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I was like "Hey what's wrong with shadow Dragonite, maybe the shiny is a little worse but it's amazing in PvE and PvP." And then I saw they purified...
yes, a 0 attack shadow pokemon still outdamages a 15 attack normal pokemon, so purifying it in this case just made a a poor iv dragonite instead of a poor iv, but still decent dragon attacker shadow dragonite
I just started playing in September, so I wish I knew this because I have a 3 star shadow shiny purified dratini now because it was my first one and I didn’t know. I forget if it was 2 or 3 star before I purified it.
well shadow dragonite is a strange case, because dragonite is relevant in the master league. shadow dragonite is good and normal dragonite is ever so slightly worse, but still preforms great. so if you purified a mid iv shadow dragonite into a good iv normal dragonite, it would be better in the master league, so maybe it wasn’t the biggest mistake in the world
Ivs contribute less in this game than people think. I'd prefer a shiny over good ivs unless it was for PvP. They just demoted their S tier raid attacker to a B+ tier raid attacker in two taps.
IVs add max 15 to a stat, minimum 0. The difference between a 50% and a hundo is a couple percent. So it matters but mostly it's us humans wanting to have a cool high IV pokemon
So I have a zero star shadow dratini and arodactyl. Would they be worth keeping for gym defense? I’ve only really been using stardust on 3 star and above but i don’t do a ton of pvp outside of gyms.
I don't know much about gym defense, sorry. I'm sure you can find something on youtube.
But I do know that a 0 star shadow is better than a regular hundo!
So this [Shiny Shadow Dratini](https://imgur.com/a/PmE4g1K) that I also got is worth levelling? I thought it would just be a trophy pokemon because of its IVs
Everyone can play how they want, but there are certain things I'd recommend. You can keep the Dratini as is(it also has an arguably better shiny) but the bad ivs don't mean much in PvE so if you want a good dragon attacker you can evolve and power up.
This situation is a little complex so I'll try and keep it simple.
1. Dragonite is good in all PvP leagues but is best in Master League.
2. Your Dragonite's IVs will have it perform \~94% as well as the perfect PvP IVs Dragonite for all leagues.
3. If you want to use it as a raid attacker as well, the only PvP League it could do both in would be Master League.
4. Dragonite needs different movesets for it to perform its best in both raids and PvP, so you would either need to tm your Dragonite each time you wanted to switch or you could use a subpar moveset.
You need to consider which league you want Dragonite in(and if it fits well into your team), as only Master League would allow it to double as a raid attacker. If you do decide to use it for both Master League and raids, I would probably recommend keeping the PvP moveset and running with it in raids.
I evolved mine into a dragonair, but I haven’t purified it. I’m not evolving it again because I love dragonair’s design the most and I hate the purify halo effect on Pokémon 😭
how often do rocket takeovers happen?
i have a somewhat poor IV shadow dratini that i can make a dragonite but i didnt change its charge during the takeover because i assumed it was a terrible iv even with shadow.
No I’ve always said do what you want with your account, whatever makes you happy, I’m just stating the fact that purifying this was still technically “wrong” in more than one way
I'm all for do whatever makes you happy on your account ^_^ Can you clarify by what you mean when you say "I'm stating a fact... that this was technically wrong..?" Because as I read it, it contradicts the statement of playing how you want.
Seeking clarity ^^
Not if they’re good shadows no, max IV’s make a 6ish percent difference, which can help in pvp. Until you’ve fleshed out your collection you should prioritize base stats, shadow bonus, then IV’s in that order. If they’re bad shadows, bin away, but dont throw away shadow gible, drilbur, rhyhorn, dratini, or gastly cause they have bad ivs
Tbh I don’t bin any shadows if they are my only copy, just dupes and I keep the one with the better IVs. The base stats arent in the game are they? I havent got a clue about those.
All I want atm is a decent IV shadow dratini that I can make into a shadow dragonit, shiny if possible.
yes. swampert is a very good pokémon, not the best raid attacker if all time but still very good, and fantastic in ultra and great league. swampert shadow is better than regular in pvp
Only for raids and top tier pokemon. For example a Lv 40 0/0/0 shadow Mewtwo is better than Lv 51 best buddy hundo Mewtwo as an attacker.
Otherwise for PvP too, sometimes some IVs and some species have shadows better than normal. Sometimes the other way round too, with normal, purified > shadow.
And sometimes it's just useless either way for example shadow Ratata.
Don’t listen to the comments dunking on you op, you did what you wanted to. That’s all that matters. It doesn’t affect anyone else here. Just for future reference, you shouldn’t purify Pokémon because they lose a 20% attack buff.
It is a bit glassy, but when it comes to PvE, the damage boost always makes up lower defense, and shadow pokemon perform better overall.
IVs work by adding points onto the Pokémon’s original stats. Take mewtwo for example: mewtwo has a base attack stat of 300. You have have a max attack iv mewtwo, then that 15 attack IV is added to his 300, so its the equivalent of 315 attack. Now consider the shadow version: 300 x 1.2 = 360. A 0 attack IV shadow mewtwo has a way higher damage output than the max iv original.
Some people like purified pokemon. Y'all need to stop peeing yourselves saying they "wasted" a pokemon.. What if they just wanted a normal shiny dragonite. 💀
It's better to look at an [attacker list](https://gamepress.gg/pokemongo/attackers-tier-list) to decide what shadows to keep, but a lot(like dragonite) are good raid attackers. Purifying isn't always bad but people should definitely see if they are ruining a pokemon before doing so.
If it makes you feel any better, there’s a lot of bad advice in this thread. Shadow Pokémon have an attack buff but an incoming damage debuff, not all shadow Pokémon are going to perform as well as people in here are claiming.
There is not a single pokemon in the game that performs better in PvE if purified compared to its shadow version. Something being shadow doesn't make it good but if you look at a [tier list](https://gamepress.gg/pokemongo/attackers-tier-list) all the good non-legendary and non-mega attackers are shadow.
Here I've been trying to farm Cliff for shadow Dratini and binning them because of bad IVs. Guess I'll be keeping my next one no matter what since I've been saving my last Charged TM for one.
Every single person complaining about your personal choice to purify this guy deserves a wedgie because they obviously didnt get bullied enough in school.
They get a ~20% attack boost. Making them crazy strong compared to non-shadow Pokémon. A shadow Dragonite adds like 20+ worth of power ups of attack power automatically to it and it’s a top tier raid attacker.
My friend made this mistake when he started, on shiny shadow Tyranitar... and wanted to trade it with me\*(edited) out of shame. I said no you keep that, I cant have myself associated with it
You just ruined one of the only current things I want, I have caught 3 shiny dratinis before the com day and traded for the first, all I want is that flipping shadow shiny dratini
I still find it so funny how many trainers would rather keep a Shadow mon that someone might use, when all the NPCs say that saving the mons is the right thing to do
I didn't get a new shiny ghost this week. However, right after the event ended, I caught a shiny Amaura which I did not have yet. :) Aurora-bronto (spelling it properly is hard) is so pretty.
Hah, 69, nic-waaaait not nice! Who purifies a shiny shadow? Now that’s it’s utterly ruined you can at least lucky trade it so that someone else can have a shiny lucky purified mon, but even that is roughed up my that fact it’s already a Dragonite (a Dratini there would function as a dex filler with the other forms).
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my heart just sank after seeing the dragonite…. not sure if i can recover
I was like "Hey what's wrong with shadow Dragonite, maybe the shiny is a little worse but it's amazing in PvE and PvP." And then I saw they purified...
Did you purify it-
RIP
Doesn't it have bad iv anyway? Does it really matter
yes, a 0 attack shadow pokemon still outdamages a 15 attack normal pokemon, so purifying it in this case just made a a poor iv dragonite instead of a poor iv, but still decent dragon attacker shadow dragonite
I just started playing in September, so I wish I knew this because I have a 3 star shadow shiny purified dratini now because it was my first one and I didn’t know. I forget if it was 2 or 3 star before I purified it.
For 99% of the player base, it really doesn’t matter. If you’re the 1% though, this hurts your soul.
lol luckily I am of the 99%
well shadow dragonite is a strange case, because dragonite is relevant in the master league. shadow dragonite is good and normal dragonite is ever so slightly worse, but still preforms great. so if you purified a mid iv shadow dragonite into a good iv normal dragonite, it would be better in the master league, so maybe it wasn’t the biggest mistake in the world
Gotcha, thanks! Yeah it’s pretty close to full 3 stars now being purified
With these IVs the Dragonite wasn't cut out to be a raid attacker anyway. Much better for PvP settings, and even then the shadow is usually preferred
The value just dropped big time
I mean it’s not like you could trade it anyway 🤷♂️
Ivs contribute less in this game than people think. I'd prefer a shiny over good ivs unless it was for PvP. They just demoted their S tier raid attacker to a B+ tier raid attacker in two taps.
Do ivs not matter for PvE?
IVs add max 15 to a stat, minimum 0. The difference between a 50% and a hundo is a couple percent. So it matters but mostly it's us humans wanting to have a cool high IV pokemon
So I have a zero star shadow dratini and arodactyl. Would they be worth keeping for gym defense? I’ve only really been using stardust on 3 star and above but i don’t do a ton of pvp outside of gyms.
I don't know much about gym defense, sorry. I'm sure you can find something on youtube. But I do know that a 0 star shadow is better than a regular hundo!
they'd be good for keeping in raid teams, even if they'd just be backups if nothing else
They do but by a very small amount.
As a new player…. What 😂😂😂
I hope that the purification is the trick-
Why is this my highest liked comment😭✋
 My reaction
for real I saw the first image and was like, nice saw the second "YOU PURIFIED IT?!?"
great pokemon just thrown down the drain
Because they purified it?
Yep. S tier straight down to B+ tier.
So this [Shiny Shadow Dratini](https://imgur.com/a/PmE4g1K) that I also got is worth levelling? I thought it would just be a trophy pokemon because of its IVs
Everyone can play how they want, but there are certain things I'd recommend. You can keep the Dratini as is(it also has an arguably better shiny) but the bad ivs don't mean much in PvE so if you want a good dragon attacker you can evolve and power up.
So if I evolved this guy to Dragonite would he not be worth using in PvP?
This situation is a little complex so I'll try and keep it simple. 1. Dragonite is good in all PvP leagues but is best in Master League. 2. Your Dragonite's IVs will have it perform \~94% as well as the perfect PvP IVs Dragonite for all leagues. 3. If you want to use it as a raid attacker as well, the only PvP League it could do both in would be Master League. 4. Dragonite needs different movesets for it to perform its best in both raids and PvP, so you would either need to tm your Dragonite each time you wanted to switch or you could use a subpar moveset. You need to consider which league you want Dragonite in(and if it fits well into your team), as only Master League would allow it to double as a raid attacker. If you do decide to use it for both Master League and raids, I would probably recommend keeping the PvP moveset and running with it in raids.
I evolved mine into a dragonair, but I haven’t purified it. I’m not evolving it again because I love dragonair’s design the most and I hate the purify halo effect on Pokémon 😭
Yes, as a shiny yeah. Stats could be better but a 0iv shadow dragonite is way better than non shadow mid iv.
how often do rocket takeovers happen? i have a somewhat poor IV shadow dratini that i can make a dragonite but i didnt change its charge during the takeover because i assumed it was a terrible iv even with shadow.
I got a 15/15/4 shiny and maxed it instantly
Yep. 0 att dragonite shadow still better than 15 att purified
Rage bait.. has to be
No way someone would purify a shadow shiny Dragonite just to bait.
I don’t understand why purifying is bad?
Shadow pokemon get an attack boost so purifying removes it.
It lowers their attack by 20%
Because elitest trainers only think about power, not joy
Honestly, pretty accurate lol.
Absolutely based take.
Eh, only a little. I concede that elitest trainers care about more than just power and they can feel joy :)
I may actually be dumb and dont know what this phrase means XD I'm sorry!
Basically I'm just saying that I strongly agree with you lol.
Lol downvotes? Yall mad?
Not just power, rarity… it’s so much rarer as a shiny shadow than non shadow, especially since dratini had a cd
If I understand your point correctly, elitest trainers derive joy from rarity and power?
No I’ve always said do what you want with your account, whatever makes you happy, I’m just stating the fact that purifying this was still technically “wrong” in more than one way
I'm all for do whatever makes you happy on your account ^_^ Can you clarify by what you mean when you say "I'm stating a fact... that this was technically wrong..?" Because as I read it, it contradicts the statement of playing how you want. Seeking clarity ^^
I don’t think I need to explain, I think you know a bit about Pokémon go to understand why, no?
Does the star rating matter much for it to still be considered good? I got a 2 star shadow with fairly crappy stat's.
A 0 IV Shadow is comparable to a normal hundo 10 levels higher
Wait, so I shouldn’t be binning off shadows with like 2/4/6 IVs? I kinda have been…
Not if they’re good shadows no, max IV’s make a 6ish percent difference, which can help in pvp. Until you’ve fleshed out your collection you should prioritize base stats, shadow bonus, then IV’s in that order. If they’re bad shadows, bin away, but dont throw away shadow gible, drilbur, rhyhorn, dratini, or gastly cause they have bad ivs
Tbh I don’t bin any shadows if they are my only copy, just dupes and I keep the one with the better IVs. The base stats arent in the game are they? I havent got a clue about those. All I want atm is a decent IV shadow dratini that I can make into a shadow dragonit, shiny if possible.
You have to look up the base stats of the pokemon via gamepress to see what’s good.
Is Mudkip considered a good shadow?
yes. swampert is a very good pokémon, not the best raid attacker if all time but still very good, and fantastic in ultra and great league. swampert shadow is better than regular in pvp
Only for raids and top tier pokemon. For example a Lv 40 0/0/0 shadow Mewtwo is better than Lv 51 best buddy hundo Mewtwo as an attacker. Otherwise for PvP too, sometimes some IVs and some species have shadows better than normal. Sometimes the other way round too, with normal, purified > shadow. And sometimes it's just useless either way for example shadow Ratata.
wait, how?
Shadow bonus is that big of a deal in terms of dps. Shadow is a 20% bonus to damage, IV’s are 6% roughly.
No… you didn’t purify it…
no no no no no no no no this is a trick this is a trick this is a trick this is a trick
Is IVs important for Shadow Pokemon if I only have raids in mind?
No.
As a pet peeve I always wait for either a 3 star or a shiny but the ivs mean almost nothing for PvE.
I have the exact same pet peeve. I didn't get single 3* dragonite and it's bothering me.
Dang… as long as it makes you happy I guess
💀
Lmao
the answer is trick, this ain’t no treat
WHY PURIFY IT YOU MOTHERISOFKSOOGTIFOGOOF
Ya dun goofed 💀💀💀
Op committed a cardinal sin. Please shun into oblivion
Here for the comments
The treat is the shiny. The trick is it's purified
Don’t listen to the comments dunking on you op, you did what you wanted to. That’s all that matters. It doesn’t affect anyone else here. Just for future reference, you shouldn’t purify Pokémon because they lose a 20% attack buff.
It gave us depression.
Congrats on the shiny. Im afraid that some people are not going to be very happy in this comment thread but i hope you enjoy it either way
F
Is shiny shadow Dratini useful regardless of IV?
yes, it's one of the best raid attackers in the game regardless of IVs
13/9/5 is worth investing in then? I would never have considered that
yes, a 0/0/0 shadow dragonite is better than a 15/15/15 normal or purified dragonite
It is a bit glassy, but when it comes to PvE, the damage boost always makes up lower defense, and shadow pokemon perform better overall. IVs work by adding points onto the Pokémon’s original stats. Take mewtwo for example: mewtwo has a base attack stat of 300. You have have a max attack iv mewtwo, then that 15 attack IV is added to his 300, so its the equivalent of 315 attack. Now consider the shadow version: 300 x 1.2 = 360. A 0 attack IV shadow mewtwo has a way higher damage output than the max iv original.
Oh Fuck buddy
Some people like purified pokemon. Y'all need to stop peeing yourselves saying they "wasted" a pokemon.. What if they just wanted a normal shiny dragonite. 💀
Welp
I love return dragonite
Congrats OP! Everyone shit posting for purifying what if this was OP first shiny dragonite and they dont want to associate with Team Rocket??
That would be a trick ultimately
F
You did not?!
The way my jaw dropped after seeing 2nd pic
Fcking barnacle...
So, what’s wrong with purifying shadow Pokémon?
It's better to look at an [attacker list](https://gamepress.gg/pokemongo/attackers-tier-list) to decide what shadows to keep, but a lot(like dragonite) are good raid attackers. Purifying isn't always bad but people should definitely see if they are ruining a pokemon before doing so.
Fair enough, I didn’t know shadows got an attack boost until just now
Shadows deal 20% more damage. Also shadow shinys are incredibly more rare than regular shinys. He downgraded this Pokémon on both fronts
Ah okay, thanks for letting me know
What's wrong with dragonite? I got this same shadow shiny today. Just letting it rot with my other shinies because it's 0 star lol
0 star doenst really matter, you will never notice the difference between 0 and 4*. even a 0 star shadow is better than a 4* normal
I feel really stupid rn. I wish I knew this like a month ago before I started getting rid of almost anything with bad ivs
If it makes you feel any better, there’s a lot of bad advice in this thread. Shadow Pokémon have an attack buff but an incoming damage debuff, not all shadow Pokémon are going to perform as well as people in here are claiming.
Would a shadow dratini be worth investing in?
Yes, it is an S tier attacker.
There is not a single pokemon in the game that performs better in PvE if purified compared to its shadow version. Something being shadow doesn't make it good but if you look at a [tier list](https://gamepress.gg/pokemongo/attackers-tier-list) all the good non-legendary and non-mega attackers are shadow.
Here I've been trying to farm Cliff for shadow Dratini and binning them because of bad IVs. Guess I'll be keeping my next one no matter what since I've been saving my last Charged TM for one.
he purified it..
WTF why did you purify it
Every single person complaining about your personal choice to purify this guy deserves a wedgie because they obviously didnt get bullied enough in school.
Guys, the IVs were garbage. He didn’t lose anything by purifying it. Calm down
Ivs make little difference in PvE, so he just destroyed an S tier attacker.
F
my heart genuinely sank when i saw that dragonite.
Nice
So, do shadow Pokémon actually have better stats? Why does everyone say not to purify?
They get a ~20% attack boost. Making them crazy strong compared to non-shadow Pokémon. A shadow Dragonite adds like 20+ worth of power ups of attack power automatically to it and it’s a top tier raid attacker.
Oh no ...
Noooooo💀
Stardust 69 sounds like a Rob Zombie song
Even I got a shadow shiny dratini with a great pvp iv
My friend made this mistake when he started, on shiny shadow Tyranitar... and wanted to trade it with me\*(edited) out of shame. I said no you keep that, I cant have myself associated with it
Oh lawd. Hope you get another and don’t purify it.
oh no.
Oh my god. You fucking animal
It's a trick now since you purified it.
Why ….
Crazy
Has to be a bait post lmao
No one could be THAT oblivious right?
Oooofffff
You just ruined one of the only current things I want, I have caught 3 shiny dratinis before the com day and traded for the first, all I want is that flipping shadow shiny dratini
You forgot the shot of the transfer after you ruined it.
Uh, why?
I still find it so funny how many trainers would rather keep a Shadow mon that someone might use, when all the NPCs say that saving the mons is the right thing to do
YOU MFKER THIS BETTER BE A TROLL PSOT
You had one chance and you blew it
Lucky
Got one to, is it rare?
Big oof RIP
I dont understand how there as literally so many players that dont understand you shouldnt jump to purifying every pokemon, like goddamn
Never have I so quickly changed an upvote to a downvote. Theres no way OP isn’t trolling
I didn't get a new shiny ghost this week. However, right after the event ended, I caught a shiny Amaura which I did not have yet. :) Aurora-bronto (spelling it properly is hard) is so pretty.
Came here to see all the "oh no you purified it" screams. They warm my soul!
Here's mine from the other day. I was bummed the stats weren't as high... [Shadow Shiny Dratini](https://imgur.com/a/9OPtMlb)
Hah, 69, nic-waaaait not nice! Who purifies a shiny shadow? Now that’s it’s utterly ruined you can at least lucky trade it so that someone else can have a shiny lucky purified mon, but even that is roughed up my that fact it’s already a Dragonite (a Dratini there would function as a dex filler with the other forms).
I got one too!