The next big feature in Pokémon GO is Team Rocket. Our author Noah thinks Niantic has done everything right with this feature.
This is what the feature is about: Since Thursday, the Rocket Grunts and the Crypto Pokémon are officially in the game. At special PokéStops, you can meet the villains and challenge them.
The special thing: The battle is not easy. You need to bring proper counters, because without them, you will lose.
This is what makes the Team Rocket feature so good
This is what I expected: If you look at the recent features, high-level players especially did not have many difficulties. In addition, Niantic confirmed in an interview with MeinMMO that Pokémon GO should always be relatively easy, and players have to make it difficult for themselves.
Consequently, expectations were low when the first details about Team Rocket came to light. I thought you would probably have to fight against easy NPCs and could then obtain Crypto Pokémon.
This is how it looks now: After I went around my city yesterday and encountered about 20 grunts, I was thrilled.
Team Rocket is not easy to beat and really challenges you. I fought with 3 Groudon at level 40 against a team of Poison Pokémon, but lost because the Poison Pokémon had secondary types against which Ground is not effective.
I even broke a sweat when I fought with effective Pokémon against a Dragon team. Just barely with my last monster was I able to defeat the grunt.
This is why it is a novelty: It is actually the first time I have had trouble defeating in Pokémon GO. The Team Leaders in PvP mode are still easy to beat with the new update, and in raids, you can hardly lose with enough players.
However, with Team Rocket, you are on your own and cannot rely on other trainers.
This is why the feature is ideal for small towns: I live in a small town and we constantly have problems gathering enough players for legendary raids. You rely on teammates, and in small places that can be difficult.
With Team Rocket, I don’t need anyone and can play freely. I can fight Grunts day and night without needing a teammate.
Moreover, the number of Rocket Stops has increased. Currently, you can find them almost everywhere, and if not, you just wait a few minutes and one will appear.
This helps low-level players: Players below level 30 will have a tough time with Team Rocket. But that’s not so bad because then you can learn a lot about counters right from the start of the game. In the end, this will pay off in other situations.
This is what I like about the rewards: The biggest reward is catching a Crypto Pokémon. The good thing is that they are cheaper to level up after being redeemed. So you save Stardust and Candy.
Even better for me is the Stardust from the battle. You earn 500 dust per fight and with a Stardust booster, it’s even 750. If you do several battles in a day, you can get a nice bonus of Stardust.
This could lead to problems: Team Rocket could become a bit monotonous in the long run. If new Crypto Pokémon do not come into play regularly, the battles could become boring because you will always be fighting the same monsters.
However, if Niantic regularly adds something new here, then Team Rocket could remain interesting in the long term and not quickly fade into obscurity like the PvP mode.
With the introduction of Giovanni, the feature could become even more interesting:
