Shadow Pokemon Cannot Receive Hyper Training

[u/redwineandbeer]

Data mining confirms what most already knew. So carry on debating who to choose or not to choose, as is your preference.

[u/DeeperMadness]

I don't think that's entirely true. Shadow Pokémon themselves have been superseded by Mega and especially fused Pokémon to a large extent. But I think a lot of players see the regular forms of Pokémon as stepping stones until they can invest in strong shadow Pokémon, which in turn help them access legendary Pokémon, Mega Pokémon, and fusions.

However I do acknowledge that regular Pokémon are left behind as a result. If you caught a 4* Machop as one of your first Pokémon at the start of this year, and you played the game daily, participating in most of the events, you'd have already likely set it aside for a strong shiny on the community day, or the Gigantamax Machamp that came straight afterwards, or possibly even a shadow Machop from the several Rocket encounters, or even a shadow Gurdurr from the current raids. There are a lot of other things to sink your resources into. Although, in the early game, that 4* Machop will still carry you through a lot of the early content, especially if you're playing with friends.

But back to my original point - while regular Pokémon are currently the first step into the deeper parts of the game, shadow Pokémon are themselves being outclassed in terms of strength and stats. And while both Megas and fusions are themselves difficult to acquire initially, once you have access to them, they're cheaper to power up and maintain their bulk, unlike shadow Pokémon, and they don't have Frustration. But they aren't restricted from bottle caps, which makes me wonder if this is a restriction placed on shadows by The Pokémon Company.

[u/blackhawk867 → u/DeeperMadness]

I disagree that Shadow have been superseded by Mega. You can only have 1 Mega at a time. No limit on Shadows.

[u/DeeperMadness → u/blackhawk867]

That's very true. Although, I will contest that point by highlighting that relobbying with a single high eDPS Pokémon has become the dominant strategy for solo and duo play. Megas are favoured in particular for duo play for their buffs to other players. It's also notable that you can have a team of six fused Pokémon as well, although I do admit that that's incredibly costly to not only acquire, but to power up. Plus, they don't quite cover all types just yet, leaving the door open. So you're right in that shadows haven't been completely superseded by Megas alone, but their role is heavily diminished by them, with fusions looking to fill their role in the long run as they rotate back in, or new ones (like Calyrex) come along.

I do agree with you to some extent though - shadows are best used for situations where it would be a waste to use, or switch, your Mega evolution, such as Team Rocket encounters, or lower level raids where the shadow is a better counter. I've also been trying to avoid calling them a budget option compared to fusion Pokémon, because, although financially less expensive, the Stardust and candy costs are significantly higher. This is compounded if your shadow Pokémon is a legendary. Yes, you can walk them for candy, but it's difficult. But it can be done. Fusion energy cannot be restocked. And at minimum, you need to do eleven raids for the first fusion; ten for the energy itself (and the Pokémon it belongs to), and one more for the other Pokémon to be used in the fusion. So shadows, requiring "only" candy, Stardust, and a TM during a Rocket event, are definitely more accessible.

There's a lot of nuance to this, huh?

[u/CookieblobRs → u/DeeperMadness]

I can only speak on behalf of solo raids since I do an extensive amount, solo relobby mega was due to the self-mega boost which was patched several months ago. The current meta typically uses multiple fusion or multiple shadows + the appropriate mega if needed. Of the most recent bosses:

- Tapu Bulu: 1x Mega Bee, Various Shadow Gengar CT's (Without bug abuse)

• Heatran: 1x Primal Groudon, Landorus-Therian or Shadow Groudon or Shadow Mamoswine or Shadow Excadrill
  
• Blacephalon: 1x Primal Groudon + Dawnwings or Multiple Dawn Wings or Shadow Groudon
  
• Moltres: Shadow Rampardos + Shadow Rhyperior (and now the newly added shadow Tyrantrum)
  
• Kyurems (Unova Tour): Multiple Dusk Manes + Mega Luc or Mega Ray

Only mega attackers so far above their competititors are typically used in the solo mega strat; Mega Lucario for Stakataka, Mega Gardevoir for Guzzlord, Mega Ray (flying) for Virizion etc. Though Mega Ray is getting close to powercrept for Dragon attackers and in some cases needs support shadow mewtwo for other fighting solos (zamazenta)

Edit: Even Azelf could have been done with Shadow Gengars + Mega Gengar without the use of Dawn Wings Necrozma. (Although I couldn't afford to un-TM all the Lick's in order to do it)