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Should you get a Shadow Palkia or save your super Rocket Radars?
The current Shadow Pokémon you can save from Team GO Rocket boss Giovanni is now Shadow Palkia. We’ve had a range of Shadow Pokémon avaliable from Giovanni over the years. However, some of these have been better than others. As a result, Trainers sometimes choose to save their Super Rocket Radar and not battle Giovanni until a better Shadow Pokémon is avaliable. This time, you thanks to the GO Rocket Takeover event having a separate research, Trainers can easily save their Radar if they wish.
So, is Shadow Palkia any good in Pokémon GO and should you use your Super Rocket Radar or wait?
Is Shadow Palkia a good Pokémon in Pokémon GO?
Overall, Shadow Palkia is a very good Pokémon in Pokémon GO. It is excellent to use as a Raid Attacker, and it has a lot of use in Master League PvP. This means it is a flexible Pokémon, which helps you justify the higher Stardust and Candy cost to power it up.
In addition, we have seenOrigin Forme Palkiaand thestandard form of Palkia in Raidsrecently. That means Trainers should have the candy to power this Pokémon up, making it easier to do without using super premium Rare Candy and Rare Candy XL.
So, here is how Shadow Palkia stacks up in each category in Pokémon GO.
Shadow Palkia as a Raid Attacker
As a Raid attacker, Shadow Palkia stacks up well in its two categories, Dragon and Water. Shadow Palkia is the fourth best Dragon-type attacker, better than Origin Forme Palkia withSpacial Rend. The only three Pokémon better than it areMega Salamance, Mega Garchomp and of course the fearsomeMega Rayquaza. In the Water-type category, Shadow Palkia places a respectable 14th.
That means if you are in need of a strong Dragon-type attacker, you genuinely cannot do better than Shadow Palkia. After all, you can have six Pokémon in a Raid team, and only one Mega Pokémon. With that logic applied, Shadow Palkia is the second best option for Raids as a Dragon-type.
Unlike some shadow Pokémon, for exampleShadow Heatran, thebest Shadow Palkia movesetdoes not require any Elite TM’s. Both Dragon Tail and Draco Meteor are standard moves and can be accessed with standard TM’s.
However, like all Shadow Pokémon, Shadow Palkia is very expensive to power up. You need a lot more Palkia candy and Palkia candy XL in order to reach Level 50, as well as a hugely increased amount of Stardust. There are obviously lots of other good Dragon-type Pokémon that aren’t shadows. So, unless you are attempting to solo Raids, a ‘weaker’ Dragon-type will be cheaper to power up and still be effective in Raids.
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Shadow Palkia in PvP
In Pokémon GO PvP, Shadow Palkia is a very good option.It is currently ranked #7 in the Master League, making it a very viable option. It ranks much lower in the Great and Ultra Leagues. The standard version of Palkia ranks #14.
The same benefits apply. While Origin Forme Palkia ranks better (#3) than Shadow Palkia in the Master League, it needs Spacial Rend. Having a high IV Origin Forme Palkia withSpacial Rendis still pretty rare, even after the Wild Area event. There is no way to teach that move at the moment.
Whereas with Shadow Palkia, you can access its best moves in Pokémon GO without any Elite TM’s or needing good RNG from raids.
Just like with the benefits, the same drawbacks apply. You need Level 50 Pokémon to compete in the Master League. So, you will need to use a lot of Palkia candy and candy XL and stardust. Unlike in Raids, where a Level 35 or 40 option could be possible, it is Level 50 or bust here if you want to go far.
In addition, viability isn’t always long lived too. A new Pokémon getting introduced, or a new move, can shift the meta substantially.
How to beat Giovanni in Pokémon GO (May 2025)
The ultimate Pokémon GO boss requires careful strategy if you want to win your battle. Here is how to beat him in May 2025.
Tom Bull
Overall conclusions
With that said, Shadow Palkia is absolutely a good investment in Pokémon GO. It has very good use in PvP, Raids and is also a very cool Legendary Pokémon. Even if down the road Spacial Rend could be Elite TMed, or the Pokémon was less useful in PvP it will always be a fearsome Dragon-type Raid attacker, and Dragon-type Pokémon are very powerful.
So, good luckbattling Giovanniand getting a good IV Shadow Palkia in Pokémon GO!
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