Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over: All new Shadow Pokemon, ranked

Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over marks the debut of seven Shadow Pokemon: Taillow, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Trubbish, Bunnelby, and Palkia. This event started on January 15, at 12 am, and ends on January 19, 2025, at 8 pm local time.

Here is the ranked list of all the new Shadow Pokemon available during the Fashion Week Taken Over event. The ranking of the debutants is based on their viability in the GO Battle League, followed by their performance in Raids and Gyms.

Note: This list is subjective and reflects the writer's point of view.

Check out the current Pokemon GO raid bosses that you can encounter in-game

Ranking the new Shadow Pokemon of Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over

7) Shadow Swellow

Shadow Swellow (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Trainers can get Shadow Taillow by challenging and defeating Flying-type Female Grunts after Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over starts. Shadow Taillow, which is a Normal- and Flying-type creature, evolves into Shadow Swellow using 50 Candy.

Shadow Swellow has no viability in the PvE aspect of the game. It is among the worst Raid attackers and Gym Defenders. So, even if you farm a perfect IV Shadow Swellow, it is not worth spending your Stardust and Candies to power it up or teach it the best PvE moveset.

PvP viability of Shadow Swellow:

Great League: #630
Ultra League: Worst
Master League: Worst
Color Cup: N/A

6) Shadow Garbodor

Shadow Garbodor (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Shadow Trubbish is a Poison-type Pocket Monster. It can evolve into Shadow Gardobor using 50 Candy. Trainers can get this creature by defeating Poison-type Female Grunts during Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over.

When it comes to Shadow Garbodor's PvE performance, it has nothing to offer for players who want to use it. It is unreliable for Raids and Gym Defense. Plus, it is not even a good Poison-type attacker to take down Pokemon at Gyms.

PvP viability of Shadow Garbodor:

Great League: #848
Ultra League: #646
Master League: #613
Color Cup: N/A

5) Shadow Emboar

Shadow Emboar (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Shadow Tepig can be encountered and caught from Fire-type Team GO Rocket Grunts starting from the Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over event. It can evolve into Shadow Pignite and Shadow Emboar using 25 and 100 Candy, respectively.

Shadow Emboar is a Fire- and Fighting-type Pokemon. It does decently as an attacker of either type in PvE battles. However, it struggles when it comes to defending Gyms. This puts it in the middle of the pack among the new Shadow Pokemon debuts, when it comes to PvE performance.

PvP viability of Shadow Emboar:

Great League: #878
Ultra League: #631
Master League: #419
Color Cup: #320

4) Shadow Samurott

Shadow Samurott (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Participants of the Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over event can get Shadow Oshawott by beating Water-type Rocket Grunts. Shadow Oshawott evolves into Shadow Dewott using 25 Candy. Additionally, one can feed it 100 more Candy to get Shadow Samurott.

While Shadow Samurott can help take down powerful creatures vulnerable to Water-type attacks at Gyms, it is simply not made for Raids. This one doesn't have an impressive Defense stat, which is essential for a creature to safeguard Gyms, so it is just an average Gym protector. However, it's Bug-type coverage gives it an interesting niche.

PvP viability of Shadow Samurott:

Great League: #142
Ultra League: #352
Master League: #243
Color Cup: #107

3) Shadow Serperior

Shadow Serperior (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Players can acquire Shadow Snivy by taking down Grass-type Male Team GO Rocket Grunts after Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over starts. Shadow Snivy evolves into Shadow Servine when fed 25 Candy, which, in turn, evolves into Shadow Serperior when fed 100 Candy.

Shadow Serperior lacks the battle capabilities to become a top attacker for Raid and Gym Battles. However, it is extremely bulky and works really well as a Gym Defender.

PvP viability of Shadow Serperior:

Great League: #104
Ultra League: #151
Master League: #374
Color Cup: #65

2) Shadow Diggersby

Shadow Diggersby (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Trainers can encounter and obtain Shadow Bunnelby by defeating Normal-type Male Grunts during or after the Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over event. They can evolve Shadow Bunnelby into Diggersby using 50 Candy.

Even though Shadow Diggersby is an absolute beast to use in the Great League, it is bad in most PvE battle scenarios. Shadow Diggersby takes a lifetime to deal significant damage to creatures at Gyms, but it's bulk comes in clutch when defending.

PvP viability of Shadow Diggersby:

Great League: #20
Ultra League: Worst
Master League: Worst
Color Cup: N/A

1) Shadow Palkia

Shadow Palkia (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Shadow Palkia is the most powerful Shadow Pokemon trainers can get at Pokemon GO Fashion Week Taken Over. It can be obtained by defeating Giovanni, the Team GO Rocket Boss.

Shadow Palkia is the best species to have around when trainers want to tackle Raid — even surpassing Origin Palkia. Meanwhile, since it is a Legendary Pokemon, it cannot defend Gyms. Trainers, however, have the option to bring down Gym defenders that are vulnerable to Water or Dragon-type attacks with the assistance of Shadow Palkia.

PvP viability of Shadow Palkia:

Great League: #181
Ultra League: #205
Master League: #7
Color Cup: #46

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Edited by Abhipsito Das