Pokémon Go Taken Treasures event guide: All bonuses, encounters, and Shadow Raids

Two Shadow Legendaries and an evil dream.

The promotional image for Pokémon Go's Taken Treasures event, featuring Varoom, Shadow Turtwig, Shadow Chimchar, and Shadow Piplup.
Another pair of Pokémon from Paldea is joining Pokémon Go. Image via Niantic

Don’t let Team Go Rocket get too close in Pokémon Go’s Taken Treasures event. All four of the Go Rocket bosses are back with new Shadow Pokémon to pair with plenty of other content like the debut of Varoom and Shadow Ho-Oh raids—which means keeping track of everything is important. 

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Taken Treasures runs from Jan. 27 to Feb. 1, acting as a Team Go Rocket takeover event centered around the evil team, Shadow Pokémon, and a few new additions. You will be able to find plenty of new Shadow Pokémon, battle in Shadow Ho-Oh raids, and try to defeat Giovanni for a chance to save the newly corrupted Shadow Kyogre from his clutches. 

Varoom and its evolution Revavroom as also making their Pokémon Go debut with this event, fitting in perfectly with the other Poison and Steel types flooding the game. The Steel/Poison-type is the latest Scarlet and Violet species to join the mobile game, so make sure to catch a few while they are appearing in event-exclusive 12km Eggs. Don’t forget there is paid Timed Research if you want to get some solid rewards and an exclusive avatar pose. 

Full Pokémon Go Taken Treasures event content guide

A slightly menacing avatar pose where the Pokemon Go player is tossing a Poke Ball.
Get ready to battle the bad guys if you want some nice rewards. Image via Niantic

All Pokémon Go Taken Treasures new Pokémon appearing

Unlike normal Pokémon Go events, Taken Treasures doesn’t feature any boosted wild spawns. The focus is put on adding Varoom and Revavroom into the game alongside several Pokémon appearing as Shadow encounters for the first time. Here is a full list of every Pokémon or variation appearing for the first time during this event.

  • New Pokémon
    • Varoom and Revavroom
  • New Shadow Pokémon
    • Corphish
    • Snorunt
    • Kyogre
    • Chimchar
    • Piplup
    • Croagunk
    • Dwebble
    • Ferroseed

Shadow Raids pop up somewhat frequently in Pokémon Go, but during events like Taken Treasure, they are a staple and feature fresh options to battle and catch. This event’s main appeal is the appearance of Shadow Ho-Oh for a limited time, but you can also participate in normal raids with some special encounters.

  • Event One-Star Raids
    • Alolan Rattata
    • Alolan Meowth
    • Alolan Grimer
    • Galarian Zigzagoon
  • Event Three-Star Raids
    • Weezing
    • Galarian Weezing
    • Tyranitar
    • Bombirdier
  • Ongoing Five-Star Raids (not event-boosted)
    • Landorus (Therian Forme) until Jan. 31 at 10am local time
  • Ongoing Mega Raids (not event-boosted)
    • Mega Steelix until Jan. 31 at 10am local time
  • Event One-Star Shadow Raids
    • Alolan Sandshrew
    • Murkrow
    • Pineco
    • Croagunk
  • Event Three-Star Shadow Raids
    • Scyther
    • Skarmory
    • Golett
  • Event Five-Star Shadow Raids
    • Ho-Oh from Jan. 27 at 6am until Jan. 28 at 10pm local time

All Pokémon Go Taken Treasures exclusive 12km Egg Hatch Pokémon

When these Team Go Rocket-style events come around you can get 12km Eggs filled with rare Pokémon to hatch. Varoom has been added to this pool of Pokémon with this event, which is a pain for anyone trying to get one since that is the only encounter method as of Jan. 26.

LarvitarSandilePawniard
VullabyDeinoPancham
SalanditVaroomN/A

All Pokémon Go Taken Treasures event bonuses and features

  • Team Go Rocket appears more frequently at PokéStops and in overworld balloons.
    • Rocket Balloons appear every two hours.
  • New Shadow Pokémon added to Arlo, Cliff, Sierra, and Giovanni’s teams.
  • Using a Charged TM can remove Frustration from a Shadow Pokémon’s movesets.
  • Varoom making its Pokémon Go debut.
  • Shadow Ho-Oh Raids available on Jan. 27 and 28.
  • PokéStop Showcases for Scraggy, Pancham, and Varoom.
  • New Field Research and paid Timed Research.

The Timeless Travels seasonal research is also continuing with this event, which means you can start grinding that again heading into the final month of the season.

Author
Image of Cale Michael
Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.