Pokémon GO Players Can Mix Shadow and Non-Shadow Pokémon in One Search

The syntax can target different species on each side of the shadow filter and can also include entire evolution lines.

Bojan Kicevski4 minutes ago

0 2 1 minute read

Pokémon GO players can combine Shadow and non-Shadow species in one search instead of running separate queries. A community-discovered string uses the game’s search operators to keep different Pokémon on each side of the Shadow filter.

A player shared the method in a post on The Silph Road subreddit. The first example is designed to find non-Shadow Bulbasaur and Shadow Rattata together:

!shadow,rattata&shadow,bulbasaur

Within the first group, !shadow excludes Shadow Pokémon while rattata provides the species match. The second group uses shadow and bulbasaur. Because both groups must be satisfied, the search produces the intended combination rather than mixing the Shadow status between the two species.

Adding Pokémon evolution lines to the search

The same setup can cover larger groups, including full evolution lines. The expanded example is:

!shadow,+rhyhorn,rattata&shadow,bulbasaur,+charizard

Here, +rhyhorn and +charizard include their respective evolution lines. The result targets Shadow Rhyhorn family members, Shadow Rattata, non-Shadow Bulbasaur, and non-Shadow Charizard family members in one query.

The player who shared the discovery said the main goal was building a large search string for top Pokémon, though its everyday usefulness may depend on how many species a Trainer wants to manage at once. For another event-focused example, the Summer Marathon search string guide packs 26 Pokédex IDs into one query while excluding Hisuian and Galarian forms.

Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow the latest coverage on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

Pokémon Go is an augmented reality mobile game that uses GPS to let players locate, capture, train, and battle Pokémon in real-world locations. Players explore their physical surroundings to find PokéStops for items, battle at Gyms for team control, participate in Raid Battles cooperatively, and compete in the Go Battle League's player-versus-player format. The game is free-to-play with in-app purchases and features Pokémon from across multiple generations of the franchise.