To complete the Shadowy Skirmishes Research in Pokemon GO, you need to finish every Task in each of the five steps of the Research.
The Tasks start off with simple missions, but if you want to earn all of the rewards, you will have to beta all three Team GO Rocket Leaders as well as the boss Giovanni!
This Research is available to claim from the start of the new Pokemon GO Team GO Rocket Takeover event on February 1, 2023, until the end of the Pokemon GO Season 9: Mythical Wishes on March 1, 2023.
All Tasks & Rewards in the Pokemon GO Shadowy Skirmishes Research
Shadowy Skirmishes 1/5
To complete Step 1 of Shadowy Skirmishes, you need to defeat 6 Team GO Rocket Grunts, make 3 Nice Curveball Throws in a row, and Earn 2 Candies exploring with your buddy.
The rewards for all of these Tasks are an encounter with the Electric-type Pokemon Helioptile!
Task | Image | Reward |
---|---|---|
Defeat 6 Team GO Rocket Grunts | ![]() | Helioptile Encounter |
Make 3 Nice Curveball Throws in a row | ![]() | Helioptile Encounter |
Earn 2 Candies exploring with your buddy | ![]() | Helioptile Encounter |
Step 1 Completion Rewards
Completing every Task in Step 1 of Shadowy Skirmishes gives the following rewards:
- 2000 XP
- 15 Poke Balls
- 10 revives

Shadowy Skirmishes 2/5
Completing Step 2 of Shadowy Skirmishes in Pokemon GO requires you to beat 6 Team GO Rocket Grunts, catch 4 Shadow Pokemon, and Purify 2 Pokemon.
These Tasks will reward you with a selection of useful in-game items, including Hyper Potions.
Task | Image | Reward |
---|---|---|
Defeat 6 Team GO Rocket Grunts | ![]() | 10 Hyper Potions |
Catch 4 Shadow Pokemon | ![]() | 10 Poke Balls |
Purify 2 Shadow Pokemon | ![]() | 10 Pinap Berries |
Step 2 Completion Rewards
Completing all of the Tasks in step 2 will reward players with:
- 2000 XP
- 15 Great Balls
- 1 Rocket Radar
Shadowy Skirmishes 3/5
Shadowy Skirmishes Step 3 tasks you with fighting and defeating all three of the Team GO Rocket Leaders in Pokemon GO.
You must track down, battle, and defeat Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra to finish this step of the Research Story.
Task | Image | Reward |
---|---|---|
Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo | ![]() | 1500 XP |
Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff | ![]() | 1500 XP |
Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra | ![]() | 1500 XP |
If you need some help to take down these Team Leaders, check out our guides on how to beat them:

Step 3 Completion Rewards
Finishing Step 3 of Shadowy Skirmishes gives you:
- 2500 XP
- 1000 Stardust
- 1 Super Rocket Radar
Shadowy Skirmishes 4/5
Shadowy Skirmishes Step 4 is all about finding and taking down the Team GO Rocket Boss, Giovanni.
First, you must track Giovanni down so that you can battle him. Finally, this step requires you actually defeat Giovanni in a battle!
Task | Image | Reward |
---|---|---|
Find the Team GO Rocket Boss | ![]() | 5 Max Potions |
Battle the Team GO Rocket Boss | ![]() | 20 Ultra Balls |
Defeat the Team GO Rocket Boss | ![]() | 5 Max Revives |
If you need help beating the Team GO Rocket Boss, here are the best counters to defeat Giovanni in Pokemon GO!
Step 4 Completion Rewards
Completing step 4 of Shadowy Skirmishes gives you:
- 3000 XP
- 1 Lucky Egg
- 2 Golden Razz Berries

Shadowy Skirmishes 5/5
The fifth and final step of the Shadowy Skirmishes Research Story in Pokemon GOn is by far the easiest out of them all.
This is because all you need to do is claim the three XP rewards to get 7500 XP!
Task | Image | Reward |
---|---|---|
Claim Reward! | ![]() | 2500 XP |
Claim Reward! | ![]() | 2500 XP |
Claim Reward! | ![]() | 2500 XP |
Step 5 Completion Rewards
The rewards for finishing the final step of the Pokemon GO Shadowy Skirmishes Research are:
- 5000 XP
- 2500 Stardust
- 2 Silver Pinap Berries
You’re bound to have plenty of 12km Eggs by the time you finish Shadowy Skirmishes in Pokemon GO. Here’s every Pokemon you can hatch from 12km Strange Eggs in Pokemon GO!