Forget Giovanni’s Shadow Cresselia, there’s a hidden gem in Pokemon Go right now

The Pokemon Go Adventure Week “Taken Over” event has kicked off and players have the opportunity to find and battle against Giovanni and his Shadow Cresselia. However, it isn’t the Legendary Pokemon fans should be catching.

Rocket Takeover events are a great opportunity to battle, rescue, and capture powerful Shadow companions. Often, the featured species being spotlit are viable for competitive play in the Go Battle League.

While Giovanni’s Cresselia, the trump card Legendary catch of this event, is a solid Psychic-type for competitive, it isn’t the catch players should be focused on.

Instead, those looking to add a powerful Master League option to their roster should dedicate time to catching Shadow Timburr – with an eye on its evolution.

Here, we have put them both side by side for you to see what we’re talking about.

Shadow Cresselia vs Shadow Conkeldurr

	PROS	CONS
Shadow Cresselia	– Powerful Psychic-type – Solid choice for Great League – Wide move selection	– Weak against Fighting and Psychic moves – Not a heavy hitter – Not great for defense – One catch opportunity prevents the ability to hunt for better stats
Shadow Timburr	– Evolves into an extremely powerful Fighting-type – Has defense that can take a hit – Final evolution is perfect for Master League	– High evolution cost – Need to encounter and catch many for the best stats – May need to change moves to get the best set

Verdict

While Shadow Cresselia is the crown jewel of the August 2024 Rocket Takeover, it isn’t packing the competitive punch fans need to dominate in the Master League. It may hold up well to Great League matches, but it likely will end up as a trophy in your storage box.

Shadow Timburr encounters are worth the time to engage in, however, as Timburr evolves into Conkeldurr. The second-stage evolution has enough defense to take a hit, and enough power to challenge some of the best Legendaries in the current Meta.

Those looking to surprise their opponent in Master League will want to get their hands on a Shadow Conkeldurr while they’re available.

How to catch Shiny Timburr for Shadow Conkeldurr in Pokemon Go

To catch a Shadow Timbur in Pokemon Go, players must battle Team Go Rocket Grunts or leaders Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo. If Shadow Timburr appears in battle, there will be an opportunity to catch it following the Rocket member’s defeat.

After catching a Shadow Timburr with solid stats, you can evolve it into Gurdurr using 50 Timburr Candy, and then into Conkeldurr for 200 Timburr Candy.

While expensive to invest in, this beast can go toe-to-toe with some of the strongest Pokemon currently in the Master League lineup if you’ve got the right moveset.

Best moves to have on Shadow Conkeldurr in Pokemon Go

Shadow Conkeldurr won’t have access to the Community Day move Brutal Swing, but that doesn’t make it any less of a powerhouse. To build this Pokemon into a solid Master League attack, we recommend giving it the following moves:

• Quick Move: Counter (16 DPS)
• Charged Move: Dynamic Punch (40 DPS)

Or

• Quick Move: Counter (16 DPS)
• Charged Move: Focus Blast (48 DPS)

Players should avoid Poison Jab (DPS 12.5) and Stone Edge (43.5 DPS), as they don’t pack the same heat as other options.

Shadow Conkeldurr weakness and resistance explained

Shadow Conkeldurr is going to hold up well even against Pokemon with a type advantage. That said, it is weak against Flying, Psychic, and Fairy. However, it is resistant to Rock, Bug, and Dark.

It will also hold out against Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings Necrozma, Garchomp, Kyogre, and Yvetal. It can also take on favorites like Zacian and Reshiram, making it a surprisingly powerful choice for Master League battles.

For a non legendary or Pseudo-Legendary, Shadow Conkeldurr is an excellent pick for offense play in Pokemon Go and will be well worth the evolution grind it requires to get it playable.

Focus on Timburr over Cresselia!

While it might be tempting to rush through the grunts and leaders to get to Giovanni during the Rocket Takeover event in Pokemon Go, we would highly encourage players to take their time encountering and catching as many Shadow Timburr as possible.

Not only will this provide plenty of Timburr Candy for evolution, but it will increase the odds of finding a Shadow Timburr with the best stats. It is also possible to encounter Timburr as Shiny. This would make the monster fighter even more of a treasure, and add to the excitement of throwing it out in a competitive match.