The Pokémon GO Team Rocket Invasion event is now live

What you need to know

  • The Pokémon GO Team Rocket Invasion event has begun.
  • Team Rocket is taking over PokéStops all throughout Pokémon GO.
  • You may need to refresh or wait a short while for the update to reach you.

It's happening! Team Rocket is invading Pokémon GO, taking over PokéStops and releasing mysterious Shadow Pokémon throughout the world. While we're still short on many details, it's clear that the Team GO Rocket Invasions event is rolling out. As the event is just now beginning, don't fret if you don't see anything locally yet. It might take some time for the event to be completely available everywhere.

PokéStops that have been taken over by Team Rocket will be quite distinctive, with an "R" floating above them and appearing grayed out from a distance. It appears that you'll be able to purify the Shadow Pokémon that you defeat during these battles but at this time we're not exactly sure how that works.

If you're not even sure where to begin in all this, don't worry, we've got you covered. You can check out our guide on everything you need to know about the Team GO Rocket Invasions event right here. We'll be updating it with everything we learn, now that the event is actually here.

While this major event is happening it's important that you don't forget: you can still fight, find and capture Armored Mewtwo in a Raid battle through the end of the month. So, if you haven't done that yet, be sure to jump in and get it completed. If you're still fairly new to Pokémon GO as a whole, you can check our guide on everything you need to know about the game right here.

Samuel Tolbert
Contributor

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance gaming writer who started working for iMore and its sister sites Windows Central and Android Central in July 2019. He handles news, previews, reviews, and exclusive original reporting, and has also been featured on TechRadar.

With a background studying engineering before he shifted his focus to gaming journalism, he's skilled at identifying technical advantages and disadvantages provided by different hardware. If he’s not writing something, he’s off playing video games, spending time with his pets, exercising, or reading. He's also fond of trying to draw things with his iPad.