Niantic
Team GO Rocket Balloons have just gone live in Pokemon GO, giving players a chance to battle Team GO Rocket members from the comfort of their own home.
Team GO Rocket Balloons appear in the overworld of the game and will float toward you. You can then tap on the balloon to initiate a battle with a Team GO Rocket member.
You’ll be able to battle grunts, leaders and even Giovanni himself. We just tested out the feature ourselves and we were able to battle Giovanni. However, according to Leek Duck, you need to have the Rocket Radar equipped (which can be found by defeating six grunts and assembling the six components) to battle a Team GO Rocket Leader – either Arlo, Sierra or Cliff – and you need to have the Super Rocket Radar equipped (which is found as you progress through Special Research quests where you fight Giovanni) to fight Giovanni.
Currently, only players who are at level 35 or higher will be able to encounter Team GO Rocket Balloons, according to Niantic Support. They’ll soon be available to more players, however.
Mysterious balloons are beginning to appear in Pokémon GO! Trainers who are Level 40 can now encounter Team GO Rocket in balloons. We will continue to update as they appear to more Trainers.
Here’s the balloons in action:
Re-recorded with sound on to get the music change hehe #TeamGORocket #PokemonGO
The feature was teased for quite a while now. Images have been posted on the official social media channels teasing the feature and an email was sent to Pokemon GO players pretending to be a leaked message from Team GO Rocket. A real-life Team GO Rocket balloon was even seen floating above Munich.
If you need help taking down the Team GO Rocket Leaders, then click on the links below.
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