Team GO Rocket Grunts

Team GO Rocket Grunts are members of Team GO Rocket and subordinates of Team GO Rocket Leaders and Giovanni. They tend to takeover PokéStops and battle using Shadow Pokémon.

Encountering Grunts
The invaded PokéStops have a different appearance than regular PokéStops in the Map View. These PokéStops twitch and appear discolored.

As a Trainer approaches an invaded PokéStop, it becomes black and the Team GO Rocket logo will appear over it. If a Trainer interacts with the PokéStop (items are still given) or the Grunt, a battle will ensue in order to defend the invaded PokéStop. The PokéStop will be invaded for 30 minutes at a time. After you defeat the Grunt, the PokéStop returns to normal.

Once you spin the photo disc and the Grunt speaks to you, it is safe to move away from the PokéStop if you are confident you can defeat the Grunt in one attempt. You are free to keep walking to your other destinations while you battle the Grunt and capture the Shadow Pokémon, unlike with gym battles which require you to be in range for the whole time.

All trainers see the same invasions, but turning them normal is instanced for each player. All trainers face the same Shadow Pokémon, but their Combat Power is scaled to the trainer's level, making the battle challenging to all players.

Battling Grunts
An battle encounter begins when a Trainer interacts with a Team GO Rocket Grunt. Team GO Rocket Battles work similarly to Trainer Battles (with the notable exception of not returning your Pokémon to full health after the battle).

Select a party of three Pokémon and use their Fast and Charged Attacks to defeat the opponent’s Shadow Pokémon. After winning a Team GO Rocket Battle, 500 Stardust and a Mysterious Component will be rewarded and there will be a chance to catch one of the Shadow Pokémon they have left behind. If the battle is lost, a rematch will be offered. Winning Team GO Rocket Battles also increases the rank of the Hero medal.

Before entering the battle, the Grunt would say a line that hints at a certain type. This means there is at least one Pokémon of that type on their team (often 2 or 3), but the Pokémon available for capture (usually the first) is not necessarily of the type.

Enemy Shadow Pokémon fought in Team GO Rocket Battles have greatly increased CP above normal limits. It appears their strength is offensive-biased, meaning they can dish out quite a lot of damage but does not take hits as well as their CP suggests.