Should You Purify Latios? A Comprehensive Guide
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The burning question for many Pokémon GO trainers who’ve encountered a Shadow Latios is: should I purify it? The short, definitive answer for most players is: NO, you should not purify Shadow Latios. Keeping Latios in its Shadow form unlocks its full potential as a powerful attacker, which vastly outweighs the minor benefits of purification in the majority of cases. Let’s delve into why this is the case and explore all the nuances surrounding this decision.
The Power of Shadow Latios
The primary reason to keep your Latios as a Shadow Pokémon lies in the massive damage boost it receives. Shadow Pokémon deal 20% more damage with their attacks compared to their regular or purified counterparts. This significant increase in offensive power makes Shadow Latios a much more potent attacker in raids and Gym battles. While Latios as a regular Pokémon is a decent option, the Shadow form takes it to another level, making it much more valuable in competitive scenarios. This 20% damage bonus is not something to easily dismiss; it can be the difference between winning and losing battles, or taking down a raid boss more quickly.
Understanding Shadow Pokémon Mechanics
Before diving further, it’s crucial to understand what makes Shadow Pokémon unique. These corrupted forms of Pokémon are captured from Team GO Rocket and possess an aggressive aura that empowers their attacks. The downside is that they take more damage, however with Latios’s bulk, this is not too much of an issue. This increase in damage output is the core of why most trainers prefer to keep powerful Pokémon like Latios as shadows. While purification does provide benefits, the trade-off in damage is often too steep for serious players.
Latios’s Role in the Meta
As a Dragon/Psychic-type, Latios has a somewhat niche, though valuable, role in Pokémon GO. Its potential as a Psychic-type attacker is respectable, providing a useful option due to the resistances that the Dragon type brings. That said, it’s still not among the absolute top tier of Psychic-type attackers. However, where Shadow Latios truly shines is in its attack power, and the Shadow form elevates it significantly in its class. Also, Latios has a powerful Mega Evolution, but this won’t be relevant until that form is released.
Why Purification is Generally Not Recommended
While purification can be tempting, given its stated benefits, it’s crucial to weigh them against the loss of that precious damage buff from the shadow form. Let’s break down why purification is usually the wrong choice for Latios:
Minor IV Boost
Purifying a Shadow Pokémon will add +2 to each of their IVs (Individual Values). This can improve the overall stats of a Pokemon, especially if the stats are low, and can potentially take a 2-star Shadow Pokémon to a 3-star one. However, this is usually not a good trade. In the grand scheme of things, the difference between a 0-star Shadow Latios and a perfect IV Purified Latios is minor, when you compare the loss of 20% damage the Shadow form gives. A small boost to IV’s does not come close to outperforming the 20% damage boost.
Combat Power (CP) Increase
Purified Pokemon will receive a significant boost to their Combat Power (CP). However, CP is not everything. It can provide a general idea of the overall power of a pokemon, but it doesn’t tell the entire picture. A higher CP does not mean that the Purified version will out-damage the Shadow version. The Shadow form will still deal more DPS (damage per second).
Reduced Resource Cost
Purified Pokémon cost less Stardust and Candy to power up. However, if you are serious about using Latios, the additional investment in Stardust and Candy is worth it for the higher damage output that the Shadow form provides. The long-term benefits of the 20% damage buff outweigh the short-term savings in resources.
Exclusive Charged Move: Return
Upon purification, a Shadow Pokémon learns the Charged Attack Return. This move is generally considered mediocre, and certainly doesn’t come close to replacing the 20% damage bonus of the shadow form. This means it’s much better to teach it its regular charge moves, such as Psychic, or Luster Purge.
The Frustration Factor
Shadow Pokémon are often cursed with the Charged Attack Frustration, which is generally a poor move. Players need to utilize a special Team Go Rocket Takeover event to remove Frustration from Shadow Pokemon. After removing Frustration, the Shadow form then becomes even better than it previously was. While it may be tempting to purify a Shadow Pokémon to get rid of Frustration, a much better option is to utilize a Team Go Rocket Takeover event to remove this.
When Might You Consider Purifying?
Despite all the reasons to keep Latios in its Shadow form, there are a few niche situations when purification might be considered:
For Collection or a Perfect IV
Some players prefer to collect Pokémon with perfect IVs. If you have a very low IV Shadow Latios, purifying it may bring it closer to a 100% IV Pokémon. However, it’s still more useful as a low-IV Shadow Latios, as the damage will be higher. The 20% damage bonus is much more valuable than a few additional IV points.
Resources are Scarce
If you are struggling with Stardust and Candy then it might be worth purifying for a lower cost, and to make them usable immediately. However, this will come at a cost of significant damage potential. For any serious players, resources are not a major issue, and it is recommended to just keep the Shadow form.
For PvP
If you wish to use Latios in a pvp format, then the purified version does have the charged move return, which can be helpful. But as we stated before, this charged move is not considered good, and it’s much better to use regular charged moves for Latios. Also, due to the way the damage bonus works, it’s not good to use Shadow Pokemon in PVP.
Conclusion
In summary, purifying Shadow Latios is generally not advisable for most Pokémon GO players. The 20% damage bonus provided by the Shadow form significantly outweighs the minor benefits gained from purification. Unless you have very specific reasons, such as a preference for perfect IVs or a severe resource limitation, keep your Shadow Latios as it is, remove the Frustration move, and unlock its full potential as a top-tier attacker. By doing so, you’ll gain a much more potent Pokemon, which can benefit you much more in the long term.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Does purifying Shadow Latios make it stronger?
No, purifying Shadow Latios will generally make it weaker offensively. While it does gain an IV boost and a CP boost, it will lose the 20% damage bonus it has when it’s in Shadow form.
2. How much does purifying increase a Pokémon’s IVs?
Purifying a Shadow Pokémon increases each of their Individual Values (IVs) by +2.
3. What is the benefit of keeping a Shadow Latios?
The main benefit is the 20% damage bonus it receives on all of its attacks, which make it much more powerful in raids and Gym battles.
4. Is it worth purifying a 0-star Shadow Latios?
No, it’s generally not worth it. A 0-star Shadow Latios is still more powerful than a perfect-IV purified one due to the Shadow damage bonus.
5. What happens if I purify a maxed-out Pokémon?
Purifying a 100% IV Pokémon will not improve its IVs. It will get the purification benefits of a lower cost in resources, and a new charged attack of Return, but will lose the 20% damage bonus of the Shadow form.
6. Should I purify before or after evolving?
It doesn’t matter. It’s the same outcome either way. However, many players prefer to purify first, as the evolution costs less resources with a purified pokemon.
7. Is Shadow Latias useful?
Shadow Latias is less valuable than Shadow Latios due to being a more defensive Pokemon and less useful in raids. While it has the Shadow damage boost, it is still considered mediocre.
8. Can I trade Shadow Pokémon?
No, Shadow Pokémon cannot currently be traded in Pokémon GO.
9. What is Frustration?
Frustration is a Charged Attack that all Shadow Pokémon have upon capture. This is generally a poor move, and should be removed at a Team Go Rocket event.
10. Is there a way to remove Frustration from a Shadow Pokemon?
Yes, during special Team GO Rocket Takeover events, you can use a Charged TM to replace Frustration with a different move.
11. Should I max CP before purifying?
CP will not change if it’s done before or after purification. CP is determined by a Pokémon’s base stats, level, and IVs. Purification only affects the IVs and the resource costs and charged move.
12. Is a low CP Shadow Pokémon worth keeping?
Yes, as long as the Shadow Pokemon deals good damage, it is worth keeping. The CP of Shadow Pokemon can be deceiving, as they still hit significantly harder due to the 20% damage buff.
13. Why is the Shadow bonus important?
The Shadow bonus of 20% increase in damage output makes Shadow Pokémon considerably more powerful than their regular counterparts. This makes it a key advantage in combat, and it should not be underestimated.
14. What is better, Shadow or Purified?
In almost all cases, the Shadow form of any strong attacker Pokemon is better, due to the significant damage increase.
15. Should I purify my shiny Shadow Latios?
Absolutely not! Keep your shiny Shadow Latios, as it is a very rare and very strong Pokémon!