team Rocket’s Leaders And Battle Giovanni

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has finally seen fit to reward players’ patience with a major new content update.

Following weeks of endless teasers hinting at the arrival of Team Rocket’s leaders, the trio has started appearing in-game, ready and waiting to ambush any unwitting Trainers who stumble upon their hiding places. As for how you’re expected to go about dismantling the villainous group’s hierarchy, players should pay Professor Willow a visit immediately upon logging in. Here, you’ll receive a mission briefing and new Special Research: Looming in the Shadows.

As usual, you’ll be required to complete a number of different challenges in order to progress the quest, the majority of which involve finding and battling Team Rocket Grunts at their usual hangouts. Once defeated, the foot soldiers will have a chance to drop Mysterious Components that then need to be assembled into a Rocket Radar.

You’ll need six components to build the aforementioned device, which can be used to scan your surroundings and reveal the whereabouts of Team Rocket’s elusive leaders. As a small aside, it’s worth noting that PokéStops with hideouts already discovered by other players can still be accessed, though you’ll still need a finished Rocket Radar to participate.

Regardless of your method, once Cliff, Sierra and Arlo have been defeated – and their Shadow Pokémon rescued – new research enabling the construction of a “Super” Rocket Radar will become available. This is the trinket you’ll need in order to discern Giovanni’s whereabouts, though Niantic has deployed a number of decoys intended to throw you off the scent. Persistence is the key here. Keep at it and you’ll eventually find (and hopefully defeat) the real kingpin.

The reward for your legendary feats? Why a Pokémon to match those heroic deeds, of course. Shadow Articuno is the first Legendary corrupted by Team Rocket’s influence to be available in Pokémon Go and is sure to be a powerhouse in the competitive scene.

Good luck, Trainers. You’re going to need it.