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Today marks the first day of Pokemon GO's Taken Over event for the World of Wonders season. These types of events revolve around the villainous Team GO Rocket and their battle to take over the world using their personal army of Shadow Pokemon. Shadow Pokemon are monsters that have had their hearts artificially sealed, making them more violent and unpredictable.
Thankfully, these special Shadow Pokemon can be captured by any player who takes down any of these members of the evil organization. However, with each new Taken Over event comes a new rotation of monsters. Here are five from the most recent iteration during the World of Wonders season that are worth obtaining.
Pokemon GO's Top 5 Shadow Pokemon during World of Wonders' Taken Over event
1) Groudon
Shadow Groudon is the ultimate reward of the event, being the partner Pokemon for Team GO Rocket's leader, Giovanni. Shadow Legendary Pokemon are some of the most rare creatures in the game since most of them are tied to this limited-time mechanic. As such, it is not known when or if Shadow Groudon will ever be available after this event.
Groudon on its own is already one of Pokemon GO's best Ground-types, but with the Shadow Boost variant available during World of Wonders' Taken Over event, Groudon can deal more damage, making it even stronger at the cost of taking a little extra damage in battles. Considering its battle potency and its rarity, players should get one as soon as possible before it goes away.
2) Machop
Machop is the reward players can obtain after taking down Cliff, one of the admin leaders of Team GO Rocket, during and after Wonder of Worlds' iteration of the Taken Over event. Machop ultimately evolves into Machamp.
While Fighting-types are always useful in Pokemon GO for any type of battle, Machamp is seen as the base standard for determining whether or not a Fighting-type is worth using. It is incredibly bulky, deals great damage, and is a pure Fighting-type, which cuts down on its potential weaknesses that a second typing usually brings.
Although it might not be the best in Pokemon GO, Shadow Machamp is a reliable, consistent Fighting-type that every player can utilize.
3) Totodile
Totodile is one of the potential rewards players can earn after defeating one of the female Team GO Rocket grunts that use Water-type Pokemon during and after World of Wonders' Taken Over event. This creature is one of the three Starter Pokemon from the Johto region, making it rare to see already. When evolved fully, Shadow Feraligatr has the potential to be one of the best battlers for Pokemon GO's Great and Ultra Leagues.
Having relatively balanced stats around the 200 mark and access to Ice, Dark, Ghost, and Water-type attacks, Shadow Feraligatr has the tools it needs to decimate World of Wonders' competitive roster.
4) Hisuian Sneasel
Hisuian Sneasel is one of the encounters players can earn after a battle against a standard female Team GO Rocket grunt using Fighting-type Pokemon. This creature is a Fighting and Poison-type compared to the base Sneasel's typing of Ice and Dark. Its evolution, Sneasler, has been seeing some relatively high success rates in Pokemon GO's Master League.
Thanks to its access to Poison and Fighting-type attacks, Sneasler can quickly take down metagame contenders like Melmetal, Zacian, and even Dialga. Its Shadow variant will surely fare much better with the increase to its Attack stat it receives from being in this state. Shadow Sneasler is bound to make for a great addition to any player's battling party during the World of Wonders season.
5) Swinub
Swinub is an encounter players can earn by taking down one of the standard female Team GO Rocket grunts utilizing Ice-type Pokemon. Swinub is a very valuable creature thanks to its powerful evolutions, Piloswine and Mamoswine. While Piloswine is a great raid battler for beginners, Mamoswine is the ultimate prize in the family.
Mamoswine's high bulk stat and potent attacking force allow it to fire off potent Ice-type and Ground-type moves, making it an all-star in the game's Master League, especially during the World of Wonders competitive season. Mamoswine is also one of the best raid battlers for high-tier raids against Dragon-type or Flying-type Legendary Pokemon like Rayquaza, Lugia, Giratina, and Zekrom.
