Should you purify Shadow Suicune in Pokemon GO?

Whether or not to purify Shadow Suicune in Pokemon GO will be on players' minds as the creature returns to the title in August 2024. Although standard Suicune is quite tanky and can perform in solid capacity in PvP, it's better to leave Suicune as a shadow, thanks to its plentiful bulk.

Even with the 0.8333x multiplayer made to its Defense stat, Suicune is still durable and a loss of a little Defense is well worth the 1.2x Attack multiplier Suicune receives in its shadow form.

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Why you shouldn't purify Shadow Suicune in Pokemon GO

Suicune and the other Legendary Beasts serve better as shadows in Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Suicune has the lowest Attack stat among the three Legendary Beasts (Raikou, Entei, Suicune), but it compensates for this with high Defense and Stamina stats. While it can be enticing to purify Suicune and make it as bulky as possible for battles, it doesn't lose much durability as a shadow and receives a 20% damage buff, making it durable and capable of dealing solid (if unspectacular) damage.

With hard-hitting attacks like Hydro Pump and Ice Beam, Shadow Suicune can become a capable damage dealer even if it doesn't sport the firepower of Raikou or Entei. As either a switch or a defender in a PvP team comp, Suicune can perform well in the Ultra and Master Leagues, though its efficacy is somewhat diminished in the Great League due to the 1,500 CP cap.

There are some situations where purifying Shadow Suicune isn't the worst thing, such as when doing so would give Suicune 100% IVs and players need that, but otherwise, Shadow Suicune simply performs better in damage output while still being capable of shrugging off enemy attacks.

Standard Suicune doesn't gain as many benefits as its shadow form in Pokemon GO (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Some Pokemon GO trainers may consider purifying Shadow Suicune to remove the Charged Move Frustration, but a little patience can circumvent the need for purification to perform this task. During many different events including Team GO Rocket Takeovers, players can change Frustration into a different Charged Move through the use of Charged TMs.

Overall, the small gain in IVs Shadow Suicune receives alongside its Stardust/candy cost reduction and ability to remove Frustration simply isn't a great collection of benefits. With boosted damage, quality bulkiness, and the ability to remove Frustration at a later date, Pokemon GO trainers simply get more bang for their buck by keeping Shadow Suicune as is.

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Check out our other Pokemon GO guides:

• Ditto disguises
• Buddy Evolution Adventure Together guide
• Best Fast Attacks in Pokemon GO
• Sierra counters
• Cliff counters
• Arlo counters
• Giovanni counters