Should I Purify Shadow Moltres in Pokémon GO? A Comprehensive Guide
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The burning question for many Pokémon GO trainers lucky enough to snag a Shadow Moltres is: Should I purify it? The answer, as with many decisions in Pokémon GO, isn’t a simple yes or no. It depends heavily on your goals, play style, and the specific stats of your Shadow Moltres. In short, for most players, the answer is NO, you should not purify your Shadow Moltres. The sheer power boost provided by the Shadow form generally outweighs the benefits of purification. Let’s delve into why this is the case and explore the various factors you need to consider.
Understanding Shadow vs. Purified Pokémon
Before diving into the specifics of Moltres, it’s crucial to understand the core mechanics of Shadow and Purified Pokémon. Shadow Pokémon receive a significant 20% damage boost in their attacks, making them potent attackers in both Raids and Trainer Battles. This boost, however, comes at the cost of a 20% reduction in defense.
Purified Pokémon, on the other hand, lose the Shadow damage bonus but gain several benefits:
- +2 IVs: Each of their Individual Values (Attack, Defense, and HP) increases by two points.
- Improved Appraisal: This can push a weak Shadow Pokémon to a higher star rating, making them seem more valuable at first glance.
- Reduced Power Up Costs: Purified Pokémon require less Stardust and Candy to power up, evolve, and learn new moves.
- Access to Return: They learn the exclusive charged move “Return,” though it’s not particularly powerful or useful.
Why Shadow Moltres is Usually Better
Unmatched Attacking Prowess
The primary reason to keep a Shadow Moltres as a Shadow is its exceptional attacking power. Moltres, with its already high attack stat, becomes a terrifying force with the 20% damage bonus. This boost translates to significantly faster Raid clear times and makes Shadow Moltres a top-tier Fire- and Flying-type attacker in the game. In essence, the increased damage output provided by its Shadow form is far more valuable than the potential slight improvement in stats and defensive capabilities provided by its purified form.
Overcoming Defensive Weaknesses
While it is true that Shadow Pokémon have reduced defense, the speed at which Shadow Moltres can dispatch foes often mitigates this drawback. By focusing on offensive firepower, you are taking the fight to the opponent faster and ending it before your lowered defense becomes a problem. The goal in many of these battles is to overwhelm the enemy as quickly as possible.
Resource Consideration
While purified versions require fewer resources to power up, the increase in damage from a Shadow Moltres means you may end up saving more resources in the long run. The faster you clear raids and battles, the more resources you gather and the less you have to spend on healing items.
When Purification Might Be Considered (But Probably Still Not)
There are a couple of niche scenarios where purifying Moltres might seem appealing, but these cases are highly specific:
- Low IV Shadow Moltres: If you have a Shadow Moltres with very poor Individual Values (IVs), such as 0- or 1-star, purifying it might slightly improve its usability. However, this improvement is marginal, and in most cases, it’s still not worth losing the Shadow bonus, since a 0 star Shadow Moltres does more damage than a 3 or 4-star purified version. The IV boost from purification won’t make your Moltres a top contender, and the Shadow Damage boost will still be more valuable. It’s better to wait for a better Shadow Moltres if you can.
- Master League Goals: Very rarely some trainers might consider a purified Moltres for master league battles, but in reality, even with the improved IV’s, a purified Moltres is rarely a good pick in Master League. There are better options than using Moltres. Therefore, purification is still not recommended even for master league goals.
- Frustration Removal: Previously, purification was necessary to remove the move “Frustration”, a move that severely hampered the use of Shadow Pokemon. However, you now can remove “Frustration” with special in-game events by using a Charged TM, making the purification benefit obsolete.
The Rarity Factor
Shadow Moltres is rare. It is a Legendary Shadow Pokémon that can only be obtained from Team Rocket special events. Obtaining one is a major feat, and it is important to consider that you can always get a purified Moltres, but it is harder to obtain a Shadow Moltres.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, the 20% Shadow damage boost is more impactful than the relatively minor benefits of purification. Unless you’re specifically aiming for a purified Moltres to complete a collection or have an extremely weak shadow, you should generally not purify your Shadow Moltres. Focus on powering up your Shadow Moltres and unleashing its full offensive potential.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Shadow Moltres
1. What are the best movesets for Shadow Moltres?
The most effective movesets for Shadow Moltres are Wing Attack or Fire Spin as the Fast Attack and Sky Attack and Overheat as the Charged Attacks. Sky Attack provides a good damage per energy ratio, while Overheat is a powerful nuke option, although it has a de-buff for the attacker.
2. How rare is Shadow Moltres?
Shadow Moltres is quite rare. It is a Legendary Shadow Pokémon available through special Team Rocket events, making encounters limited.
3. Is Shadow Moltres good in PvP?
While Shadow Moltres can pack a punch, its reduced defense makes it less consistent in PvP, except in certain specific niche situations. Other, bulkier Pokemon are usually better picks for PvP.
4. Is it worth powering up Shadow Moltres?
Yes, absolutely! Shadow Moltres is a powerful attacker that is well worth investing Stardust and Candy in. It excels in Raids and various PvE content.
5. Will purifying a Shadow Pokémon give it perfect IVs?
No. Purifying a Shadow Pokemon increases all IVs by 2 points, but it does not guarantee a perfect 15/15/15 IV spread.
6. Does purifying a Pokémon change its moves?
Yes, purifying a Shadow Pokemon removes the move “Frustration” and gives it the move “Return” as a charged attack.
7. Is a 0-star Shadow Moltres better than a 3-star purified Moltres?
Yes, generally speaking. The Shadow boost provides a greater increase in damage than the IV improvement from purification, making a 0-star Shadow Moltres usually more effective than a 3-star purified version.
8. Can I remove frustration on a Shadow Pokemon?
Yes, but only during special in-game events. Normally, you cannot remove “Frustration” with a normal charged TM, but during special events, you can.
9. Should I use a Master Ball on Shadow Moltres?
No. Shadow Moltres is not caught in the wild, it is obtained in Team Rocket battles, so the Master Ball would be useless. However, the Galarian Moltres is a good target for a Master Ball, since it has a low catch rate and high flee rate.
10. Is Shadow Moltres the best Fire-type attacker in Pokémon GO?
Shadow Moltres is one of the best Fire-type attackers, competing with other Shadow Pokémon like Shadow Entei and Shadow Charizard, and non-shadow Pokémon like Reshiram and mega evolutions like mega Charizard. The best Fire-type may vary depending on specific matchups, but it is always in contention for the top spot.
11. What are the best counters against Shadow Moltres?
Effective counters against Shadow Moltres are Rock and Electric-type Pokémon, such as Rampardos, Rhyperior, and Raikou, as well as other top-tier Dragon and Dark types.
12. What are the benefits of keeping a Shadow Pokémon Shadow?
The primary benefit is the 20% damage boost, which makes Shadow Pokémon much more powerful attackers.
13. What’s the downside of keeping a Shadow Pokémon Shadow?
The main downside is the 20% reduction in defense, making them less resilient in battle. The defense reduction, however, is generally less impactful than the attack increase.
14. Can I get a Shiny Shadow Moltres?
Yes, Shiny Shadow Moltres is available through Team Rocket events, but it is a rare find.
15. Is Moltres the weakest of the Legendary birds?
While Moltres is generally considered the weaker of the Kanto legendary birds (compared to Articuno and Zapdos) in the main Pokemon games, Shadow Moltres is a very powerful Pokemon in Pokemon GO, mainly due to its attack stats and shadow bonus, and is better than both Zapdos and Articuno in most PvE situations.