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 ImageReward
Defeat 6 Team GO Rocket GruntsHelioptile Pokemon GOHelioptile Encounter
Make 3 Nice Curveball Throws in a rowHelioptile Pokemon GOHelioptile Encounter
Earn 2 Candies exploring with your buddyHelioptile Pokemon GOHelioptile 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
Pokemon GO Battle Team Rocket Ultra Beast Protection Efforts

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 ImageReward
Defeat 6 Team GO Rocket GruntsHyper Potion Pokemon GO10 Hyper Potions
Catch 4 Shadow PokemonPokemon GO Pokeball10 Poke Balls
Purify 2 Shadow PokemonPokemon GO Pinap Berry10 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 ImageReward
Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader ArloPokemon GO XP1500 XP
Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader CliffPokemon GO XP1500 XP
Defeat the Team GO Rocket Leader SierraPokemon GO XP1500 XP

If you need some help to take down these Team Leaders, check out our guides on how to beat them:

Team Rocket Leaders Pokemon GO

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 ImageReward
Find the Team GO Rocket BossMax Potion Pokemon GO5 Max Potions
Battle the Team GO Rocket BossPokemon GO Ultra Ball20 Ultra Balls
Defeat the Team GO Rocket BossMax Revive Pokemon GO5 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
Pokemon GO Giovanni Shadow Registeel

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 ImageReward
Claim Reward!Pokemon GO XP2500 XP
Claim Reward!Pokemon GO XP2500 XP
Claim Reward!Pokemon GO XP2500 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!

author
Senior Staff Writer
Django grew up with a PlayStation controller in his hands and loves all kinds of games, from Football Manager to Yakuza.
Adventures Abound Season
1d : 4h : 16m : 52s