View source for Team GO Rocket

{{Team Infobox
|teamname=Team GO Rocket
|jpteamname=GO ロケット団
|tmteamname=GO Rocket-dan
|logo=GO Rocket logo.png
|image=GO Team GO Rocket.png
|size=300px
|caption=Promotional artwork from Pokémon GO
|leader=[[Giovanni]]
|region=Earth
|targets=[[PokéStop]]s
|admins={{OBP|Cliff|GO}}, {{OBP|Sierra|GO}}, and [[Arlo]]
|hideout=Located via [[Rocket Radar]]
|epnum=
|epname=
|psnum=
|psname=
|tcg=
}}

'''Team GO Rocket''' (Japanese: '''{{j|GO ロケット{{tt|団|だん}}}}''' ''GO Rocket-dan'', literally ''GO Rocket Gang'') is a [[villainous team]] in pursuit of evil and the exploitation of Pokémon in {{g|GO}}.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1153426476060041216 Twitter announcement]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1153455829737070592 Twitter update]</ref><ref>[https://niantic.helpshift.com/a/pokemon-go/?p=web&s=top-articles&f=team-go-rocket-shadow-pokemon&l=en Niantic Support - Team GO Rocket & Shadow Pokémon]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1153733738204938243 Twitter update]</ref> Their objective is to invade [[PokéStop]]s for their resources by using {{OBP|Shadow Pokémon|GO}} in {{OBP|Trainer Battle|GO}}s to defend their claims. 

Team GO Rocket invasions initially started on July 22, 2019, lasting for 24 hours before stopping all of a sudden.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1153803817617485824 Twitter update]</ref> On July 25, 2019, Team GO Rocket began reappearing at even higher rates with a new [[Special Research]], ''A Troubling Situation'', becoming available.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1154376866792218624 Twitter update]</ref><ref>[https://pokemongolive.com/post/teamgorocket-invasion-2019/ Team GO Rocket invades Pokémon GO!]</ref>
 
On July 27, 2019, Team GO Rocket started an all-out invasion of all New York City PokéStops as part of a real-life publicity stunt organized by Niantic with continuous updates on the official Twitter channel.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1154738210561560576 Twitter - energy surge detected in North America]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1154795696320655360 Twitter - Team GO Rocket sighted in New York City]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1154822797534945281 Twitter - Team GO Rocket has arrived on Earth]</ref> Later on that day, Team GO Rocket seemingly took over Pokémon GO's Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels. Localized social media in other languages were also vandalized in the same way. Team GO Rocket then began publishing information about their worldwide domination goals and achieving [[Giovanni]]'s goals. They also started giving visual hints and broadcasting a video countdown setting up for an event on July 28, 2019. On that day, claiming that the invasion in New York was nothing but a decoy, Team GO Rocket started invading every single PokéStops in each timezone from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time as well as globally announcing their presence by sending broadcast messages to every Trainer in-game.

On August 1, 2019, after suffering a series of defeats, Team GO Rocket expanded their pool of Shadow Pokémon species.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1157018199961063425 Twitter update]</ref> They expanded their roster again on September 5, 2019 to include some more species.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1169701793019957248 Twitter update]</ref>

On September 29, 2019, a suspicious folder appeared in [[Professor Willow]]'s computer, which contained several corrupted files.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1178346224962998272 Twitter update]</ref> On October 2, 2019, Professor Willow had managed to recover these corrupted files, which were revealed to be profiles of Team GO Rocket Leaders {{OBP|Cliff|GO}}, [[Arlo]], and {{OBP|Sierra|GO}}.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1179424187179585537 Twitter update]</ref>

On November 5, 2019, {{tc|Team GO Rocket Leader}}s began appearing in certain cities around the world. By equipping a [[Rocket Radar]], players were able to locate and battle them at PokéStops being used as hideouts. On November 7, 2019, Team GO Rocket Leaders started appearing worldwide, with a monthly Special Research, ''Looming in the Shadows'', unlocked for players that have completed ''A Troubling Situation''.

On November 12, 2019, the team leaders {{OBP|Blanche|GO}}, {{OBP|Spark|GO}}, and [[Candela]] used the Rocket Radar to track the locations of and battle {{tc|Team GO Rocket Leader}}s {{OBP|Cliff|GO}}, {{OBP|Sierra|GO}}, and [[Arlo]], respectively. All three team leaders emerged victorious, and the Team GO Rocket Leaders retreated to set up new hideouts.

From November 2019 until April 2020, Professor Willow issued [[Special Research#Team GO Rocket Leaders battles|Special Researches]] to track down Team GO Rocket activities including those of their leader Giovanni as it was apparent he was in the process of subduing some [[Legendary]] Pokémon. By April 2020, Giovanni activities had temporary recessed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].

In early July 2020, while training for GO Fest 2020, Professor Willow and his assistants found on several occurrences strange scraps of paper left over by Team GO Rocket.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1278043797784367104 Twitter update]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1278118059648188422 Twitter update]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1278781116061831168 Twitter update]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1279105182236839936 Twitter update]</ref> When pieced together, these scraps appeared to indicate some upcoming renewed activity by the organization who seemed to be working on a hot air balloon.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1280486772594663425 Twitter update]</ref> Around the same time, several trainers received email mistakenly sent to them from Team GO Rocket on their registered email account.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1280298576795615237 Twitter update]</ref> On July 7, 2020 Team GO Rocket started to deploy globally anew using Team GO Rocket balloons.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1280615098545995783 Twitter announcement]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1280622152736268289 Twitter announcement]</ref> On July 9, 2020, [[Jessie]] and [[James]] began appearing in the game.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1281285595667607554 Twitter announcement]</ref>

In the following weeks, new pieces of evidences were discovered indicating Team GO Rocket was about to unleash a new dastardly plan using their balloon fleet to attempt to capture the [[Mythical]] Pokémon {{p|Victini}}.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1285915043318640640  Twitter announcement]</ref> On July 26, 2020, Team GO Rocket started a worldwide all out invasion by invading most PokéStops and dropping Team GO Rocket confetti from their ballons in an effort to take over Pokémon GO Fest 2020.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1287432498155335680 Twitter announcement]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1287222899171000321 Twitter announcement]</ref> During this new take-over the Team GO Rocket Leaders used Shadow [[Legendary Birds]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1287326716822724608 Twitter announcement]</ref> while Giovanni himself had a Shadow {{p|Mewtwo}} in his team. During this showdown [[Professor Willow#Assistants|Professor Willow's assistants]] successfully withhold Team GO Rocket Leaders<ref>[https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1288217670106509313 Twitter announcement]</ref> while the Trainers confronted Giovanni himself, preventing Team GO Rocket from successfully capturing {{p|Victini}}.

==Invaded PokéStops==
[[File:GO Rocket PokéStop.png|150px|thumb|right|A PokéStop invaded by a Team GO Rocket Grunt]]
Occasionally, for players [[Trainer level|level]] 8 and above, a [[PokéStop]] may be invaded by a Team GO Rocket Grunt attempting to steal its [[item]]s and resources. From a distance, an invaded PokéStop's cube is frequently rotating and has a dark, shadowy overlay. If within range, the invaded PokéStop turns black with the red "R" logo above it, and a Team GO Rocket Grunt is standing beside it in the overworld. Invaded PokéStops turn back to normal if the Grunt is defeated or 30 minutes has passed since the PokéStop was initially invaded. If a player successfully defeats a Grunt, the affected PokéStop can immediately be spun regardless of how much time has passed since the last spin. If the player's [[Bag|Item Bag]] is full, a Team GO Rocket Battle can still be triggered, but no items will be received.

Using a [[Rocket Radar]], players can see which PokéStops are being used as Team GO Rocket Hideouts. Hideouts look identical to invaded PokéStops, except they are instead guarded by a {{tc|Team GO Rocket Leader}}. Data for Team GO Rocket Hideouts is determined at the beginning of each day; different players battling in a hideout at the same PokéStop will encounter the same Team GO Rocket Leader, using the same team. Once the Leader is defeated, that PokéStop will no longer appear as a hideout the next time a Rocket Radar is equipped. Using a Super Rocket Radar effectively works the same way as the Rocket Radar, except it shows the locations [[Giovanni]] and, more commonly, Decoy Grunts disguised as him. 

The Rocket Radar only works from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time. If the Rocket Radar is equipped outside this time window, no hideouts will appear on the map, and the player's team leader will suggest checking back in the morning.

==Team GO Rocket balloons==
[[File:GO Rocket Balloon.png|220px|thumb|left|A standard Team GO Rocket balloon (left) and a Meowth balloon (right) hovering near a trainer]]
Periodically, a hot air balloon may hover near the player, casting a large dark shadow on the open world map. If the player taps the balloon, a Team GO Rocket Battle will be initiated. If the player has a Rocket Radar equipped, then one of the three {{tc|Team GO Rocket Leader}}s will appear. And if the player has a Super Rocket Radar equipped, then [[Giovanni]] will appear from the balloon, overriding the Rocket Radar, if any. Otherwise, if no radar is equipped, then a {{tc|Team GO Rocket Grunt}} will appear. Sometimes a [[Meowth]]-shaped balloon may appear. Tapping this balloon will initiate two consecutive battles against [[Jessie#Pokémon GO|Jessie]] and [[James#Pokémon GO|James]]. Once the battle against Team GO Rocket has concluded, the balloon will blast-off to higher altitudes and will disappear from the world map.

Under regular circumstances, a Team GO Rocket balloon may randomly appear up to four times per day, each within a specific six-hour time window. However, these time frames may be shortened during special events to make balloon encounters more frequent. Nearby Team GO Rocket balloons can also be seen from the Rocket Radar and Super Rocket Radar views. It is possible to encounter a Team GO Rocket Leader or Giovanni even outside the time frame in which the Rocket Radar and Super Rocket Radar can be used.

A Team GO Rocket balloon is set to appear once within each of these time windows:
* 12:00 a.m. - 5:59 a.m.
* 6:00 a.m. - 11:59 a.m.
* 12:00 p.m. - 5:59 p.m.
* 6:00 p.m. - 11:59 p.m.

If the player defeats a Team GO Rocket member, but does not complete the bonus challenge (either due to full storage, game crashing, etc.), there will not be another opportunity to do so again, as the balloon would disappear from the map regardless of capture.

{{-}}

==Team GO Rocket Battles==
Upon interacting with an invaded PokéStop, the Team GO Rocket member will challenge the player to a {{OBP|Trainer Battle|GO}}, during which they will use three {{OBP|Shadow Pokémon|GO}} with highly inflated CP values. Unlike in other Trainer Battles, the player's Pokémon will not be healed beforehand or afterwards, requiring the use of [[medicine]] to restore any lost HP. If the player loses, their team leader will appear and give advice based on type advantages against the Team GO Rocket member's Pokémon. Team GO Rocket Battles can be repeatedly attempted until either the player is victorious or the PokéStop invasion expires. In battle, Team GO Rocket Grunts never use [[Protect (move)#In Pokémon GO|Protect Shields]], but Team GO Rocket Leaders and Giovanni will always use Protect Shields against the player's first two Charged Attacks.

===Rewards===
Defeating a {{tc|Team GO Rocket Grunt}} rewards the player {{stardust}}500 and a [[Rocket Radar|Mysterious Component]].

Defeating a {{tc|Team GO Rocket Leader}} rewards the player {{stardust}}1,000 and two of the following bundles, with duplicates possible:
* {{bag/GO|Hyper Potion}} [[Hyper Potion]] ×4
* {{bag/GO|Max Potion}} [[Max Potion]] ×2
* {{bag/GO|Revive}} [[Revive]] ×4
* {{bag/GO|Max Revive}} [[Max Revive]] ×2
* {{bag/GO|Sinnoh Stone}} [[Sinnoh Stone]] ×1
* {{bag/GO|Unova Stone}} [[Unova Stone]] ×1

Defeating [[Giovanni]] rewards the player {{stardust}}5,000, a [[Unova Stone]], and three of the following bundles, with duplicates possible:
* {{bag/GO|Max Potion}} [[Max Potion]] ×4
* {{bag/GO|Max Revive}} [[Max Revive]] ×4

===Bonus challenge===
If the player is victorious the Team GO Rocket member will abandon one their Shadow Pokémon used in battle. Similar to a [[Raid Battle]], there is a bonus challenge afterwards to capture the abandoned Shadow Pokémon using [[Premier Ball]]s. The Shadow Pokémon's CP will be adjusted to have regular stats at a [[Power Up]] level of 8, or 13 if [[Weather]] Boosted. In the capture screen, Shadow Pokémon attack more frequently than normal, and their target rings are colored to indicate a 5% [[Catch rate (GO)|base capture rate]]; however, their actual catch rates do not appear to be different from that of their normal forms. Shadow [[Legendary Pokémon]] are guaranteed capture by the first Ball that hits.

The number of Premier Balls given is based on the number of Pokémon the player has remaining at the end of the battle and the [[List of Medals in Pokémon GO|Hero and Purifier medals]], ranging from 3 to 11 Premier Balls for defeating most Team GO Rocket members or 10 to 18 Premier Balls for defeating Giovanni.

{| class="roundy" style="background:#c00; border:3px solid #600; text-align:center"
|- style="color:#fff"
! style="background:#666; {{roundytl|5px}}" | Quantifier
! style="background:#666; {{roundytr|5px}}" colspan=4 | Premier Balls
|- style="background:#ccc;"
| style="background:#FFF; text-align:left" rowspan=2 | Team GO Rocket<br>Defeated
! colspan=2 | Grunt/Leader !! colspan=2 | Giovanni
|- style="background:#FFF" 
| colspan=2 | {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +2 || colspan=2 | {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +9
|- style="background:#fff;"
| style="background:#FFF; text-align:left"| Pokémon Remaining
| colspan=4 | {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +1 per Pokémon
|- style="background:#ccc;"
| style="background:#FFF; text-align:left" rowspan=2 | Hero
! None !! Bronze !! Silver !! Gold
|- style="background:#FFF" 
| {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +0 || {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +1 || {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +2 || {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +3
|- style="background:#ccc;"
| style="background:#FFF; {{roundybl|5px}}; text-align:left" rowspan=2 | Purifier
! None !! Bronze !! Silver !! Gold
|- style="background:#fff"
| {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +0 || {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +1 || {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +2
| style="{{roundybr|5px}}" | {{bag/GO|Premier Ball}} +3
|}

==Pokémon==
{{outdated}}
<!-- Since the Shadow Pokémon rework in early 2020:
* Attack multiplier: 4 -> 10/3
* Defense multiplier: 2 -> 2.4
* rCPM is now slightly off in this calculation, but still pretty close
-->
For a list of possible Shadow Pokémon for each Team GO Rocket member, see:
:''[[Team GO Rocket Grunt (Trainer class)#Trainer list|Team GO Rocket Grunt (Trainer class) → Trainer list]]''
:''[[Team GO Rocket Leader (Trainer class)#Trainer list|Team GO Rocket Leader (Trainer class) → Trainer list]]''
:''[[Giovanni#Pokémon GO|Giovanni → Pokémon GO]]''

The CP for each Shadow Pokémon used by Team GO Rocket follows the standard CP formula, but using modified values for each of the their three stats:<ref>[https://gamepress.gg/pokemongo/cracking-team-go-rocket-grunt-cp-formula GamePress - Cracking the Team GO Rocket Grunt CP Formula]</ref>

[[File:CP_calc_GO.png]]

where

: [[File:HP calc GO Rocket.png|x42px]]

: [[File:Attack calc GO Rocket.png|x24px]]

: [[File:Defense calc GO Rocket.png|x24px]]

and that
* <code>cpM<sub>R</sub></code> is the CP multiplier specific to Team GO Rocket, which increases with the player's [[Trainer level]]
* <code>Trainer</code> is 
** 1.25 if [[Giovanni]]
** 1.15 if a {{tc|Team GO Rocket Leader}}
** 1 otherwise (if a {{tc|Team GO Rocket Grunt|Grunt}})

The final <code>HP</code> value is also rounded down during battles, but not in the CP calculation.

The values of <code>cpM<sub>R</sub></code> have been empirically estimated to be the following at each [[Trainer level]]. Using the above formulas, these numbers can predict the CP of Team GO Rocket's Pokémon with a margin of error of ±1 CP. The following table shows the estimated <code>cpM<sub>R</sub></code> at each Trainer level. The multiplier columns on the right show how much each stat of a Team GO Rocket Grunt's Pokémon is multiplied from that of a normal Pokémon of the same species and {{IV}}s{{tt|*|15 Attack, 15 Defense, 14 HP}}, powered up to the Trainer level.

{| class="roundy" style="background:#c00; border:3px solid #600; text-align:center"
|- style="background:#666; color:#fff"
! rowspan=2 style="{{roundytl|5px}}" | Level
! rowspan=2 | Est. ''cpM<sub>R</sub>''
! colspan=3 style="{{roundytr|5px}}"| Multipliers
|- style="color:#000"
! style="background:#{{attack color}}" | Attack
! style="background:#{{defense color}}" | Defense
! style="background:#{{hp color}}" | HP
|- style=background:#fff
| 8 || 0.1402218 || 1.495 || 0.747 || 0.374
|- style=background:#fff
| 9 || 0.1699475 || 1.701 || 0.851 || 0.425
|- style=background:#fff
| 10 || 0.1951274 || 1.847 || 0.924 || 0.462
|- style=background:#fff
| 11 || 0.2223658 || 2.007 || 1.004 || 0.502
|- style=background:#fff
| 12 || 0.2321474 || 2.006 || 1.003 || 0.502
|- style=background:#fff
| 13 || 0.2539815 || 2.109 || 1.055 || 0.527
|- style=background:#fff
| 14 || 0.2691698 || 2.154 || 1.077 || 0.538
|- style=background:#fff
| 15 || 0.2875888 || 2.223 || 1.112 || 0.556
|- style=background:#fff
| 16 || 0.3023914 || 2.264 || 1.132 || 0.566
|- style=background:#fff
| 17 || 0.3237189 || 2.351 || 1.175 || 0.588
|- style=background:#fff
| 18 || 0.3432961 || 2.423 || 1.211 || 0.606
|- style=background:#fff
| 19 || 0.3627179 || 2.492 || 1.246 || 0.623
|- style=background:#fff
| 20 || 0.3756317 || 2.515 || 1.258 || 0.629
|- style=background:#fff
| 21 || 0.3973477 || 2.596 || 1.298 || 0.649
|- style=background:#fff
| 22 || 0.4126084 || 2.634 || 1.317 || 0.659
|- style=background:#fff
| 23 || 0.4268701 || 2.665 || 1.333 || 0.666
|- style=background:#fff
| 24 || 0.4400332 || 2.69 || 1.345 || 0.672
|- style=background:#fff
| 25 || 0.4529313 || 2.712 || 1.356 || 0.678
|- style=background:#fff
| 26 || 0.464723 || 2.729 || 1.364 || 0.682
|- style=background:#fff
| 27 || 0.4740884 || 2.732 || 1.366 || 0.683
|- style=background:#fff
| 28 || 0.4857273 || 2.749 || 1.374 || 0.687
|- style=background:#fff
| 29 || 0.497797 || 2.768 || 1.384 || 0.692
|- style=background:#fff
| 30 || 0.5102443 || 2.789 || 1.395 || 0.697
|- style=background:#fff
| 31 || 0.5200978 || 2.82 || 1.41 || 0.705
|- style=background:#fff
| 32 || 0.5336423 || 2.87 || 1.435 || 0.717
|- style=background:#fff
| 33 || 0.5451508 || 2.908 || 1.454 || 0.727
|- style=background:#fff
| 34 || 0.558385 || 2.956 || 1.478 || 0.739
|- style=background:#fff
| 35 || 0.5699954 || 2.994 || 1.497 || 0.748
|- style=background:#fff
| 36 || 0.5823468 || 3.035 || 1.518 || 0.759
|- style=background:#fff
| 37 || 0.5932983 || 3.069 || 1.535 || 0.767
|- style=background:#fff
| 38 || 0.6046494 || 3.105 || 1.553 || 0.776
|- style=background:#fff
| 39 || 0.6152435 || 3.136 || 1.568 || 0.784
|- style=background:#fff
| style="{{roundybl|5px}}" | 40 || 0.6325103 || 3.201 || 1.601 || style="{{roundybr|5px}}" | 0.8
|}

==Trivia==
* At the end of the Team GO Rocket promotional video, a silhouette of [[Giovanni]] flashes, followed by a quote, ''"Earth is where I shall unleash my evil schemes next!"'' The quote is a possible reference to Giovanni's final line in [[Episode RR]] from [[Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon]], ''"Now...what new world shall I unleash my evil schemes upon...?"''
* Team GO Rocket's appearance in Pokémon GO was first hinted at both Pokémon GO Fest 2019 Chicago and Pokémon GO Fest 2019 Dortmund where Grunts started [[GO Snapshot|photobombing]] on each day of those events after closure time. Those photobombs initiated a {{p|Meowth}} encounter.
* A Team GO Rocket hot air balloon was sighted at Pokémon GO Fest 2019 Dortmund for each day of the event around closure time.
* During Pokémon GO Fest 2019 Yokohama, Giovanni started [[GO Snapshot|photobombing]] on each day of the event after closure time. Each of these photobombs initiated a {{p|Meowth}} encounter.

==In other languages==
{{Langtable|color=666|bordercolor=C00|textcolor=fff
|zh_yue=GO 火箭隊 ''{{tt|GO Fójin Déui|GO Team Rocket}}''
|zh_cmn=GO 火箭隊 ''{{tt|GO Huǒjiàn Duì|GO Team Rocket}}''
|fr=Team GO Rocket
|de=Team GO Rocket
|it=Team GO Rocket
|ko=GO로켓단 ''GO Rocket-dan''
|pt_br=Equipe GO Rocket
|es=Team GO Rocket
|th=แก๊งโกร็อกเกต ''Gang GO Rocket''
}}

==Videos==
===English===
====Team GO Rocket Invasions====
{{youtubevid|xUFMnmChNgw|Pokémon&nbsp;GO|color=666|colordark=C00|colorlight=CCC}}

====Team GO Rocket Leaders====
{{youtubevid|XyQ3jkV5rHg|Pokémon&nbsp;GO|color=666|colordark=C00|colorlight=CCC}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{Team GO Rocket}}
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{{Villainous teams}}

[[Category:Team GO Rocket|*]]
[[Category:Villain groups|GO Rocket]]
[[Category:Pokémon GO]]

[[de:Team GO Rocket]]
[[es:Team GO Rocket]]
[[fr:Team GO Rocket]]
[[it:Team GO Rocket]]
[[ja:GOロケット団]]
[[zh:GO 火箭隊]]