Matters of Shadow and Light (Purification)

It's been more or less a year since Pokémon Go (re-)introduced the dark yet intriguing class of Shadow Pokémon, and along with it their "enlightened" counterparts, Purified Pokémon. Over the course of that year, however, there have been a few developments and realizations that further complicate matters regarding both kinds of Pokémon, especially for the best usage of them. It seems to be time to sort out those matters in order to figure out the best practices for these kinds of Pokémon, seeing as how they are practically ingrained by now.

A key to these kinds of Pokémon is their moves. Shadow Pokémon can and do have moves typical to their non-Shadow counterparts, with the exception that they'll have the Charged Move of Frustration upon being freshly caught, and this cannot be changed by any manner (save purification) until the next time Team GO Rocket takes over things, which could be quite a while. Moreover, these moves now have something called a Shadow Bonus, which definitely makes them stronger. In fact, it has been observed that as a result, even Shadow Pokémon with poor stats will outdo non-Shadow Pokémon with good stats. Therefore, Shadow Pokémon is "where it's at", having become more desirable to be retained, as I've noted in my recent feature wishlist realizations.

To what extent, then, do Purified Pokémon stand? It seems that the answer is not much. This is because upon purification, the Shadow Bonus is (obviously) lost, though so is the Frustration move - being replaced with Return, which is replaceable any time and likely should be replaced - and the Pokémon gains two IV points to each stat. Other than discounts on powering up, evolution, and unlocking a second Charged Move, they really have no additional advantages; they are otherwise ordinary Pokémon, and by the above observation of Shadow Pokémon, the latter would be superior to the former. That means that purification does not have much use if one wants a very strong Pokémon, and it is only a practical cop-out for those desiring strong yet still reasonably manageable Pokémon. Again, Shadow Pokémon is "where it's at".

The call to not purify Shadow Pokémon is therefore a strong one, and it makes sense given the situation above. It also lends credence to my reasoning that Purified Pokémon should become a regular trade and Shadow Pokémon should again be able to be traded, at the least as a Special Trade if not anything else. Since Purified Pokémon are essentially ordinary Pokémon with few perks, practically no one wants to deal with them (except perhaps for extraordinary cases of IV perfection), especially as a Special Trade that is better reserved for other purposes. To prevent Purified Pokémon from being just a bygone thing, they may need to be conferred an advantage that at least differentiates them from other ordinary Pokémon but does not take away from Shadow Pokémon. This may be quite the challenge that will unfold as things progress.

So it seems that Purified Pokémon may not be as "enlightened" as they are made out to be. With current developments and realizations regarding Shadow Pokémon and their "light" counterpart, it seems there are only two kinds of Pokémon: Shadow and not Shadow. It's clear that the differences between them are stark and will continue to persist as the former dominates the latter. Yet what is also clear is that both have their uses, and a great Trainer will accordingly be able to delineate them. 

One year ago: The Subtle Generational Spoiler
Two years ago: Don't Look Back... in Anger
Three years ago: Pokémon Desktop Wallpapers