Should you purify Apex Shadow Ho-Oh in Pokémon Go?

There are a handful of shadow Pokémon available for you to catch in Pokémon Go when battling against Team Rocket. These Pokémon are stronger than their standard versions, and many players enjoy using these versions because of their increased attack power. For those participating in the Pokémon Go Tour: Johto event, you’ll have the chance to catch Apex Shadow Ho-Oh while working through the Masterwork Research. This guide covers whether you should purify Apex Shadow Ho-Oh in Pokémon Go or keep it the way it is.

When it comes down to it, the only significant difference between Apex Shadow Ho-Oh and the purify version is the charged moves. The Apex Shadow Ho-Oh will learn Sacred Fire+, a powerful Fire-type attack that is already stronger than the standard version. When you purify Apex Shadow Ho-Oh, it knows to use Sacred Fire++, a more powerful attack than even Sacred Fire+. However, the only difference in power happens in PvE fights, not PvP. Sacred Fire+ and Sacred Fire++ unleash 130 power against trainers but do 135 power and 155 in PvE battles, respectively.

It’s important to note that Apex Shadow Ho-Oh and Shadow Ho-Oh, are the same outside of Sacred Fire+. However, for PvP, these attacks are relatively the same, but Shadow Ho-Oh is not a good pick to use Sacred Fire. Instead, we’d recommend you use brave bird and earthquake for their charged moves. So, if you’re planning to use Apex Shadow Ho-Oh for PvE battles, then purifying it is the way to go. But if you’d rather utilize it for PvP, then keep it as a shadow Pokémon, and reap the benefits of the increased attack power.