Should you purify Shadow Articuno in Pokemon GO?

To purify a Shadow Pokemon or not is a question as old as time when it comes to the popular mobile game, Pokemon GO. It gives you the option to catch the shadow forms of many Pocket Monsters after you defeat Team GO Rocket grunts and bosses. When you defeat the organization's "mega boss" Giovanni, you often get the opportunity to catch Shadow Legendary Pokemon. Additionally, these have been made available in Raid Battles since May 27, 2023.

Shadow Articuno is the 5-star raid boss in Pokemon GO's Shadow Raids for the month of June. It will appear every Saturday and Sunday between June 10 and June 25, 2023. Players who catch the Legendary bird's shadow form may be wondering if it is more useful in its Shadow form or if they are better off purifying it; here is one take on the matter.

---

What are the pros and cons of purifying Shadow Articuno in Pokemon GO?

Like other Shadow Pokemon, the biggest advantage of retaining Shadow Articuno is that you get a 1.2x boost to its Attack stat. It has a base Attack of 192, so it becomes around 230 when boosted by the Shadow Bonus.

Shadow Articuno boasts an impressive base Defense of 236. When inflicted with the 0.83x defensive debuff that such forms of Pokemon get, it comes down to around 196, which in itself is a respectable number. Combined with a Stamina stat of 207, it can tank a couple of neutral or resisted Charged Attacks easily.

Shadow Pokemon in Pokemon GO know the Charged Attack Frustration by default. This move becomes Return when you purify the Pocket Monster. Frustration is an incredibly weak attack, which can't be overwritten by a Charged TM outside of special events. Return, on the other hand, is fairly strong.

You can always add a second Charged Attack to your Shadow Articuno though. This can be done in exchange for 1,20,000 Stardust and 120 Articuno Candy. Having Ice Beam in this slot alongside Frustration can make your life using Shadow Articuno much easier.

There is another factor to take into consideration when deciding to purify Shadow Articuno or not: the cost of powering up shadow Pocket Monsters in Pokemon GO is signifcantly higher than powering up regular creatures. Moreover, if your Shadow Articuno is only slightly short of having perfect 15/15/15 IVs, purifying it will make it a hundo.

---

Conclusion

Since Articuno has decent bulk even in its Shadow form, having those extra offensive stats can come quite handy. Moreover, Frustration should not be that much of a problem as long as you have enough resources to get a second Charged Attack.

The fact that it takes more resources to power up can be a downside, but it is a price you pay for dealing higher damage. Considering all these factors, it is better to keep Shadow Articuno as it is.