Shadow Latios Could Be Yours in 'Pokémon GO' — Here's How You Can Catch One

Completing the entire PokéDex in Pokémon GO is an impressive (and nearly impossible) feat, to say the least — but if you're determined enough, you can make some serious headway toward that goal. Doing so, though, would also require you to capture all of the different forms a Pokémon has, meaning you'll also have to capture all of the Shadow Pokémon.

But can you get certain Shadow Legendary Pokémon, like Shadow Latios, in Pokémon GO?

There's no shortage of Legendary Pokémon available in the game — if you're an experienced enough player, you have a good chance at catching a team's worth of Legendaries in five-star raids.

Occasionally, trainers will be presented with the opportunity to catch a Legendary Shadow Pokémon. This is much rarer, as there are currently only a limited number of Shadow Pokémon available in the game. But if you're a good opponent against Team GO Rocket, you could have a Shadow Legendary on your team.

As is the case with all of the Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO, you'll have to first find and defeat a member of Team GO Rocket for a chance to capture this Legendary Shadow Pokémon. Since Shadow Pokémon require a significantly smaller amount of stardust to level up, they're extremely useful, especially if you're trying to build a powerful team.

Until Sept. 1, Pokémon GO players have a chance to catch Shadow Latios by completing a series of field research tasks and facing off against Giovanni, the ring leader of Team GO Rocket. We have a whole guide on how to get access to Giovanni (with some tips on how to defeat his regular lineup of Pokémon).

There are six phases to the Field Research Notes you'll have to complete, each with different rewards.

Phase One (1,000 XP, 15 Poké Balls, and 3 Rare Candies):

• Win a raid (Darumaka Encounter)
• Defeat 3 Team GO Rocket Members (3 Hyper Potions)
• Catch a Shadow Pokémon (Galarian Darumaka Encounter)

Phase Two (1,500 XP, 1,000 Stardust, 10 Great Balls):

• Catch 5 Shadow Pokémon (10 Pinap Berries)
• Make 3 Nice Curveball Throws in a row (10 Razz Berries)
• Defeat 5 Team GO Rocket Grunts (10 Nanab Berries)

Phase Three (2,000 XP, 15 Great Balls, 1 Rocket Radar):

Phase Three (2,000 XP, 15 Great Balls, 1 Rocket Radar):

• Purify 5 Shadow Pokémon (1,000 XP)
• Defeat 5 Team GO Rocket Grunts (1,000 XP)
• Earn 3 Candies walking with your buddy (1,000 XP)

Phase Four (2,500 XP, 1,000 Stardust, 1 Super Rocket Radar):

• Defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo (1,500 XP)
• Defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Cliff (1,500 XP)
• Defeat Team GO Rocket Leader Sierra (1,500 XP)

Phase Five (3,000 XP, 1 Lucky Egg, 2 Golden Razz Berries):

• Find the Team GO Rocket Boss (5 Max Potions)
• Battle the Team GO Rocket Boss (20 Ultra Balls)
• Defeat the Team GO Rocket Boss (5 Max Revives)

Thankfully, the last phase of this task is just to collect the rewards, which include 1 Charged TM, 1 Fast TM, 2 Silver Pinap Berries, and 7,500 XP.

Ideally, you'll face off against Giovanni for Phase Five, though you can still complete all of these challenges with a different boss.

As with all Shadow Pokémon encounters, you'll be given a select number of Premiere Balls to capture Shadow Latios, based on how you perform, so go into the fight prepared.