Should you purify Shadow Moltres in Pokemon GO?

Shadow Moltres finds itself in the spotlight in Pokemon GO Shadow Raids in January 2024 after Shadow Articuno and Shadow Zapdos, and players might be wondering if they should purify it or not. The Fire-type Legendary Bird will take over Gyms on Saturdays and Sundays throughout January 2024. These raids will be of the 5-star difficulty level, and trainers must get together to take down this powerful raid boss.

However, taking down Shadow Moltres shouldn't be too difficult since it is doubly weak to Rock-type attacks in Pokemon GO. Once you defeat the critter, you might be faced with the question of whether to purify it or not.

This guide will walk you through the pros and cons of both to help you decide which form of Moltres you should have in your team.

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

Stat changes

Like other Shadow Pokemon, Shadow Moltres gets a 1.2x boost to its Attacking prowess. This is one of the biggest advantages of retaining this form since it takes the creature's already-impressive 251 Attack to a little above 302.

On the downside, the critter's Defense stat falls by 0.8x, dropping from 181 to around 145.

In Pokemon GO Battle League's Ultra League and Master League, the purified version of Moltres performs better. However, the Shadow form sees a significant improvement when it comes to attacking Gyms and raids.

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Charged Attack options

Shadow Pokemon are stuck with the useless Charged Attack Frustration, which cannot be removed using TMs outside of special Team GO Rocket events. However, you can always teach the critter a second Charged Attack if you plan on using it in battle.

There will also likely be at least one Team GO Rocket Takeover event in each season, so you will get the chance to remove Frustration from your Shadow Moltres.

Note that you need 120,000 Stardust and 120 Moltres Candy to teach the critter a second Charged Attack.

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IV distribution

If you purify Shadow Moltres, each of its IVs will increase by one point. This can be extremely useful if you are very close to getting a perfect IV version of the creature. In this case, it is recommended that you purify it.

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Power-up cost

Shadow Pokemon have an increased cost for powering up in Pokemon GO. This can be quite resource-intensive in the long run. However, it is worth the grind for some critters, with Shadow Moltres being one of them.

On the other hand, purified Pocket Monsters are cheaper to power up than the usual ones.

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Conclusion

Taking into consideration all the aforementioned factors, it is only worth purifying Shadow Moltres if you are very close to getting a Hundo version or if you plan on using it in the Pokemon GO Battle League, where the critter is mediocre at best.

Other than that, all the hurdles in the way of Shadow Moltres working out better are temporary. Therefore, you should retain the critter's Shadow version.

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If you participate in Shadow Moltres raids, you can check out its weaknesses and best counters here.