Shadow Pokémon Investment Guide

Even low-IV Shadow Pokémon outperform regular ones. Which Shadows should you invest in?

Why Shadow Pokémon are Strong

Shadow Pokémon receive ×1.2 Attack (+20%) and ×0.83 Defense (-17%) multipliers.

In raids, what matters is how quickly you defeat the boss. Lower defense doesn't matter as much if DPS (Damage Per Second) is higher.

Shadow 0/0/0

Attack = (ATK+0) × 1.2 (ATK+0) × 1.2

Example: Pokémon with ATK 250 → (250+0) × 1.2 = 300

Regular 15/15/15

Attack = (ATK+15) × 1.0 (ATK+15) × 1.0

Example: Pokémon with ATK 250 → (250+15) × 1.0 = 265

Conclusion: A 0/0/0 Shadow has about 13% more attack than a 15/15/15 regular.

This gap holds for most raid attackers (ATK 200+). Even low-IV Shadows are worth using.

Effective Attack by IV

Effective attack for a Pokémon with ATK 250 base. Even Shadow 0/0/0 beats regular 15/15/15.

IV	Shadow	Regular	Diff
15/15/15	318	265	+20.0%
10/10/10	312	265	+17.7%
5/5/5	306	265	+15.5%
0/0/0	300	265	+13.2%

* Based on ATK 250 (typical for top raid attackers like Garchomp, Dialga). Lower-ATK Pokémon have a slightly bigger gap.

Top Shadow Pokémon by Type

Top Shadow raid attackers per type. Mega/Primal evolutions excluded.

Psychic

1.Shadow Mewtwo

Psycho Cut / Psystrike

41.2

DPS

2.Shadow Mewtwo

Confusion / Psychic

38.3

DPS

3.Shadow Latios

Zen Headbutt / Psychic

32.0

DPS

Rock

1.Shadow Rhyperior

Smack Down / Rock Wrecker

31.0

DPS

2.Shadow Rampardos

Smack Down / Rock Slide

35.1

DPS

3.Shadow Tyrantrum

Rock Throw / Meteor Beam

30.4

DPS

Normal

1.Shadow Regigigas

Hidden Power / Crush Grip

47.7

DPS

2.Shadow Regigigas

Hidden Power / Giga Impact

37.8

DPS

3.Shadow Porygon-Z

Lock-On / Hyper Beam

32.6

DPS

Dragon

1.Shadow Palkia

Dragon Tail / Draco Meteor

35.8

DPS

2.Shadow Garchomp

Dragon Tail / Breaking Swipe

34.7

DPS

3.Shadow Salamence

Dragon Tail / Draco Meteor

36.3

DPS

Fire

1.Shadow Heatran

Fire Spin / Magma Storm

33.0

DPS

2.Shadow Darmanitan

Fire Fang / Overheat

35.2

DPS

3.Shadow Moltres

Fire Spin / Overheat

32.4

DPS

Water

1.Shadow Kyogre

Waterfall / Origin Pulse

33.8

DPS

2.Shadow Kyogre

Waterfall / Surf

31.6

DPS

3.Shadow Greninja

Water Shuriken / Hydro Cannon

33.1

DPS

Electric

1.Shadow Raikou

Thunder Shock / Wild Charge

31.4

DPS

2.Shadow Electivire

Thunder Shock / Wild Charge

33.5

DPS

3.Shadow Zapdos

Thunder Shock / Zap Cannon

31.0

DPS

Grass

1.Shadow Chesnaught

Vine Whip / Frenzy Plant

29.4

DPS

2.Shadow Venusaur

Vine Whip / Frenzy Plant

29.4

DPS

3.Shadow Tangrowth

Vine Whip / Power Whip

28.3

DPS

Ice

1.Shadow Mamoswine

Powder Snow / Avalanche

30.4

DPS

2.Shadow Mewtwo

Psycho Cut / Ice Beam

27.7

DPS

3.Shadow Weavile

Ice Shard / Avalanche

29.2

DPS

Fighting

1.Shadow Blaziken

Counter / Aura Sphere

37.7

DPS

2.Shadow Conkeldurr

Counter / Dynamic Punch

32.2

DPS

3.Shadow Latios

Dragon Breath / Aura Sphere

30.2

DPS

Dark

1.Shadow Tyranitar

Bite / Brutal Swing

32.6

DPS

2.Shadow Hydreigon

Bite / Brutal Swing

33.3

DPS

3.Shadow Darkrai

Snarl / Dark Pulse

32.3

DPS

Ghost

1.Shadow Chandelure

Hex / Shadow Ball

34.2

DPS

2.Shadow Mewtwo

Psycho Cut / Shadow Ball

31.4

DPS

3.Shadow Gengar

Lick / Shadow Ball

34.5

DPS

Steel

1.Shadow Metagross

Bullet Punch / Meteor Mash

34.9

DPS

2.Shadow Dialga

Metal Claw / Iron Head

30.3

DPS

3.Shadow Excadrill

Metal Claw / Iron Head

30.2

DPS

Poison

1.Shadow Darkrai

Snarl / Sludge Bomb

28.4

DPS

2.Shadow Gengar

Sucker Punch / Sludge Bomb

29.6

DPS

3.Shadow Gengar

Lick / Sludge Bomb

29.6

DPS

Ground

1.Shadow Groudon

Mud Shot / Precipice Blades

33.3

DPS

2.Shadow Garchomp

Mud Shot / Earth Power

31.0

DPS

3.Shadow Groudon

Mud Shot / Earthquake

30.5

DPS

Flying

1.Shadow Moltres

Wing Attack / Fly

35.4

DPS

2.Shadow Toucannon

Peck / Beak Blast

36.6

DPS

3.Shadow Salamence

Dragon Tail / Fly

34.2

DPS

Bug

1.Shadow Vikavolt

Bug Bite / X-Scissor

29.2

DPS

2.Shadow Pinsir

Bug Bite / X-Scissor

27.7

DPS

3.Shadow Scizor

Fury Cutter / X-Scissor

27.3

DPS

Fairy

1.Shadow Gardevoir

Charm / Dazzling Gleam

28.6

DPS

2.Shadow Granbull

Charm / Play Rough

26.7

DPS

3.Shadow Ursaluna

Tackle / Play Rough

22.8

DPS

Investment Priority

Weaknesses of common Legendary bosses

Dragon/Ice/Fighting/Rock type Shadows are the most versatile.

High-DPS Shadows you already own

Prioritize S~A tier Pokémon from the type lists above.

Level matters more than IV

A 0/0/0 Lv40 Shadow is far stronger than a 15/15/15 Lv30 Shadow. Spend your Stardust on leveling up.

Good to Know

⚠️Purifying a Shadow makes it regular, losing the Shadow bonus. Don't purify if you want a raid attacker.

💰Power-up cost for Shadows is 1.2× regular. They need 20% more Stardust.

🔄Shadow Pokémon have Frustration locked as their Charged Attack. Frustration can only be removed with a Charged TM during Team GO Rocket events — don't miss them.

🎯In PvP, the defense drop can be fatal, so Shadows aren't always better. This guide is PvE (raid) focused.