Team Rocket Has Blasted Into Pokemon Go [Update]

Update 2: Following their brief disappearance from Pokemon Go earlier this week, Team Rocket is back once again, and they have an army of Shadow Pokemon in tow. This time, the villainous trainers are appearing in much greater numbers than before, and they come alongside a new Special Research questline. The original story follows.

After numerous teases over the past couple of weeks, Team Rocket has finally invaded Pokemon Go. The villainous team was added as part of the title's latest update, but now Rocket grunts have actually begun appearing within the game, giving players around the world an opportunity to battle them and capture their new Shadow Pokemon.

The Team Rocket grunts can be encountered at certain PokeStops. These locations will appear black instead of the usual light blue, making it easy to tell which ones hide a lurking Rocket grunt. Spin the Photo Disc at one of these PokeStops and the grunt will reveal themselves and challenge you to a Pokemon battle.

The villains use the aforementioned Shadow Pokemon. Unlike a typical monster, Shadow Pokemon are surrounded by a dark aura, and each one knows the attack Frustration. If you defeat the Rocket grunt, they'll leave behind their Shadow Pokemon, giving you a chance to capture them. You can then spend Stardust and Candy to "purify" the monster, which will remove its dark aura, raise its stats, and replace Frustration with the attack Return.

Team Rocket isn't the only new addition to Pokemon Go. A One Piece collaboration event is also now underway in the game, adding a Pikachu wearing Luffy's iconic straw hat. The special Pikachu will appear in the wild around the world until 1 PM local time on July 29. Niantic is also offering matching straw hat avatar items for your trainer through the in-game Style Shop.

There's still a little more time to capture Pokemon Go's latest Legendary, Armored Mewtwo. The Legendary Psychic Pokemon will appear as a boss in five-star Raids until July 31. Unlike a typical Mewtwo, this version is donning the armor it wears in the Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution movie. It also boasts different stats and is capable of learning different attacks than a regular Mewtwo, so you don't want to miss your chance to add one to your collection.