Is shadow Mamoswine good in Pokémon Go?

Mamoswine has always been an excellent choice in Pokémon Go. Despite having lower defenses than many trainers may like for a Pokémon, Mamoswine’s overwhelming attack power makes it an ideal candidate to take on some of the tougher Master League Pokémon. Mamoswine can take down Dialga, Giratina, Zekrom, Garchomp, Zapdos, Togekiss, and several others. But trainers now have the option to obtain a shadow version of Mamoswine. Is the shadow version of it better, and is it worth obtaining?

The big difference to keep in mind is that a shadow Pokémon has increased attack power, but it has lower defenses. The primary appeal to them is that trainers can use incredibly powerful Pokémon, and these choices will have far more strength than they typically do. For Mamoswine, it already has quite a bit of attack power.

Mamoswine is an Ice and Ground-type Pokémon. It’s weak against Fighting, Fire, Grass, Steel, and Water, but it’s resistant to Electric and Poison-type. For PvP, it has a maximum CP of 3,328, an attack of 207, a defense of 127, and a stamina of 203. When you use the shadow Mamoswine, those stats change with the attack going up to 248 and its defenses hitting 106.

The shadow version will take on other notable opponents it couldn’t win against before, but it will be defeated by those it could beat previously. Togekiss is a good example. A shadow Mamoswine will lose to Togekiss, but the regular version would typically win, given the best movesets. Traditionally, the normal Mamoswine would be defeated by a Snorlax, but the shadow version will beat Snorlax in a battle.

Overall, the shadow version will not will as many battles as the original version. The lowered defensive stats make it a riskier pick, but you’ll be defeating a handful more notably powerful meta Master League Pokémon, such as Snorlax, Lugia, Togekiss, and Reshiram. If you’re worried about fighting those Pokémon and want to craft a team where a shadow Mamoswine is primarily battling those Pokémon, you’ll find success with this shadow Pokémon. If you’re not too worried about that and prefer a normal Mamoswine, then you should do fine. It’s a powerful choice, and there’s plenty of risk with it without having to lower its defenses.

It doesn’t hurt to have two versions. You can test it out to see if your typical team works with a shadow Mamoswine. The shadow version’s best moveset will be the same as the normal version. Because of its lowered defenses, we wouldn’t recommend using it during a raid.