A Troubling Situation

A Troubling Situation is the sixth series of global Special Research tasks. It is a promotion of Shadow Pokémon and Team GO Rocket. It was available for Trainers level 8 or higher since July, 2019.

Professor Willow dialogue
Hi, TRAINER, I'm glad to see you! Can I get your help with investigating something? I've noticed on alarming number of reports from Trainers who have found PokéStops that look...discolored? Some Trainers have even spotted people wearing shirts with a big letter R on them who are guarding these PokéStops. These shady characters appear to have Pokémon with a mysterious dark aura around them! As I investigate this with Spark, it might be best to power up some of your Pokémon. You never know what we might encounter…

Great job strengthening your Pokémon! After visiting one of the PokéStops with Spark, we were challenged to a Trainer Battle by someone who belongs to an organization called Team GO Rocket! Turns out that Team GO Rocket has been stealing resources from PokéStops with the help of Pokémon that are cloaked in a dark aura. They're called Shadow Pokémon! Luckily, we won the battle, and afterward, Team GO Rocket carelessly abandoned their defeated Shadow Pokémon! Help us protect local PokéStops from Team GO Rocket, Trainer! As you do so, please save any Shadow Pokémon that Team GO Rocket abandons!

Thanks for all your hard work, TRAINER! Candela and I have done some research on Shadow Pokémon and learned some very unsettling things. While Pokémon naturally become stronger through training, these Shadow Pokémon seem to have been overpowered through unnatural means. As a result, their bodies painfully struggle with not knowing how to control this strength. But don't worry! It looks like we can help them harness this strength through a process called purification. Can you help me purify some Shadow Pokémon, TRAINER?

WOW! Thanks for helping us can more about the Shadow Pokémon that Team GO Rocket uses, Trainer! After observing the purification process with Blanche, it's clear that the Pokémon's gratefulness to you for purifying them causes the move Frustration to be replaced with Return! Now that you have this knowledge, we need your help with saving as many Shadow Pokémon as possible by taking back PokéStops that are under Team GO Rocket's control! The world is under attack! Can we count on you to help protect it? I do hope there's nothing more to this...