You know those long corridors you get before a boss battle? There’s one of those in my town leading up to a cemetery, and on a cold November evening it is lined by the silhouettes of trees, backlit by foggy full moon light. It’s the third place I’d searched for Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket, and as I reach the cemetery gate and Giovanni finally appears, all sharp suit and no eyebrows, ready for battle, the setting feels like it’s been designed perfectly.
It hasn’t, of course. I’m just doing what I do most evenings – walking around for a bit playing Pokémon Go. But in the last week I’ve been outside more than usual in order to battle Team Rocket and complete the game’s challenging new questline. It’s the best PVE content in the game so far.
Last week, Pokémon Go’s Looming in the Shadows quest introduced battles against Sierra, Cliff and Arlo, three shadowy leader figures who formed a layer of Team Rocket middle-management. Each was introduced as a rival to the game’s existing team leaders, with backstory seeded via online blogs. And they were tough to beat – far tougher than the Team Rocket grunt battles which have been in the game a few months.
Until Team Rocket was introduced, there was very little in Pokémon Go you couldn’t just throw a Tyranitar at and muddle through okay – especially when battling raids with a team of other players. The game’s Team Rocket battles are solo affairs, however, and fill a gap where previously there was no challenge for high-end solo play.
For Team Rocket grunts, you get clues as to what type their Pokémon will likely be. So, just as in a gym in the main Pokémon games, you know to pack a team of Fire-type Pokémon to blow away Grass-type opponents. Defeat half a dozen of these foot soldiers and collect items from each and you’ll reverse-engineer a radar that pinpoints Team Rocket leaders.