Team GO Rocket has invaded Pokemon GO yet again, with their latest attack featuring villainous hot air balloons. Apart from the current GO Fest weekly challenges taking place, Pokemon Trainers at home can now join the fight against Team GO Rocket by challenging hot air balloons as they float by.
Although the Team GO Rocket hot air balloons are normally piloted by average Rocket Grunts, they can offer the challenge of a Team GO Rocket Leader if the player happens to be holding a Rocket Radar. What's more, if Pokemon Trainers are in possession of a rare Super Rocket Radar, they can speak directly to the Boss and challenge Giovanni himself on the hot air balloon. Super Rocket Radars don't come by too often, but the steps taken to obtain one are relatively easy to follow.
The first thing a player should do before worrying about a Super Rocket Radar is: get their hands on a standard Rocket Radar. To do so, a Pokemon Trainer must collect six Mysterious Components. These are earned by defeating Team GO Rocket Grunts (one per grunt) - the process is tedious, but not extraordinarily difficult. Especially if you have a good handle on your Pokemon battle counters. Once a Pokemon Trainer collects the six components, they will combine to form a Rocket Radar. Moreover, once a player has earned their first Rocket Radar, they are offered the option of purchasing them from the shop for PokeCoins.
Team GO Rocket Leader Hideouts become visible to players equipped with a Rocket Radar, and if a player chooses to enter one, they will be challenged by one of the three Pokemon GO Rocket Leaders: Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra. Although Rocket Radars are ultimately earned by defeating Rocket Grunts, a Super Rocket Radar is unfortunately not simply earned by defeating Rocket Leaders. Defeating a GO Rocket Leader earns players a few valuable items and the chance to catch a powerful Shadow Pokemon.
Pokemon Trainers hoping to defeat Giovanni with a Super Rocket Radar will need to - first of all - complete the A Troubling Situation Special Research. Players who have completed the aforementioned Special Research will have the opportunity to complete the Looming in the Shadows Special Research once a month. Players who then complete page 4 (of 6) of this Special Research will be rewarded with a Super Rocket Radar. So, generally speaking, Pokemon Trainers have a single, monthly, chance at a Super Rocket Radar.
For the most part, players will be participating in Raid Battles and fighting numerous Rocket Grunts to complete Looming in the Shadows. That said, once a Trainer arrives at the fourth set of tasks, they are faced with the trickier challenge of defeating each of the three Rocket Leaders a single time - admittedly, finding the three GO Rocket leaders may be more difficult than defeating any single one of them. Upon defeating the three Leaders and claiming their reward(s), players should be able to find a Super Rocket Radar in their inventory.
Players should ensure their Super Rocket Radar is equipped by heading to their inventory and selecting the item. Once the radar is equipped, players can see the location(s) of potential Giovanni hideouts on their maps, which is to say, Giovanni is not guaranteed to be at all hideouts. Most hideouts will host mere Rocket Grunts, so players should just keep exploring their surrounding PokeStops until they locate the real Giovanni.
Players are welcome to defeat the Rocket Grunts, but this will bear no effect on the appearance of Giovanni. Pokemon Trainers should also note that - much like with standard Rocket Radars - they will not lose a Super Rocket Radar for losing against Giovanni. Rocket Radars and Super Rocket Radars only expire upon the defeat of a Rocket Leader, or Giovanni, respectively.
Pokemon GO is available now on the App Store and Google Play.
Source: Niantic