Team Rocket Officially Invades Pokemon Go

Team Rocket's invasion of Pokemon Go has officially begun. Earlier this afternoon, Pokemon Go players discovered that Team Rocket Grunts are appearing at random PokeStops. Players can identify Team Rocket-controlled PokeStops as they have a dark grey color on the overworld map and make a slightly different sound when players tap on them from a distance. Players can battle the Team Rocket Grunts in a PvP battle and then capture any Shadow Pokemon left behind. These Shadow Pokemon are notable because they know the Charge Move Frustration and cost more Candies and Stardust to power up. Once captured, a player can then Purify their Pokemon, which replaces Frustration with the Charge move Return. Please note that only Level 40 Players can currently see the Team Rocket PokeStops, although this will likely change in the coming hours.

Pokemon Go has been teasing a Team Rocket invasion all summer, beginning with Chicago's Pokemon Go Fest when Team Rocket members started "photobombing" attendees' photos at the end of the day. A Team Rocket balloon also appeared over Dortmund's Pokemon Go Fest earlier this month. The Pokemon and Pokemon Go Twitter accounts also had a conversation that all but teased the arrival of Team Rocket.

Unfortunately, many players are complaining that the Team Rocket invasion is causing the game to crash. Occasionally, the affected PokeStops will have a glitchy animation, and the game will occasionally crash when a player tries to spin on a PokeStop. Whether this is just a short term problem or if it's a glitch that will need a patch remains to be seen.

As of right now, it's unclear whether Team Rocket is a permanent part of Pokemon Go or just an event. We do know that Team Rocket will come with a Special Research quest that isn't live yet, so we'll have to wait to see what other surprises are in store in Pokemon Go this week.