Pokemon Go Brings Back Giovanni with Shadow Lugia in Tow

Giovanni is returning to Pokemon Go, and this time he's brought a new Shadow Legendary Pokemon. Niantic announced new details about their "With Light Comes Shadow" mini-event, which launches today. The event serves as a finale to the Season of Mischief storyline and sees Giovanni try to snatch up Hoopa from players. This marks Giovanni's return to Pokemon Go after a several month absence and will introduce Shadow Lugia to the game along with several new Shadow Pokemon. Niantic will also add Shiny Vullaby to the game with the launch of the new sub-event. Pokemon Go will also notably allow players to clear Frustration from their Shadow Pokemon using Charged TMs, which greatly enhances their usability in various game formats. 

Unfortunately, the Shadow Lugia seen in Pokemon Go looks like other Shadow Pokemon, using the base Lugia model from the game with red eyes and some shadow effects around the body. In Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, the game that introduced Shadow Pokemon to the Pokemon franchise, Shadow Lugia had an alternate coloration and a slightly different design. Many fans hoped that the Pokemon XD version of Shadow Lugia would be used in Pokemon Go, but sadly that didn't come to pass.

In order to complete the Misunderstood Mischief event, players will need to defeat 5 Team Go Rocket Grunts, Defeat a Team Go Rocket Leader, and defeat Giovanni. Players will receive the Super Rocket Radar as a reward during the special research to help keep things simple. Players who complete the Misunderstood Mischief Special Research will gain access to another Special Research at the end of the month, which will likely result in players getting a Hoopa Unbound. Hoopa Unbound is significantly more powerful than other Pokemon and will be a valuable Pokemon to use in raids and gym battles. 

This will be the last bit of Season of Mischief content in Pokemon Go. The game will also have a tie-in event for the upcoming release of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl later this month. 

The new content in Pokemon Go will roll out today. No end date has been announced for the new Team Rocket content.