Pokemon GO meme jokes about Giovanni's plan involving a "rubber duck"

Pokemon GO's archvillain Giovanni has rotated through several Shadow Legendary Pokemon over the years, but his latest choice has elicited some humor from the community. This materialized in a recent GO subreddit post by u/Entire_Pineapple4732, who joked that Giovanni had foregone powerful Pokemon like Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza in favor of a "rubber duck" like Cresselia:

Giovanni's scemes are beyond our understanding byu/Entire_Pineapple4732 inpokemongo

As one might expect, the arrival of Shadow Cresselia as part of Giovanni's team was a topic of comedy for plenty of players in the comments. Some Pokemon GO players chided the Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo for bothering his boss while he was taking a bubble bath in the comic. Meanwhile, some fans expressed that they felt Shadow Cresselia was even more evil due to how difficult it can be to beat.

Since Cresselia is well-known, particularly in PvP, for its impressive defensive capabilities, many Pokemon GO fans joked they would rather face a Shadow Rayquaza on Giovanni's team since it isn't as stalwart of a defender. Some fans also said they are saving their Super Rocket Radars for the future legendaries that Giovanni would add to his battle party.

Pokemon GO fans joked about Arlo talking to Giovanni mid-bubble bath (Image via Reddit)

This is understandable to a degree, as Super Rocket Radars take time to assemble. If players aren't keen on the prospects of Shadow Cresselia, they can always hold on to their radars until Giovanni brings a better legendary to his side in future events and seasons. However, more than a few trainers pointed out that missing out on Shadow Cresselia could be a sizable mistake once it debuts.

Plenty of Pokemon GO trainers pointed out Shadow Cresselia's upside in PvP (Image via Reddit)

While plenty of fans joked about Shadow Cresselia being a rubber duck and an unexpected option, it's important to remember that this creature may very well be a fixture in the PvP meta for quite some time.

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Why Shadow Cresselia is worth pursuing in Pokemon GO

Shadow Cresselia should prove to be very capable in PvP (Image via Niantic)

Jokes aside, Cresselia has been a fixture in Pokemon GO PvP for quite some time now, particularly in the Ultra League. Its high base Defense and Stamina stats of 258 and 260 respectively make up for its relative lack of firepower. With Shadow Cresselia, the legendary Psychic-type Pokemon can gain a 1.2x multiplier while still being sturdy despite receiving a 0.833x Defense stat debuff.

This makes Shadow Cresselia more capable on offense while still being able to tank damage in PvP. The shadow buff won't be enough to make Cresselia much better overall in PvE situations like raids in all likelihood, but it introduces additional firepower to a PvP-favored Pokemon that should make it even more dangerous and give it some multi-role utility outside of being a defender.

With that in mind, trainers are encouraged to dive into Pokemon GO's Adventure Week: Taken Over event on August 8-12, 2024, where they'll be able to complete a new Special Research Story and collect a Super Rocket Radar to defeat Giovanni and catch Shadow Cresselia for their collection.