A Shadow is a Pokémon you take off Team GO Rocket. Same species, same moves, two numbers rewritten: Attack ×1.2 and Defense ×0.8333. It hits about 20% harder and takes about 20% more. Good in a raid, bad in a Gym. 462 species can be one, or 515 Shadow attackers counting forms.

Best Shadow attackers

Ranked the same way as the tier list: the highest-damage moveset at level 40 with a perfect attack stat, against a neutral target, with the Attack bonus applied. The last column is what purifying that one would cost, if you would rather have it cheap.

Frustration is the catch

Every Shadow arrives locked to Frustration, and the rankings above assume you have replaced it. Purifying swaps it for Return; otherwise it takes a Charged TM during one of the events that allow it, which the calendar tracks.

What it costs to raise one

A Shadow is more expensive to power up than a normal Pokémon, and a Purified one is cheaper. The multipliers are the game's own.

Cheapest and dearest to purify

Purification has its own one-off price per species, separate from the power-up cost. When purifying is worth paying takes the rankings above and says which Shadows to spend it on.

Every number on this page is read out of the game's own data files: the Attack and Defense multipliers from its battle settings, the power-up multipliers from its upgrade settings, and the purification prices and the forced move from each species' own entry.

Questions people ask

What is a Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO?

One you take off Team GO Rocket. It hits harder and takes more damage: the game multiplies its Attack by 1.2 and its Defense by 0.8333. 462 species can be one, and counting regional and alternate forms separately that is 515 different Shadow attackers.

Are Shadow Pokémon better?

For raids, yes, on anything you are using to deal damage. A 20% Attack bonus is worth more than taking 20% more damage when you are attacking a boss that will knock you out either way. For defending a Gym it is the wrong trade: you are the one being attacked, and the Defense stat is 17% smaller.

Should I purify my Shadow Pokémon?

Purifying removes the Attack bonus, so for a raid attacker it makes the Pokémon worse. It does make it cheaper to raise: a Shadow costs 20% more Stardust and Candy per power-up, a Purified one 10% less. Purify what you want cheap, keep what you want strong: which is which.

How do I get rid of Frustration?

Purifying replaces it with Return. Otherwise it can only be removed with a Charged TM during specific events, which is why those events matter: a Shadow stuck on Frustration is not the attacker this page is ranking.

What does purifying cost?

It is set per species. The cheapest here is 1,000 Stardust, the most expensive 20,000, and every species page lists its own price.