A PvE Analysis of Steeled Resolve: Taken Over

Welcome, Trainers! Another Team GO Rocket takeover is here, and this time it’s the Steeled Resolve: Taken Over event bringing a fresh wave of Shadow Pokémon into Pokémon GO. With Rocket Grunts, Leaders, and Giovanni once again shaking up their lineups, players have plenty of new shadows to look at from a PvE perspective. So, how much do these new additions actually matter for raids and overall attacker rankings? Let’s dive in and find out!

New Shadow Pokémon

Trainers can encounter the following Shadow Pokémon for the first time:

The newest batch of Shadow Pokémon is here and this time we have Helioptile, Dewpider, Morelull, and Stufful joining the Shadow lineup along with the Unovan Legendary Shadow Landorus (Incarnate Forme). Let’s take a closer look at each of them, and you can decide for yourself which ones are actually worth rescuing.

Mostly One For The Pokédex

Let’s clear out a few Pokémon quickly. Shadow Heliolisk, Araquanid, and Shiinotic, the respective evolutions of Shadow Helioptile, Dewpider, and Morelull, have basically no meaningful PvE value. None of them have the combination of stats and moves needed to stand out in raids, so they are not going to make a dent compared to stronger options in their respective types. Yes, some PvP utility exists here, but that does not really matter for this discussion. From a PvE perspective, these three are not relevant picks so much as Pokédex fillers, making them easy skips for Trainers who want to spend their resources on better raid attackers.

Stufful→Bewear

Shadow Bewear NormalFighting

Stufful, the Flailing Pokémon, evolves into Bewear, the Strong Arm Pokémon, and while Shadow Bewear brings some respectable PvE power to the table in Pokémon GO, its raid value is still a bit awkward because its biggest strength comes as a Normal-type attacker, and Normal types are rarely relevant in raids since they never hit anything for super effective damage.

Shadow Bewear does benefit from the usual Shadow damage boost, so its raw output looks appealing at first glance, especially if you just want something that can throw out solid neutral damage, but that alone is usually not enough to make a Normal type attacker worth prioritizing for serious raid teams. As a Fighting-type raid attacker, Bewear is more practical, but it still falls short of the best options available, so it is not really a top-tier investment for players chasing optimal counters. Using our DPS Comparer Tool:

As we can see, Shadow Bewear’s performance, while decent, is not close enough to top-tier Fighting attackers. That said, Shadow Bewear can still fill a useful role for newer players who do not yet have a deep roster of strong Fighting attackers, and it can also appeal to trainers who simply want a bit of spice in their lineup instead of defaulting to the same meta picks every time. In other words, Shadow Bewear is not a must-build raid monster, but it does have some niche PvE value as a budget Fighting attacker and a fun off-meta choice. 

Landorus (Incarnate Forme)

Incarnate Shadow Landorus GroundFlying

And now we have the Legendary from the Unova Region, and a member of the Forces of Nature, the Abundance Pokémon, Landorus (Incarnate Forme). While the Incarnate Forme is let down by its stats and moveset, particularly next to its Therian Forme, it still makes for an interesting analysis. The reason: Sandsear Storm.  

The impact of Sandsear Storm can be seen vividly. Firstly, it is evident that Landorus (Therian Forme) is the better version of Landorus. But, talking about Shadow Landorus Incarnate having Earth Power as its Charged Attack, is certainly a capable Ground attacker, with its DPS on par with Therian Landorus (which currently sits at #5 among Top Ground Attackers). Shadow Landorus Incarnate gains roughly 3 DPS points over its non-shadow version thanks to the shadow boost. 

The real interesting thing is its access to Sandsear Storm. Landorus (Incarnate Forme) cannot learn Sandsear Storm even via an Elite Charged TM. The only Incarnate Landorus with access to Sandsear Storm was the one that was encountered via a Timed Research during GO Tour: Unova – Global in 2025 (same is true for Incarnate Tornadus with Bleakwind Storm and Incarnate Thundurus with Wildbolt Storm).

In future, if Shadow Landorus Incarnate gets access to Sandsear Storm, it will go past Shadow Garchomp and be among the Top-5 Ground raid attackers. But even now, without Sandsear Storm, it still remains a solid Ground attacker, though slightly behind Landorus Therian and outside of the Top-5. 

Parting Words

That wraps up the PvE picture for Steeled Resolve: Taken Over. Most of the new Shadow arrivals are easy passes for raid-focused Trainers, but Shadow Landorus Incarnate is the clear standout and the one worth keeping an eye on. Shadow Bewear has some niche value, while the rest are more collection pieces than serious raid investments.

Let us know Trainers! Did you play Pokémon Black & White on Nintendo DS? If yes, were you able to catch the 3 Forces of Nature members? (Sadly I couldn’t!). What about the other new Shadow Pokémon? Which one are you looking to rescue?

And as always, stay safe, spend your stardust wisely, and good luck with the shiny grind for the new Shadows!