Pokemon GO Rocket Balloons: New Codes, How To Access
A Pokemon GO update today activated Team Rocket Balloons, aka Team GO Rocket hot air balloons – the sort with the big red R on the side. These balloons allow Team Rocket to move around the map in Pokemon GO and allow access to you and your Pokemon. Don't worry, though, they won't attack you outright – they're not that cruel yet! Instead, you've got to spot the shadow!
If you see a shadow on the ground in the game in Pokemon GO, you've got a Team GO Rocket balloon near you. If you cannot see the balloon, you need to zoom out! To zoom out, pinch your screen.
Pokemon GO Team Rocket Balloons shadow steps:
• See shadow
• Place two fingers on screen
• Move fingers together (pinch) to zoom out
• Balloon should appear once you're zoomed out
• Tap that balloon!
The Team GO Rocket Balloons work pretty much the same way a normal Team Rocket Encounter would, where normally you'd find a "Grunt" at a Pokestop. With this feature, Pokemon GO allows the movement of Team Rocket encounters around the map. They're no longer relegated to a single spawn point.
With Team GO Rocket, we've seen a wide variety of Pokemon appear so far. Ralts, Pinsir, Larvitar, and more have appeared so far.
UPDATE: You will need to be Level 40 in the game in order to encounter Team GO Rocket Balloons. That's sort of a bummer for people that've just started the game recently. Of course it IS a major reward for those users that've been playing the game since the very beginning!
A Team Rocket balloon can appear up to four times per day per user. If you're a high enough level, you'll potentially see a total of 4 Team GO Rocket Pokemon in a 24-hour period.
Local Time Pokemon GO Team Rocket Balloon periods:
• 00:00 – 05:59 – 1
• 06:00 – 11:59 – 2
• 12:00 – 17:59 – 3
• 18:00 – 23:59 – 4
If a Team Rocket Balloon moves off your screen and disappears, there's a good chance it'll return (very soon thereafter) with a different set of Pokemon to battle. But only if you've not beaten that team before... so... good luck on figuring that one out!
UPDATE 2: It would seem that trainers level 36 or higher are actually able to see said balloons. That's weird, since Niantic Support suggested (late July 7, 2020) that level 40 was the minimum. Maybe things have changed!
Meanwhile we're seeing the monstrous Kyurem appear as a 5-star Raid Boss right this minute!
UPDATE 3: This release from Niantic included a couple of new item codes. Pokemon GO Codes can be entered at the bottom of the in-game store in Pokemon GO if you're on an Android device. Take a peek at the following two codes: LEQ8C2BQXJATZ, and FTT7V6NDZ6B8X. You'll probably get a few berries and/or Pokeballs – good luck!