Should you purify shadow Registeel in Pokémon Go?

Shadow Registeel is one of the rare legendary Pokémon you can find in Pokémon Go. There’s a shadow version because Giovanni has captured them; you can acquire it for your collection. You will need to take down Giovanni and work through a Special Research quest to earn a Super Rocket Radar that will allow you to find his location. When you acquire this Pokémon, should you purify shadow Registeel in Pokémon Go?

Related: All shadow Registeel weaknesses and best Pokémon counters in Pokémon Go

Should you keep shadow Registeel or purify it in Pokémon Go?

Shadow Pokémon are rare, and the legendary Pokémon are even rarer. Because of how often a legendary shadow Pokémon appears in Pokémon Go, we highly encourage all players to forgo attempting to purify this Pokémon. Additionally, it’s far easier to acquire the standard version of a legendary Pokémon than the shadow version, especially when you need a Super Rocket Radar to find Giovanni. Shadow Registeel appears during the Shadowy Skirmishes Special Research assignment.

This might differ from some Pokémon Go players’ perspectives of the shadow version of Registeel being weaker than the regular one. When a Pokémon has a shadow version, they receive an increase in its attack power at the expense of its defense power. Registeel is a widely sought-after legendary because of its robust defense, which goes away when it becomes a shadow version.

However, despite it being less desirable, we recommend you do not purify the shadow Registeel. There’s always a chance Registeel might learn an exclusive move in the future that could make the shadow version more viable than the regular one because of its increased attack power. We do not have any concrete proof of this potentially happening, but similar to Rayquaza receiving a new move, the same might happen with Registeel, altering its placement in the meta. The rarity at which Giovanni will have a shadow Registeel is vastly greater than finding the standard one in five-star raids.